Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter

April 2025

Grocery Shopping tips to save money

Each week before shopping, take a few minutes to look at the grocery store app or website. Look for foods that are on sale that your family likes. Instead of buying only one of that item, buy at least two. Only buy the foods and non-food items that you like and purchase already. Depending on the grocery store chain, in order to get the best price, you have to use a digital coupon or buy a certain number of that item. Many of these deals will allow you to mix and match similar items or flavors. Read the fine print.

Shopping this way will save you money in the long-run and it will also help you build up some food storage. Always use a marker to put the year and month that you bought it on the lid or front label. Pull older items toward the front of the shelf. Put new items in the back of the shelf. .

Use the store app to clip digital coupons. Some store chains like Kroger will send you physical coupons in the mail. Be sure to put them in an envelope or organizer and use them before they expire.

Buy fresh produce in season and preserve it

Watch for seasonal produce to go on sale and check the prices often. When there is a special on certain foods, buy a lot and then freeze, dehydrate, can or freeze-day it. In Winter citrus is at its lowest price. In April and May, you will find strawberries and asparagus will be at their lowest. In early Summer fresh cherries will be at their lowest price. In the Fall pumpkins, other squashes and apples will be on sale. These sales are cyclical and you will know when to watch for these good sales.

Case Lot Sales

I realize that not everyone has a store that offers case lot sales. These sales are usually a week or two long, 2 times a year, and offer many canned and boxed foods for sale by the case. In Utah, Eastern Idaho and the Las Vegas area these usually occur in March and September. Most of the time these sales makes the per item price cheaper than the everyday price. Common case items are canned fruits vegetables, beans, tomato sauce and paste, flour, sugar, vegetable oil, apple juice and some box mixes for rice or Hamburger Helper and tuna. For those stores that have case lot sales, be sure to check them out and support those sales if the prices are right.

For those who do not have access to case lot sales, you can buy many of these items by the case at Costco and Sam's Club.

Online Resources for Food Storage

Amazon sells Augason Farms #10 cans of long-term food storage. If you watch there is often a daily deal where you can save a lot of money on that special.

You can purchase food storage items on the websites for Costco, Walmart and Sportsmans Warehouse.

Food Storage | Store This link for churchofjesuschritst.org/food storage, allows you to purchase long-term food storage and have it shipped to you for a $6 per order shipping fee.

Find a Home Storage Center This is from the website providentliving.org Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the current price sheet. This page also has information to locate the nearest Home Storage Center to you, where you can shop in person. All items are already packaged.

Www.beprepared.com is the website for Emergency Essentials. They have been in the emergency preparedness business for over 30 years. They sell long-term food storage items under their original name. They bought out Augason Farms a few years ago.

Shelf Stable Emergency Food Products - Augason Farms This company, affiliated with the above company has a great selection of long-term foods for sale. They ship all over the United States. Their products can also be bought inside some stores such as Walmart and Associated Foods Stores in the Western Unites States like Maceys, Lins, Dans, Braulims and Petersons. I have been very happy with their products. If you have never tried any of these foods, buy a can of each to sample. Once you know you like it, you can them buy more as money allows.

Best Value Freeze Dried Emergency Food Storage | Affordable – Legacy Food Storage

Best Variety & Great Value! - 4Patriots

Freeze Dried Food for Camping & Emergency | Mountain House

Project suggestions to do this month

Each family is different and has different needs and is at different stages of preparedness. Take a few minutes to go over this suggestion list and decide what projects you can do this month to be better prepared.

#1 Make a list of foods you commonly buy and that you want to start to stock up on.

#2 Download the app for your favorite grocery stores and start looking at their adds and coupons each week before you go shopping. Most stores also put their weekly ads on their website. Make your shopping list from the specials and coupons.

#3 Assemble a Go-Bag or 5- day kit. Maybe it is time to check your kits and change out some of the food or clothing. Have you thought of new things to add to your kits? Add some paper maps and more cash in small bills to your kit. Be sure to scan and download copies of your Vital Documents to a thumb drive and add to your kit.

