Earthquake Preparedness

Here is a great site put out by the state of Utah showing what to do to be prepared for an earthquake and/or flooding.

http://bereadyutah.gov/

You can even customize a kit for your family's needs.

http://bereadyutah.gov/emergency-supply/

Conversion Chart for Dry Pack Canning Bulk Product

The Springville LDS Cannery (aka Home Storage Center) has a wonderful list which helps you plan how many #10 cans or pouches you'll need for dry packing. So, I give them credit for putting this information together.

Beans (black): 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 3-6 pouches.
Beans (pinto): 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 4-6 pouches.
Beans (white): 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 3-5 pouches.

Dry Nonfat Milk: 25 lb. bulk = 6-7 cans or 5-7 pouches.
Rice: 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 4-6 pouches.
Sugar: 25 lb. bulk = 4 cans or 3-5 pouches.

Wheat (red): 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 3-5 pouches.
Wheat (white): 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 3-5 pouches.
Apples: 15 lb. bulk = 11-12 cans or 9-10 pouches.

Carrots: 25 lb. bulk = 8-9 cans or 8-10 pouches.
Macaroni: 20 lb. bulk = 5-6 cans or 4-5 pouches.
Oats (quick): 25 lb. bulk = 9-10 cans or 8-9 pouches.

Oats (regular): 25 lb. bulk = 8-9 cans or 6-7 pouches.
Onions (dry): 35 lb. bulk = 12-13 cans or 10-12 pouches.
Potato Flakes: 25 lb. bulk = 13-14 cans or 10-12 pouches.

Spaghetti: 25 lb. bulk = 5 cans or 3-5 pouches.
Refried Beans: 25 lb. bulk = 10-11 cans or 8-9 pouches.
Hot Cocoa Mix: 25 lb. bulk = 4-5 cans or 3-5 pouches.

White flour: 25 lb. bulk = 5-6 cans or 4-5 pouches.
Fruit Drink Mix: 25 lb. bulk = 4 cans or 3-5 pouches.

Food Storage Calculators

I found this food calculator site and it is more comprehensive than others I've seen. I do not know the reasoning or the method behind their calculations, but I thought I'd pass it along.

http://www.survivalring.org/foodcalc.htm

And, the following is the one available on the Provident Living site.

http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7498-1-4070-1,00.html

Dry Pack Canning w/ Photos

LDS Cannery: The LDS Cannery is a great place to dry pack commodities. The new facility in Springville is a walk-in facility with no appointment necessary. Other facilities may require an appointment, so call first. Each facility has everything you need to dry pack: bulk products, cans, lids, oxygen packets, labels, and boxes. From my experience, it is best to work in groups of at least 2-4 so that the process moves more quickly. It is ideal to use the LDS cannery facility if you don't want the mess at home, you live close by, and your schedule is flexible. Be advised that you cannot buy commodities elsewhere and then bring them into the cannery.

Dry Pack at Home: Did you know that the LDS Cannery has dry pack canners that can be scheduled for home use? You can schedule the canner for about 3-4 days and have the flexibility of canning at home. Dry packing at home is ideal if you'd like have your kids help, if your schedule conflicts with the dry pack facility hours, if you'd like to do a little at a time over several days, or if you have product at home that the LDS cannery is currently out of.

Photos: Here are some pictures of our latest dry packing experience, done at home:

Step 1: If you want to dry pack at home, you need to prepare by buying commodities in bulk. Prices are great at the LDS cannery, but you might find cheaper product elsewhere. Gather the items ahead of time. Be advised that not every commodity is suitable for long-term storage due to high water content or oily components.


Step 2: Estimate how many cans you'll need, which is based on the pounds of product you have. Here are some estimates to guide you in your planning:

Wheat, rice, sugar: 4 cans per 25 pounds
Beans: 5 cans per 25 pounds
see a complete list here

Step 3: Buy your #10-sized cans & other supplies from the LDS Cannery. Don't forget the metal lids, oxygen packets, labels, and boxes. You will need one oxygen packet for every can, except those cans that contain sugar (it turns the sugar rock hard). Six cans fit into a box (called a case). The LDS Cannery gives out free labels. Get one for every can and one for every box (that way each case is labeled on the outside).

