52 Weeks to Preparedness

We received this handout at Church at the beginning of the year and I thought I would share. I admit I get easily overwhelmed at the enormity of some projects, the fact that this was broken down into weekly bites made it a little easier for me to contemplate and feel confident in my ability to accomplish it. So far, I have been able to meet each weekly goal with little more than a trip to Wal.mart. Some items may take other outsourcing and I plan on doing a little internet research for ideas on how to actually utilize this stuff - though most of it is pretty basic. As I find things that I think might be of interest to others - I will be sure to share! (Interspersed with pictures and stories of my cute kids of course.)

So, without further adieu, I bring you 52 Weeks to a Year's worth of Food Storage.

Week 1: 6 lbs salt
Week 2: 5 cans of Cream of Chicken soup (I bought the family sized cans since my family is large; I think they mean the regular size soup cans here though)
Week 3: 20 lbs sugar
Week 4: 8 cans tomato soup
Week 5: 50 lbs wheat
Week 6: 6 lbs macaroni
Week 7: 20 lbs sugar
Week 8: 8 cans tuna
Week 9: 6 lbs yeast
Week 10: 50 lbs wheat
Week 11: 8 cans tomato soup
Week 12: 20 lbs sugar
Week 13: 10 lbs powdered milk
Week 14: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
Week 15: 50 lbs wheat
Week 16: 5 cans Cream of Chicken soup
Week 17: 1 bottle 500 multi-vitamins
Week 18: 10 lbs powdered milk
Week 19: 5 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
Week 20: 50 lbs wheat
Week 21: 8 cans Tomato soup
Week 22: 20 lbs sugar
Week 23: 8 cans Tuna
Week 24: 6 lbs shortening
Week 25: 50 lbs wheat
Week 26: 5 lbs honey
Week 27: 10 lbs powdered milk
Week 28: 20 lbs sugar
Week 29: 5 lbs peanut butter
Week 30: 50 lbs wheat
Week 31: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
Week 32: 10 lbs powdered milk
Week 33: 1 bottle 500 aspirin (I will probably make this acetaminophen as aspirin isn't good for small children and people with bleeding issues)
Week 34: 5 cans Cream of Chicken soup
Week 35: 50 lbs wheat
Week 36: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
Week 37: 6 lbs salt
Week 38: 20 lbs sugar
Week 39: 8 cans Tomato soup
Week 40: 50 lbs wheat
Week 41: 5 cans Cream of Chicken soup
Week 42: 20 lbs sugar
Week 43: 1 bottle 500 multi-vitamins
Week 44: 8 cans Tuna
Week 45: 50 lbs wheat
Week 46: 6 lbs macaroni
Week 47: 20 lbs sugar
Week 48: 5 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
Week 49: 5 lbs honey
Week 50: 20 lbs sugar
Week 51: 8 cans Tomato soup
Week 52: 50 lbs wheat

This is what you will end up with at the end of the year:

500 lbs of wheat
180 lbs of sugar
40 lbs of powdered milk
12 lbs of salt
10 lbs of honey
5 lbs of peanut butter
45 cans of Tomato soup
15 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
15 cans Cream of Chicken soup
24 cans of Tuna
21 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese
500 aspirin
1000 multi-vitamins
6 lbs yeast
6 pounds shortening
12 lbs macaroni

I am planning on making a few additions to this list - particularly on weeks where the item is rather inexpensive (I bought 8 lbs of salt for less than $3 the first week). I plan on adding canned beans to this list. One, I am hypoglycemic and that is an awful lot of carbs on the list for someone like me and I am fairly certain some of my kids are sensitive to blood sugar as well; and two, they are a good, cheap source of protein, plus canned beans are easier to store and deal with than meat. Anyone who had the pleasure of eating in the Cannon Center during their BYU days knows that powdered eggs are sometimes not so palatable - but this is another option as is TVP for sources of protein. The other thing to consider is your particular family and their likes/dislikes. I can eat the TVP and powdered eggs - but if my younger kids decide they don't even like the look of something, it isn't going in their mouths - no matter how much ketchup or salt you put on it! With the list broken down this way, it is easily customizable. For example, I can say "my kids don't like tuna - but will eat chicken." and swap out the canned tuna for canned chicken. (Which isn't true for me, but might be for someone else - my kids are practically little human garbage compactors and will hooverize most anything in sight with few exceptions.) Change things out, add to it - rice, instant potatoes, oats, dried soup mixes, dry or canned veggies, fruits, hot chocolate. Yes, don't forget the chocolate! A year without chocolate, well, that just might be a year not worth living!

The handout says that this should be enough to sustain 2 people for a year. For every 2 more people in the family - you would need to double the amount of each item for that week. You will also need to store water for cooking and drinking.

For an Family Home Evening project one evening, we made personal hygiene kits for each member of the family and have them in a backpack hanging in our coat closet. My next project is a 72 hour kit for each person which includes the basics - food of course, the hygiene kits, but also clothing, personal needs that cannot be lived without for even a short term (ie: daily medications). I welcome any and all ideas and am interested in some of your ideas of ways you have prepared for potential disasters - natural, man-made, loss of job, etc.