wheat: an intro

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the time will come that gold will hold no comparison in value to a bushel of wheat. - President Brigham Young


the wheat grain is a staple food, and very versatile! wheat is used to make all kinds of food, including flour for bread, cereal, cookies, cakes, pasta, and many many other items. and with a shelf life upwards of 25 years or more, it's an essential part of your food storage program.

Q: how much should i store?

A: the church guidelines recommend 300 pounds of grain, per adult, per year. of this, at least 150 pounds should be wheat.



Q: but my family won't eat wheat. my kids say "yuck" and i don't really know what to do with it. 300 pounds per person sounds like 300 pounds too much. why should i store it?

A: great question! here's a few tips to get you started:

• don't tell them it's wheat. they probably won't even notice. wheat flour is especially easy to disguise in recipes that already use "brown ingredients," such as brown sugar, molasses, bananas and so on.


• start small - replace 1/2 of the white flour with wheat flour. again, they probably won't notice.


• use it in your cookies and desserts

Q: how should i store my wheat?

A: in airtight containers, in a cool dry place. store it in a container that is free from any foreign materials -- a 5-gallon bucket that is food-safe will work great. or, you may also like to can your wheat - this can be done at the church cannery (family home storage center), and uses oxygen absorber packets. additionally, if you freeze your wheat at zero degrees farenheit for at least 48 hours, it will kill any and all bugs or eggs that could potentially be there.

Q: where can i buy this wheat?

A: you can buy and can it yourself at your local home storage center/cannery. or, you can order it straight from the cannery and it comes right to your door -- in a case, all canned and everything -- by clicking here. you can also purchase it from honeyville grains by clicking here or emergency essentials by clicking here.

and now for the teaser: you can learn tons more about wheat by coming to our enrichment activity on tuesday, june 30th at 7 pm. be there!

"i just need a simple list!"

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oddly enough, i've had like 3 or 4 people tell me this week that they are wanting to start their food storage, or have put it on hold for a little while and don't know how to get back into it. someone told me that if they just had a "simple list" to get it going, it would be way easier.

so... it's not really a simple answer, but i'll tell you my opinion, for whatever it's worth. the church guidelines at this point are:

(1) store water, 14 gallons per person,

(2) get 3-months of food,

(3) save a "reasonable" amount of money, and

(4) then work on your "longer-term" (year) supply.

so.... the one that's easy to check off your list is water. it's easy to buy the water, count it and know if you have the recommended about. remember babies, elderly and pets will need more.

and for your three-month supply, really the best thing is to store what your family eats. i know that sounds so broad, and this was overwhelming for me when i started, but here is a list of the regular things i stock up on and make sure to include in my 3-month supply (this is totally just to get you brainstorming and thinking of what you and your kids would eat, if it's not helpful for you, ignore it):

• cereal - i personally would be completely content to eat cereal for breakfast lunch and dinner every day, so this is easy to store and i'm always happy to have it


• side note: since we do eat a lot of cereal, i'm also going to stock up on morning moo powdered milk on the next order (probably june or july when we'll do it again)


• canned fruit - we don't normally eat canned fruit, b/c i always buy fresh, but i don't mind it, and i certainly would be happy to eat it if i couldn't get to the store for fresh.


• crackers, fruit snacks goldfish, granola bars, graham crackers, raisins, teddy grahams ("kid snacks") -- these often go on sale and then i stock up b/c my kid eats them every day


• spaghetti sauce


• tomato sauce and paste


• canned tuna


• certain kinds of canned soup that we like


• pasta


• bbq sauce, ketchup, salad dressing


• sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips (i buy at costco in 7 lb bags, it lasts forever, and you never know when you'll have a chocolate emergency!)


• cooking spray


• macaroni and cheese


• canned chicken (which is a total turn-off, but i have found like 3 or 4 recipes where i've tried subbing canned chicken for chicken breast and it's close enough, so i figure it's a good protein to have on hand just in case


• flour


• salsa


• peanut butter


• rice


• ramen noodlesand


• i'm positive there's tons more, but that's what i can think of off the top of my head...

i also recently got a deep freeze and have been able to stock up on bread, meats and frozen vegetables (as i find canned vegetables to be an abomination).

i also personally hate beans, so i don't store them. but i know that these are a good item to store as they are versatile, cheap, easy to store and a good source of protein. ditto for canned chili.

as for your long-term supply - like your grains and stuff (all the "cannery" type things), i don't really know what would be the most important yet. i'm pretty much at the beginning of my food storage learning, so i haven't gotten there yet (i figure it's step 4, so i'm not beating myself up that i haven't quite gotten there yet).

this is a really great and thorough blog and has a spreadsheet of items you would probably want to include in your long-term storage and a calculator of how much inventory you need. here is the link.

what items do you stock up on in your regular rotation?

family home storage: a new message

the march 2009 ensign has a great great great and encouraging section on self-reliance - everyone read it. no, everyone read it twice. but in case you don't have time to read it twice, i'll serve up the highlights:

We can begin ever so modestly, President Hinckley explain[s], We can begin with a one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months.


this is so perfect for families that are getting started on their food storage programs... if you're feeling overwhelmed, or like you don't really know how to get started, just don't! it's just not that difficult - i think that sometimes in our minds we psych ourselves out and say that we can never really have a year supply, so we do nothing.


A New Approach

in light of president hinckley's remarks, the church has published the pamphlet all is safely gathered in: family home storage. this new program is so simple - we can all do it.


so here are the steps:

(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.

(3) establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.

we encourage you...to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. we encourage you to be modest in your expenditures and save money gradually. all is safely gathered in: family finances.

(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.

i think that step 4 is the one that can be the real kicker - but do not despair. it is step FOUR. so get going on steps 1-3. and by the time you've mastered those, step 4 will be shan't be so daunting at all.

to sum it up, bishop burton encourages us: the new program is within everyone's grasp... 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.

so get started!