Are our readers practicing long term food storage preparation? I am sure most of our readers do in some way or another.

Food is usually the first thing to come to mind when attempting to prepare for a disaster scenario. A great example of this is when someone races to the store to buy bread and milk at even the mention of a bad storm.

Can you blame them? Statistically the next few things people race to purchase would be bottled water, batteries, generators but only after they get their foodstuff. There are a few different ways the direct line between food and your families mouth can be severed. The most common is on the local level when stores must shut down to an immediate crisis. Usually nasty weather initiates this.

The next situation is when the food supply is directly affected.  What are the odds of this happening? The odds are greater than you think.  Smaller scale disruptions happen all the time. Usually through contamination or weather related events. For example there was a deep winter freeze which ruined most of California’s oranges back in January of 2007? Or what about the peanut butter recall

of  2009  when Peanut Corporation of America recalled bulk peanut butter products for fear of Salmonella contamination. According to MSNBC, at least six deaths were blamed on the outbreak, along with some 470 people who became ill in 43 different states, the most common symptoms being “diarrhea, cramping and fever.”  Most of the  nations Peanut  Butter was off the shelf for a while.

Imagine if you would a larger scale disruption such as a prolonged power outage, transportation dilemma, large scale weather event or even a direct attack on the food system and the havoc generated from it.

I hope you realize that most grocery stores only store about a seven day supply of food at one time. This method of supply is more than sufficient under standard circumstances. The consumer is guaranteed fresh food and the grocery store owner doesn’t have to manage large stocks of food.

The question you need to be asking yourself is where would you get your food if the grocery stores were forced to temporarily shut down? Or the supply of food was compromised and could not replenish in a timely manor?  How would you feed your family? The day and age of the small farmer has been all but eliminated from the American way of life, so local farmers would not be of much of a help to many of the affected population. It would default to the government to provide your family with food rations. If you take a look at the recent history one would see that our government hasn’t been productive or timely when it comes to aiding American disaster.

If your aim is to be truly prepared for a long term food source disaster scenario you need a very large food cache or a self replenishing food source such as a garden or livestock.  Unfortunately for many, livestock  is just not an option if you live in the city limits or even many townships.  There are restrictions not only legal in nature but the amount of land you need will also come into play. While another viable option is gardening  for all intensive purposes we are going to (for the present) assume you do not own the land space required to garden. Note: We like the idea of gardening.  So the  next acceptable plan of action would be to stock very large quantities of food that does not perish. The goal can be easily met. The recommendation is that you accommodate  for a generous food storage plan that satisfies your families in all requirements save the very worst.

Stocking up on canned goods and MRE’S  (along with other freeze dried foods) is an excellent option and always remember to rotate your  stock. And dont be afraid to have a large store as long as its rotated properly. But our biggest motto is to eat what you store and store what you eat.

Moving on, I had no idea that canneries existed anywhere in America to the public, more importantly ones aimed at long term food storage. I Paid a visit to the church of Latter Day Saints Cannery in my local area and was pleasantly surprised to see what long term food storage options they offered me. It was like a haven for anyone looking to be a little more self sufficient in the face of potential disaster.

They taught me a few things about long term food storage and sent me on my way after a very very fair purchase. These people have been practicing long term food storage as part of their very belief for hundreds of years and practically wrote the book on it. Very very nice people.

I ended up spending a very inexpensive 231.15 in the beginning stages of my long term family food preparation. All of the food purchased, a few hundred pounds…. has a 30+ year shelf life outlasting a lot of other options including MRE’s! I ended up getting very large bulk quantities of pancake mix, pinto beans, quick oats, white rice, hard red wheat, white flour, potato cakes, sugar, a few combo starter packs and a few pounds of drink mix.

I few more runs and I hope to get a years supply for my family. I cant say much else about these wonderful people. They are very helpful and if you have a center in your nearby area I suggest you pay a visit. They are very religious in nature (as are all good Mormons) and some locations may require you to be with a member of the church when making a purchase or even visiting or touring. The area Bishop that governs dictates the local storehouse regulations. The local center here allows outsiders, but I hear that many, as of this writing in fact do not.

If you want to pay slightly more, you’ll find that at providentliving.com (their website) you can purchase bulk food in #10 cans for very affordable prices as well. No membership in the church necessary, no attempt to convert your faith.

At any rate this is an excellent route and I hope some of our readers learn a thing or two from this write up.

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Home Storage Center Locations

Listed below are the addresses and phone numbers of every Latter-Day Saints home storage center in the nation as well as Canada. You can also visit the site here and view a detailed map of each location.

