Prepare to Prevent - the Preparedness Challenge

When we think of preparedness - may of our minds immediately rush to hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes - you know the completely devastating lunar like landscape left behind. How many people think of flu, local power outages, accidents in the home, job loss - those everyday emergencies that seem to hit at inopportune times. As I have been thinking about being prepared, I've thought that if we were prepared for all the "little emergencies" if and when a big one hit, it would be bearable because we have prepared and lived through all the components.

Why is this so important? My son hit the nail on the head the other day. As we have been participating in this Preparedness Challenge, he said, "We must be really be prepared because I don't notice a difference." As a parent I can't imagine the stress of losing a job for an extended period of time or having an illness in the family that prevented regular trips to the store - not to mention a massive scale emergency. To couple that stress with children who won't eat unfamiliar food or children that have their lives entirely disruptive and begin to have anxiety about everything because there is no familiarity anymore - that would be one hundredfold times harder to handle than just the "emergency" itself. We all thrive on routines and consistency. To think that those things can exist during an emergency if we are not prepared is ridiculous.

Prepare to Prevent. Prevent stress, prevent hunger, prevent injury, prevent despair, prevent fear, prevent death. This year we will Prepare to Prevent. We are starting out with this Preparedness Challenge. I encourage all to try this! For 1 week we are going through a series of challenges ending with a preparedness fair. This will continue through the entire year with more in depth information and workshops on topics of interest.

Challenge #1 - Go one week with no shopping. The scenario is that there is a pandemic and we have been quarantined or just that your family is all sick and can't leave. There is no outside entertainment, restaurants, or shopping allowed - you have to live with what you currently have in your home.

Challenge #2 - Go one day with out power. No tv, radio, lights, heat. Remember that hot water uses electricity as do garage doors. The scenario is that there was an ice storm that knocked out power. It could also be a construction project cut the line, a car crashed into a power pole, lightning struck a transformer, there was an overload on a power grid - we are always hearing about power outages.

Challenge #3 - Go one day without using cell phones to communicate with your family. The scenario is that the Cell towers or satellites are down. During a regional emergency the cell networks become overloaded and can't be used. Families are encouraged to have an out of state contact person that family members could check in with via other modes of communication. They are also encouraged to develop a family communication plan so that in the event of a catastrophic emergency where family members may be at different locations - there is a plan of how to "check in" with each other to know where to meet and to find out if everyone is ok.

Challenges #4 - #5 (and a bonus challenge) will be posted later because they haven't been revealed yet.

The feedback is inspiring. Lessons learned will be posted. I hope we never have to live through a catastrophic emergency, but I know we all live through "little emergencies" almost daily and when we are prepared - we will ultimately prevent heartache and regret.

More experiments...

After attending some great presentations and some great classes, I decided to experiment with what I was being taught. I mean, it doesn't do anyone any good to just hear about cool stuff - you actually have to do it!

So, I bought 2 dozen eggs and some food grade mineral oil and went to work. I had my kids carefully rub the oil over each egg (they loved it!) and then we put the eggs back in their styrofoam container and put it on our shelf in our food storage room. I tried to forget about them for a while, but I couldn't help but steal a peak every now and then. About 2 months later I was making cookies or something that called for eggs. I don't remember the exact recipe but I remember thinking that I needed real eggs this time instead of the powdered ones I usually use in a pinch. I brought the eggs up and they were as fresh as if I had just bought them - they mixed up well and were as fluffy as ever. After that, I was brave enough to try them in omelets and scrambled eggs (ok, if the truth be known, they always start out as omelets and always end up as scrambled eggs). They tasted GREAT! Oh, and the added bonus was a few weeks after I had prepared my eggs, one of my children had horrible stomach pain from constipation. I was able to give them a spoonful of mineral oil to help things pass a bit easier - good thing I had it on hand.

