Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

Matthew 16:24-25 New King James Version (NKJV)

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.



Sunday, September 28, 2014

Christian Veterans of the Bitterroot, 29 Sep, 2014

Prayer Breakfast
0700 at BJ’s Restaurant
Hamilton, Montana

Lord Jesus Christ, you demonstrated faithfulness in all of life, even to death on the cross.
Grant unto me grace and strength to faithfully follow you all the days of my life. Amen.

1. Opening - Round the Table Individual Prayers
2. Breakfast is served
3. Morning Psalm: 89
4. Breakfast Reading: Hebrews 11:1-31
5. Breakfast Discussion Topics:
          News around the valley
          Veterans Day Dinner
          Community Aid through Christian Churches; we must to teach our community to fish and to provide mutual aid to local governments.
                   Action Plan
                             1) Meet with Sheriff, Under Sheriff and Chaplain
                             2) Contact “March for Jesus Christ” churches
                             3) Change weekly bulletin in the newspaper
                             4) Pick first venue
                                      a) Darby Foursquare Church
                             5) Pick follow on speakers
                             6) Always finish with “Breaking Bread”
          52 Weeks to Preparedness by Tess Pennington
                             1) Week 37 of 52: Essential Baking Needs
6. Closing - Round the Table Individual Prayers

Upcoming Events:
          6 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          13 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          20 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          27 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          3 Nov 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          10 Nov 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          11 Nov 2014 – 1100 – Veterans Day Parade in Corvallis
          11 Nov 2014 – 1700 – Bitterroot Valley Dining Out
          17 Nov 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          24 Nov 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          27 Nov 2014 – Thanksgiving
          4 Apr 2015 – 0645 – March for Jesus Christ

Tasks:
          Mission Statement for Community Aid
                   Who: Christian Veterans of the Bitterroot
                   What: Organize Emergency Preparedness Volunteers through the churches of Ravalli County
                   When: Starting in 2015
                   Where: Ravalli County
                   Why: To work alongside our local emergency responders

2 Timothy 2:2-4 King James Version (KJV)

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.


Fellowship of Christian Veterans:
          Our 3Circles:
                    1) Outside (Feeder) Circle: Churches & Church Organizations, Veterans Organizations, Special Events, and Word of Mouth
                    2) Middle (Prayer Groups) Circle: Prayer Breakfast every Monday at 7am, Prayer Lunch (still needed), Intercessory Prayer, and Veteran Outreach
                    3) Inside (Serve the community with Care) Circle: Fellowship of Military Brethren

On the Web: http://cvbitterroot.blogspot.com/
On Twitter: @Walk_April_4_15

Week 37 of 52: Essential Baking Needs
By Tess Pennington

When I first began prepping, I had just bought all of the recommended items for a short-term food supply. After carefully stocking the items on our storage shelf, I sat and looked admiringly at our meager supply imagining all the ways it was going to pull us through a hard time.
Then, a thought crept into my mind: I began to wonder how on earth was I going to use all these supplies. Who uses a pound of yeast? Or two pounds of baking powder? Folks, this was the moment that sealed the deal for me. This was when I realized that I didn’t have to use two pounds of baking powder for baking, I could find another way to use it! And for that matter, I bet that a lot of other items that I had purchased could be used in ways other than their original purposes. That was when I got my hands on every book and website I could find on alternative uses for these items. Inevitably, this is when I went loco for prepping!
Our preps are our lifeline and we must know how to get the most use out of them. Since most of us have limited shelf space, it is only logical to find products that will perform multiple jobs for us. The following is a list of kitchen staples that deserve a space on your emergency food shelves. Keep in mind that in an extended emergency, these items may be very useful in a bartering situation. Remember, to print out or save any pertinent information to put in your preparedness binder.
Baking Soda
  • Natural antacid
  • Dental care
  • Electrolyte powder
  • Emergency antiseptic
  • Natural cleaner
  • Cleans off rust
  • Can be used in treating scalding, to prevent blistering and scarring. Cover the scalded area with a liberal layer of sodium bicarbonate and water paste and seek medical assistance
  • Can be applied to skin irritations that occur from poison oak, poison ivy and sumac
Baking Powder
  • Eliminates odors
  • Natural cleaning agent
  • Draws out insect stings and jelly fish venom
  • Keeps ants away from the house
Salt
  • One of the top bartering items
  • Eliminates odors
  • Natural cleaning agent
  • Sea salt has antibacterial and medicinal properties


