Begin Today
“Begin ever so modestly.  We can begin with one weeks food supply and gradually build it to a month and then to three months.  But I fear that so many feel that a lon-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.  Begin in a small way, and gradually build toward a reasonable objective.
Build up a 3 month supply that is part of your normal daily diet.  Three month supply items are non-perishable food that you normally eat, such as canned and commercially packaged foods that have a stable shelf life.  Over time establish a supply of basic foods sucha s wheat, white rice, and beans for long-term needs.
The three-month plan offers hope by showing that it is possible for most people to prepare for adversity starting modestly by storing a few items of food.”  (Gordan B. Hinkley, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).
Three Month Supply
A 3-month well rounded supply of food storage is much better than a year’s supply of wheat, beans, honey and powdered milk.
One good way to obtain a 3 month’s supply would be to create 1 month’s worth of recipes and then multiply everything you will need for the month by three.  My challenge to you is to go home and see how many meals you can come up with (that your family enjoys) using only shelf stable items.  That means nothing fresh or frozen or that is initially refrigerated.  Obtain a good food storage cookbook to help you in this endeavor.  This will help in over buying and throwing away old stuff. When there are sales we may have a tendency to buy cases of products when with wise planning you may only need a few of certain items.  Planned menus can eliminate the panic feeling you get when you know you should store food and you don’t know where to begin.
Remember:  Use what you store and store what you eat. If you do this rotation will take care of itself.
Don’t spend money on food and supplies that you will not use.
Food in the basement is better that money in the bank
Where do I put my food storage?
 The closer you locate your grocery store to your kitchen the more likely you will be to use it.
Food is best if stored in a place that is 40 to 60 ° F.
Keep your food away from the furnace room or any other heat source.  Freezers, refrigerators, water heaters, furnaces, all give off heat.
No matter how small your home or apartment is, or whether you own or rent your home, having a pantry or in store grocery store is not impossible.
Don’t limit yourself to spaces normally identified as cupboard space or pantry space.  Nooks and crannies and unusual places can play a significant role.
Bunk beds, behind couches, under beds, closets are good places to store food items.
If you have your in house grocery store in different places keep an inventory and label, label, label.
How to Avoid Spoilage
The factors that cause deterioration are oxygen, temperature, vermin, bacteria, light, enzymes, humidity, and moisture.  This list may make you feel like there are a lot of things against you.  There is hope, if you follow the proper storage techniques and rotate, rotate, rotate.  You cannot put food away hoping you will never have to use it.  You must use what you store and store what you eat.

1.  Storage Containers – Start with food storage container that will keep out oxygen, light, and moisture.  These containers will also protect your food from bugs.
2.  Plastic Buckets – All buckets should have a tight fitting lid with a rubber gasket.  They come in a variety of sizes, 3 ½, 5, or 6 gallon buckets.
3.  #10 cans – good to use if you are tight on space.  A #10 can holds approximately 5 lbs. of wheat.  All dry food can be canned except salt.  Salt will rust the can.
4.  Methods of Packing – You can take additional steps to avoid deterioration.
5. Oxygen Absorbers – These packets absorb the oxygen and trap it in the iron powder and salt mixture.  This is the safest way to remove oxygen.  Oxygen packets must be used up within 15 minutes of being opened and exposed to the air.  One packet is used for every #10 can or 5 packets for every 6 gallon bucket.
6.  Dry Ice Method – Place your grain in your bucket and place a piece of cardboard on top of the grain.  Place a piece of dry ice about 3 inch square on top.  Wait for about 30 minutes until the dry ice dissipates.  Snap on the lid.  If you put the lid on too soon you might have the buckets explode.
7. Natural Causes – Food is susceptible to deterioration and spoilage from some natural causes.
8.  Oxygen – will rob food of its nutritive value.  That is why it is important to get as much air out as possible before sealing the container.
9. Temperature - The ideal temperature for storing food is from 40-60°F.  If you store your food in a garage, shed, or attic where the temperature fluctuates from hot to cold you will be cutting your shelf life in half from what is listed.

 C.  Humidity – Be sure to keep food off of the floor and away from anything that might raise the humidity, like dryers, or water heaters.

What and How Much To Store?
WATER- 14 Gallons /Person
If you do not have a storage problem, larger containers are better for consolidating and organizing water storage.  If your storage space is fairly limited, smaller storage containers facilitate stacking and moving them more often.
If you are on a municipal water system you do not need to purify your water.  It has already been chlorinated.

1.  Methods of Purifying
2. Boiling - is the safest method there is.  Pour water from one container to another to improve taste and to aerate it.
3. Stabilized Oxygen – is very effective for water purification.   It can be purchased on the net. 
4. Chlorine Bleach - Use 8 drops of household bleach per gallon if the water is clear and 16 drops of bleach for cloudy water.  Do not use lemon-scented or perfumed bleach.

As water sits over time disease organisms tend to die.  So the longer water is stored properly -using one of the methods described – the safer it becomes from the growth of bacteria.

1. Containers –
2. Do’s – You can use 2-liter soda bottles, glass bottles, polyethylene Barrels, and bleach bottles if only used for washing.
3. Don’ts- Do not use food-grade lightweight plastic containers previously filled with foodstuffs like mustard, ketchup, pickles, and vinegar.  The residue of the contents is often retained in the plastic.