Ok - my other experiment was with cheese. We were taught in one of our classes that we could purchase a block of Tillamook cheese and leave it on our shelves, unopened for several months. We were warned that the cheese will sharpen over time but that was the only "issue". So I went to Costco (if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it up big, right) and looked at the Tillamook cheese, it was medium cheddar. I thought that if it was going to sharpen over time, I wanted to start out with mild. Right next to the Tillamook was the Kirkland brand, same 5 lb brick and wrapped the same way, so I bought it and brought it home. To be extra safe (since the packaging was supposed to be the key) I vacuum sealed it and then stuck in on my shelf. 2 months later I was making a Sunday dinner for my inlaws and I was planning on a plethora of soups. I had planned on Taco soup (that calls for cheddar cheese as a garnish) and Broccoli cheese soup. I had everything bubbling along and I asked one of my kids to go downstairs and get some cheese out of the freezer. They came up and told me that we were all out. No - that couldn't be! I couldn't go to the store and the soups were ready for the cheese. So, I decided that this was as good of a time as any to try my experiment (hoping beyond hope that I wouldn't mortally mame my inlaws). I opened up the package and smelled it - it smelled like cheese. It tasted like cheese - It was wonderful cheddar cheese. The soup tasted wonderful and we have continued to use the cheese on tortillas, cheese sandwiches, cold cut sandwiches, etc.

Just thought I would share my results so you won't be afraid to try it. Great to know that when the power goes out - not all my food will be lost :)

Where has the time gone???

It seems like I have been going from one type of produce to another during this harvest season. I was able to can and freeze peaches, applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter, tomatoes (my first time for this!!!), chicken - yes I said chicken, and grape juice. My goal is eventually to have all of my canned goods in my food storage to be things that I have canned myself.

I went to a class about food storage recently and learned things that I never considered before. I learned how to can my own meat (chicken, beef, fish, hamburger), how to can my own beans, how to store fresh eggs on my food storage shelves, how to store cheese on my food storage shelves, how to cook using solar energy - I've just been exposed to so many wonderful ideas! Instead of trying to write it all in one big post, I wanted to let you in on a little secret. Starting in January, I will be starting "Prepare to Prevent" - a one year program with baby steps to help everyone become prepared in the following areas: Food Storage, 72 hour kits, Financial, First Aid, and various skills. Each month will have specific goals to complete and by the end of the year, we will all be prepared to prevent personal disaster, distress, and disease.

I hope this will help everyone on their journey to become more prepared. More information to follow...

Garden, canning, and preparedness...

So my garden didn't quite turn out the way I envisioned it. We got 1/4 of the amount of peaches that we typically get, only a handful of edible tomatoes, carrots, onions, basil, and 4 pumpkins - just in time for Halloween! Thankfully, I have many friends who had an abundance of apples, peaches and tomatoes to keep me busy this fall and to keep my shelves stocked! I've learned how to make and can applesauce, apple butter, and apple pie filling, and how to can tomatoes - an unfounded long time fear of mine. It is rewarding to see my shelves full and to know that we'll enjoy these fruits of our labor all year long.

As for gardening, I am a bit discouraged but I know that it is a long process of trial and error and work all year long. I'm starting now by adding TONS of compost and organic matter to our garden areas - leaves, as they start to fall, will be great additions. Hopefully my soil will be better and with some tweaks to our watering system - we'll have have a grand, productive garden next year (or maybe the year after that). The most important thing is that I'm trying and learning.

In the coming months, I will be posting more about a 1 year plan I intend to impliment in my area - all about becoming prepared. Each month will have specific goals and tasks as well as workshops available to anyone who is interested. I hope this becomes a valuable resource for everyone so be watching!

Peaches

I love peaches and I usually freeze or can mine. My tree will be ready toward the end of September and if you would like to learn how to can or freeze peaches, comment on this post and I'll set up a time to demonstrate it. I also have a friend who has access to grapes and apples and I will be making grape juice, frozen apples, and apple sauce. This is a fun time of year and I would love to know if anyone else has access to large quantities of produce that needs to be preserved. Comment away!