#4 If you already have some food storage, take a look at your supply and organize it or reorganize it.

See if there are items that are years beyond the best by date. Do any items have damage to the packaging, look bad or smell bad? Throw away things that are obviously bad. You may need to take some time to reorganize your stockpile. We just learned the hard way that if things are too hard to get to....we don't use it and it is forgotten. We have several buckets of really old flour that need to be emptied. ( We could not get to them, and they were forgotten). We also found some home canned foods that the lid had come unsealed, and the food was either moldy inside or most of the moisture had evaporated. In this case, it is safe to throw the contents into the trash and wash the jars in a dishwasher. The jars can be safely reused in the future.

How old is too old for food storage?

Most canned foods from a store will be good well beyond the Best by Date. Don't automatically throw things away.

You will not know for sure if something has spoiled or is too old until you open it up. If in doubt, open it. Check to see if the packaging is still good. If it looks good, open it. Now that it is open, does the food inside look good? No signs of spoilage or discoloration? If it looks good, smell it. Does it smell ok? If it does, take a small taste. If it tastes ok, it is fine to consume. If something passes all of these tests, put it in the front of the shelf and plan on using it soon.

How will you know if something has gone bad? Your eyes and nose will tell you right away, but you have to open the can, bucket or jar to find out.

NOTES ON STORING FLOUR

Flour will only be good or taste good for a couple years, even if stored in a large bucket in ideal conditions. For better storage, only store a little bit of flour and store whole grains for most of your baking. Whole grains if stored in a cool, dark and dry place in an airtight container can be good for 20 years. Once grain has been ground it will then only be good for a couple years. Make sure you have a grain mill for grinding your grains as you need into flour.

The most affordable grain mill is a hand crank model. It is well under $100. It is non-electric and small. These can be clamped to a work bench or countertop. The hopper holds about 1 cup of grain at a time. I always suggest one start with this kind of grain mill. A common brand name is Victorio.

When you are ready to move up to a more expensive electric grain mill there are many brands to choose from. Do a Google search and read up on several different brands and check out the reviews for them. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find an old one for sale for a really good price in the classifieds or on Facebook Marketplace. Some of the old models may look old and dated but they still work very well. Here are some helpful videos on this topic.

https://youtu.be/WD8xAsG-RFs?si=5J3mhwp6pzOt6lsI Flour Power and Grain Mills

https://youtu.be/cbNXwbhTxdU?si=jo8wcEguVFE9C9B4 Selecting the Right Grain Mill for Emergencies and Everyday Use

https://youtu.be/ASGQWtWXBIo?si=hasfkVKVYWbzKjfp Grain Mill Review, Mock Mill, Nutri Mill Plus & Harvest

 

Tornado Preparedness

Do you know that there have been tornados in every state in the United States? They also occur in other parts of the world as well.

Tornados can be very unpredictable, but weather forecasting has come a long way! There are several Storm Chasing weathermen that have fantastic YouTube channels, and their forecasting is VERY good. One of my favorites is the Ryan Hall Y'All channel. Another well-known storm chaser is Reed Timmer. I recommend that you check out their channels and watch or listen to a couple of their recent Live Streams. They have multiple people on the ground in different areas of the predicted danger zones. If you subscribe to their channels, especially if you live in areas that have frequent tornados, you will get notifications of when they go live. These will be very helpful.

Make a family plan of what to do during a tornado in your area. Have supplies on hand in the safe place you will go. Be prepared to stay there for several hours if needed. Be prepared to be without power or communication for several days. I recently listened to this video by a man in tornado alley. He is a first responder and trainer. He covers a lot of great information in this video.

https://youtu.be/_UkpbuaUXkU?si=6fW9m2j2qY2KRbnm Tornado Survival Secrets No One Talks About

 

Provident Living and Emergency Preparedness Newsletter February 2025

 

Northern Utah Events to put on your calendar

West Jordan, Utah Citizen Corps class for the community-

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) class by Scott Katsilas Thur. Feb. 27^th 7pm MT

West Jordan, UT City Hall in the Community Room on the West side of the building

Free class geared toward those interested in learning how to use a radio, GMRS vs Ham radios, ease of use, advantages for the family and how it fits into your family communication plan. He will also discuss the types of GMRS radios, license requirements, where to get the radios and pricing.

