Because the food storage recommendations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have never been more specific and minimal, everyone can design a food storage that uniquely suits the tastes and preferences of their own family. Take a look at what’s printed in the All Is Safely Gathered In pamphlet:
THREE-MONTH SUPPLY
Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. (Please see www.providentliving.org for more information.)
In any type of design project there is always a starting point. There is a concept or a goal and then everything builds out from that point. In designing a three-month supply food storage you can start with one recipe that you know your family enjoys.
Quick example. When I was at the cannery last Saturday, my friend, Dee, mentioned that she has food storage but doesn’t always know how to use it. This is exactly where the three-month supply comes in.
I asked Dee what she cooks for dinner and more specifically, “what’s something you cook that your family really loves?” She immediately began to explain a favorite curry dish. With chopped vegetables simmering in water, she adds a package of curry gravy mix, and serves it over hot rice.
So that’s it. It’s that easy. Dee’s family loves the curry dish and it’s a perfect food storage dinner. The rice is from her long-term supply, the curry mix is from her three-month supply, and the fresh vegetables are from her refrigerator, or immediate supply. All Dee needs to do is buy three packages of the curry gravy mix the next time she’s at the store and she’s got…food storage game.
If you want to design a food storage that makes sense for your own family just take a closer look at what you’re already doing and build out from that point. We already eat every day and spend a portion of our time planning and preparing meals. Using our food storage can make the process easier! Check out what the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball taught:
“Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. We could refer to all the components of personal and family preparedness, not in relation to holocaust or disaster, but in cultivating a life-style that is on a day-to-day basis its own reward.”
