If you browse Pinterest for very long, you’ll likely come across pins with lists for food storage, tips for building a 72-hour-kit on the cheap, and articles espousing the importance of emergency preparedness. For Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church), these principles of self-reliance are nothing new. For over a century, Mormons have been counseled to prepare their homes and families, and that guidance is now inspiring more than just the Mormon community.[1]
Mormon Are Counseled to Prepare
The Mormon pioneers who trekked across the plains were required to adequately prepare their food supply for the exodus west. The trip took several months to complete, and even with church-supplies rations, hunger was a very real concern for those early pioneers. Without the preparation from these early members, certainly none of the companies would have made a successful trip.
Mormons today are still counseled to prepare for emergencies, and The Church of Jesus Christ does what it can to make that preparation as easy as possible. Spread throughout the United States are food storage facilities and farms whose product goes directly to the Church for storage purposes. These storehouses are often used to provide food and living supplies (like dish soap, shampoo, and toilet paper) to those in need.
The Church of Jesus Christ also produces food storage kits that are available at cost to members. The Church, however, isn’t the only producer of these kits. Several companies have sprouted that cater to emergency preparedness. Some offer specialized kits geared toward a certain food type, like grains, freeze-dried veggies, or dry dairy products. Some collections include ingredients for full meals. Most food storage companies offer food that can be shelved for up to 25 years.
The Importance Behind Food Storage
Food storage is more than about preparing for the apocalypse, though that’s the tone many Mormon leaders adopted during the Cold War. The Church of Jesus Christ does not preach doom and gloom, and does encourage its members to live their lives as fully as possible. Life, however, is not free from bumps and detours. Job loss is still a very real pitfall for many breadwinners, and a well-stocked food storage can go miles in stretching a family’s food and finances.
Food storage emphasizes self-reliance, a principle that has long been valued by The Church of Jesus Christ. In addition to encouraging food storage, Mormon leaders have counseled members to work out of financial debt and save funds for emergencies and for the future. Again, these principles are nothing new. Financial gurus all across the nation purport those same ideas in books, podcasts, and classes.
The Ease of Preparedness
With temporal and financial preparedness becoming more mainstream, becoming prepared is easier and easier. If you don’t want to buy a whole food storage kit, you can find countless lists for long- and short-term storage online, as well as lists for 72-hour kits and other emergency kits. Being prepared for emergencies is now a major industry for web content and physical production, and those who wish to equip their homes and families have every resource available to them.
If you are needing to get your home in order with food storage and emergency preparedness, visit The Church of Jesus Christ’s page about provident living.