If you cannot attend in person, this will be available on Zoom as well. The Zoom link is HERE:

Launch Meeting - Zoom The passcode if needed will be Meeting ID: 890 5164 7155
Passcode: 295438

Northern Utah, SE Idaho and St. George/ Las Vegas Spring Case Lot Sales

The stores that have case lot sales are, Broulims, Lin's, Petersen's, Ream's, Dan's and Smiths. They are usually held in March and September. Macey's case lot prices will go into effect on Monday March 3^rd even though the new add doesn't start until Wed. March 5^th. You can go into your local store and ask at Customer Service if they know when their case lot sale will start.

Now is a good time to go through your food storage and take inventory and do a clean-up, reorganize and make your shopping list.

Yard & Garden things to do this month

If you have fruit trees, now is the time to do your yearly pruning. Start by removing any broken or diseased limbs. Then remove any limbs that cross each other or rub on another limb. Finally, trim or thin out branches to increase production. There are a lot of helpful videos available on Youtube and probably some posted by University Extension offices. Do not remove more than 1/3 of the limbs on your tree.

Plan out your garden. Make a map of your garden and where you will plant everything. I keep a spiral notebook just for this purpose. Consider adding another fruit tree, or edible shrubs or berries to your landscape. On the map of your yard, plan where you will put these new plants.

Order your garden seeds for the year. It can take at least 2 weeks for your seeds to arrive. If you want to buy heirloom or non-hybrid seeds, some good suppliers are Seed Savers Exchange Home – SeedSavers, True Leaf Market True Leaf Market | True Leaf Market Seed Company

Baker Creek Seeds, www.rareseeds.com and Anderson Seed and Grain, Organic & Quality Seeds for Every Gardener – Anderson's Seed & Garden

This month the focus will be on storing sweets and other things that we love. If you like this kind of information, I wrote a cookbook in 2024 that has hundreds of recipes for everyday meals and desserts, many different kinds of breads, soups, salads, ethnic recipes, how to make various dairy products from fresh or powdered milk, how to turn butter into ghee, how to vacuum seal foods 3 different ways, dips, dressings, sauces, vinegars and twelve pages of herbal remedies and salves. I also included a lot of food storage information for storing many commonly used foods. The book also includes hints on how to incorporate “food storage” into your everyday meals. My book has 200 pages and the cost is $20 per copy. Shipping IS AVAILABLE. All information you need will be found on the order form HERE: https://forms.gle/hNtPMUi8KVtB5t4X7

How to store chocolate

Chocolate in either chip form or a solid block can be stored for a long time. Simply put in a glass or plastic container with a tightfitting lid. You can add a 100cc size oxygen absorber to each container if desired, but it is not necessary. Store in a cool, dry and dark location. Over time the chocolate will develop a white coating on the outside. That is called a “bloom” and it is harmless. Cocoa powder can be stored in its original container or in glass for many years.

Mint flavored baking chip storage: A few years ago, I bought several pounds of the green mint flavored baking chips in bulk. I did not get around to using a lot of it. They looked fine and I stored them in ideal conditions, but when we tested some, they tasted like soap. I do not recommend storing a lot of these at one time. Buy a bag or two and be sure to use them and rotate them out of your storage. M & M candies and Toffee bits can be stored for several years.

How to store hard candy

Hard candy can be stored for a very long time. You can buy it on clearance sales after major holidays and store in glass or plastic containers. Just be sure to keep it insect-free and dry. Hard candy will be good for several years. There is no need to freeze-dry hard candy as it is not needed for storage and there is almost zero moisture to remove.

  How to store sugar

White sugar should be stored in glass or plastic containers. It should be airtight to keep out moisture. Never use oxygen absorbers with sugar! If you do, it will turn into a brick and will not be usable. Sugar is considered a “forever” food as it can be stored for decades.

