Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 29th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quote:

"When the emergency is upon us, the time of preparation has passed!" (Anonymous)

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." (Matthew 24:7)

Wow! So much to talk about this week!

First, Congratulations to Sally Salcido! She won our Carson Ward July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing last week. She won items for her 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Family Bag: a small folding stove, 2 heat cells (like Sterno cans), a mess kit, a silverware set, and water proof matches. All these items will help her cook the food in her 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Food Kit.

Next, Food prices are going up! Last week I mentioned this on the blog and now here it is! I heard on several news reports on Wednesday that meat, poultry, and pork will be going up 2%-5%, and all corn and soybean products will be going up 50%. Why? Because of the drought in the Midwest. Ranchers are taking their livestock to the slaughter houses earlier this year due to no grass in the fields and higher prices for corn and grains to feed their livestock. At first, the prices will be low due to a surplus in the market, but once that is gone, the prices will go up. Corn, think about how many of your foods have some type of corn product in them, and soybeans and soybean products are going up due to the loss of the Midwest crops because of the drought this summer. I fear this foods may even become unavailable. My suggestion--stock up now before they go up. Buy corn and soybeans by the case if you can at Costco or Sam's Club and other grocery stores.

How is your Vegetable Garden growing? Our vegetable garden is doing much better this year. I love going out each day and finding more vegetables to pick, it is like finding little treasures in our garden. If you did not plant a summer garden in the Spring, we will be working on our Winter garden soon, this are the cool vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, etc.

Well, I did it! Ever since we have had a garden I have been wanting to learn how to "can" our vegetables and fruit, and have felt a little overwhelmed to try it. This year I decided I would do it, and I have. I have only done the water bath canning so far, the pressure cooker one still scares me a little. I will talk about it more next week on the blog since one of our goals for August is Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating. I am hoping to have a class in August on this for those interested.

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question: When is it to late to prepare? Please email me your answer to have your name entered into the August FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Please include your name if it is not in your email address.

Final week for our July Goals: Paper Products and Adding Condiments to our Food Storage--

Weekly Paper Product Assignment:

1) This week add paper towels and napkins to your Paper Product Supplies. You can find napkins at most grocery stores and discount stores for $1. Paper towels, watch for sales and compare with Costco and Sam's Club prices, sometimes they are better. Determine how much of these products your family uses in one month and then multiply by the number of months you have set your Food Storage and Emergency Supply goals, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months.

Weekly Adding Condiments Assignment:

1) This week continue to add the condiments your family uses. See all the July blog Condiment assignments to help you. Remember to keep them in a cool, dry, dark place.

Next week we start our August Goals: Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating, Adding Vegetables and Fruits to our Food Storage.

Food Storage Ideas and Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Did you know that less than 6% of LDS families have an adequate Emergency Supply? Which one are you?

This week someone emailed me a great 222 page "LDS Preparedness Manual". It is great and very thorough. I would suggest you look it over and save it as a favorite on your computer for future reference. I printed mine out, with the "draft" setting, because I like things like this in front of me. I put it into notebook. For all those who I have email addresses for I will email you the attachment. If you would like the email, please email me your email address at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please include you name since some email addresses do not have your name in the email address. Otherwise, go to Google and put in "LDS Preparedness Manual (Free)" and it will come up.  

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 22nd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

What will you do if food prices sky rocket or become unavailable?

The midwest is experiencing a severe drought this season! As our daughter drives to work in Kansas, she lives on the border of Missouri and Kansas, she sees the dying drought corn fields. On the weather channel yesterday I saw the bleak pictures of corn fields, wheat fields and soybean fields, two thirds of the farmers fields throughout the midwest are destroyed due to the drought. They are trying to save as much of the soybean crops as possible, but the picture is bleak.

What does this mean for us? Extremely high prices on food in the grocery store. Some items may become unavailable. If you read the labels on most food products, you will notice most of them have some type of corn product in them. Live stock are feed corn and other grains too, which will make the cost of beef, pork and other meat products extremely high. What will you do when you cannot afford the prices, or no food is available at all?

Many I speak with, and things I hear on CNN, have great concerns for what is ahead, possible before this year is over, or the very beginning of next year. Some fear the stock market is going to crash. The presidential election is going to effect the economy greatly. What would we do if there was rioting, civil unrest, and maybe even a civil war in our own country? I strongly fear very tough days are ahead of us. The Spirit has testified this to me, and many others I have spoken with!

I have been saying, in this blog, for two years to get ready, get your food storage and water storage, get your emergency supplies ready! We all need to be as self-sufficient as possible. Who knows what is down the road? Who knows if food will be to expensive or unavailable? Who knows if we will have electricity, gas and water? The scriptures warn us over and over of the coming days and to be prepared.

It is never to late to start preparing for the day ahead! Start now! Protect your loved ones! Use the things in this blog to help you prepare. Read the information under "Postings" on the right side to see what you need to do to prepared, where you fall short. Make a plan for you and your family, set goals to accomplishment them. We have been counseled by our General Authorities to not go into debt when purchasing our Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Supplies!