Storing the "right kind" of food

I was changing my car battery yesterday and I noticed the cavity around my battery filled with rice, wheat, and D-con (rodent poison). Apparently the mice in our house have caught the vision of food storage! I've thought about this in regards to what we store. Are we storing the "right" kind of food for our family. We don't want to be like the poor mouse who was storing the very thing that was killing him. So, what is the "right" kind of food?
1. Food that your family eats. Don't store food that you have no intention of ever trying to incorporate into your diet - except of an emergency. If you suddenly try to eat only wheat and beans, your body will revolt and it may very well kill you. Your body would not be able to absorb the nutrients from these amazing foods unless you have incorporated them into your normal diet over a period of time. Now, this is not an excuse not to store these items - just a warning to make them a part of your diet now!

2. A balanced diet full of various nutrients. You have heard the saying, "Man cannot live on bread alone" - well this is true in more than just the spiritual meaning. You would not thrive and would be susceptible to various illnesses if your "emergency" diet lacked a variety of nutrients. Make sure you are storing those items that add color and nutrition to your diet. Also - it doesn't help much if you store wheat but none of the other ingredients for what you want to use the wheat for. Research recipes and make sure you have all of the ingredients.

3. Comfort foods. As I have written before, most likely the need to use your food storage will not come in the form of a major earthquake. It may be a prolonged illness in the family that makes getting to the store difficult, it may be employment issues that makes budgets extremely tight, it may come in the form of a drought halfway around the world that kills off a major crop and spirals the price of certain staples out of control. Whatever the cause, you will want to make your meal times a time of comfort and peace for your family. Store ingredients for a family favorite, desserts, or those foods that help in the time of illness. Having those types of things in your storehouse will take that stress away from an already stressful situation.

4. Rotate Foods. I've learned the hard way that chips, oils, shortenings, etc. don't store forever. Things can go rancid if they have any oil in them. (You will know this has happened when you open the bag of beloved chips and the smell of paint thinner over comes you.) Also, canned foods do have a shelf live and the product can begin eating through the cans after an extended period of time. If you can your own foods, make sure you have canned the foods correctly and that the date is labeled on the jar. Eat what you store - it is a pity to invest so much money into food just to have to throw it away from not using it.

Don't be like my poor mouse friend, storing up poison for his future. The beauty of your food storage is that it is yours. Make your storehouse full of the good food that your family loves!

Cannery opportunity

I just wanted to let everyone know about this great opportunity - please make sure you take advantage of this!

Below is a note from our Stake Family Preparedness specialist - it emphasizes the importance of being prepared at all times - I remember a few years ago when grain and rice went sky high. Being a little emotional in my preparation, I "stocked up" for fear of prices going even higher. Looking back (after prices fell in HALF!) I should have just been consistent in my supply, regardless of the world market. Lesson learned, right??? So, as you read the information below, keep in mind that this may be a good time, financially speaking, to "catch up" on where you are lacking in your storage, before prices escalate - but don't over do it! :)

Tuesday - August 17, 2010 - 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Since Russia has imposed an export ban (from August 15 until Dec 31) imposed because of the shortage of grain due to drought and the fires in that country, other countries are quickly buying up commodities. It seems the stability of the world food supply cost to the consumer could go either way depending much on the weather. So far our Family Home Storage Center products pricing has not changed since January. However it is thought that due to the probable shortage of grain that the prices of food overall will increase this fall. I still feel that the price of wheat, for instance, is still a very good buy at the Sandy Store Dry Pack Center. We should encourage our Ward members to continually rotate and replentish their 90 day and long term (1 year) supply of food. Do let them know that if they cannot make the 9 to 1:00 p.m. time slot on Tuesday 17th they can take their chances at the Dry Pack Cannery by walking in any time when they are open; to can and purchase. Sometimes cans that have been filled by previous groups will be on the shelf and can be purchased. I walked in yesterday and purchased dried apples and quick oatmeal.