Utah

 

UT-Castle Dale	435-381-2127	560 E Highway 29 Castle Dale, UT 84513
UT-Cedar City	435-867-4968	219 East 275 North Cedar City, UT 84721
UT-Centerville	801-298-2208	1180 W 500 N Centerville, UT 84014
UT-Delta	435-864-4753	296 N 100 E Delta, UT 84624
UT-Fillmore	435-743-6614	85 N 400 W Fillmore, UT 84631
UT-Kaysville	801-543-1855	61 S 600 W Kaysville, UT 84037
UT-Layton	801-336-3230	930 W Hillfield Rd Ste F Layton, UT 84041
UT-Lindon	801-785-0997	940 W Center St Lindon, UT 84042
UT-Logan	435-227-0405	165 E 2200 N Ste A North Logan, UT 84321
UT-Magna	801-250-5854	3648 S 7200 W Magna, UT 84044
UT-Manti	435-835-9702	50 W 50 S Manti, UT 84642
UT-Moroni	435-436-8244	231 North Center Street Moroni, UT 84646
UT-Murray	801-266-1460	4373 S Main Murray, UT 84107
UT-Nephi	435-623-0532	575 E 700 N Nephi, UT 84648
UT-Ogden	801-393-0210	1531 Lincoln Ave Ogden, UT 84404
UT-Price	435-637-4708	270 E 100 S Price, UT 84501
UT-Roosevelt	435-722-2540	95 W Lagoon St. Roosevelt, UT 84066
UT-Sandy	801-561-8104	615 E 8400 S Sandy, UT 84070
UT-Springville	801-491-7359	1672 W 700 S Springville, UT 84663
UT-St George	435-673-3491	516 N 1400 E St George, UT 84770
UT-Vernal	435-789-9058	2178 E 1500 N Vernal, UT 84078
UT-Welfare Square	801-240-7387	751 W 700 S Salt Lake City, UT 84104

 

Western US

 

AK-Palmer	907-746-3509	4350 S Bodenburg Loop Rd Palmer, AK 99645
AZ-Mesa	480-214-9114	235 S El Dorado Cir Mesa, AZ 85202
AZ-Snowflake	928-536-3458	641 S Main St # 1 Snowflake, AZ 85937
AZ-St Johns	928-337-3745	155 E Commercial St St Johns, AZ 85936
AZ-Tucson	520-514-9039	3535 S Richey Tucson, AZ 85713
CA-Chico	530-894-8302	1040 Marauder St Chico, CA 95973
CA-Colton	909-824-1307	791 N Pepper Ave Colton, CA 92324
CA-Concord	925-798-1763	1063 Detroit Ave Concord, CA 94518
CA-Fountain Valley	714-437-9205	17350 Mount Hermann St Fountain Valley, CA 92708
CA-Fresno	559-255-7075	1425 N Rabe Ave Fresno, CA 93727
CA-Los Angeles	323-261-6351	2730 E 12th St Los Angeles, CA 90023
CA-Murrieta	951-698-3549	25855 Jefferson Ave #3H Murrieta, CA 92562
CA-Sacramento	916-381-5150	8401 24th Ave Sacramento, CA 95826
CA-San Diego	858-279-5712	4722 Mercury Ave San Diego, CA 92111
CA-Santa Clara	408-748-9918	442 Nelo St Santa Clara, CA 95054
CA-Stockton	209-943-1892	3112 Loomis Rd Stockton, CA 95205
CA-Sylmar	818-833-6696	15648 Roxford St Sylmar, CA 91342
CO-Aurora	303-371-7650	3233 N Fraser St Aurora, CO 80011
CO-Colorado Springs	719-550-0433	4090 Center Park Dr Colorado Springs, CO 80916
CO-Grand Junction	970-245-2011	2956 North Ave #2 Grand Junction, CO 81504
HI-Honolulu	808-841-6311	1120 Kalihi St Honolulu, HI 96819
ID-Burley	208-678-0434	245 N Overland Dr Burley, ID 83318
ID-Garden City	208-375-7893	604 E 46th St Boise, ID 83714
ID-Idaho Falls	208-529-1678	770 W Anderson St Idaho Falls, ID 83402
ID-Pocatello	208-233-1937	590 Roosevelt Ave Pocatello, ID 83206
MN-Apple Valley	952-891-3099	6890 145th St W Apple Valley, MN 55124
MO-Bridgeton	314-344-0313	12843 Pennridge Dr Bridgeton, MO 63044
MO-Kansas City	816-453-2398	3601 NE Kimball Dr Kansas City, MO 64161
MT-Missoula	406-721-3197	6200 Industrial Rd Missoula, MT 59808
NE-Omaha	402-896-8194	13232 Portal Dr Ste 2 Omaha, NE 68138
NM-Albuquerque	505-343-1905	4400 Presidential Dr NE Albuquerque, NM 87109
NM-Farmington	505-486-0163	925 Cannery Ct Ste B Farmington, NM 87401
NV-Las Vegas	702-631-2438	4455 Allen Ln North Las Vegas, NV 89031
NV-Reno	775-856-2245	580 Reactor Way Ste 5 Reno, NV 89502
OK-Oklahoma City	405-691-6788	11224 S Meridian Oklahoma City, OK 73173
OR-Portland	971-230-0770	10420 SE 82nd Ave Happy Valley, OR 97086
OR-Redmond	541-548-6868	1950 SW Badger Ave, Ste 109 Redmond, OR 97756
OR-Springfield	541-726-9201	1690 S A St Springfield, OR 97477
OR-St Paul	503-633-4433	16572 River Rd NE St Paul, OR 97137
OR-White City	541-826-4220	7575 Pacific Ave White City, OR 97503
TX-Austin	512-252-2177	3912 Gattis School RD Bldg 5 Ste 104 Forrest Commons Bus Pk Round Rock, TX 78664
TX-Carrollton	972-242-8597	1100 W Jackson Rd Carrollton, TX 75006
TX-El Paso	915-566-1335	2910 Tularosa Ave El Paso, TX 79903
TX-Houston	281-537-1785	16333 Hafer Rd Houston, TX 77090
TX-San Antonio	210-520-1122	6880 Alamo Downs Pkwy San Antonio, TX 78238
WA-Bremerton	360-373-6028	288 Wilkes Ave Bremerton, WA 98312
WA-Kennewick	509-735-6455	6501 W Deschutes Kennewick, WA 99336
WA-Kent	253-850-6392	1412 W Morton St Kent, WA 98035
WA-Mount Vernon	360-424-0335	1524 Riverside Dr # 14 Mount Vernon, WA 98273
WA-Mukilteo	425-315-1514	4215 C Russell Rd Mukilteo, WA 98275
WA-Spokane	509-928-1035	E 9423 Fourth Ave Spokane Valley, WA 99214
WY-Evanston	307-679-7594	315 Elm St Evanston, WY 82930
WY-Green River	307-875-3972	120 Shoshone Ave Green River, WY 82935

