Organize / Obtain Information
- Determine your best method for collecting and storing information. You may choose to keep a file on your computer, a folder in your file cabinet, a three-ring binder, an expandable file folder, index cards, or a box. Start using a technique that works for you, but recognize that it may morph as you use it.
- Add tabs and dividers to help sort information by category. Some suggestions include:
Resources/Forms
Menu Plan
Inventory & Rotate
Conversions & Substitutions
Water & Non-food Items
Alternate Cooking Methods
Recipes
Other - Add more categories as needed. This is a plan specific to your family.
Evaluate
- Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three sections. Label each section “Shelf-Stable”, “Fresh Foods”, and “Eating Out”. Post this sheet of paper somewhere in your kitchen (on pantry or refrigerator door).
- For a specific period of time - let’s say two weeks - keep track of every food item your family eats and approximately how much of that item.
- If you are happy with the kinds of food you have been eating, this list becomes the foods you will need in your food supply with approximate amounts to store. Simply multiply those amounts by six to come up with your food supply needs for the next three months.
Plan
- If you would like to alter your menus, gather recipes you would like to use in your three-month plan. Be sure to test recipes and make sure that your family likes them. (Remember our goal is to store and USE our food supply.)
- Fill out a menu plan. This plan can be for any length of time you desire. (You will repeat the plan as much as necessary to come up with a three-month menu.)
- List every ingredient and amount needed for the menu plan. Calculate amounts needed for three months. This is the step that is overwhelming to so many of us. Don’t get overwhelmed. Take baby steps until you have a good plan.
Adjust
- You will find that some items in your plan will not store well in the fresh form you are used to. Where possible, you might want to substitute some ingredients with alternate ingredients or learn other ways to preserve and store certain foods.
Inventory
- Create an inventory of food you currently have in your rotating food supply.
- Subtract amount of food on hand from the calculated food needed for three months.
- You now have a list of food you will need to obtain to use over the next three months.
- Keep your inventory current by accounting for what you use and replacing it regularly. Keeping accurate inventory is also a place where we all get stuck. There is more than one way to do this, so be flexible until you figure out what works for your kitchen.
Obtain
- Purchase, grow, preserve, or barter to obtain the items needed in your family food store. Follow the advice of our leaders and obtain your supply prudently.
- Pay attention to bulk orders made available through our Stake or other sources. Share bargain finds with one another.
- Grow your food supply by doubling the amount of food you need to replace in your inventory each week.