Yeast
Baking Yeast
Brewers Yeast
  • Making alcohol
  • Nutritional supplement
  • Assists diabetics in controlling their blood sugar level
  • Helps control high cholesterol level
  • Is a natural flea control for pets
Vinegar
Corn Starch
  • Great for use as a dry shampoo
  • Burn treatment
  • Treatment for insect bites
  • Deodorant
  • Gets grease out of fabric
  • Cleans windows
  • Thickener for soups, sauces and gravies
Powdered Milk
  • Milk
  • Cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Whipped topping
  • Substitute for milk
  • Facial wash
Click here to learn more about these essentials and their many uses
Our ancestors’ philosophy of “make due or do without” transferred into many avenues of their life, and they were on to something. They knew the versatility of their supplies and made sure they had enough of them to get by.
We also want to get by. Some of these items may even provide a semblance of what our normal life was. And how great is it that these items are low-cost, multi-functional and readily available at practically any grocery store? Start stocking up on these items in quantity and gathering knowledge on your own on other uses for these items.






Preps to Buy:
[In Quantity]
  • Baking Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Yeast
  • Salt
  • Vinegar
  • Evaporated Milk
  • Powdered Milk
  • Corn Starch

Action Items:

1.     Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2.     Further, research how versatile this food source can be for your food pantry and for your overall survival.
3.     Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how many essential baking items you need to add to your storage supply.
4.     Bear in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
5.     Those with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more nutrition and calories daily, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
6.     Learn how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
7.     Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies.


Saturday, September 27, 2014

“It Is Time We Take Political Correctness and Throw It In The Garbage”

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan.com
This morning an extremist Muslim walked into an Oklahoma food processing plant and beheaded a former coworker. He was making his way around the plant looking for more victims when he was shot and stopped dead by an armed company official. Like the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood by crazed Muslim extremist Nidal Hassan, the Oklahoma incident is being investigated not as terrorism, but as workplace violence.
Sell gold coins, make the shape of a gun with your finger, drink raw milk, or believe in views opposed to the status quo and you’re a terrorist. Behead someone because they are not the same religion as you and that’s workplace violence. This is the state of affairs in today’s politically correct and hyper-sensitive America.
There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and as noted by Lebonese-born journalist Birgitte Gabriel not all of them are bad. But as Gabriel so succinctly highlights in the video below, estimates suggest that 15% to 25% of them are extremists who would, absent the law and order under which we live in America, like nothing more than to behead, torture, rape and kill as many non-believers as possible.
In the video below, Birgitte Gabriel responds to a question from a Muslim woman who first claims that there is a war against Islam and then asks how we can win such a war without addressing it ideologically.
Gabriel’s response is nothing short of epic – and those in attendance respond to her views accordingly.
You don’t want to miss this one.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Are Millennials Really Less Religious Than Previous Generations?

By Elise Amyx

Many studies show that Millennials are less religious today. However, this might not mean they have deserted their faith more than members of previous generations when they were young.

Pew Research found that in some ways, young people today are not much different from youth of the past when it comes to certain aspects of religion:

Importance of religion: “In Gallup surveys in the late 2000s, 40% of Millennials said religion is very important, as did 48% of Gen Xers in the late 1990s. However, young people today look very much like Baby Boomers did at a similar point in their life cycle; in a 1978 Gallup poll, 39% of Boomers said religion was very important to them.”
Prayer: “Although Millennials report praying less often than their elders do today, […] Millennials are in sync with Generation X and Baby Boomers when members of those generations were younger.”
Belief in God: “Millennials’ level of belief in God resembles that seen among Gen Xers when they were roughly the same age. Just over half of Millennials in the 2008 GSS survey (53%) say they have no doubt that God exists, a figure that is very similar to that among Gen Xers in the late 1990s (55%).”
Believing the Bible is the word of God: “Millennials display beliefs that closely resemble those of Generation X in the late 1990s. In the 2008 GSS survey, roughly a quarter of Millennials (27%) said the Bible is the literal word of God, compared with 28% among Gen Xers when they were young.”
Faith among those affiliated with a religion: “[While] young people are less likely than their elders to be affiliated with a religion, among those who are affiliated, generational differences in worship attendance are fairly small. […] More than one-third of religiously affiliated Millennials (37%) say they are a ‘strong’ member of their faith, the same as the 37% of Gen Xers who said this at a similar age and not significantly different than among Baby Boomers when they were young (31%).”
It is likely that Millennials will grow more faithful as they grow older, just as previous generational trends indicate. But there remains a concerning question for churches today: why are fewer Millennials claiming to attend worship services?

Even though Millennials are less likely to claim a specific religious affiliation than Gen X, Boomers, the Silent, and the Greatest generations, this may not be because they have completely abandoned their faith. There may be several other reasons for this:

Lack of trust in institutions: Millennials overall are less trusting of political and religious institutions and therefore less likely to prescribe to a specific religious denomination. Many might call themselves Christians (65%), but if someone asks them if they are Protestant or Catholic, or Episcopalian or Methodist, they will likely say neither.
Changing social climate: Young people are also in a stage of life with many more disruptions. They are moving around and changing social networks. For those who would otherwise attend church, life circumstances are presenting challenges to settling down in a church community. Millennials are also delaying marriage more than previous generations, so if they return to church, it will likely be later in life than previous generations.
Spiritual, but not religious: Nearly three out of four Millennials say that they are more spiritual than religious, which may be rooted in their growing distrust in the institution of the church. This might mean they are attending a “home church” where they gather independently with a group of Christians for worship at a friend’s house or they might watch a sermon livestreamed online from their bed on Sunday morning instead. For many Millennials, they don’t believe their faith should be dependent on a physical church building.
Millennials are less religious than previous generations were when they were of similar age, but only if that means that fewer Millennials are claiming a church affiliation. But Millennials aren’t less religious if it means completely abandoning their religious beliefs. Only time will tell if Millennials will return to church as they grow older, but as for now, they at least seem to be holding on to their faith.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Christian Veterans of the Bitterroot, 22 Sep, 2014

Prayer Breakfast
0700 at BJ’s Restaurant
Hamilton, Montana

1. Opening - Round the Table Individual Prayers
          Oh Father, in whom I find life, health, and strength, and through whose mercy I am clothed and fed, grant unto me a thankful and faithful heart. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen
2. Breakfast is served
3. Morning Psalm: 86
4. Breakfast Reading: Luke 12:1-21
5. Breakfast Discussion Topics:
          News around the valley
                   Thursday is anniversary of 9/11
          Community Aid through Christian Churches; we must to teach our community to fish and to provide mutual aid to local governments.
                   Action Plan
                             1) Contact “March for Jesus Christ” churches
                                      a) Grantsdale Community Church
                                      b) First Christian Church
                                      c) Darby Foursquare Church
                                      d) Corvallis United Methodist Church
                                      e) In One Hope Ministries
                                      f) Bitterroot Valley Church of the Nazarene
                                      g) Barnabas Ministries Christian Center
                                      h) Stevensville Knights of Columbus
                             2) Change weekly bulletin in the newspaper
                                      a) Business card draft (Done)
                             3) Pick first venue
                                       a) Darby Foursquare Church
                             4) Pick follow on speakers
                             5) Always finish with “Breaking Bread”
          52 Weeks to Preparedness by Tess Pennington
                             1) Week 36 of 52: SHTF Sugars
6. Closing - Round the Table Individual Prayers

Upcoming Events:
          29 Sep 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          6 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          13 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          20 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          27 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          4 Apr 2015 – 0645 – March for Jesus Christ

Tasks:
          Mission Statement for Community Aid
               Who: Christian Veterans of the Bitterroot
                   What: Organize Faith Based Volunteers through the churches of Ravalli County
                   When: 2015
                   Where: Ravalli County

                   Why: 2 Timothy 2:2-4 King James Version (KJV)

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.