Brown sugar can be stored for many years. Over time it will become hard, but it can be softened in the microwave. I suggest storing brown sugar in smaller packages to make it easy to soften when ready to use. If you store unwrapped brown sugar in a large bucket and it becomes hard, it will be difficult to break it up to warm and soften it. You can also make brown sugar by adding molasses to white sugar and stir well.

How to store honey   

Store honey in a glass or plastic container. It should have a lid to keep it clean. Honey is considered a “forever” food as it will be good to eat for decades. Honey does harden over time. That is normal and it is perfectly good to use. Simply warm the honey in a double boiler to soften it. I suggest storing honey in small containers to make it easier to soften and use once it has hardened. If you have a 5-gallon bucket of hardened honey, it will be difficult to remove some of the honey to use it. You can buy the honey in bulk in a bucket, but I suggest pouring it into smaller containers to put it away for storage.

How to store Stevia  

Stevia in liquid, powder or granulated form, if stored where it is cool, dark and dry, has at least a 3 year shelf-life.

Forever Foods- What to store

Would you like to know which foods will last the longest if stored properly? Most foods need to be used or “rotated” before they will go bad. Some foods will only be good for a few months such as nuts, seeds and brown rice. Many foods can be stored for several years. And there are a few that can last for decades if stored properly. Here is a list of those items that can be found nearly anywhere and will last nearly forever.

Raw honey, Real Maple Syrup, whole wheat, white rice, dried beans, salt, white sugar, old fashioned plain popcorn (not microwave type), corn starch, corn syrup, tea bags, vinegar especially the Raw Apple Cider with the Mother, Liquid Aminos by Braggs, ghee or clarified butter, Pure Vanilla extract, whole spices, hard tack, bouillon in cube form, freeze-dried foods, pemmican and hard liquors.

Other forever items to consider for health issues are, activated charcoal powder, Bentonite clay, Food grade diatomaceous earth and herbal tinctures made with 80 proof alcohol.

I have attached 2 very good videos on this topic below. The ladies also give suggestions on how to store these items and why you should have them.

https://youtu.be/Zu5gscdCEjQ?si=W3ETX8MFQNl8zSf9 by The Alaska Granny

https://youtu.be/iYTbhqOBWJA?si=4a0yti3ehBm9JX4_ by Prepsteaders

January 2025 Provident Living News Family Evacuation Planning

Church of Jesus Christ Home Storage Centers (HSC) 2025 price list. https://youtu.be/qfa1GvcohHM?si=bd1thjQXkc7lXj5g

These prices went into effect on January 1, 2025. You can also find a HSC location nearest you by clicking on the same link, above. Be aware that every time something drastic happens like a big disaster or a war breaks out, people rush to the Home Storage Centers all at once and they quickly run out of stock. This happened in 2020 just before the lockdowns started. It took a couple months for them to resupply. You can buy in-person, or you can order these foods online and have them shipped to your home for only $6 shipping for the entire order. When ordering online with this link HERE: https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/new-category/food-storage/food-storage/5637169327.c   each item comes in a case of 6 #10/1-gallon cans. For example, 6 wheat, 6 sugar etc.

 

Things to stock up on this month

Egg laying hens are still being culled by the hundreds of thousands because of bird flu. When even just one hen tests positive they cull the entire flock of many thousands. It can take close to a year for a large-scale egg farmers to replace those hens and for them to reach maturity. 16 million egg laying hens have been culled since December 2024. Officials are saying that the bird flu is now being passed onto cattle. No matter if we believe this narrative or not, it is still causing mass culling of cattle, including dairy cows. This leads to shortages and a big increase in prices of dairy products. Take the time NOW to stock-up on powdered milk and shelf-stable egg products. Eggs can be cracked open and frozen in ice cube trays. One can buy freeze-dried egg powder. You can also scramble eggs and then dehydrate them or freeze-dry them. The YouTube channel Rose Red Homestead has a couple different videos on preserving eggs. https://youtu.be/qfa1GvcohHM?si=bd1thjQXkc7lXj5g   If you have your own chickens, you can save fresh, clean, unwashed eggs by Water Glassing them. Here is a great video from Homesteading Family. https://youtu.be/bTlcCvvUjl0?si=FYnfkRbv7U9-nOJX I have used this method successfully for 3 years.

