Taking Stock

"Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine and earthquake cannot happen here... Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion. The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation, and has given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?"
- President Ezra Taft Benson, October 1980 Conference

The prophets have told us repeatedly to store a year's supply of food and other essentials. Some of these warnings, like the one above, are worded quite strongly. It's time to take stock, commit to follow the counsel of the Prophets, and acquire a year's supply. Doing so is not an easy task. But many, many Saints can testify that blessings follow commitment.  

Commit to get your year's supply, and begin working on it today.

What You Need

"We have never laid down an exact formula for what anybody should store...Perhaps if we think less in terms of ... what we ordinarily would use, and think more in terms of what it would take to keep us alive in case we didn't have anything else to eat, that last would be very easy to put in storage for a year."
- Harold B. Lee, October 1966 Welfare Conf.
The Church has never told us precisely what we should store. But they have given recommendations for basic, life-sustaining food storage, as mentioned by President Lee above. These recommendations have recently been modified somewhat. The basic recommended one-year food supply for an adult is now as follows (approximate costs for  Provo, Utah - are in the last column):

Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	400 lbs	$120.00
Oil/Fats	4 gallons	$25.00
Beans/legumes	60 lbs	$25.00
Powdered Milk	16 lbs	$25.00
Honey/Sugar	60 lbs	$25.00 (sugar) $60.00 (honey)
Salt	10 lbs	$2.50
Water (2-week supply)	14 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$222.50 to $257.50

Based on these figures, a year's supply of basic food storage for a family of four adults would cost just about $1000. This may sound prohibitive. But doing something is better than doing nothing. And remember, blessings follow commitment. 

Make a plan based on your circumstances and needs, then determine to follow it. Remember, the brethren have warned us not to go into debt to purchase food storage. Most of us won't be able to get it all at once; but little things really add up. No matter how slowly you have to go, you'll get there if you just keep going. Here are some thoughts and ideas to help you along the way.

Small Sacrifices

Acquired over the course of a year, one year's worth of basic food storage for one adult would cost approximately $20 a month. What would free up $20 a month?

• Skipping 2 movie tickets, popcorn, and soda
• Substituting cooked cereal for 6 boxes of cold
• Skipping one $10/person restaurant meal for two
• Choosing not to buy a pair of inexpensive shoes
• Fixing sack lunches instead of eating out

Family Commitment, Family Sacrifices

If the entire family is committed to getting their food storage, another idea might be to forego things like vacations, birthday and Christmas presents, etc. Then put the cost towards food storage until you've acquired a year's supply.

A Bite at a Time

If the idea of acquiring a full year's supply of even basic foods is too daunting to face all at once, you may wish to think in terms of acquiring three or six months' worth of food. Here are some tables to help you plan.

3-month Supply of Basic Foods for One Adult
Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	133 lbs	$40.00
Oil/Fats	1.3 gallons	$6.00
Beans/legumes	15 lbs	$6.00
Powdered Milk	5 lbs	$6.00
Honey/Sugar	15 lbs	$6.00 (sugar) $15.00 (honey)
Salt	2.5 lbs	$0.60
Water (2-week supply)	4 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$65 - $75

6-month Supply of Basic Foods for One Adult
Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	200 lbs	$60.00
Oil/Fats	2 gallons	$12.50
Beans/legumes	30 lbs	$12.50
Powdered Milk	8 lbs	$12.50
Honey/Sugar	30 lbs	$12.50 (sugar) $30.00 (honey)
Salt	5 lbs	$1.20
Water (2-week supply)	8 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$112 - $130

Perhaps we can't do everything, especially not all at once. But certainly we can do something, and we can do it right now. Small actions and small sacrifices can really add up. Perhaps most important, as we give our very best effort, we prepare the way for the Lord to see that effort and bless us -- sometimes far beyond our own natural ability.

Eat What You Store, Store What You Eat

"Eat what you store, store what you eat," goes the old saying. But for many of us, this is easier said than done. If we buy a year's supply of traditional, basic food storage, it may go to waste because we don't like it or know how to use it. But acquiring a year's supply of regular groceries is a daunting, if not impossible, task.
What to do? One idea is to approach food storage from both directions: have some storage that consists of the traditional whole grains, powdered milk, honey, and salt. And have some storage that consists of the foods your family enjoys and uses every day.
This newsletter approaches food storage from the second direction, storing what you eat. Here are two ways to identify your own personal food storage staples.

Make a List of Favorite Dishes

Most people have 12 to 20 favorite dishes that they eat often. These are the old standbys that you fix all the time. They're what you eat when there's "nothing to eat," when you're in a hurry, or when you just want a dinner no one will complain about.
You may not be able to identify these favorite dishes off the top of your head, but if you think about it, you know what they are. (Our family's favorites include things like beef stew, chicken soup, and spaghetti.)
To identify your favorite dishes, get a stack of index cards and keep it handy in the kitchen. Over the next few weeks or a month, note what you're fixing for dinner, one dish to a card. Also jot down the ingredients for each dish (and the recipe, if there is one). These ingredients are your family's staple foods. If you keep all or most of them in your food storage, you'll always have something you can fix for dinner. Here is a form to help you identify you personal food storage staples.

Your Personal Food Storage Staples (worksheet)
Favorite dish	Ingredients	Number of times served	Quantity to buy
(example) Spaghetti	1 large can spaghetti sauce 1 lb hamburger 4 oz dry spaghetti	12 (once a month for a year)	12 cans spaghetti sauce 12 lbs hamburger 3 lbs dry spaghetti

To make things even easier, you may wish to keep recipes for your standbys in a recipe file or book (you can use one of the small 4 x 6 photo albums that holds 100 photos, or those "sticky" magnetic albums we're not supposed to keep pictures in). When you're stumped for dinner, you can just take a quick look through your recipes, then take a trip to the food storage room. You'll never be stuck with nothing to fix for dinner, and you'll rotate your food storage automatically.

Make a Price Book

 

(note: Portions of this idea come from Amy Dacyczyn's "The Tightwad Gazette" book I.)
This second method of identifying personal food storage staples kills two birds with one stone: first, you get a comprehensive list of what your family needs and uses, and second, you get all of these items at the lowest possible price. What is this method? It's a price book. Here's how it works.
Get a looseleaf binder, small or large, whatever works for you. Then, every week when the grocery sale flyers come with the newspaper, take about 15 minutes to scan through them. When you see something that you use, note the item at the top right-hand corner of a page, one item to a page, and arrange items alphabetically. Then note the date, the store, the brand, and the price.
After about 3 months, your price book will show you what you use and should therefore store. Before long, you'll know the best prices for the things you use. Over time, you'll even be able to track the price cycles, so you'll also know the best time to buy.
When prices are low, buy in bulk. Note your purchase in the price book, including the date and the quantity purchased. This will help you to track how much you use of any given item, and identify how much you should store.
A price book takes some time to compile initially, but only a little time after that. Considering that it can save you hundreds of dollars, and help you identify your family's needs precisely, the time is well-spent. Here is an example page.
Canned Corn
4/14 Savemart Green Giant 14 oz .69
6/17 Winco Del Monte 14 oz .59
7/1 Raleys Generic 14 oz .25
7/1 Bought 1 case