Food storage not just for natural disasters

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 9, 2004 by Jolene Parker

Having extra food staples on hand isn't just for protection from a natural disaster. Your hour of need may come in another form.

Many households have experienced short paychecks, job losses, injuries, illness, divorce, financial setbacks and other unexpected personal woes that have left us wondering, "How will we ever make ends meet?"

Having a supply of extra food on hand will help soften the blow of any of those setbacks.

Common food-storage basics include any grain, any legumes (beans), powdered milk, fats and oils, salt, sugar and honey, and water.

Other essentials for using stored food include a good, simple food- storage cookbook and a hand grinder for grains.

Once, when I was giving a food storage presentation, a man in the audience stood up and said, "I hate that stuff! It tastes like cardboard!" To which I said, "Oh, brother, get yourself some spices.

If I had to start with three basic essentials, they would be water, wheat and lentils.

Lentils are an amazing bean. You don't have to soak them all night or cook them all day. They can literally go from food storage shelf to dinner table in about 30 minutes. That's terrific, especially if you haven't stored a lot of extra fuel and water.

With stored water you can make bread and soup, sprout the wheat and lentils for a live-vegetable salad and, of course, have something to drink. The nutrients derived from sprouts add to those obtained from the bread and soup, thus receiving a more complete complement of vitamins.

Remember, when you eat any grain with any bean it forms a complete protein. Whether our forefathers knew about this nutritional aspect at the time, meatless bean-and-grain meals made popular by scarcities of the Great Depression and rationing during World War II were a real health and economic blessing.

If you dream of storing every grocery item you normally use over the course of a year, there won't be enough room or extra money to acquire all that you want. Instead, purchase items that are needed to keep you and your family alive. You will have great success with this "do-able approach."

Add to your basics as you can afford it. Without panicking or going into debt, over time, you can build up your food reserves just like a savings account. Consistency is the key. Budget for it. Buy an extra can, package or bag of something each time you shop. Be sure to date each item before you put it away on your food storage shelf. You will be surprised how fast your reserves build up.

Acclimate your body to the basics now to prevent undesirable reactions. Find out before an emergency whether any of your family members have allergies to wheat, beans or other common food items. Develop a system to rotate your commodities. Use your oldest dated items before using your new purchases.

Don't depend solely on the food in your refrigerator or freezer. What if the power goes out for an extended period of time? You could lose all of your perishables. That's why it is important to lay in a good supply of non-perishable food storage basics to see you through an emergency. As recently as the past Christmas season, many Utah households experienced prolonged weather-related power outages. In case the power goes out, some civic and church groups suggest that in addition to storing extra food, water, money and emergency preparedness items, where possible, store safe, alternative cooking and heating fuels.

As a young mother, I joked that our savings account was our cache of refundable glass pop bottles out in the garage. Now, we consider one of our savings accounts to be the extra food in our under-the- stairwell, split-entry closet, my designated food storage room.

It's difficult to change the amount of your house or car payment, insurance, medical or utility obligations. But with planning and commitment, you can change the grocery bill by changing the mix in your diet. With a little forethought, set aside time to learn how to cook more wholesome foods from scratch. You'll save a fortune. With busy family, work and social lives, convenient fast foods often meet our immediate needs and time restraints. But ask yourself, "How many hours am I willing to work to pay for more expensive, less nutritious food?" Where there's a will, there's a way.

Jolene Parker, "The Food Storage Lady," is the author of "A Practical, Affordable, Do-able Approach to Emergency Preparedness" and is one of several contributors to Utah Valley Life's "Running the Home" feature. You can send questions or ideas to her at utahcounty@desnews.com. Or call 801-756-9223 to order her book.