From: Wendy 
a Year's supply

This is good info from the a-years-supply list
Willem

Food Storage for Beginners:

Develop a Home Storage Mindset
If you're new to food storage, first prepare by developing a food
storage mindset. It's easy to think of lots of reasons why we can't
get our food storage started; but we have to remind ourselves that
ANY
food item that is stored for later use (tomorrow, next week, next
year, or years from now) is food storage. In that context, the canned
vegetables and packages of pasta in your kitchen cupboard are part of
your food storage.

Start Simply
Don't begin your food storage focus with the compulsion to obtain a
year's supply of food storage immediately. Start your food storage
plan by determining what food items you use regularly that could be
bought ahead and stored for future use.

Store What You Will Use
Examine the shelf life of food items your family uses. That will
help you to estimate how much you can store. You can only store as
much as your family will use before the shelflife of the food item
runs out (stored at proper temperature and under proper circumstances
in adequate food grade containers, without oxygen if appropriate.)

Back to Basics
You may be able to save money with your food storage by using "back
to basics" techniques such as grinding your own grains, sprouting
seeds, growing garden vegetables, home canning, etc. Whole grains
store well for many years and can be purchased inexpensively in bulk.
If your family is not accustomed to eating whole-grain foods, you
will
need to increase the amount of whole-grains in your diet slowly to
allow the body to adjust to the fiber increase. Whole dried herbs can
also be purchased in bulk inexpensively. You can grind your herbs
with
a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Label Carefully
As you package a food item for storage, be sure to label the
container plainly with the name of the food item and date it is
packed. Place your labels so that you will still be able to see them
when containers are stacked or shelved.

Rotate, Rotate, ROTATE!
The MOST IMPORTANT thing I can tell you about food storage is that
it is necessary to ROTATE your storage. That means that you use the
container that's been stored the longest and replace it with newer
stored containers behind the older ones. If you are storing items
that
you never use, you are wasting space that could be used for food
items
you need. Food storage that spoils or lies untouched is garbage.
Don't
fill your home with garbage. Fill your home with precious healthy
food
storage that will be a blessing to you and your family on a regular
basis and in times of need.

Food Storage is NOT Just for Emergencies
Food storage is not something we set aside for an emergency,
although it is a great blessing in such a time. Food storage is a
plan
for living better, buying less expensively, preserving foods we grow
ourselves, developing a healthier lifestyle, and learning ways to use
our storage for household uses and natural healing.

Keep Food Storage on Your Mind
As you begin to focus on your home storage, keep your storage in
mind as you shop, clip coupons, and browse newspapers for sales. When
you find tomato sauce on sale, stock up on enough for a month or two.
When canned vegetables are on sale, buy enough for a variety of
canned
goods in your storage. Pasta, oil, and beans keep well; so store
enough for two or three months. As your pantry fills, you will begin
to develop an idea of what you want to add to your storage, and
you'll
keep that in mind as you shop and plan your gardening.

Plan Ahead When Buying in Bulk
When you begin to buy in bulk, you will need to plan ahead to make
sure that you have all the containers and equipment you will need for
your storage. Reusable containers can be a blessing for those who
plan
to continue their storage as a way of life.

Tailor Guides for Short-Term Basic Storage and Long-Term Extended
Storage
As you develop a home storage mindset, you can devise a plan for
short-term basic storage and for long-term extended storage. Food
storage guides are meant to be used as general guidelines that can be
tailored to your family's needs that serve to give you a better
overall picture of home storage. Food storage buying guides generally
lay out a plan to obtain a year's supply of food storage with monthly
or weekly goals; but these, too, should be tailored to your family's
needs. For example, if everyone in your family is allergic to oats, a
large supply of oats would be a waste for you. Substitute a similar
food item that your family could put to use; such as barley, rice, or
quinoa.

Set a Goal, Devise a Plan, and Obtain Your Storage
Set a goal, devise a plan, and obtain the storage you desire. For
example, you might begin with a goal to obtain a month's supply of
food storage. You might plan to purchase items such as staples,
canned
goods, dry milk, and pasta, making a chart of how much of each item
you will need to store. As you make your grocery purchases over the
next month, buy twice the amount you need of each item (one for this
month's use, and another for next month's storage.) Buying on sale,
using coupons, and growing your own foods can help to reduce the
initial cost of storing foods. You might have to make some
adjustments
to find money for your storage by cutting back on fast food, eating a
"cheap" meal once a week, or fasting for one day a month or more and
saving the money you would have spent on food for your storage. You
may examine your expenses and find other ways to trim your budget to
allow for home storage; such as going out for entertainment one less
time a month, giving your own haircuts instead of going to the salon,
calling less long-distance, etc. After a few months of storing a
month
ahead and living off your storage, you will begin to see other ways
in
which you can obtain your food storage in greater bulk less
expensively. You may devise a plan for a 3-month supply, a 6-month
supply, a year's supply, etc. as your needs and means permit.

Find Space for Your Storage
As your storage grows, finding storage space can be a challenge. If
you are lucky enough to have a root cellar, basement, or spare room
with temperature control, you are very blessed. If space is a
problem,
get creative. Build shelves, store under beds, use an unused corner
of
a room, store under decorative tables, or store behind couches and
other furniture. If you truly have a desire to set aside home
storage,
there will be a place for your storage.

Make Use of Your Storage
Make use of your food storage and find new uses for it. For
example, learn how to use the same herbs as spices for cooking,
formulas for healing, and household cleaning. Use salt, vinegar, and
baking soda for cooking, healing, and household uses. Learn to grind
whole grains and to sprout your grains for fresh sprouts, juices,
essene bread, salads, and wheat grass. Proper use of your food
storage
can help to simplify your life, improve your health, extend your
budget, and enlighten your soul.

Put Your Home Storage to the Test
Once you feel confident that your home storage pantry is
well-stocked, plan a weekend for your family to put your home storage
to the test. Use only your storage to live on for the weekend. For a
real emergency preparedness test, turn off the electricity and water,
and survive using your alternate sources of heating, cooling,
cooking,
water, etc. Within the first hour you will think of many things you
should have in storage that never occurred to you before. When you
live on your food storage, you will become personally aware of the
need for a variety of herbs, butter powder, mayonnaise, and a number
of things that will make your food storage tastier, more palatable,
healthier, and more interesting.

Storage is a Blessing
As you become accustomed to using, rotating, and extending your
home storage, you will find that it is a blessing to you and others
in
many ways. Your home storage is a blessing when your neighbor who has
lost a paycheck is in need of groceries, when your loved one who has
taken ill needs meals taken to his or her home, when you've run out
of
commercial cleaners so make your own, when a flood destroys all foods
not stored in waterproof containers, when one of the ladies from
Church asks if you wouldn't mind making homemade bread for something
special, when your friend is in need of a poultice for an insect
sting
or wound, when power lines are down and refrigerated items spoil,
when
your father needs an herbal tea for headache or upset stomach, when a
natural disaster destroys homes and food, when your child needs a
homemade game to keep him occupied through an emergency situation,
and, REGULARLY, every time you prepare a meal for yourself or your
family using your home storage. Keep the faith, and always move
forward prayerfully.
Visit the SurvivalRing homepage at
http://www.survivalring.org
Don't forget - Civil Defense Now! is NOW ONLINE...hundreds of pages of
FREE data.
http://www.survivalring.org/cd-main.htm