TIP: Spend the time to calculate before you go to the cannery. That way you'll know exactly what you need and how much.


Step 4: The canner weighs about 40 pounds, so two people should lift it. I got it out of the tub on my own, but it was a battle. It is secured to the countertop with two C-clamps. Use a double-folded towel to prevent damage to the countertop.



Step 5: Fill the cans within 1/4 inch from the top (we topped these cans off later). You don't want to leave the oxygen packs out too long because they are activated after about 30 minutes. So, get the cans all ready for sealing and put the oxygen pack in at the last minute (remember, no oxygen packs for sugar!)

Step 6: Seal and label each can. I let kids help fill the cans, but an adult should use the machine.


Step 7: Label the box with a product sticker, the number of cans in the box, and the year. If you have a case with, for example, 3 wheat cans and 3 sugar cans in it, use a sticker for each product. That way you'll know how many of each you have in the box.

Tip: if you decide ahead of time where and how your boxes will be stored, you can put the label in the correct spot. It helps!

Three Month Supply of Dinners

Angie and I have both been working on menus for a three-month supply of everyday foods. The idea is to have on hand all the ingredients you would need to fully feed your family for at least 90 days. My first task was to plan dinners (then I'd do the same for breakfast and lunch).

Recipes: I've been collecting and trying different dinner recipes that are comprised of ingredients that are easily stored. I decided on 15 dinner recipes, with the idea that I'd cook each dinner 7 times. Yes, I know that 15 X 7 = 103 meals (I like to be extra prepared!) Basically I figured we'd eat the same thing twice a month.

Calculations: Next, I went through each of the 15 recipes and wrote down all the ingredients (including spices) and how much I'd need. Then I multiplied the amounts to figure how much I'd need of each ingredient if I were to make the recipe 7 times. Next I determined what I already had stored and what I need to buy.

Organization: I've decided to photocopy each of my 15 recipes and put them together in one binder along with the calculation/ingredient list.

Discoveries: What I learned was that I need a lot more of some items than I previously thought. For example, I'm short on chicken bullion, diced canned tomatoes, and chicken breasts. Calculating it out helped me to see that we use a lot of some items.

Limitations: The recipes I have chosen do require electricity for keeping the frozens frozen and fuel for cooking. I have considered modifying my list to include some menu items that are ready-made and could be used with little preparation should cooking be an issue. I'm still thinking that one through. Any ideas?

Dinner Ideas: Here is my list of 15 dinners. I picked these recipes because my family will eat them. I also selected these recipes because they use canned goods, grains, lean meats, and legumes. I'd like to hear your dinner ideas, too!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Taco Soup
Soft Tacos with Tortillas & refried beans
Chicken Noodle Soup
Cream of chicken soup mixed with veggies & Chicken over rice
Chicken pot pie
Hamburgers
Hamburger Veggie Soup
Spaghetti with Alfredo Sauce
Chicken, Lentil, and Barley Soup
Shepherd's Pie
Chili with potatoes & peas
Beef Stew
Beef Barley Soup
White Chicken Chili

Gathering Food One Week at a Time

My friend Kathryn shared this file with me (click on the image to enlarge it). It is a proposal of what items you could buy week to week to build up a year's supply of food. It was created for Macey's grocery store customers, so I am sure they'd be more than happy to sell you the items (laughing!)

It is a good example of how saving and buying week to week adds up. If you decide to follow it (or tweak it for your family's needs), be aware that many bulk items are a lot cheaper at the LDS cannery than at Macey's.

Kathryn, thanks for sharing the file!

Quantity Recommendations

Here are some guidelines to go by when planning your food storage. These were taken from LDS sources. Admittedly, I am not totally certain how this was calculated or what it really means in terms of meals, calories, or consumption but it is at least food for thought.

By the way, I decided to plan for 5 people rather than for the 4 in my household. I figured that I'd rather have too much than too little.

