The Daily Camera did a Side Bar article on Provident Living:
The screaming headline reminded me of a story a Detroit Paper did on our family when I was fifteen.
“Louisville family prepared to face the end times”
My parents were interviewed in 1985 in a crawl space where we stored our years supply of food. The reporter noted that our family was sitting in our “bomb shelter” during the interview, and the photographer took some pictures of me with my siblings which showed up along with the article. I was Jenny Tripp, aged 15, back then, and if I remember correctly I think they quoted me in the story.
Anyway, this was a flash back to a time when the arms race had everyone a little nervous about nuclear bombs, particularly my dad who followed current events closely. I don’t know how the paper found our family, but they found us a fascinating bunch of “End of the world” nuts to report about.
I was really pleased however that Lisa Marshall mentioned the economics of Provident Living as well as the fact that this is simply a smart way to life if you have children. Recent natural disasters have definitely upped everyones awareness of the need for 72 hour kits, and with the economy a little wobbly, it doesn’t hurt to have some food tucked away in case of lose of a job.
I liked the secondary headline, it said:
“The Mormon practice of provident living also aids in disasters”
For me the bottom line of Food Storage is simply obedience to our living prophets. They have couseled and commanded us to have this years supply, and so we have it. But as we have lived the Provident Life (And in saying that I don’t want it interpreted that we live this life perfectly. We still have a ways to go in certain areas of living providently), I have found numerous reasons why this lifestyle is a profound experience for those who live it. Perhaps the greatest blessing of all is simply increased health from eating such healthy foods.
Here is the text of the article: (My comments are in bold) – and the article was at the bottom of the cover page with a nice picture of three of my children.
By Lisa Marshall, Camera Staff Writer
November 20, 2005
LOUISVILLE — Take a peek in the cupboards of Jenny Hatch’s remarkably well-stocked two-bedroom condo and you may, for a moment, wonder what decade it is.
The kitchen shelves bulge with tall bins of whole grains, which she hand-grinds into flour almost daily for baking, as well as jars of whole beans she simmers for days before serving or storing. In the basement, shelves are piled high with bags of coal — to fire a Dutch oven in case of a power outage — and 55-gallon drums full of water. Beneath her daughters’ two twin beds are stacks of boxes containing cans of dehydrated fruits, powdered milk and legumes.
In all, there is enough food, water and fuel here to sustain her family of seven for an entire year in case of a catastrophic event. And she has no doubt that day will come.
“I believe in the prophecies and I have a testimony that we are living in the end times,” says Hatch, 36, a life-long member of the Church of Latter-day Saints. “We will see the day that we live on what we produce. We are not going to have the luxury of going to the store. It is just smart to be prepared.”
The notion of self-sufficiency, or what Mormons call “provident living,” has been an integral part of the Church of Latter-day Saints doctrine since its beginning, when scripture stressed: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”
In 1937, in the midst of the Great Depression, Mormon leaders upped the importance of self-sufficiency, declaring that every household should store enough food, clothing and fuel to last at least one year. In 1970, some began to warn of what might come for those who didn’t follow the advice.
“The Lord has warned us of famines, but the righteous will have listened to prophets and stored at least a year’s supply of survival food,” said Mormon Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, in an oft-quoted 1973 writing.
In recent years, the church has begun distributing booklets and index cards that outline exactly how to start a home food supply, and what it contains. Across the United States and Canada, it now hosts dozens of food storehouses, milk-processing plants and canneries — including one in Aurora — where church members and their friends can come to stock up on nonperishable foods with long shelf-lives.
Stan Gordon, bishop of the Louisville Ward of the Church of Latter-day Saints, says church members abide by the recommendation in varying degrees. To some who move a lot it’s not practical. For others, it’s not economically possible.
“We teach it and we preach it, but there is no way to twist people’s arms about it,” Gordon says.
He and his wife Brenda take care to always have enough food and supplies to sustain their family of seven for a year. Aside from scriptural prophecy, there are many practical reasons to do so, they say. The Gordons point out that when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, members of the Church of Latter-day Saints were some of the first to arrive in the region with truckloads of supplies, long before federal agencies did.
Even in the event of a personal crisis, they say, an ample supply of stored food can make the difference between making it independently, or having to rely on government welfare.
“It doesn’t have to be a huge disaster,” says Jenny Hatch. “You can just be laid off from your job.”
Hatch said it took her about 10 years to accumulate a one-year-supply for she, her husband Paul, and their five children ages 3 to 17. She values it at about $4,000, plus about $2,000 for equipment like a wheat grinder, a wheat-grass juicer and a hand-crank oatmeal maker, that would allow her to keep cooking and baking even if there were no electricity.
Doomsday scenario aside, she already uses it all anyway, rotating stored food into her kitchen and visiting the Aurora cannery quarterly to replenish the supply.
“You can make a batch of muffins for a dollar, and a loaf of bread for 25 cents,” she says. “The economics of this lifestyle are really family-friendly and budget-friendly.”
And if the worst does happen?
“As a mother, I never want to look at one of my kids and say, ‘I don’t have anything to feed you’,” she says. “Even if there is nothing at the stores and commerce is shut down for whatever reason, I can feed my family and know that no one else has to do it for me.”
Beginning in January, Jenny Hatch will host a series of free, public workshops on Provident Living for Mormons and non-Mormons alike. Topics will include how to cook and bake inexpensively with natural whole foods, and how to create a 72-hour emergency preparedness kit. For more information, e-mail Hatch at jenny@naturalfamilyco.com.