Food Storage Strategies

There are several things to consider as you prepare for the onslaught of the undead:

How much do I need to sustain my family?
Food Variety
Storage locations
Nutritional value
Cooking Requirements

Price per pound
Self life
Storage Rotation
When needed, will my family eat it?
Portability

What to Know

How Much Food Storage Do You Need?

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are encouraged to be self-reliant and to keep a two-year supply of food. So, when it comes to food storage, Mormons know a thing or two. They know a closet full of Twinkies won't cut it.

Use the following calculator to figure the minimum food storage amounts for your family for one year. The amounts are based on the recommendations listed in the LDS Church's Essentials of Home Production and Storage booklet.

Of course, you won't put the full amounts on your next shopping list but, this does give you an idea of how much you'll need and provides goals to work toward.

First, how many are you planning for?

Family Members, Ages 7+
Family Members, Ages 0-6

Food Storage your family will need:

Grains
Wheat	lbs
Flour	lbs
Corn Meal	lbs
Oats	lbs
Rice	lbs
Pasta	lbs
Total Grains	lbs

Fats and Oils
Shortening	lbs
Vegetable Oil	gal
Mayonnaise	qts
Salad Dressing	qts
Peanut Butter	lbs
Total Fats	lbs

Legumes
Beans, dry	lbs
Lima Beans	lbs
Soy Beans	lbs
Split Peas	lbs
Lentils	lbs
Dry Soup Mix	lbs
Total Legumes	lbs

Sugars
Honey	lbs
Sugar	lbs
Brown Sugar	lbs
Molasses	lbs
Corn Syrup	lbs
Jams	lbs
Fruit drink powdered	lbs
Flavored Gelatin	lbs
Total Sugars	lbs

Milk
Dry Milk	lbs
Evaporated Milk	can
Other	lbs
Total Dairy	lbs

Cooking Essentials
Baking Powder	lbs
Baking Soda	lbs
Yeast	lbs
Salt	lbs
Vinegar	gal

Water
Water	gal
Bleach	gal

Types of Foods to Get

It can be very expensive purchasing MRE's and freeze-dried dinners as your primary food storage. You also need to pay close attention to the self life. Many of these poducts last less than 10 years

If you're on a buget, We reccomend starting with core foods that are relatively inexpensive and have a long shelf life. Whole grain wheat , for example, is a good value and will last 25 years. Even if all-purpose flour is stored in a sealed container, it has a self life of only 8 months.

The following guide can help you build your supply.

	IF YOU HAVE...	YOU CAN MAKE
STEP 1	Wheat, Powdered Milk, Oil, Salt, Honey or Sugar	Popped Wheat ,Steamed Wheat, Sprouted Wheat, Cooked Cracked Wheat, Tortillas
STEP 2 ADD	Yeast, Baking Powder, Powdered Eggs, Baking Soda	Custards, Puddings, Pancakes, Cookies, Waffles, Muffins, English Muffins, German Pancakes, Crepes, Egg Noodles, Pasta, Breads, Biscuits, Crackers, Mayonnaise
STEP 3 ADD	Powdered Butter, Tomatoes, Powdered Cheese	Meatless Dinners, Meatless Casseroles
STEP 4 ADD	Unflavored Gelatin, Canned Milk, Canned Fruits	Jello Salads, Whipped Cream Desserts, Baby Formula
STEP 5 ADD	Soup Base, Rice, Legumes (Beans), Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, Alfalfa Seeds, Sesame Seeds	Hearty Dinner Soups, Chili, Rice Puddings, Refried Beans, Rice Dishes, Fresh Sprouts, Gluten
STEP 6 ADD	Canned Meats, Dried Potatoes	Dinners, Casseroles, Sandwiches
STEP 7 ADD NON-ESSENTIALS	Oats, Raisin, Nuts, Peanut Butter, Granola, Juices, Corn Starch, Soup Mixes, Spices & Flavorings, Lemon Powder or Juice, White Flour, Shortening or Margarine, Cream of Tartar, Molasses, Karo Syrup	You can add a lot more variety to your diet with these items.

If you didn't grow up on a farm cooking with your Grandma, it may be difficult learning how to cook with such basic unprocessed foods. Have no fear, just download the Basic Food Storage Recipes booklet. Quick, print it now before a natural disaster takes out the Internet!

What will I do with 500lbs of wheat?

Make bread of course! Baking homemade bread isn't as time-consuming and messy as you think. We make homemade bread here at P4Z on a regular basis. It takes less than an hour (including cleanup.) One batch produces 4 loaves each costing only $0.25 in ingredients.

There are a few tricks in making bread fast and easy. The first is, you need a Nutrimill Grain Mill and a Bosch Mixer. Having the right recipe and learning the best method is the second trick. Watching the Pantry Secrets DVD will show you how step-by-step. That's how we learned. It was well worth it. Few things in life are as good as warm, fresh bread with butter and jam. Good luck keeping the zombies away!

Storing Bulk Foods?

Storing things like wheat, oats, sugar, or rice in 5 gallon buckets works very well, however, opening and resealing the buckets with standard lids can be an exercise in frustation. Gamma Lids are an absolute must. You don't need one for all your storage buckets, but you'll want Gamma Lids on the buckets you get into often.

Survival Food
Buckets