Family Home Storage – A New Message

Check the expiration date on your ideas about home storage.

You may need to throw some of them out.

When a sister in her ward suggested a different approach, Sister Jeffries discovered the key to successful home storage: consistently and gradually increasing her food supply.

Setting aside a particular amount in her budget for home storage, she purchased a few extra items from the grocery store each week. She also purchased one basic food item like grains and beans from the Church home storage center each month.

Many years later, in October 2002, Sister Jeffries was impressed when President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910– 2008) suggested that Church members adopt a simpler approach to home storage.

“We can begin ever so modestly,” President Hinckley explained. “We can begin with a one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months.”  Sister Jeffries notes that “the beauty of this system is its appropriateness for families just starting their storage programs, as well as for those living in small homes and apartments, where space is at a premium. President Hinckley clearly recognized that change and adaptation are needed so that all of us might benefit from the Lord’s inspired program.”

A New Approach

In the spirit of President Hinckley’s remarks, Church leaders decided to closely reexamine their approach to self-reliance, looking for ways to reinforce the concepts of home storage and financial preparedness. As a result, the Church published the pamphlet All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, outlining new guidelines for home preparedness that give Church members a simplified, four-step approach to building their home storage.

They are as follows:

1. Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
2. Store drinking water. explained. “We can begin with a one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months.”
3. Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
4. Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.

Of the new guidelines, Presiding Bishop H. David Burton says, “Our objective was to establish a simple, inexpensive, and achievable program that would help people become self-reliant. We are confident that by introducing these few, simple steps we can, over time, have more success.”

Guideline 1: Build your three-month supply gradually.

Start small and do the best you can. Begin by purchasing a few extra items to add to your storage each week.  Strive to build a one-week supply; then expand it to a one-month supply, then a three-month supply. By building your supply slowly, you can avoid financial strain and start down the path toward self-reliance.

The Lugo family of Valencia, Venezuela, learned that this new approach of starting small and being consistent can pay big dividends. After listening to general conference, Brother Omar Lugo, a Church member in the Falcón Venezuela District, felt inspired to begin his own home storage. He discussed the matter with his family, and they agreed to follow the prophet’s counsel.

They began setting aside food, water, and money, a  little at a time. At first the difference was hardly noticeable.  But after a while the Lugos found that they had accumulated a substantial reserve. Several months after they began building their home storage, a worker’s strike in Venezuela put many local workers’ jobs in jeopardy. Brother Lugo was among those who eventually lost their jobs.

For a time his family lived on savings. Seven months later the Lugo family was relying exclusively on the food they had stored. It took nearly two years for Brother Lugo to find work again, but his family was able to survive the difficult challenges of unemployment. They had built their reserve gradually, and when adversity struck, they were prepared and the Lord blessed them.   Like the Lugo family, Church members will be blessed for their obedience to the First Presidency’s counsel as they gradually build home storage. “We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings,” the First Presidency explains. “Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once.” Rather, they suggest a modest, consistent approach. “With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve”

Guideline 2: Store drinking water.

In times of need, having water to drink can be the difference between life and death—or at least between peace and anxiety. Just ask the Kawai family, members of the São Paulo Brazil Stake. They have been storing food and water for 20 years. Although their small apartment doesn’t have much room to spare, the Kawais decided to make home storage a priority.

Sister Kawai tells of one experience when that decision paid off. “I was in the hospital having just given birth when I learned that there was a problem with the city’s water pipes,” Sister Kawai explains. “Hundreds of thousands of people were without water. But I wasn’t concerned about going home. I had peace of mind knowing that my family would have water to drink.”

Guideline 3: Set aside a little money.

From the First Presidency comes this counsel: “We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures. . . . Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”

In the April 2007 general conference Bishop Keith B. McMullin, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, reinforced this principle, exhorting Church members to “save some money, if only a few coins each week. This modest approach will soon enable them to have several months’ reserve.”

By gradually building a financial reserve, we will be prepared for unforeseen trials and have an added measure of security and peace in our hearts.

Guideline 4: Where possible, gradually establish a longer term supply.

“For longer-term needs,” explains the All Is Safely Gathered In pamphlet, “gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans.”