If we are doing all we can to stay very close to the Spirit, Heavenly Father will guide us, but we need to do our part! We need to be prepared! We need to do it now!!!

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Weekly Question:

Why might food prices sky rocket and become unavailable? Please email me your answer to
theark.carsonward@gmail.com to enter your name this week. The latest you can enter your name this week for the July drawing is Saturday by 10PM. This Sunday will be our July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Please remember to put your name in your email if it does not appear in your email address.

July Goals---Paper Products and Adding Condiments to our Food Storage:

Weekly Paper Products Assignment:

1) This week add silverware (forks, spoons, knives) to your Emergency Supplies. You will need to determine how many of each you will need per day, per family member for the number of months (3 months, 6 months, 12 months) you are working towards. The big warehouses like Costco and Sam's Club may give you a better price than the traditional grocery stores and discount places. Compare the prises.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) Continue to add the condiments your family uses to your Food Storage. See previous blog postings for this month concerning condiment and how much to add.

Food Storage Ideas:

Tips using your Food Storage in daily cooking:

1) I find making soups and casseroles is a great way to rotate canned and dehydrated vegetables, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broths, beans and packaged rice, pasta and noodles.
2) Out of cooking oil? When baking a cake you can replace the oil by using the same amount of pureed beans in place of the oil. If the recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil then use 1/3 of purred beans.
Note: If chocolate cake use pinto beans, black beans or kidney beans. If a white or yellow cake use white navy beans or butter beans. To puree take a can of bean with the liquid and puree in a blender. Use as needed. Also cuts down on fats and calories!
3) If you store dehydrated powdered eggs rotate them by using them in cooking recipes (cakes, nut breads, cookies, etc.). Follow directions on powdered eggs regarding how much equals one egg.
4) On a daily basis when the recipe calls for eggs or milk use your powdered eggs and powder milk to help rotate them.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

1) Good source of light: Olive oil and a wick in a glass or metal container is smokeless and a good source of light.
2) If you have no heat in your house and it is cold: You can take your mattresses and make a shelter in a room. All of you go in and it will conserve your body heat.
3) Block out harmful chemicals and cold in your home: Collect newspapers and get some industrial strength plastic and duck tape to cover and insulate your windows. Also cover all the doors that lead outside with plastic and duck tape. Stuff the newspaper between the windows and the plastic. You want to keep as much of the chemicals and cold out as possible. It will be dark after you do this, so get a light source before covering the windows. You can also stuff newspaper between your clothes and body to keep warn.

Remember: We love your comments, ideas and experiences. We all learn from each other. Please put your comments below.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 15th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quote:

"Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come,...." (Doctrine and Covenants 1:12)

Why be Spiritually prepared?

Many times I have mentioned being spiritually prepared as well as being temporally prepared. Yesterday our daughter Heidi called to share a very interesting spiritually experience they had while driving back home from Missouri to California. Here is their story...

They stopped at a hotel in Amarillo, Texas that they had scheduled ahead of time. As Heidi entered their hotel room she did not have a good feeling. She did not know what it was, but things just did not seem right. She thought maybe it was just her, not saying anything to her husband they headed off to dinner. While driving back from dinner she had the same feeling and Jason mentioned it too. Neither wanted to say anything thinking it was just them. They got to the hotel and entered the room again, still feeling uneasy about it, they went to the front desk to see if they could get a refund for the room. They explaining that they are religious people, and they believe in following the Spirit, had nothing against their hotel, just knew they needed to change hotels. The man understood, and after some negotiating they were able to get a refund and change hotels. They left the hotel for a new one, and both understood from the Spirit that their son Bradley would have been seriously injured while in the swimming pool. Once they entered the new hotel they felt at peace. This is why we listen to the Spirit!

How does being spiritually prepared help us be temporally prepared? Being spiritually prepared will protect us and our family, just like in the story above, and guide us with what we need to do to become temporally prepared. The Spirit will warn us of impending dangers too, guiding us to a safe place. What if their was going to be a disaster, wouldn't you want to be in tune with the Spirit so you would know what to do? What emergency supplies and food should you store? The Spirit will guide you with that too, if you just pray and ask.

Weekly FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question:

Why is it good to keep at least a half a tank of gas in your vehicles at all times? Please email me the answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com to have your have name entered to the July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Remember to include your name if your name is not in your email address.

July Goals: Adding Non-Food Items and Condiments to your Food Storage and Emergency Supplies

Weekly Non-Food Items Assignment:

1) This week add paper cups (for cold and hot drinks).  You will need to determine how many paper cups you will need to store for your family. You will probably need 3 cups per day per person in your household. You may even want to store some extra ones too, but first get the amount you will need for the number of months you are working towards, then add extra ones later on. Great tip: One way we save on paper cups is to write the person's name on the cup with a permanent sharpie marker, that is their cup for the day. Keep some permanent sharpie markers with your paper cups.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) This week add another type of condiment (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.) your family eats for the Food Storage amount of months you are working towards. Watch for sales. Remember to check the 99 Cent, Dollar Tree and other discount place for the expiration dates, you want the date to be at least a year away. The only way to determine the amount to store for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months is to keep track of how much you use for that particular condiment in a month, and then multiply by the number of months you are working towards.

