We are the “Plan It” portion of the Fun with Food Storage Network.  We show you how to get started and how to plan you Food Storage Program.  If you want additional information on buying and cooking with your food storage, visit the Fun with Food Storage Network.

Before You Begin

  • Sign up for our BabyStep Checklists to get FREE printable to-do lists sent to you via email every two weeks

Have a Basic Emergency Plan in Place:

  • Before you begin your food storage, it is critical to have an emergency plan for your family that includes the following:
    • Family Plan: Includes emergency contact info, meeting locations and education
    • Disasters Kit: Includes supplies, 72-Hour Food Kit, and Emergency Binder
    • Evacuation List: Know measures to take when evacuating your home, including a list of important things to grab and have a car kit in place
  • We have an Emergency Preparedness Plan that includes each item for all these components, download it today and get started (you can also get our plan in pdf format).

  • Make sure you have a plan in place to backup your computer (view our post about the method that we recommend)

Prepare Your Space:

  • Find the coolest place in your home.
  • Clean your space out well so you wont be overwhelmed by a crowded dirty area.
  • See BabyStep 1 for shelving information.

Determine Your Budget:

  • Determine how much per month you can spend.
  • Eventually your grocery budget should just include food storage within it, however when you’re starting from scratch you may need to invest a little more upfront.
  • It is not wise to go into debt for food storage, so be prepared to be thrifty and think smartly.

Make a Plan:

  • Browse through the first few BabySteps to determine your initial start-up plan.
  • Be careful not to think too far ahead or you’ll never get started.
  • We recommend getting a partner do to this with. It gives yourself some accountability.
  • GIVE YOURSELF DEADLINES! (and maybe even rewards like chocolate cake for accomplishing each step)

  • Emily
    Julie
    This site is awesome! Thanks for sending me the link. You're so great. Thanks!
    Emily
  • jweiss08
    No problem. We are getting ready to add tons more research. We have found it is just so much easier to share and talk about it with people then to sit there and just be overwhelmed.
  • RP
    Thank you Julie I am now fearing that my very skinny body would only survive for 1hour and 19minutes after an emergency before it consumed itself.

    Sleep has now been replaced with anxiety induced seizures and panic attacks...

    Time to start my food storage.

    And now I know how ;)
    Merci beaucoup, arigatou gozaimashita, thank you!
  • I am so happy i found this website. I've been looking for an easy to follow steps to get started with my Food storage..or at least a website that i can frequently check out to help me get started. I mean, i have started a few like 5 sacks of rice, some flour, sugar and salt but the canned goods i keep on using and have a hard time replacing...honestly i feel overwhelmed.
  • Jodi
    Cherry,

    Don't feel overwhelmed! Just set a monthly budget you want to allocate towards food storage and start working your way through the BabySteps. We were very overwhelmed when we started too, but breaking it into small steps has really helped it to feel achievable for us.
  • Wow, great site! I am totally overwhelmed when it comes to this subject...and live with guilt. I think currently we have about a month supply of peanut butter, some top ramen noodles and some water jugs in the basement. Pitiful, I know.

    I am definitely going to read your site and try to implement your ideas. Thanks for putting all of this together.
  • cathy brophy
    Like the info. One problem I have with food storage is the size of the cans.I think that smaller size portions (feeds 2-4 people )is more practical as once the number 10 cans are open, they should be consumed soon as possible to avoid spoilage. Also, the foods should be ready to eat out of the can(such as chili, vegetables,meats(tuna,chicken,beef etc. ) as there could come a time where there will be no means to heat or cook the food. While the dehydrated and freeze-dried are great and have their place,one should prepare for both cases. Thanks.
  • Michelle
    I really think this site is great. It's perfect for those who like a structured way of getting their storage. A lot of times, it's a lot less overwhelming when it's broken down for you. Thanks for your work.
    In response to Cathy, I would like to say that if you plan well, you will still be able to cook or heat your stored foods. It isn't difficult to store enough fuel, such as alcohol or charcoal, to cook foods. Also, there is a way to use something called a " hay box", which is sort of like a crock pot, only without electricity. Check out the simplylivingsmart.com website to find out about secondary sources of cooking. I don't represent them, I just really like they site for that kind of information.
  • Jodi
    Thanks for the tips Michelle. We've used simplylivingsmart.com too, especially for finding detailed information about specific things. It can be a bit overwhelming over there but I agree it is an excellent resource. Also, we are researching alternative heating/cooking methods and will be posting about them once we have completed our BabySteps.
  • Great step by step info. You can find a ton of recipies to use with all the stored foods and how to rotate it into your everyday menu to avoid spoilage and decrease your current food budget at www.marlenesmagic.com.
  • Heidi
    I clicked on the link for the 72 hour kit video and it says "we're sorry, this video is no longer available"
  • Jodi
    Heidi, youtube seems to be having some trouble with this video. I am working on uploading it to a new spot so that it will work all the time. Sorry!
  • Mary Barclay
    Wow Julie,