Establishing long-term storage is easier than some might think. Dr. Oscar Pike and his colleagues in the Brigham Young University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science have done several in-depth studies on long term food storage. They discovered something surprising: properly packaged and stored low-moisture food retains much of its sensory (taste) quality and nutritional value for 20 to 30 or more years after being placed in storage much longer than previously supposed.

This means Church members can store certain foods long-term without the worry of regularly rotating the food.  They can be confident that their supply will be there to keep them alive if they have nothing else to eat.

The Time to Begin Is Now

“Perhaps in the past accumulating a year’s supply of food may have been a little intimidating and even illegal in some places,” says Dennis Lifferth, managing director of Church Welfare Services. “But this new approach asks us to do the best we can, even if all we can do is to set aside a can or two each week. If the prophet asks us to do something, we can find a way to fulfill the commandment and receive the blessings.”

“This new program is within everyone’s grasp,” explains Bishop Burton. “The first step is to begin. The second is to continue. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities.”

“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their . . . supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”

“That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7 President Thomas S. Monson

“Everyone who owns a home recognizes the need for fire insurance. We hope and pray that there will never be a fire. Nevertheless, we pay for insurance to cover such a catastrophe should it occur. We ought to do the same with reference to family welfare.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008),  “To Men of the Priesthood,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2002, 58

“Learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity.”

President Brigham Young (1801–77), Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954)

Water Storage & Purification

Do you have enough water stored for your family to survive in case of an emergency?

Water is crucial to our survival, yet so many of us neglect to store it! If a natural disaster happens in your area, and all water supplies are cut off, what would you do for your family? Hopefully your family will become prepared, to avoid such an unnecessary experience.

allenp (sxc.hu)

My husband was the emergency preparedness coordinator for our ward (Mormon congregation) when he found that there were very few people who were storing water. He immediately set out to find 55-gallon water barrels. After searching online, he found a man who was willing to negotiate a bulk rate. It took some effort, but we were able to deliver dozens of water barrels to people who needed them. If you cannot find a similar deal in your area, try Home Depot or Wal-Mart. They occasionally have water barrels in stock, and they are priced under $35.

WHAT SUPPLIES DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?

1. Water barrels (usual size is 55 gallons)
2. Bleach (Clorox or generic brand)
3. Water hose
4. Siphon/pump for removing water

HOW MUCH WATER WILL OUR FAMILY NEED?

Your emergency water supply should last for at least two weeks. You may wish to calculate how many gallons you will need in order for your family before purchasing water barrels. A person can survive on one gallon per day, but cleaning, cooking, personal hygiene require more. If possible, plan for at least 2 gallons for each person, per day.

HOW DO I CALCULATE THE RIGHT AMOUNT?

An effective two-week supply for a family of 5 would require 140 gallons of water. (2 weeks = 14 days; 14 days x 2 gallons = 24 gallons per person; 5 people x 24 gallons = 140 gallons for all 5 people for 2 weeks). This family would need 3 large (55 gallon) water barrels. Remember, it’s better to have too much water than not enough!

HOW MUCH BLEACH SHOULD I ADD TO THE WATER?

First, check to see if your city’s water is already chlorinated, since it may be unnecessary to treat it.

1/8 teaspoon, or one droplet, of Clorox (bleach) for every gallon of water should suffice. For a 55-gallon barrel, you would add almost 7 teaspoons. Make sure you wait 30 minutes before drinking water that has just been treated.

TIP FOR FRESH-TASTING WATER:

After your water has been stored for a while, it may taste stale. This may be remedied by simply pouring it between 2 containers, back and forth.

ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

Including your children in the planning will help them understand how to be more prepared. Keep it fun!

• Give your family the opportunity to calculate how much water you will need to store. Start by telling them that each person needs 2 gallons a day, and allow them to figure out how much water your family will need for 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks…etc. Make a chart to post near your water supply that explains their findings.
• You can use helpful hands when filling your barrels! A family member will need to be stationed at the water spiket, another at the water barrel, and as many as needed to communicate when to turn on/off the water source.
• When it’s time to replace the water in each barrel, hold a relay to see who can siphon a gallon of water out of their barrel the fastest. It seems silly, but everyone can use the practice!