Posted in Putting Food By

     In our 17+ years here on the New Harvest Homestead, we have been through our share of emergencies – the Cape Mendocino series of earthquakes in 1992 (a 7.1, 6.6 and 6.7 all within 24 hours,  that was fun!), a windstorm that knocked out all the transformers along our highway one winter, various power outages and financial ups and downs. As each of these situations has come and gone, I have learned a bit more and tried to be as ready as possible for the next inevitable surprise.

   One thing I have learned is that living in the homestead way means we will automatically be more prepared for whatever future events may come our way.  Just by doing what I love to do here, I have put by provisions for my family and my neighbors who may find themselves in need.

      Let’s face it, as home-centered women a big part of what we do is going to revolve around food – growing it, preserving it and preparing it for our families.  By default, it falls upon us to make sure those tasks are done so that we can indeed “smile at the future”.

     Of course, there is the canning, drying, freezing and otherwise preserving of everything we can get our hands on during these plentiful days of harvest. However, there are some other good things we can do to make sure our family is well cared for, even in a time of emergency or economic stress.

     One practice I have followed for a long time now is buying and storing grains and staples in bulk quantities.  We have a shed outside in a nice, shady spot.  In the shed I have metal 33 gallon trash cans which I line with plastic trash bags.  In these bins right now I have 50 lbs. unbleached white flour, 25 lbs. sugar, 25 lbs. white rice, 100 lbs. wheat berries, 25 lbs. rolled oats and two large boxes of instant, non-fat dried milk.  I keep everything in its original packaging.  The metal cans keep chewing critters out and the trash bags keep things dry.  With the exception of the flour, all of these items will last for years under these cool, dark and dry conditions.

     I have a grain mill which I use to grind my own flour.  This is another article all by itself, but storing wheat berries is much more practical than storing already milled flour.  Whole wheat flour goes rancid very quickly and isn’t a good choice for long term storage.

     Obviously, I cycle through all of these items and replace as needed.  One essential rule is to store what you will really use and eat.  I used to store things like beans and legumes.  We don’t eat a lot of these foods on a regular basis, though, and I ended up throwing out some items.

     If you don’t have a shed outside or room in your garage, you can store many of these products in their original packaging under a bed or in a closet.             Along with my “trash can” storage, I store lots of staples in my pantry.   Right now I have two to three gallons of vegetable oil, 2 liters olive oil, potatoes, onions and yams, various kinds of pasta, white and apple cider vinegar in gallon jugs, 5 lbs. baking powder, 5 lbs. baking soda, about a pound each of powdered sugar and Dutch cocoa powder, 20 lbs. brown sugar, 5 lbs. brown rice, 5 lbs. split peas, 5 lbs. cornmeal,  ½ case canned chicken broth, ½ case canned evaporated milk, dried potatoes, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tuna, 5 lbs. honey, two 3-pound cans of Crisco, two bottles vanilla extract, 5 lbs. salt, several jars of peanut butter, and several boxes of cake mix.

     In addition, there are the usual spices, herbs, bread crumbs and such.  Again, I use these items on a regular basis and replace as needed.  I didn’t run out and buy everything in one day, either.  Each time you go to the market or big box store, buy one or two extra things, that way it won’t hurt the pocketbook too much.  Look for sale items and stock up (that’s why I have two bottles of vanilla extract. It’s usually quite expensive, but the last two trips to Costco the price was incredibly low, so I stocked up).

Lisa Vitello

Look for Part 2 next week!

Lisa is wife to Guy and mom to six great kids.  She is the publisher/editor of the New Harvest Homestead newsletter.  Visit her website for a free sample issue:  www.newharvesthomestead.com.  Stop by Lisa's blog here on HSB here and say hello!