Grains 400 lbs/Person
Do not put all your eggs in one basket.   If wheat was the only grain stored and we had to eat it day in and day out we would be very susceptible to “appetite fatigue.”  Children and older adults are more prone to this than healthy adults.  They would rather not eat anything than have to eat the same food time and time again.    Have a variety of grains in your storage.  Purchasing an electric or hand grain mill is strongly advised if you want to use your grains to their full potential.
Wheat – is the most versatile grain around.  Look for hard red or hard white wheat with a protein content of 12-16% and moisture content of less that 10%.  Good wheat properly stored will keep indefinitely.
Spelt – It is a cousin to wheat.  Spelt has enough gluten to make bread but the bread is rather dense.  It is a good grain to use for people who have wheat allergies.
Kamut – It is a large grain with a rich butter flavor.  Kamut has been used successfully by many wheat sensitive people.                                                                     
          Triticale – A hybrid between wheat and rye.  The gluten is a bit weak so wheat flour is frequently added to strengthen it.
Non Gluten Grains
Amaranth- A very small tan grain that is high in protein.  It can be boiled as a cereal, used in soups, or granolas.
Barley – The most common form of barley is the highly processed “pearl barley”.  It can be milled into flour and added with other grains to make a good loaf of bread.  “Pearl Barley” is great in soups.
Buckwheat – is a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb.  It is triangular in shape but similar in size to wheat.  Most often used in pancakes, biscuits, and muffins.
Corn – Popcorn is a good variant to store. 
Millet – The grain kernels are very small round and yellow.  It cooks up like rice and makes an excellent breakfast cereal.
Quinoa (keen-wah) – Relative to swiss chard and spinach.  It contains all the amino acids necessary for a complete protein.  Cooks up like rice and can be used as a substitute in any rice dish.
Rice – Brown rice is the most nutritious but the shelf life is very short.  White rice is the rice of preference when it comes to long term storage.
Rye – is a well known bread grain in the U.S.  Mixed with wheat it makes dark bread.  It can be rolled like oats, eaten whole or ground into flour.
Legumes 60lbs/person
Unless a person is willing to spend a great deal of money on preserved meats a food storage program not including a quantity of legumes is simply incomplete. 
Hints about Beans
Beans are so inexpensive that you can afford to buy and store many varieties.  Use beans in your diet on a regular basis.  You should accustom your body to eating and digesting them now.  Mix them into your diet slowly to avoid some interest side effect on your digestive system.  Beans are interchangeable in most recipes.

1.  Cooking beans whole – A pound of beans measures about 2 cups dry, 6 cups cooked.  Use 3 cups of water per cup of dry beans for soaking.  Whole, soaked beans can be cooked in a variety of ways, or frozen to speed cooking time even further.  Cook soaked beans slowly over low heat to prevent broken or floating skins.  A tablespoon of oil or butter added during cooking reduces foaming and boiling over.
2. Mashed beans – Cooked mashed beans can be added to soups, sauces, patties, loaves, casseroles, meat pies, sandwich fillings, and dips. Note:  Mashed beans do not last very long in the refrigerator.
3.  Bean flour – Bean flour is very easy to use. Bean flour added to baked goods increases vitamins and minerals and provide a source of complete protein. You can substitute ¼ of your wheat flour in your bread for bean flour or replace the oil in a recipe for the same amount of bean flour.  Bean flour can also replace the thickener in gravy. 

Powdered Milk and Milk products 16 lbs/person
Tips for using powdered milk:

1.  Mix up your milk the day before so it can get nice and cold.
2. Use the non instant kind.  It has a better flavor and it stores longer.
3. To reconstitute powdered milk mix 3 cups of milk to a little less than 4 quarts of water.

Morning Moo is a good alternative to powdered milk.  It is made from whey the liquid that is left over from making cheese.  It has a sweeter taste.  The shelf life of Morning Moo is 10 years at 55° F.
Shelf stable milk is available but has a short shelf life and is a little pricy.  It does have an expiration date on the carton.
Sweetners  60lbs/person
Having a variety of sweetners is good.  Variety is the spice of life.
Sugar – Stores indefinitely if it is kept away from moisture.  You do not need to put oxygen obsorbers in the cans or buckets when packaging.
Honey – stores indefinitely but good honey will crystallize.  Use ¾ cup honey for every cup of sugar.

Fat and Oils 10 quarts/person
There is no getting around the fact that we need fat in our diet.  Fats need to be rotated frequently.  Oils should be rotated every year.  You may consider storing some shortening it will last 5 years or more.    There are fats in the dry form also which will last 10 years.  Shortening powder, butter powder, peanut butter powder etc.

Miscellaneous
In the miscellaneous category I would add a few more things. 

1.  Seeds so you could grow a garden. 
2. Seasonings  Pepper, cinnamon
3.  Sprouts – If you store sprouts or sprout your wheat you will be able to have something fresh.  They will last approximately 3 to 4 years.  To rotate use them in the winter when produce is high.

Conclusion
Most crises you will know in this lifetime will be personal.  It will be comforting to know you can use your in home grocery store to help buffer lean times. 
The closer you can locate your food storage area to your kitchen the easier you will find it to rotate food.
Use what you store and store what you eat.  If you do this rotation will take care of itself.
Food in the basement is better than money in the bank
Buy in bulk when you can, plant a garden and preserve what you grow.
Label everything, rotate, rotate, and rotate.
Begin learning how to cook from scratch.
Don’t forget the non-food essentials. 
The Lord will bless us if we do our part.  Even if we do not have a year’s supply but are trying when the time comes when we need it, he will do the rest.