What is Non-Perishable Food?

If you thought that non-perishable food means that the food never perishes (like the name implies), turns out you're wrong. Non-perishable food still has an expiration date printed on the package, it's just a much further out one than most of the food in your fridge and cupboard. For example, well-packaged grains like pasta and granola bars will last about a year, while many canned goods last around 2 years. 

Well, that's lame. Turns out you can't just buy a month's supply of food and leave it in your cupboards for decades. This is where rotation comes into play. (Cue music: the parody song I write someday to Fiddler on the Roof's "Tradition", titled "Rotation" #getexcited.) So don't go buying things you'll never eat for food storage because that is exactly what will happen--you'll never eat it and have to throw it away. However, if you purchase and keep food storage that is part of your normal diet, you can eat and replace it once it gets ready to expire in a year or two. This will require a bit of organization and planning, but we're big kids and we can handle it. 

Here are some other helpful hints about food storage:

• Don't eat food from cans that are dented, swollen, or corroded, even if it looks fine. When in doubt, throw it out!
• Keep room-temperature grains like oatmeal, pasta, and cereal in TWO gallon-sized Ziploc bags. This especially helps during the September-October moth season in Boston. 
• Avoid salty items in your food storage. High-sodium soups, saltine crackers, and beef jerky will require you to have some extra water on hand. If there is a water storage, you will thank yourself.

Question: which food storage items are your favorites and why?

Get Your Start on Food Storage

I'm sure we all have some amazing moms, aunts, and grandmothers out there with a wheat grinder and a basement full of food storage. It seems like these women (and men, too!) will singlehandedly feed the world during the second coming. However, food goes pretty fast. We all need to be prepared for disaster, unemployment, and a myriad of problems the prophets have foreseen. However, we don't have to take out extra student loans to do it. 

Make a goal now to buy an item or two of food storage every time you visit the store. Check the grocery ads for sales and deals (like 10 for $10). Case lot sales are a new best friend! After a few months, you will have built a nice little nest egg of food to get you through the tough times that inevitably will come. 

Even if you think you'll be moving around once or twice in the next few years (let's face it, who isn't?), you can still have a weeks supply of food for yourself and keep it in a few portable boxes. Even if you just have some granola bars and cans of beans, that'll get you through that week when cash is tight for groceries. Anyway, we are promised that if we make efforts to keep a commandment from the Lord, He will bless us with a testimony and understanding of that principle (John 7:17).

Here are some basic food storage items and their average, non-industrial sized prices. Don't forget to include all of the food groups.

Canned Tuna: $1.50

Canned Corn: $2.00

Potato Flakes/Pearls (add water): $3.50

A Box of 12 Chewy Granola Bars: $3.50

Canned Peaches: $2.00

Evaporated Milk: $3.00

Hot Chocolate: $4.00

Applesauce: $3.50

Beef Jerky: $7.00

Mixed Nuts: $4.50

Canned Pinto Beans: $2.00

Bagged Rice: $3.00

Oatmeal: $3.50

Here are some places online you can make purchases:

http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_21003_-1_N_image_0

http://www.amazon.com/

http://beprepared.com/

http://wisefoodstorage.com/

Well, just Google "food storage" and you won't be lacking in options. We'd love to hear how it goes. Happy gathering!