Mormon Food Storage Methods

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are known for a number of things, but one of their best claims to fame is an unceasing dedication to food storage. The church preaches self-reliance as a method for attaining world peace and prepping for an emergency. As a result, all Mormon families are encouraged to have at least three months of food storage in their home. No matter what religion, the methods can be applied to help build up your own food storage for a rainy day.

Mormons put a high priority on food storage as a method of self-reliance in the face of disaster or monetary strife. People of the LDS faith are also counseled to help others whenever possible and a solid food storage can come in handy when lending a hand. Food storage is a fairly modern concept for the church, championed by President Spencer W. Kimball in the '70s, but it remains an important part of church teachings and the idea that self-reliance allows peace of mind to focus on spiritual growth.

Mormons are encouraged to have three types of food storage on hand. The first is a simple 72-hour kit for each family member, stocked with food, snacks and toiletries necessary for 72 hours of survival. The next step is a three months' supply of the foods a family would normally eat, including canned goods, dry items and convenience foods. Finally, members are encouraged to build out that food storage to meet a one-year supply of food and toiletries for emergencies, times of monetary strife and to benefit others.

One of the simplest methods Mormons use to build up food storage is to purchase double the non-perishable goods such as canned vegetables, rice and beans, each time they go to the grocery store. This way, no one feels unnecessarily burdened with the idea of not only purchasing a huge amount of food storage, but transporting it home.

All Mormons are encouraged to grow a garden. Not only is it a tool to help build a family's food storage, but it's also instrumental in being self-sustaining and self-reliant. Planting a garden made up of fruits and vegetables can help stock an otherwise lacking food storage come fall, and you'll find many Mormon households filled with canned and frozen goods from their own harvests.

Not only do Mormons can their own food, but the church offers resources to help teach members to can and dry pack at their own facilities. Most regions feature a cannery and dry pack cannery, where members and other community members can go, pack their own goods or purchase food storage items already packed. When it comes to wheat, rice, flour and other dried goods, members can score huge discounts to help build up their year-long supply of the basics.

Mormons keep their food storage in a number of ways. Buckets for dried goods and jarred foods need to be put in a cool, dry place, making cold storage ideal in most homes. However, it's not uncommon to meet a Mormon family who stores canned goods under beds and in closets to help ease the burden of keeping a year's worth of food on hand. Mormons are also encouraged to rotate their food supply often, instead of keeping expired goods.