Food Storage Ideas:

The best advise I can give you is ROTATE, ROTATE, ROTATE your Food Storage! Do not waste money by throwing away expired food! Inventory your Food Storage every 3 months. Food that is in your Food Storage about to expire should be moved to your everyday pantry. Replace the rotated food  from your Food Storage immediately.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

1) Here is a great idea I received from someone regarding gas in our vehicles...

One of things that we do to always be ready is to never let any of our vehicle fuel tanks get less than half full. This should include all large lawn and garden equipment that are completely refueled after each use.

This practice provides four benefits:
1.Wherever anyone of us happens to be we have the ability to drive a minimum of 250 miles.
2.We have a minimum of an additional 30-60 gallons of fuel for our generator.
3. This practice also reminds us each time we fuel at half-a-tank why we are doing it and keep preparedness in mind.
4. And the everyday bonus benefit of reducing condensation in the fuel tanks.

2) Toilet paper is a great bartering item for things you might need, keep extra on hand.

3) Always keep cash in your car and at home. ATM machines, banks and store cash
registers/monitors will not work if there no electricity.

Remember: All comments, suggestions, ideas and experiences are most welcome. Post them in the comment section below or email them to me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 8th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quotes:

"Prepare ye prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh."  (Doctrine and Covenants 1:12)

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing:...." (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)

"If we are wise with our means, we will be prepared for hard times." (President George Albert Smith)

I love Aesop's Fables story abut the "The Grasshopper and the Ants". Are we like the ant who harvests his supplies when they are available and stores them up against the day when it would not be possible to obtain them? Or, are we like the grasshopper, a much larger insect, who does not lay up anything in store for hard times, but depends upon providence, or others, to provide him what he needs?

When our son was on his mission in Honduras there were two missions. His mission president felt a very strong warning he need to stock up on supplies, food, water, etc. for his missionaries. He did not know why, but followed the warning. He told the other mission president in Honduras of his concerns, but that mission president decided not to heed the warning. Several months later a devastating hurricane hit Honduras, the one mission president was able to take care of his missionaries and also help the other mission.

Brothers and Sisters, hard times are here, and more are ahead! Are we the ant or the grasshopper? Are we prepared for the harder times ahead, or do we think others will provide for us and our loved ones? We have been admonished over and over by our General, Stake and Ward Leaders and in the scriptures to be prepared. What does it take for us to follow that admonish? Some day will be to late! We need to fill our storehouses (our homes) now! Just a little at a time, and you will astonished by how much you have stored.

What would happen if our infrastructure (computer systems, roads, freeways, etc.) fell apart? What if the trucks could not get through to deliver food to the markets? Our grocery markets only have about 2 weeks of food in inventory. We have all seen on the news how quickly food disappears off the shelves when there is an impending danger. What would we do?

Let's not be like the grasshopper who depends on providence or others, which will probably not come, and will starve. But, let's be like the ant, and store up "every needful thing" for our family.

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Weekly Question:

What is the difference between the ant and the grasshopper, and why do we need to be like the ant? Please email me the answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please remember to include your name if your name is not in your email address.

July Goals: Adding Non-Food Items and Condiments to your Food Storage and Emergency Supplies

Weekly Non-Food Items Assignment:

1) This week add paper bowls (hot/cold) to your Food Storage. You will  need to determine how many meals a week you would use paper bowls, example: breakfast--cereal, oatmeal, lunch/dinner--soups, stews, etc. Remember, you will need that many for each person in the family.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) This week add 1 month to 12 months supply, what ever your goal is, of one of the condiments your family eats. You will need to determine how much of that condiment you use in a month and then multiply by the number of months (1-12 months) for your goal. If you purchase them at the 99 Cent Store, Dollar Tree, etc., watch the expiration dates. Sometimes they expire in just a few days, and sometimes they have already expired.

Food Storage Idea:

Where do I store my Food Storage? Designate different places in your home. You can use your garage, but it is really to hot and your shelf life is diminished drastically. I really do not encourage anyone to store food in their garage unless it is insulated and the food can be kept cool and dry. You will need to rotate your food more often. The best place to store your Food Storage is in your house. You can store food in cupboards, closets, and under beds. When you purchase coffee tables or end/bed side tables, purchase ones with storage. Go on line for more ideas. Be creative!

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

When your family gets together discuss Emergency Preparedness. Assess how prepared each family is and what they need and encouragement them to be prepared. Work together as a family and set goals to accomplish the goals. Have a monthly family meeting, either in person, by email, by phone or skype. Refer to this blog for ideas and encourage them to check out the blog weekly for ideas.

Keep all your different types of emergency supplies in groups. Example, keep all your shelter supplies together in one place in your garage or backyard storage shed. Keep all your cooking supplies together in one place. Keep all your sanitation supplies together in one place. That way they are easier to inventory and get to them when you need them.

Remember: We love our comments, ideas and experiences. Please post them below. We all need to help each other prepare!