Recommendations for Food Storage Quantities (pounds per person per year)

Grains: 300 lbs.
Legumes: 60 lbs.
Powdered milk: 16 lbs.
Cooking oil: 10 quarts (2.5 gallons)
Sugar/honey: 60 lbs.
Salt: 8 lbs.
Water: 14 gallons for a 2-week period.

Adaptations:

You may have to tweak it to meet your family's needs. For instance, you may need more milk than indicated if you have young children.

Canned Veggies & Beans

Yeah, I know, it seems like a lot. But when you add it all up, it's not quite enough, actually.

Deciding What to Buy: I decided that I wanted to have one canned vegetable for each day of the year. Canned corn and beans are the only two we'll eat, so that's what I bought.

Years ago I'd buy items for emergency use even though we didn't use those items in our regular meals. Lesson learned! Now I buy things that I can and will use.

In addition to the veggies, I bought a stack of refried beans. Since we eat so many of these (and Abby loves them), we go through a ton. I am worried I didn't buy enough.

Rotation: Since the cases were purchased at different times, I put the newer cans on the bottom and stacked them up by age. Each case is dated and the oldest cans will be used first. All I have to do is take from the top of the pile.

Expiration dates: Personally, I don't get too fussy about expiration dates, except if the item is really old. Currently I am using up some really old green beans that are barely edible because years ago I didn't rotate my storage correctly. Lesson learned!

Getting a Master Plan

Sometimes dealing with food storage seems unbelievably overwhelming. Where do I start? What do I buy first? What approach should I take?

I found a master plan on www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net which really helped me. They suggested the following steps:

Step 1: Shelving & storage
Step 2: Water
Step 3: Three months supply of normal food
Step 4: Long-term supply planning
Step 5: Grains
Step 6: Legumes
(Brenda would add dry milk & drinks with vitamin C in here!)
Step 7: Baking ingredients
Step 8: Fruits and Vegetables
Step 9: Comfort foods
Step 10: Non food items

I liked their plan but I thought it needed four tweaks.

First, for me, I'd rather have a variety of grains, legumes, and fruits and vegetables rather than a ton of one item. So, I'd prefer to work on steps 5-8 simultaneously so that I am acquiring a variety of food.

Second, storing dried milk and powdered drinks with vitamin C is important, especially if you have children.

Third, I'd opt to work on non food items (#10) like toilet paper and tampons before I'd worry about comfort food (#9). Ladies, would you rather have a chocolate cake or a tampon during a disaster? Tampon? I thought so!

Fourth, I wouldn't let lack of shelving hold me up from beginning. You don't need a decked out storage room to start. Yes, plan for shelving and storage space but start gathering even if the shelves aren't in place quite yet.

What are your thoughts, ideas, tweaks? What would work for your situation and family?

Food, Food, and More Food

As some of you know, I have been working on a 4-week Food Storage Menu (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). This menu is mostly made up of things that our family eats on a very regular basis (with some added easy to store items). I felt that if I could find out what commodities I needed for a four week period, I could then realistically decide what we need for a years supply of food.
For example: My family would use approximately 12 gallons of milk in 4 weeks. Multiply 12 by 13, and I find that I need enough powdered milk to make 156 gallons. This process, while time consuming, makes it much easier for me to conceptualize what a years supply actually is.

This task has been a bit daunting at times, but my menu is now complete and I am in the process of tallying the commodity list (which I will happily share once complete). I am finding that we actually need a lot more of some items (canned fruits and veggies, meat, etc), and less of others (some of those things you think of as staples- rice, beans, etc.)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I wouldn't want to be stuck with nothing to eat besides wheat, oats, rice, dried beans, and powdered milk. I would probably live, but. . . what kind of life would that be?

Sorry about the rambling, but as you can see, food has been on my mind lately.
So one request... if you have any recipes that are easy (this is key) and utilize some of the food storage staples, then please, please, please, send them my way. It would probably be nice if they taste good, as well.
-Specifically I am looking for a tried and true whole wheat bread recipe (I have a good 1/2 white- 1/2 wheat recipe, but whole wheat is much more easily stored than flour).
-I am also calling out for any good tuna recipes (Ted would probably question whether "good" and "tuna" could ever belong in the same sentence, but if you think it's good, send it my way and I will try it).