Mr. Rawles;
I’m chagrined to say that I found your blog rather late in the game–just two weeks ago, when a friend at church mentioned it. (We had been talking about the banking panic.) Your blog was a real eye-opener. So now I’m just plain overwhelmed and definitely feeling “behind the power curve.” I have a lot of catching up to do. How can I get smart on preparedness in a great hurry, especially about [storing] food? Will food from the grocery supermarket do? Do I need special containers? One of those vacuum sealing things? What about mice? I’m a member of Sam’s Club [1], and I can go to a COSTCO [2] with my sister (who is a member). Are those good places to stock up? How do I figure how much I need to store? What are the [shelf] lives of the different types of foods? Thanks! – Mrs. A.G.
JWR Replies: All of your questions are answered in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course [3] . The course centers around the concept of stocking up for a family’s food storage at “big box” membership stores like COSTCO and Sam’s Club. Knowing the shelf lives of foods is indeed important. Armed with this knowledge, you won’t purchasere a quantity that is greater than you can consume while the food is still nutritious and palatable. One of the appendices in the back of the course binder is a lengthy and detailed table showing the shelf lives of different foods. By the way, your timing will be good, since the preparedness course is currently on sale for 33% off.