Powdered milk can be bought in #10 cans from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or you can buy it online at beprepared.com, Amazon and other Food Storage companies. Buy a little and try it out before you buy a lot at once. Morning Moos by Augason Farms is a popular milk. The chocolate milk is pretty good too. Many families prefer Nido Fortificado  brand milk found at Sam's Club and Costco. I have included recipes for preserving eggs three ways, and ideas for using powdered milk in my Cookbook. I still have copies available for local pick up in the Salt Lake Valley and we will ship. The book has 200 pages and I included a lot of food storage information in it as well as everyday recipes. It is $20/book. The order form link to see all the details and to place an order and how to pay is this link HERE: https://forms.gle/EHgo1EJZTYLE6sc9A

Other Books on these topics are Cookin' with dried eggs by PeggyLayton and Cookin' with powdered milk also by Peggy Layton.

 
Make your own citrus cleaner and dishwasher rinse aid to save money 

This is the perfect time of year to make your own citrus cleaner for very little money. Citrus fruits are in season and are at the cheapest price all year. All you need is white vinegar and citrus peels of any kind. This cleaner once strained, can be used on countertops, stove tops and as a dishwasher rinse aid. I buy 32oz Rinse Aid for $10. That is $10/quart or $40/gallon. I use about 1 quart of the Rinse Aid each month. That is $120 every year for 3 gallons! I just bought vinegar for $3/gallon. I can make a year's worth of Rinse Aid for just $9. I poured the vinegar into a clean bucket and as we eat oranges and other citrus fruits we put the peels in the vinegar. You can take some of this and put in a blender first if you want. Keep a lid on the bucket. After a minimum of 2 weeks, strain the peels out of the vinegar. Pour cleaner back into the vinegar bottle that you saved. Use as desired. 

Sources for Ivermectin for human use 

If you are interested in having Ivermectin in your home for personal use, it is now easy to find some. You can buy it online at https://ivermectin.com or you can add it to your prescriptions list from Home US - JASE Medical or https://jasemedical.com If you prefer to have an herbal version of Ivermectin, you can buy it from a friend of mine. Her name is Mickey and it is available on her website https://thehealersart.com Her contact information is on the website including her phone number. Call her to place your order or send an email to mickey@thehealersart.com. Store this dry herbal mix in a cool and dry place in the dark. The powder can be made into a tea or blended until fine and put into gelatin capsules. This can be taken to ward off illnesses or used only when sick. The herbs used are listed on her website.

Evacuation Planning for your family 

Does your family have an emergency evacuation plan? Do you know what you would grab first if you had to leave quickly? Do you know where your vital documents are? Does each person and pet in your home have a Go Bag? These are also called 72 hour or 96 hour Kits.

 #1 Sit down with your family and talk about realistic scenarios that could happen in your area. Discuss how those events would impact your home and place of work.

 #2 What are the most important things that you want to take with you if you have to leave quickly. Most people agree that those things would be People, Pets and Papers. You can also add photos.

 #3 Make a list of those things from above and make a plan now for who would grab what and write down what you need to do NOW to make it so a quick get-away would go smooth.

 #4 People: Make sure each person knows how to exit the house in the dark. Practice how to escape a house fire with your children. Make sure each person knows where the Go Bags are and that they need to grab one! Make sure each person knows where the meet-up place will be. That could be by the mailbox, or at a certain neighbor's home. Do you also have a meet-up place that is outside of your neighborhood? Does each person know that address?  Have a list of close friends and family with their contact information in your emergency kit so you can contact them in an evacuation.