Fellowship of Christian Veterans:
          Our 3Circles:
                    1) Outside (Feeder) Circle: Churches & Church Organizations, Veterans Organizations, Special Events, and Word of Mouth
                    2) Middle (Prayer Groups) Circle: Prayer Breakfast every Monday at 7am, Prayer Lunch (still needed), Intercessory Prayer, and Veteran Outreach
                    3) Inside (Serve the community with Care) Circle: Fellowship of Military Brethren

On the Web: http://cvbitterroot.blogspot.com/
On Twitter: @Walk_April_4_15

Week 36: SHTF Sugars

I might get a lot of flack for posting this, but before the haters get all up in arms, be honest with yourself, do you honestly want to sit  out TEOTWAWKI without sugar or honey?
I realize there is a long list of diseases attributed to refined sugar in our diet. According to the American College of Sports Medicine a mere 5 to 6 percent of your daily calories should come from sugars. But, have you ever considered that there may be more than one reason for storing these sweet supplies for a long-term emergency? Some uses include:
  • Curing/Food Preservation
  • Alcohol
  • Medicinal Use
  • Bartering
We are all a bit particular when it comes to our favorite sweeteners. Good thing there are so many options! That being said, this article’s sweetener list is meant to be a general overview of some of the more popular storage choices. If there is a sweetener that you prefer, by all means purchase some for your preparedness pantry. Since we are stocking up for long-term preparedness, I will be discussing the sweeteners that have the longest shelf lives. The four most popular long-term sugars to store are:
  • Honey -  Sugar lasts forever if stored properly. Many honey harvesters say that when honey crystallizes, it can be re-heated and used just like fresh honey.  Because of honey’s low water content, microorganisms do not like the environment. Uses include: curing, baking, medicinal, wine (mead).
  • White Sugar - Like salt, sugar is also prone to absorbing moisture, but this problem can be eradicated by adding some rice granules into the storage container. Sugar lasts forever if stored properly. Uses include: sweetener for beverages, baked goods, preservative, curing agent, making alcohol, gardening, insecticide.
  • Maple Syrup - Maple syrup is another consideration for your food storage. Because of it’s high sugar level (which is antibacterial), it lasts practically forever. The higher the quality and sugar level, the longer it lasts. Uses include: Baking, medicinal, food preservation, curing agent.
  • Molasses - This product is a by-product of the refining process of sugar cane into table sugar and it actually possesses health promoting properties. Molasses can last up to two years unopened. Uses include: Baking, preservative, food preservation, curing agent, soil amendment.
Although many of the above listed items can last a lifetime, if you are planning for extended or long-term emergencies, it is advised that you educate yourself on some other sugar options. The following list are some sugar sources that you can grow or raise yourself in a homesteading environment:
  • Sugar beets - Learning how to extract the sugar from beets can be tricky. During wartime, many people used ordinary red garden beets to make sugar. To learn more about this process click here: Making sugar from sugar beets. Please note that getting sugar from beets will require a lot of fuel, so prepare accordingly.
  • Sugar cane - This is a region-specific plant and one that thrives in tropical-like weather conditions. However, the entire plant can be used. The tops and remaining pulp can be eaten or fed to livestock.
  • Bees/honey - There are also many books on beekeeping that can be quite useful. Sometimes it is difficult to keep the bee colony thriving, so find a person in your area that is willing to share his or her experience.
  • Sugar maple trees - The sap from the sugar maple tree will produce maple syrup. There are many how-to articles and videos on the Internet that can take you step-by-step through the process. Please note, on average you will need 400-500 gallons of sap to make 10 gallons of maple syrup.
  • Stevia - A fairly easy to grow herb that is good for sweetening drinks, simple syrups and making jams. Here’s a trick to keep your stevia producing its sweet leaves: when you see the plant trying to flower, cut the tops off.
  • Sorghum - Sorghum is a grain cultivated for it’s sweetness. Amish folk love this grain and use as a syrup. It is also a popular grain to grow in impoverished regions of the world, and remains a principal source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. Grain sorghum has been utilized by the ethanol industry for quite some time because it yields approximately the same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn. Take note: Some species of sorghum can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide, hordenine and nitrates lethal to grazing animals in the early stages of the plant’s growth.
Have you noticed the price of sugar increasing? In all honesty, the price of everything is going up! Sugar in many parts of the region has gone up 22% in the past 12 months, so stocking up on it now would be a good investment for the future. Hard assets such as sugar, wheat, beans, and food preservation tools are an investment one could make that will have a reliable return on investment, as well as securing one’s future. Further, these types of investments could make lofty sums in a bartering situation.
The following is a general list of long-term sugars that can be stored:

