August Storage

I found a Monthly Food Storage Purchasing Calendar compiled by Andrea Chapman, which again is American and has totally different measurements and storage options than what we have Down Under, but you get the general idea. I love how they stress the need to store water.

August
Week 1: 25# Rice
35# sugar
1 #10 can instant potatoes
5 (kilos) salt

Week 2: 1 case tuna or salmon or other meat
2 #10 cans dry milk (powdered milk?)

Week 3: 2 #10 cans dry milk
2 cans shortening (I would store olive oil here)
1 #10 can instant potatoes

Week 4 Looooots of cans of fruit
5 kilos salt

Seems like a lot, but this is if you are still just starting out. I have to confess, I am going a little slower. I like to make sure I have space to store my food, and enough storage containers to avoid rodents etc getting to my food.

Andrea Chapman says at the top of her calendar:-

"If you are just starting out, this calendar can be used any year. Just start with the current month's items.

We have tried to keep the costs down to between $25 and $35 per week. This might seem rather costly, but if you want to build a good food storage in only one year, it will cost you more each week than if you spread out acquiring it over several years. Be certain to buy only items your family will use, and rotate and use the items in your storage throughout the year. Milk is an expensive item and prices keep soaring, so you might need to invest in a bit higher food storage bill to buy it right now.

It is vital to get water storage. If you don't have water, you will not be able to use many of the foods you have that are dehydrated or require water to cook. Many times in natural disasters, the electricity goes down and you will not be able to access your water. Sometimes the water is contaminated from flooding and cross-contamination from sewage. You will need water, at very least, you will need 3 days worth."