    "When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren" You are converted to this principle and are helping others to do so. I am so proud of you. Thanks for letting me know about it!
  • Misty Sutton
    In working with the Emergency Preparedness Council of our Stake, I volunteered to design a flyer with simple ways to get started on food storage in order to help our members not feel so completely overwhelmed with the task. I am definately going to incorporate a ton of the information on this site. Thanks so much! It is very obvious how much effort you ladies put into this.
  • PJ
    Do you ladies find that once your 1-year supply of storage food is in place, that your monthly "food maintenance" to keep up the storage food supply and replace what is used, costs less or more than your regular grocery bills before you started your food storage plan? I ask because food has gone up in price so much where I live, I'd like to get an idea of any savings I may realize when I make food an "investment." Thank you for your website!
  • brownmom
    I am new to the site and love the tools. Thank you. I just wanted to make a comment in response to PJ's question. I made the investment this year with our stimulus check and purchased the basics of a one year supply. Since then I have purchased pantry items etc. each month as they came on sale. I have to say, my food bill has decreased most weeks or stayed the same, but on the weeks it is the same, we are eating better than we did or accomodating a special occasion which used to be an "extra" expense. Not to mention, we actually ate out less because I had a meal plan (thanks to these ladies) and didn't have to spend time wondering what to fix and figuring out if I had the ingredients. The peace of mind of having full "cupboards" is extraordinary. We even this past month have had some unemployment come our way. We were able to keep feeding our family and only had to purchase the perishables. I go back to work after the first of the year but will, after my experience, be happy continue to utilize and replenish my food supply on a weekly basis.
  • Kirsty
    I have been struggling for months trying to figure out where to start, what to get, and how much to get of everything. I was very overwhelmed and got cranky everytime I thought of it...but now those days are in the past! Thank you so much, now I know my family is ready and it wasn't hard to get there.
  • Amber
    I cannot find a wing tip stove on the Emergency Essentials website. Do you know of any other websites that sell those? Does Emergency Essentials still sell these? Our kits are all done and ready to be taped up, I am just waiting on these stoves. Thanks for all the info and help, what a great help this website is!!
  • Emily Patterson
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE this website! I totally have the self-reliance itch but I've been humming with my fingers in my ears!! Thanks for all your hard work! I shrunk at the idea that it would take a little more money to get started (shelving, supplies, etc.) but then I remembered that it is perfect timing for an incoming tax return! 2009 is going to be FINE!!!
  • Jodi
    Amber, I have updated the 72 hour kit post to have a new link to shelf reliance where you can buy the wing-tip stove online. I'm not sure if they (or Emergency Essentials) still sell them in the store. We bought ours about 3 years ago. Hope that helps!
  • Amber
    Thanks Jodi, Shelf Reliance does sell the wing tip stove still. Emergency Essentials does not. Thanks much!
  • Scott
    I am really new to the whole idea of food storage. Your website has been very insightful at helping to understand the procees. Your 3 month food supply excel sheet is great. I'm having trouble with the actual meal ideas (I'm not much of a cook). Do you have a sample meal plan (and or recipes) for a week--breakfast, lunch, and dinner that would work with the typical stored foods, but can be cooked on a grill or camp stove (in case ovens are usuable)?
  • Susie
    Do you have any ideas on how and where to store emergency 72 hour kits or car kits for a large family? Having 11 sleeping bags in the car is not going to work! Additionally, I am going to be hard pressed to figure out how to store the 11 emergency kits.. I thought I could get a new big trash can for our food kits but I don't know how I am going to store blankets and such for 11 people!
  • Laura Lake
    I just found your website and am SO grateful that someone has put this together in an easy, fun, and helpful format. I need reminders!!! And I'm so glad you offer that. I'm excited to get started and to learn how to use it all.

    Thanks a million!
    Laura
  • Terri Stanko
    What great information in easy to read and plan format. I love to organize but since we are renovating I spend so much time re-organizing the same items that need to be moved to new temporary places, I haven't even begun to think about these food storage kits until I came across your site. Thanks so much and I can't wait to get started! Great job on all of your hard work!

    Terri
  • EMR
    I have just logged on and received my first update. Thanks. I live just outside Durban,RSA. Our biggest problem is motivating people to get started. I have had food storage all through my church membership, And during a retrenchment it really saved our bacon, I want to use your program to get our ward really working on it, and would appreciate any tips you could give me on accomplishing that.
  • Linda
    Your site has been such a great resource in helping me with my calling as Emergency Preparedness Director!

    I have a website with monthly goals for my ward and for anyone else who wants to follow along and get more prepared. Of course, I reference your site all the time on it!

    http://safetyandpeace.blogspot.com
  • Cindy Lee Muir
    Hello, I just found and love this site. I am the Lehi Community Newsletter. I am just wondering if I could some of your info to the newsletter. It is an "newsletter" we do not sell or promote items or business. The info I add will be for community information only and I will add your website home page address. Let me know if this is something I can do for the residents of Lehi, Utah.
    Thank You, Cindy Lee Muir
  • Jodi -- Food Storage Made Easy
    Hi Cindy, if it's just small snippets of things from our site, and you add our website as the reference, we would have no problems with that. We would be flattered! We are grateful to have people spreading the word about our site and about food storage in general. It's so important, especially right now! Thanks for asking :)
  • akamom
    I haven't looked over your whole site but it appears that your basic emergency plan does not talk about "Shelter in Place." This is an important part of a basic emergency plan the woudl be used if you were not able to leave your home to evacuate. Examples may be a the release of a hazardous gas or radiation release. In such circumstances you should not evacuate but "Shelter in Place". I'm sure you can find a lot of good information on this concept on the www.ready.gov site.
  • JOY
    I love your new format of this page - so easy to follow! Thanks for all you DO!
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