Reid's One-month Storage Plan

My friend Reid Reading (single adult, counselor in the Pittsburgh 7th Ward bishopric) wrote me the following musings on storing food for a month. I endorse his approach:

". . . create a system . . . as a cushion against hard times and allow families to continue to be nourished pretty much as they have been accustomed. The family would simply buy 1) an additional item of a nonperishable grocery good at each market visit, 2) keep track of the kind and amount of perishable items consumed in a month, and make sure to have a month's supply of these substitutes."

Reid notes the need for water. The goal is a supply for two weeks, at one gallon per person per day, that is, 14 gallons per person.

"In my case, I think I could survive for a month with a huge supply of mild salsa, Tums (even so), water, juices that don't expire for a month from when I might need to start using them, several boxes of Raisin Bran (they seem to be on sale frequently–too much supply?) or other dry cereal, powdered milk and eggs, a pinch of salt and other condiments, canned vegetables (except spinach–can anyone bear this??) many cans of BLACK beans specifically, some olive oil–not sure for what, Costco-sized containers of dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, pecans, and other nuts (except walnuts, which give me canker sores), big containers of dried fruits, natural peanut butter (Smuckers is good), and huge numbers of Hersheys' five-ounce dark chocolate bars. (These, by the way, are already on hand.) Although most of these things last for some time, proper attention must be given to rotating in and out.

"I checked the basic food groups, and think I have them covered, and now would have to consider quantities. But please, what am I missing? At any rate, insofar as this is any good at all, it has been helpful to me."

Way to go, Brother Reading. Each family should identify and store what they actually enjoy eating, paying attention to nutritional requirements, and rotate so that the supply stays fresh.

1 Month of Food Storage - R.S. Helps

Engage the Relief Society to promote food storage. The Brethren have counseled us to begin with one week of storage and build to a month. What does one month of food storage look like?

The R.S. presidency in the Pittsburgh North Stake answered that question. They created menus for a month of meals, translated the menus into a shopping list, and then wrote recipes for the meals they suggested. See their one-month overview, menu plan, recipes, blank menu plan, blank shopping plan, and blank weekly shopping list.

Your family may like different meals. Fine. But by making a month of menus and translating those meals into a shopping list you can make sure you will have food your family will enjoy eating as you rotate your home storage.

Your Relief Society may choose to modify the Pittsburgh North Stake's materials. No problem. But consider following their example and engaging your Relief Society to help families change the vague concept of a month's worth of food into a specific set of commodities that they are going to buy and put aside.

Entrepreneurs' Growth Conference

Some folks work for others; some are self-employed, or want to be. Every year Duquesne University holds an Entrepreneurs' Growth Conference for those who fall in the latter category—to "empower entrepreneurs" who are "building businessses." It is the biggest conference of its type in the Pittsburgh region. This year's conference is on June 5. The conference features "dozens of workshops & live demonstrations, a business-building trade show, networking opportunities, and lots of workshops for every type of business." In the interest of full disclosure, I work for Duquesne University.

Tornados in the Region

Today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that among cities with populations over 100,000 Pittsburgh is the 7th most tornado-prone. PA is the 17th most tornado-prone state, averaging about 20 tornadoes per year. Westmoreland and Crawford Counties are the hot spots. The height of the tornado season in our region is from mid-May to mid-June. The worst tornado ever to hit our region killed 76 people as it ripped through northeastern OH and northwestern PA on May 31, 1985.

Home Storage Order Form

The Church is still urging the Saints to store a year's supply of food, three months' worth of the things you normally eat and a nine-month supply of commodities that have a long storage life. These are the commodities available from the Home Storage Center. The Church has now made available a home storage order form to assist you in planning your purchases. The form lists the commodities available and their current prices. The form automatically tallies the cost as you enter items on the form. Some commodities are also available by mail from the Distribution Center. Home storage will give you peace of mind. Consider using any tax refund you may get to build up your home storage.

Grocery Shopping for the Needy

Some wards and branches don't receive deliveries from the bishops' storehouse. Even for some that do there are times when a need can't wait for a bishop's order from the storehouse. In such cases groceries may need to be purchased locally. The following ideas on ways to accomplish this came out of the March 25 Relief Society Welfare Forum:

1. Use a credit card to make the purchases, then turn in the receipt for reimbursement.
2. Set up an account at a grocery store that will bill the ward or branch. This may be possible only at smaller, family-owned stores.
3. Prepare a shopping list, perhaps using the bishops' order form, then have the needy family make their own purchases, using a credit card and returning the receipt for reimbursement and comparison with the approved list.
4. As appropriate, and with proper cautions to preserve confidentiality, delegate shopping to a counselor or a home or visiting teacher.

OSU Extension's Financial Resources

When we were in MT this last week visiting our daughter she showed me resources on financial management from the MT State Extension Service. I wondered if similar resources existed from the extension services in the three states represented in our region. I checked, and found outstanding resources available from the Ohio State University Extension. "Keeping Track of Spending," "Manage Your Money," and "Some Option$ for Re$ourceful Living" are especially good. Check them out.