  Preps to Buy:

[In Quantity]
Honey
Sugar
Brown Sugar
Molasses
Corn Syrup
Jams
Fruit drink – powdered
Flavored Gelatin

Action Items:

1.     Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2.     Further, research how versatile this food source can be for your food pantry and for your overall survival.
3.     Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how many sugar items you need to add to your storage supply.
4.     Bear in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
5.     Those with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more nutrition and calories daily, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
6.     Learn how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
7.     Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about yourfood’s worst enemies.


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Christian Veterans of the Bitterroot, 15 Sep, 2014

Prayer Breakfast
0700 at BJ’s Restaurant
Hamilton, Montana

1. Opening - Round the Table Individual Prayers
2. Breakfast is served
3. Morning Psalm: 3
4. Breakfast Reading: 1 Kings 3:3-28
5. Breakfast Discussion Topics:
          News around the valley
                   Thursday is anniversary of 9/11
          Community Aid through Christian Churches; we must to teach our community to fish and to provide mutual aid to local governments.
                   Action Plan
                             1) Contact “March for Jesus Christ” churches
                                      a) Grantsdale Community Church
                                      b) First Christian Church
                                      c) Darby Foursquare Church
                                      d) Corvallis United Methodist Church
                                      e) In One Hope Ministries
                                      f) Bitterroot Valley Church of the Nazarene
                                      g) Barnabas Ministries Christian Center
                                      h) Stevensville Knights of Columbus
                             2) Change weekly bulletin in the newspaper
                                      a) Business card draft:
CHRISTIAN
VETERANS OF THE  
BITTERROOT

Veterans Breakfast with Prayer
0700, Every Monday
BJ’s Family Restaurant, Hamilton
https://twitter.com/Walk_April_4_15

                             3) Pick first venue
                                      a) Darby Foursquare Church
                             4) Pick follow on speakers
                             5) Always finish with “Breaking Bread”
          52 Weeks to Preparedness by Tess Pennington
                             1) Week 35 of 52: Surviving with Carbohydrates
6. Closing - Round the Table Individual Prayers

Upcoming Events:
          2 Sep 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          6 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          13 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          20 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          27 Oct 2014 – 0700 – Push Back with Prayer Breakfast
          4 Apr 2015 – 0645 – March for Jesus Christ





Tasks:
          Mission Statement for Community Aid
                   Who:
                   What:
                   When:
                   Where:
                   Why:

Fellowship of Christian Veterans:
          Our 3Circles:
                    1) Outside (Feeder) Circle: Churches & Church Organizations, Veterans Organizations, Special Events, and Word of Mouth
                    2) Middle (Prayer Groups) Circle: Prayer Breakfast every Monday at 7am, Prayer Lunch (still needed), Intercessory Prayer, and Veteran Outreach
                    3) Inside (Serve the community with Care) Circle: Fellowship of Military Brethren

