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Be Prepared
by Jim Sevy
A group of our neighbors got together the other evening to discuss food
storage, why we should consider having it, what we should consider storing , and what this
would mean to our family. "Y2K" was on everybody’s lips as the evening
began. There are many who are convinced that the world as we know it will cease to exist
as computer systems start to fail, or as people who fear the systems will fail make a run
on grocery stores and banks. I have to admit that with all the doom saying that is going
on we are in a position of creating some scary self fulfilling prophecies. That said let
me tell you about some of the things we talked about in our neighborhood meeting and some
of the things that I believe we can do to help our families "Be Prepared". The gentlemen leading the discussion asked us to take sixty seconds and make
list of any consumable item that we had used in the last two weeks. We actually spent
about five minutes at the task and then we all took turns reading our list out loud. It
was interesting to see what people had listed and it was also interesting to see what we
and others had not listed. The reason that he started this way was so that we would have
an idea of the things that we have grown accustomed to having available to us and to shift
our paradigm slightly in some cases or a great deal in others. He indicated that being
prepared can mean having the basics to sustain life or can mean attempting to stockpile
all those nice things that we have become accustomed to having around. He suggested that
we consider a balanced approach for this reason: when the time comes that we would need
this "food storage" it will undoubtedly be a stressful time and if having a
stash of Snickers Bars will help reduce that stress then we should consider putting some
away.
We discussed the fact that a severe change in diet, to say whole
wheat mush with powdered milk for every meal, could theoretically provide you with the
nourishment you need to stay alive, it can also, especially when combined with stress,
bring on dysentery, which can cost you your life. This means a couple of things; we must
either store food that will not be a change in diet or we must change the way we eat now
sot that we eat what is practical to store now. He spoke of storing sprouting seeds to
provide us with greens and other important vitamins and nutrients. He spoke of storing
Hard White Wheat rather then the less expensive Hart Red Wheat. He spoke about storing
heirloom seeds for planting a garden, and how much better we would be if those seeds were
renewed each year as we harvested them from our own vegetable gardens that we practiced at
every year.
His message was not one of doom or gloom, it was one of hope that
this is something that we can do for our families, in a practical and affordable way. It
is something that we can do to prepare for many unfortunate possibilities not just Y2K.
This possibilities could include getting layed off, getting in a car accident that would
prevent you from being able to provide for you family, a tornado or hurricane or a
blizzard that would block not only your path to the grocery store, but the grocery
suppliers path there as well. Food storage is not about fear, it is about being prepared
and in so being, having a feeling of security that will allow us to confidently pursue the
mission that we have for ourselves and out families.
Here are some links that will help you and your family decide what
you need to be prepared:
Food Storage and
Preparation (The Family Connection)
FEMA
Preparedness
Emergency Preparedness Manual
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