Preparing Deseret, one blogger at a time
We recently posted a review of the Food Production Systems For a Backyard or Small Farm DVD (see it here. As part of the review we were proud to offer a free DVD to one of our readers who commented on the review. Friday night I used Random.org to randomly select a winner from the 40 eligible (Sorry Jayce and Connor) entries.
The winner as determined by the random number generator is…
Continue reading “Food Production Systems DVD Giveaway Winner Announcement”
It has become cliché for people to suggest that their preparedness efforts consist of a gun and ammo, so that in the event of an emergency they can forcefully demand that their Mormon neighbors give up some of their food storage. But do Mormons store as much food as people think they do? Do we all have a year supply of wheat, beans, rice, and freeze dried snacks?
A few weeks ago, I was called by my Bishop (pastor) to be the new emergency preparedness coordinator for our ward (congregation). In order to better serve those in the ward and help them prepare, I thought it important to begin my efforts with a survey to gauge where our ward stood. I had a fairly good idea due to previous surveys conducted over the past couple of years in our community (see here and here), but wanted a bit more detail, and with the high turnover in our ward, needed updated information.
Continue reading “How Prepared is the Average Latter-day Saint Ward?”
Inevitably, each year in the weeks preceding the LDS General Conference sessions in April and October grocery stores in Utah begin their Case Lot sales. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a Case Lot sale is a sale that allows you to purchase food (and other) items at a discount from a regular grocery store. The only catch is that you need to buy them a case at a time.
This can really help build of your emergency food supply quickly. Given that there are generally 12 to 24 cans or jars in a case, this is the perfect opportunity to scratch that Food Storage To-Do off your New Year’s Resolution list. As we have touted many, many times before, there are many reasons to have at a minimum a three-month supply of food you eat on a regular basis be it financial, natural disaster or otherwise.
Lucky for you (and all of us for that matter), our friends at Prepared LDS Family have updated their Case Lot spreadsheet. As always, we are greatly appreciative of the work and effort that went into this.
In addition to the spreadsheet will help you find the best deals this Case Lot season, there is also a 3 Month Supply post. This excellent resource details out what a basic 3 month supply for one person should consist of, then lists prices for items to fill that list along with the case lot costs for both Macey’s and Smith’s.
Many of the Bulk Food Suppliers on our Resources page also offer case lot sales during this same time period.
Go over and take a look!
One of the most important skills as a prepper is the ability to learn from our experiences and mistakes. Additionally, examples of others doing the same can help us learn the same lessons without having to go through the experience. To that end, I’m posting in an email that was forwarded to me, second-hand from the source. The email is from a lady whose family is currently stationed in Japan, and relates their experiences with the earthquake. What I like best in this is her own analysis on her preparedness level, and what she wishes she could do better.
Email edited for screen readability only (spacing), and redacting names.
Looking back on my list of things that I’ve “meant to blog” for a long time, I found a link I needed to share. A friend of mine, and longtime follower of this blog, Erin McNew wrote an article for Yahoo’s Associated Content site about food storage. I will of course take this chance to tease her for cheating on me, and posting to a different site, especially one that won’t allow for me to repost the content. However I may tease though, It’s a great article written to explain to people how storing food is a sensible way to save money. Something that most “preppers” understand, especially people usually interested in this blog. However oftentimes people who wouldn’t normally figure themselves to be preppers, can still at least get back to some of the basics of previous generations.
Check out Erin’s article Saving Money by Storing Food for a nice introduction that could be very helpful in getting friends/neighbors/family to think a little more about adding to their food storage plans.
Our currant bushes finally put on enough currants this year that the kids couldn’t keep up with eating them all, so we had currants left to make some currant jelly.
This is super easy jelly to make and one of my favorite flavors because it’s a nice combination of tart and sweet. Here’s what you’ll need:
Continue reading “Super Easy Currant Jelly”
According to a recent article on KSL.com many Utah cities and counties are considering or allowing residents have backyard chickens. Most likely you’ll need to verify with your city hall. Many places allow hens, but not roosters so make sure you check up on that.
If you have the space for chickens they provide a nice source of fresh eggs and meat (if you have a rooster). How many of you have chickens or are considering it? I really want to get some, but can’t in my current place. For those that have them what has been your experience?
Our friends over at Shelf Reliance (the people that make the amazing roller shelving all the authors here love so much) are having a special event this weekend, that I’ve been meaning to post for a while now. You see, they’ve been selling awesome shelving, and a great line of food storage products for a while now, but they have decided to open up another channel for sales. Yes, they are starting up their own “Home Parties“.
For those interested in maybe making a little money, or getting even better deals on some of the best, locally made food storage products, it might be in your interest to check it out. It’s open to everybody, and they’ll be giving demo’s for people interested in how to use many of their products.
From their blog announcement:
The goal of Shelf Reliance Home Parties is to share the vision of preparedness and food storage with people across the country. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from building your own future while helping others prepare for theirs, and Shelf Reliance Home Parties is the perfect opportunity to experience this for yourself. Our great-tasting food and competitive pricing have made us a leader in the industry, and this new business opportunity will allow you to benefit from our history of excellence. Whether you’re interested in a career with Home Parties, want to host a few parties here and there, or just want to see what it’s all about, we invite you to attend and hope you’ll stay to chat!
When: Saturday, April 17th.
Place: Golf Clubhouse at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah
Time: 1:00-5:00 PM (1-3 Open House, 3-5 Launch Presentation)
Admission: absolutely free
There will be two classes on Food Storage taught in Spanish Fork on Thursday evening.
Debbie Kent lives in the Southern California. She has been married for 30 years. She and her husband are the proud parents of 6 beautiful children, and grandparents of 3. She has been an advocate of food storage and emergency preparedness since her early teen age years. She enjoys giving emergency preparedness lessons each month at her church. Much of the resources found on this website are the culmination of hours of preparation for these lessons. She sincerely hopes that in sharing this information, other’s may benefit from her efforts. http://peaceofpreparedness.com/
Spanish Fork, April 15th, 2 classes by Debbie Kent
Continue reading “2 Food Storage Classes in Spanish Fork, April 15th”
If my allergies are any indication, Spring has sprung. This means it is time for Daylight Saving Time, spring cleaning, starting gardens and other activities.
What are the UtahPreppers up to?
Continue reading “What we are doing this Spring”
I took this class last year and obtained my equipment through Maple Mountain bees. It has proven to be a fun and rewarding experience for my family and I. The 60lbs. of honey we got our first year wasn’t bad either!
Bryan Esquivel of Maple Mountain Bees authored a guest post for us in May of last year about how he got started in bee keeping. You can find the article here.
April 17th (2pm-4pm).
1475 North 900 West Mapleton, Utah.
Continue reading “Beginning Bee Kepping Class in Utah County April 17th”
This post is cross posted from my blog.
Ever wanted to find a powdered milk that tastes good? You’re not alone. So just in case you don’t want to go through the expense and hassle of trying out every kind of powdered milk you can find, read on. I did it for you.
After a comment about the flavor of powdered milk on another post, I hatched a plan to have folks try a bunch of different kinds of powdered milks to maybe find one that tasted good so this reader and anyone else who wants to know (including me) will know which brands would be best to buy because you know powdered milk is not cheap. I had some super help with this milk experiment from Emergency Essentials, Grandma’s Country Foods, Walton Feed, Blue Chip Group (now Augason Farms), and Honeyville Grain who all donated some of their milk for the review. Thank you to all of you–we couldn’t have done it without you! Continue reading “Great Powdered Milk Taste Test and Review”