Food Storage

For several months I have been organizing my pantry to include more food storage.  

I almost never hear anyone talk about this.  I'm not Mormon, but I've heard that they are required to have a two year supply of food.  I've also heard that sometimes they have been glad they did.  

Go back to ancient times, in the days of the Patriarchs of the Bible. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream about seven starving cows eating seven fat cows.  He interpreted another dream of Pharaoh, about seven good ears of corn and seven ruined ears of corn.  What did it mean?  

The ability to interpret dreams is a fascinating and very useful gift, and too easily dismissed.  Joseph's brothers had not been impressed with his ability.  In Pharaoh's case, Joseph told him that there would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.  Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the granaries of Egypt, and many survived a coming famine, including all of Joseph's own family.  

So do I think we're in the seven years of plenty and then there will be a famine?  Hmm....who knows?  I think that prices will go up, possibly to astonishing levels and so it makes sense to buy right now what you can store until later.  I think there will continue to be food, at a price.  

What should one do if one decides to have food storage?  I've asked people this.  They usually don't think there's any reason to store food.  The grocery store has lots of food and it will keep having lots of food.  OK.  Keep believing that.  My mother doesn't know exactly what she thinks, but it's something like, "Well, I'll have some chickens, and my friends and family will give me tomatoes and potatoes, and sometimes milk from their cow....maybe I'll have a goat..., and I'll have a garden.  And don't forget, my friend down the road gave me some of their deer when they went hunting."  Not to say I disagree with this, but I know about her gardens.  I even know about her chickens of the past, and even her goat adventure.  She really is good at canning.  "Mom, if you were to buy some canned goods, how much do you think it would cost you to buy a year's supply, and how many cans do you think you would need?"  She thought it would cost about $400 to buy enough canned goods to last... one person I suppose... a year, and this would consist of about 50 cans of uhhh.... tamales, beans, uhhh..."  And I even imagine that many people who think this way think they are having faith.  

What it amounts to is putting your head in the sand and hoping the problem never happens.  Bad news.  Fifty cans each of tamales, chili, tomatoes, beans,  refried beans, corned beef hash, tuna, vienna sausages, and ravioli might not be enough and it would probably cost more than $400.  Read the label.  How many calories are in a can, 300?  Suppose you had 400 cans.  You'll have enough for 400 days, just over a year,  at 300 calories a day at most.  

But why try to convince my mother of that?  Even if a light went off in her head, and she saw the problem, she has a feature in her wiring that turns out the light after half an hour.  

Go to the store and try to buy 400 cans of canned goods.  It's not that easy.  Lifting one case, maybe 12 cans, is tiring.  So I suggest buying about six cans of five different things once a week.  It's a hassle but it's doable.  Then after six months to a year there will be a whole lot of shopping already done, and one can start rotating and enjoying the canned goods for everyday meals.  Imagine how nice it would be to have things on hand.  

I asked my mother if she even knew anyone that had stored food.  Yes!  She has a friend that has a bunker in the mountains, and they have a whole lot of beans!  Well, that's nice.  

I think it would be nice to have food that you like, because after all, if there is never a need for survival food, when will you eat all those beans?  "I like beans!" she cried.  She explained that if she could get by for a couple of months then she could be putting together a plan for having a reliable source of food.  

But I don't even think canned goods are the complete solution.  I think people should learn to sprout.  Seeds last a long, long time, and they are easy to sprout and extremely nourishing.  Besides that, there are plenty of things one can make out of them that are delicious, like my favorite, egg fu yung.  OK, yes, you need egg for that.  Another problem for another day.