Beyond Food - 11-2005
This is a quote from the Emergency Preparation section from www.providentliving.org that has many helps in planning for emergencies. “We should be prepared for the future. Only preparation, both spiritual and temporal, can dispel fear. Individual members and families should prepare to be as self-reliant as possible in times of personal or widespread emergency.” The primary responsibility to prepare for and respond to emergencies rests with individual members and families. To help, church leaders have counseled families to:
· Prepare spiritually through fasting, family and personal prayer, family home evening, and honoring their covenants.
· Prepare financially by staying out of debt, saving for the future, and obtaining insurance if possible.
· Acquire a year’s supply of food. Families should start by storing basic foods that would keep them alive if they had nothing else to eat. They may then choose to store other foods that they are used to eating.
· Prepare for home and natural disasters by having basic emergency and first aid supplies available in one place in the home for quick and easy access.
· Maintain physical health by practicing wise eating habits, observing the Word of Wisdom, and exercising regularly.
Are you spiritually prepared? Through fasting and prayer much of what we need for our families can be obtained. Involve your children, they have wonderful ideas and look to you as their source of strength and protection. Teach them that they can receive answers to prayer, and teach them how to recognize those answers. Teach them how to plan for the future, how to look forward with faith, and listen to the comforting words of the Holy Ghost. Teach them by example how honoring their covenants provide a source of protection for them and their families. Remember that it is you who are the leaders in your homes and your attitudes and actions towards what you are being taught and reminded of by leaders will affect how your children feel and act towards church leaders and principles.
Beyond Food Storage
“By making reasonable preparations, individuals and families can minimize the difficulties that follow emergencies such as fires, floods, and earthquakes. To prepare, develop a plan of action for each type of emergency and store needed supplies. The following items could be helpful in an emergency:
· Matches, candles, lanterns, flashlights, and battery-operated lighting equipment
· Battery-operated radio
· Knives, a hatchet, a shovel and other tools
· Medicine, blankets, and a first-aid kit
· Mess kits of paper cups, paper plates, and plastic utensils
· Manual can opener (or several among your storage items)
· Wheat grinder
· Plastic garbage bags and a plastic bucket
· Soap, tooth brushes, toothpaste, and supplies for dentures and contact lenses
· Toilet paper and sanitary items
· Money
· Books or games for children.”
As a family discuss other items you may need to set aside, such as an extra set of scriptures in your 72-hour kits, family pictures and stories you and your family members love, things that would provide comfort and familiarity in stressful times. Remember important medicines, extra clothing, extra shoes, coats, bedding and blankets. Things that will help bring you comfort and peace may be of great worth, especially to children and older adults who may not deal with change easily.
This would be a good addition to your preparedness pantry. It is something that was used by many families before microwaves came on the scene because it cut cooking time in half and helped preserve nutrients. It uses less energy because it cooks much faster than conventional pots and pans. If you are forced to cook with alternative fuel sources in an emergency, fuel conservation will be very important. Chicken falls off the bone after only 10-15 minutes in a pressure cooker. If you soak your beans overnight, they will cook in 35-60 minutes, depending on the type of bean and how tender you like them. A stainless steel, four- or six-quart pressure cooker can be pricey in kitchen specialty stores, but you can find them reasonably priced in several department stores. Check around for the best price and once you start using it you will find it is well worth the money.
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