Building your Ark * Lesson 3: Noah Gathered Food

Lesson 3: Noah Gathered Food 

Presented by Debbie Kent

Noah was commanded not only store food for his family but also for the animals and did you know they lived on the ark for almost a year? A year supply of food…sound familiar? Now it’s your turn to gather food for your family. Does that sound overwhelming, then take it one level at a time. 

Level One:

90 Days Supply 

Think SOS

Simple- in case of illness or disaster

One Pot- easy and less dishes

Storable- Shelf Stable food that can be stored at least 6 months 

Making Your 90-Day Menu: Make a list of meals for breakfasts that your family likes to eat: pancakes, muffins, cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, toast and jam, eggs and hash browns, coffee cake, granola, etc. If you will eat once a week, multiply ingredients by 12, if 2 times a month, multiply by 6. Then do the same for lunch, dinner and snacks. 

Putting Your Menu into Action: To make pancake breakfast you need: pancake mix, syrup and maybe Tang to drink. The following table shows the breakdown of amounts of ingredient; how many days you will eat in a 3 month period; how much that totals up to; how much is in a package; how many packages you would need for 3 months. You can do this on index cards: one for each meal or on a chart or whatever works for you. The important thing is to pick your meals and list ALL the ingredients. When you do this and have it all on your shelves then you will have the means to make meals that your family will LOVE to eat. 

Meal           Ingredients                Amount               # of days         Totals         Pkg Amt        Needed

Pancakes

                     Pancake Mix               4 c                           12                  48 c             24 c                2

                     Syrup                           1/2 c                        12                  6 c                6 c                 1

                     Tang                             1/2 c                        12                 6 c                 6 c                 1 

When you are done with this list, the totals become your shopping list. Take this list with you when you go shopping and pick up a few items each week, especially stocking up with the items that are one sale and ones you have coupons for.  Before you know it you will have your 90 Day Supply of open and eat foods. 

*Repackaging meals in paper bags or cardboard boxes into mylar bags with O2 absorbers will greatly increase their shelf life. 

Level Two

Long Term Food Storage – One Person/One Year 

“Perhaps if you would think in terms of not what you regularly eat but in terms of what it would take to keep you alive if there was nothing else available” Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley 

o 400 lbs Grains (wheat, rice, oats, pasta, barley, popcorn, rye, millet, spelt, etc)

o 60 lbs Beans (pinto, black, navy, split peas, lentils, or canned meat)

(Bean+ whole grain makes a complete protein) 

THEN ADD:

o 60 lbs Sugar (white, brown, powdered, honey, jello, fruit drink, jelly)

o 8 lb Salt (at least ½ iodized)

o 16 lb Dry Milk (triple amount for small children and nursing mom’s)

o 4 gal. Oil (vegetable, canola, olive, shortening, mayo, peanut butter)

o 2 lb. Baking Soda, 2 lb Baking Powder and 2 lb. Yeast

Survival Mode 

A Basic Year Supply is about the same amount of food the Handcart Pioneers had per day. 

Another problem how to void Appetite Fatigue (a term coined during Post War WWII). During the war the cities had been almost destroyed. The people scrounged and then started growing food. They only had a few different kinds of food so they ate the same thing, everyday. The older people and children just stopped eating and died. You know how children are if it is not something that is familiar to them, that they like, they just say they aren’t hungry.

Lesson learned: Add variety and comfort foods to your storage. 

The Third Level 

 Meals 

Now that you have your basic year supply, start thinking in terms of meals. What can you make using the basics of grains and beans for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and comfort foods and store accordingly. If you want to make pancakes: do you have a grinder, baking soda, and syrup? If you want to make soup, do you have bouillon, vegetables and spices? A tasty meal is A LOT more satisfying than a bowl of plain rice and beans. So what does YOUR family want to eat? 

The Top Level 

 The Givers 

So you have enough food for your family, do you have enough to share with others who did not have the opportunity to store? Maybe you could have some ABC soup mix that you could share with a hungry neighbor? Or are you feeling prompted to help your married kids or other family members? This is the level that moves you from being a survivor to being able to feed His sheep.