 

Eastern US

 

FL-Davie	954-581-3845	5000 SW 52nd St # 512 Davie, FL 33314-5514
FL-Jacksonville	904-772-8835	5100-1 Firestone Rd Jacksonville, FL 32238-1664
FL-Orlando	407-857-1863	10502 Satellite Blvd Ste C Orlando, FL 32837-8479
FL-Plant City	813-707-9425	802 Hitchcock St Plant City, FL 33564-9060
GA-Tucker	770-908-5782	4823 N Royal Atlanta Dr Tucker, GA 30084
IL-Naperville	630-369-1508	2892 W Diehl Rd Naperville, IL 60563
IN-Indianapolis	317-872-1754	5151 W 84th St Indianapolis, IN 46268
LA-Slidell	985-641-4844	480 Robert Blvd Slidell, LA 70458
MA-Worcester	508-595-9319	231 Brooks St Worcester, MA 01606
MI-Farmington Hills	248-536-1128	37634 Enterprise Ct Farmington Hills, MI 48331
NC-Greensboro	336-668-2284	129 Landmark Dr Greensboro, NC 27409
NJ-Bridgeport	856-467-0031	613 Heron Dr Pureland Industrial Park Bridgeport, NJ 08014
NJ-Piscataway	732-248-7606	121 Ethel Rd W #7 New Brunswick, NJ 08906
NY-Canandaigua	585-394-4435	2474 State Route 21 Canandaigua, NY 14424
OH-Brecksville	440-526-4057	6900 Southpointe Pkwy Unit C Brecksville, OH 44141
OH-Groveport	614-836-2598	4431 Marketing Pl Groveport, OH 43125
SC-Columbia	803-699-5740	9730 Mill Field Rd Columbia, SC 29223
TN-Hendersonville	615-822-5584	19 Industrial Park Dr Hendersonville, TN 37075
TN-Knoxville	865-692-5374	202 Sherway Rd Knoxville, TN 37930
VA-Richmond	804-743-1018	8110 Virginia Pine Ct Richmond, VA 23237
Washington DC	301-735-5131	7979 Penn-Randall Pl Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

 

Canada

 

AB-Calgary	403-444-5161	7040 Farrell Rd SE Calgary, AB T2H 0T2
AB-Lethbridge	403-320-1505	484 WT Hill Blvd South STE 5 Lethbridge, AB T1J 4Z9
AB-Sherwood Park	780-464-6151	49 Cree Rd Sherwood Park, AB T8A 3X9
BC-Vancouver	604-882-7586	9355B 198th St # 105B Langley, BC V1M 3J9
ON-Toronto	647-520-3174	85 Queens Plate Dr Etobicoke, ON M9W 7K4

Image via providentliving.org