Food Store

Joseph in Egypt tells the Pharoah of a coming famine, where there would be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of lean (Genesis 41). The Pharoah was wise and headed Joseph's counsel and started to buy up land, grow crops and built appropriate storage during the years of plenty and at the end of that time the food supplies were used to feed the whole of Egypt and beyond.

Today the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the only church to have a living prophet, President Thomas S Monson, have also given counsel to store now what will be needed in the future. They give the following counsel;

1. Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
2. Store drinking water.
3. Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
4. Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.
   http://lds.org/ensign/2009/03/family-home-storage-a-new-message?lang=eng&query=home+storage

Let me make this even more simple - 

a. Find a pad of paper and a pen

b. Write down everything you eat and or drink for a week, create a list, remember it's emergency food not a feast but do add chocolate

c. Find a box, cardboard or otherwise, it doesn't really matter and put it where you can see it so it will be a constant reminder

d. Decide on a budget, add a money jar to the box, even small change can go a long way when necessary

e. Buy only what you are going to eat, you may have to live on what is in the box

f. Be diligent in adding to the box, work on gathering a week's supply of food, then 2 week's supply and so on. Try and leave the food you buy in its original packaging if possible, use in date order

g. Last one, add bottled water

A word of warning we do not know what tomorrow may bring but we can try and be as prepared as possible. Do not think of Home Storage as only available for use in times of extreme famine as in Joseph's time but we all have lean-times, when we are sick or we are unemployed. In these times of uncertainty it is necessary for us to take action and do that which the Lord has counselled us to do and store that which we may need in the future.

“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their … supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7.