On the Web: http://cvbitterroot.blogspot.com/
On Twitter: @Walk_April_4_15

Week 35 of 52: Surviving with Carbohydrates

Have you ever noticed how many options and varieties of food there are at the grocery store? In a previous article on food pantry preparedness I wrote, “Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all it’s pleasure.” To put it simply, having a well-rounded food storage pantry will cut down on culinary boredom, as well as balance your diet.
With this in mind, when the veritable “S” to hits the fan, you will want variety. By diversifying your emergency pantry will ensure you have plenty to choose from. Remember, food has more than one purpose. It comforts us, powers us with nutrition, and provides us with energy to withstand what may come our way. Choosing the right carbohydrates helps ensure power within diversification. Even if you don’t eat many carbs now, in a survival situation, activity levels increase due to the escalated necessity of physical labor (i.e. chopping firewood, planting a survival garden, standing guard or securing a perimeter, hunting, hand washing clothes or dishes, etc.). Harsh weather conditions can also play a role in the amount of carbohydrates we will need to consume. Bear in mind that the colder the temperatures there are, the more carbohydrates you will require.
U.S. guidelines suggest that between 45 and 65 percent of your calories come from carbs. The best carbohydrates are those that are complex carbohydrates and come from natural sources that contain a lot of fiber, such as from fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low fat milk. These types of carbohydrates take longer to break down into glucose and give you the most nutrients along with your calories. As a whole, we underestimate how many carbohydrates we need stored for a long-term emergency. For example, one adult should have the following different types of carbs in their food pantry: 150 lbs. of wheat, 50 lbs. of rice and 25 lbs. of pasta to live off of for one year. To get an idea of how many carbohydrate sources you or your family will need, use the food calculator at Ready Nutrition.  Those of you who have allergies to wheat or prefer to have  a variety of carbohydrate sources, consider these alternatives.
When putting this food source away, remember that you will need a mill to turn your carbohydrates into flour. Therefore, start researching and saving up for a quality mill now. These can be a costly, but a necessary preparedness investment. Initially, when my family started preparing for a long-term disaster, we purchased a low cost hand-powered grain mill for around $70. We practiced and used the low cost grain mill until we had money saved up to purchase our primary mill. Those of you who may be wondering, we invested in a Country Living Grain Mill; and although the cost is on the higher end, we feel satisfied with our purchase. Not to mention, now that we have two working mills, we have designated our old a back up grinder to our primary one.
Many preppers like to choose a multi-barrier system to store their food.  This barrier system is for long term purposes, and will keep natural elements such as sunlight, moisture and air out of the container when sealed. To learn more about this storage process, click here.
For the last four years, my family and I have stocked up on long-term food items from a variety of places, including super stores, the LDS food storage warehouse, emergency preparedness websites such as Emergency Essentials, Five Star Preparedness and the Ready Store.
From a survival standpoint, if you must forage to find carbohydrates, know in advance which wild food sources are available in your area. When food is scarce, chaos and fear begin to set in. However, instead of panicking, step outside and go for a walk and more than likely, food will be right around the corner or right under your nose. Consider the following:
  • Look for bees (honey)
  • Wild apples
  • Cattail roots
  • Wild potatoes
  • Wild fruits
  • Roots and tubers (cook these well).
Do you remember when we first began the 52-Weeks to Preparedness series? Our goals were simple: to find multipurpose preparedness items that will help you conserve space, provide versatility and give you the biggest bang for your buck. Well long-term storable carbohydrates are in this classification. Did you know that there are over 20 different types of grains? How’s that for a variety! Because I want for you all the make the most of your investments, most of the suggested carbohydrates have a lifespan of 20 years and longer.

  Preps to Buy:

[In Quantity]
*These items have a 20 year+ shelf life
  • Corn (whole kernel lasts longer)
  • Pasta
  • Wheat – Hard red wheat or white wheat
  • Rice – white rice
  • Oats – Steel cut oats, not the instant kind
  • Quinoa
  • Amaranth

Action Items:

1.     Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2.     Further, research how versatile these foods can be for your food pantry.
3.     Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how much protein you need to add to your storage supply.
4.     Bear in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
5.     Those with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more nutrition and calories daily, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
6.     Learn how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
7.     Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies