~by Michelle
A lot of people come to our website wondering why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) do food storage. It’s clearly something for which Mormons are known.
We are counseled by Church leaders, who we believe to be living prophets of God, to have three month’s supply of foods we normally eat, and then a longer-term supply of basic staples.
Some think of this as a sort of apocalyptic behavior, as though Mormon food storage is a doom-and-gloom, end-of-the-world kind of behavior. I suppose some may approach it in that way in our culture, but for me, it’s just plain practical and brings me a lot of peace of mind for the normal ups and downs and ebbs and flows of life.
For example, I’ve been sick for the past couple of weeks. Because I had a supply of food we already eat, I didn’t have to worry about last-minute runs to the store, which I didn’t have energy to make. My husband picks up fresh food like milk and produce, but I cook from foods we have on hand on the shelf and in our freezer.
Even without any mini-crisis, food storage comes in handy. Avoiding those last-minute shopping trips can save money. I typically stock up on the foods we use regularly when prices are lower than usual. For example, when we recently went out as a family for 50-cent ice cream, I saw spaghetti for about half its regular price, so I bought several bags of it.
My husband takes plastic zip-bags with rolled oats, powdered nonfat milk, and dried fruit for his work lunches. We save a lot of money over time with this habit, and he’s eating food that is healthy, in portions that are controlled.
And even when we run out of produce in our fridge, I always have frozen fruit (bought in bulk) and frozen vegetables (again, usually bought on sale) that we can use. I also store a few cans of freeze-dried fruits and veggies for longer-term storage. (They are expensive, so we don’t use them often.)
Years ago, I had the assignment in our congregation (ward) to help ward members with emergency preparedness. As part of that responsibility, I shared some of the foods I store and use in my three month supply. Of course, each family will choose different foods and recipes, but it can give you an idea of one Mormon’s approach to food storage.
p.s. The photo from this post is actually from my friend’s house.
Great thought. It really isn’t “doom and gloom.” Food storage save STRESS! Even if you never use it in a “real” emergency, it saves me from a bunch of small emergencies all the time. Not having enough time to shop or cook are small emergencies in our house! I love having food storage.