 #5 Pets: If you have animals, be sure to assemble a Go-bag for each animal. Each small pet should have its own carrier. We bought used carriers on Marketplace. We also assembled a kit for our cats and dogs that include collapsable bowls for food and water, and extra leashes. We also have a small bag of food in the kit. That will need to be rotated out or used each year. We keep our kit inside an extra carrier. You can also use a storage tote. Keep these items all together as well.  If you have farm animals, how would you get them out of danger in the fastest manner? Where would you take them? Do your large animals like horses have a microchip or an easily identifiable tag on a halter? Some people take a sharpie marker and write the owner's name and phone number on a hoof. In an extreme situation, you may just have to let them loose so they can run from danger. In this case you can see why a microchip for a horse will be very important. Each pet should also have physical ID tags on them and have a Microchip that is current on them. If you are not sure if their microchip is current and working, simply take it to your vet or animal control and ask them to scan it so you know for sure. If you do not have a copy of a current rabies vaccine, you will need to get a copy or have it scanned on your thumb drive and include that with your important papers. Shelters most often will not let your animal stay there if there is no proof of a rabies vaccine. Have a list of shelters in your area that may be used if evacuating.

 #6 Papers: I suggest putting your Vital Papers or documents in a LARGE, ZIPPERED, 3-RING BINDER. These are often used by High School Students. To the binder, add SHEET PROTECTORS and a couple ZIPPERED PENCIL POUCHES.

While you are shopping, also be sure to buy an inexpensive LANYARD,  THUMB DRIVE, and KEY HOOK for each person in the home. Lanyards and key hooks, like the picture below, are sold wherever keys are made and sold.   Look for the kind of thumb drive that has a small hole in it to hang it onto something. You will see why further down the page. 

Start to gather the most important papers first, (this part will take multiple sessions to get it all done.) I would also SCAN each of those papers, so you have a digital back up in addition to the original papers. Include a list of your commonly used websites with logins and passwords. In a highly stressful time, you may not be able to remember all of them. Be sure to have a physical photo of the whole family together AND individual pictures of each person. Put the photos in the binder in sheet protectors. 

Buy a thumb drive for each family member. Upload a copy of all of those documents and pictures onto EACH thumb drive. Give each family member, even kids, a thumb drive and put one on each lanyard. It is very important that each family member have all the same information in case you get separated. After Hurricane Katrina, many children were separated from their family. It took several months for many of them to be reunited as the kids often did not have identification and did not know their parent's names, addresses and they were too young to have a way to help the Red Cross find the parents. Photos will also be vital for you to prove that the kids belong to you. 

Lanyards should be kept in a nightstand or with your Go-Bags. When leaving, put lanyard around your neck. To each lanyard, attach a Nite-Ize Brand S Biner Key Hook. See the photo below.  Each little hook can lock into place, so you do not have things fall off. You will put the thumb drive on one hook and will be able to attach other useful things to the other hooks. Those things can be a mini flashlight, a compass, chap stick, small sunscreen and other helpful things such as a Coleman lantern igniter shown below. Practice using this lighter. This lighter has been recommended by someone who has helped in shelters after disasters. Most shelter workers do not know what it is and will not confiscate it. They WILL confiscate things like matches and knives.  If and when you do go to a shelter, take your Go Bags with you!  Some people do not realize that the shelters only give you a roof and walls and a place to sleep.  You will want and need the items in your bag. 

Use the pencil pouches to hold bulky things like passports, paper maps, cash in small bills and spare keys. Depending on the disaster, you may not have cell service. You will need to have detailed paper maps of your area. You can find these at some gas stations, at Barnes and Noble bookstores and on Amazon. Old photos like family history photos can be scanned and they can be saved on a CD or hard drive saved at a separate location like at work or a family member's home.

 If you have enough time to evacuate, add other items to your list that you would want to take with you. I found a great print out at www.totallyready.com and there are print outs on Etsy that you can use for evacuation planning. My favorite plan gives you a list of things to take if you only have 5 minutes. There is another list for if you have 15 minutes. And yet another list if you have 30 minutes or more. You can also create your own list. Prioritize the most important things and then add things as time allows. PRINT your lists out and put in a sheet protector and tape to the back of your front and back doors. Then get busy saving your documents and assembling your Go-Bags.