An LDS Guide to Beginning Food Storage
How to Build a Three-Month Reserve for Emergency Preparedness
Feb 21, 2009
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are counseled to build food storage for our families for one year. D&C 38:30 says that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear," but building a one-year supply may feel overwhelming and impossible. What is the best way to begin your food storage?
Importance of Food Storage
For decades, church leaders have been counseling members to be prepared for adversity in life by storing food and other necessities. A one-year supply of food, water, and other necessities can help in case of:
- natural disaster
- personal emergency
- financial crisis or layoff
- helping others during crises
Even in the case of a temporary or short-term situation (like the water main on your street being turned off for a day), having food and water stored in your home brings immense peace of mind. Regularly rotating your food storage also means that you can save money by only purchasing staple foods when they are on sale.
Building a Three-Month Supply of Food
In 2002, President Gordon B. Hinckley worried that “so many [people] feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.”
Church members are counseled to start small when it comes to food storage. Concentrate your efforts on building up a one-week supply of food. From there increase your food storage to two weeks, then a month. You will be surprised at how quickly and inexpensively you can collect a three-month’s supply of food and water.
Buying and Organizing Your Three-Month Reserve
The best advice to follow is that of President Hinckley: “Begin in a small way, … and gradually build toward a reasonable objective.”
Every time you go shopping, just buy duplicates of the most commonly used items on your list. To stay within your budget, you may want to set a dollar amount to put toward buying extra items for your three-month supply every week.
The items you buy should be foods that you use daily. You don’t need to worry about dry-pack canning; your short-term supply will be rotated through before it spoils. Devote some shelf space to your three-month supply and make sure that new items go to the back of the shelf. The oldest items should be toward the front of the shelf and should be used first in day-to-day meal preparation.
Water Storage
Don’t forget the importance of having drinking water along with your three-month supply. In the case of a true emergency, water will be even more important to your comfort and survival than food. Church leaders generally counsel us to have a ready two-week supply. How much water does that amount to? According to the 1989 Ensign article “Home Storage: Build on the Basics,” you should store 14 gallons per person. Half of those gallons are for drinking and food preparation; the other half are for brushing teeth, washing dishes, and so on.
Building a Two-Week Supply of Water
You can buy prepackaged gallons of water as long as they come in PETE plastic containers. (Over time, the seams of flimsy milk carton-style jugs will deteriorate and leak.) A cheaper option is to package your own water in a food-grade container. An inexpensive way to do this is to watch store circulars for sales on 2-liter soda bottles, and stock up when you find a good deal. These bottles can be filled with tap water and stored in your home. Just as with food, you will want to regularly use and rotate through your stored water.
Focus on your immediate goals and gather a three-month supply of food and a two-week supply of water first. With that under your belt, you can progress toward a full one-year food storage for emergency preparedness.
Other members for Latter-day Saints include Improving Planning Church History Trips, LDS Scripture Study, and How to Be a Good Home or Visiting Teacher.
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