I just spent the past few hours organizing six binders for my ward to more fully prepare and get organized around Provident Living.

I was called a few weeks ago to be the Preparedness Specialist in my ward. A calling which I have done four times now. To help our Louisville Ward Achieve the goals set out by our Stake Presidency, I organized these binders to help motivate, educate, and simplify the sign ups for wet pack and dry pack ordering.

Here is some of the information I included in the binders:
A letter from our Stake Presidency outlining three goals for our Boulder Stake Members:
The Food Storage Goals set forth in a letter dated July 9th, 2006.
Dates to Remember:
Complete three day Emergency Kits by OCTOBER1, 2006
Obtain at least one month of food by DECEMBER 31, 2006
Obtain at least a three month supply by JULY 1, 2007

Price Lists for Wet Pack and Dry Pack
Home Storage – Build on the Basics – An article from the June 1989 Ensign
I’m organizing a group purchase of The Kitchen Mill and put a sign up in the binder for that. They have bulk pricing for groups. I used this machine for over fifteen years, almost every day to grind our grains, seeds, and beans into flours to make into bread, pancakes, waffles, and cookies. The motor finally gave out one day after many, many hours of grinding.
I put directions to our Denver Cannery into the binder.
I included a letter from the First Presidency on Home Storage and Financial Reserves.
I included the Proclamation to the world on The Family.
Also included was the document The Living Christ, the Testimony of the Apostles.
And finally I put several copies of Essentials of Home Production and Storage into the Binder:
I’m truly hoping that these efforts will motivate the members of my ward to heed the counsel of our local Stake Presidency to put in a supply of basic foods.
Jenny Hatch

Yesterday at church I was blessed to spend some time with the men of our ward as I taught the High Priest Class. This class is made up of men in our church who are in general the eldest members of our congregation. Since the Elders Quorum was also interested in learning about 72 hour kits, they younger men age 19 and above were also invited to attend the class.
The high priests group leader had asked me to teach a class on 72 hour kits a couple weeks ago and I thought I would share a couple of photos as well as some of the materials I used in the class.
Here are some pictures:

Getting ready for the class
During the class I discussed the importance of keeping the Kit simple, with a focus on the basics which are in order or importance: Proper hydration with at least a gallon of water for each person, warmth with adequate clothing (I brought a large snow suit purchased at Wal Mart for the men to see what our family used for warmth. The beauty of these suits is that they can be used to layer over coats and other clothing, and even used to sleep in for an added layer of protection from the elements – which are an issue for us here in Colorado), and finally Food, which as I explained to them for adults is more about comfort and quick energy than it is about nutrition.
I spent quite a bit of time talking about psychological preparations. And since many of the men in the class are fathers and grandfathers I talked about psychological foods for children, like candy and suckers, which under emergency situations could be the difference between a child being scared and overwhelmed and happily enjoying a sweet treat. Children often mimick the behavior and attitudes of the adults around them in an emergency, and so to help the children feel safe and comfortable, I talked about how important it is for the adults to be in a position to serve and help rather than freaking out themselves. I saw a few heads nodding as I said that.
I also challenged everyone to put in a small supply of plastic diapers, wipes, baby formula, pacifiers, and bottles, so that should they come in contact with an unprepared mother in a shelter situation they could share, to keep babies hydrated and fed….and Momma from feeling the overwhelm that all mothers feel when babies are screaming and no food is in sight.

Visual Aids for the class. During the class I talked about the sorts of foods that we have purchased, which I detailed in this blog entry. I also challenged them to invest in high quality water bottles with a shoulder strap.

Class Materials – one food pack as well as some flyers

Here is a copy of the flyer for the classes I teach on Provident Living four times a year in our home. I have taught this class for twelve years and the feed back from the various people who have attended has been very positive in terms of motivation to get more into whole foods cooking, as well as preparing for emergencies and long term food storage. I have been Dry Pack Certified at our Cannery and have taken several groups down to the cannery in order to dry pack food in number 10 cans. It has been really fun to meet the various people who have attended these classes and sessions at the cannery over the years. My next class will be on September 9th at 8:30 AM here in my home in Boulder County, and it is free and open to the public. And I will be taking a group down to the cannery for dry pack the next saturday at 8:00 AM.
Here is the text from the flyer about the Provident Living Classes taught in our home:
2006 Provident Living Classes! Saturday Family Canning Sessions!
This series will be duplicated four times – once each quarter – Dates for 2006
Provident Living Classes: Jan 14th, April 8th, Sept 9th, Nov 11th – 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
All Classes will be taught at the Hatch home
Dry Pack Family Canning: Jan 21st, April 15th, Sept 16th, Nov 18 – 8AM to Noon
All Canning will take place at the Aurora Cannery 3233 Fraser St. Aurora Co. 80011 –
303-371-7650
Topics covered in the Provident Living Class – Class Title – All about wheat
How to cook a 25 cent Loaf of Bread, Make a ten cent muffin and feed your family breakfast for pennies a day!
72 hour kits and safe water storage
Rotating and using Cannery foods in day to day cooking to increase health and save money!
Sprouting, beans, food allergies to grains, and how to make foods taste great – all will be covered in this comprehensive class!
One-Month Food Storage Kits
To help families with their food storage, home storage centers are now offering guidelines for assembling a one-month food storage kit. The kit contains enough food for one adult for one month. The focus of the Canning sessions will be on producing one month kits.
These kits contain foods like Whole Wheat, Pinto Beans, Powdered Milk, and Salt.
The church I belong to has started to offer one month kits at the various cannery locations around the country. LDS members and their friends of other faiths are welcome to come to the cannery to put together these kits which are extremely inexpensive and contain enough food to feed one person for one month.

Essentials of Home Production and Storage Manual (Scroll down to the link a little bit and the manual will be on your right in PDF format)

During the class I focused on sharing the basics of what to store and finished by telling the men that I believed the most important thing they could do was to go home from church and get a laundry basket and simply start filling it with some food, water, and clothing to get them started.
Most people, if they will take that first step, are then able to move ahead and then make the specific preparations for their individual family, which may include preparations for pregnant and nursing mothers, individuals who are on medications or have special needs, and the elderly.

I ended the class with the challenge that if these good men, husbands, and fathers would humbly go to the Lord and ask him what specific preprations they should make for their own families that he would guide them and help them to know what to do.
We don’t know what is coming in the future, but the Lord does, and he can help us prepare so that if some sort of an emergency happens, we will be in a better position to serve our families and communities effectively.
I shared with the class my views on Last Days Birthing, as well as my belief that we should all move towards Medical Self Sufficiency.
The response to my presentation from the group was intelligent, thoughtful questions and I hope they were all motivated to do something to get prepared this week.

Our Relief Society is also planning on doing an enrichment activity on 72 hour kits this month and the woman organizing that activity has asked me to help her plan it. I’ll share some photos after we do that class.
Jenny Hatch

Chat at Free Republic – (Some of these posts are exceptional!)

Today the children and I re-did our 72 hour kits.
I was going to wait until the fall to put them together. I like to do this every year after camping season is over. With girls camps, scout camp, and our family camping, inevitably the kit is often rummaged through to find various camping tools. So, in the fall I find everything and put it back together and put it in a location in our home where it is easily accesible in case we need to evacuate because of an emergency.
But yesterday a High Priest from church called asking if I would teach priesthood a week from sunday. I taught a food storage class in the elders quorum a few months ago, and everyone in our stake is talking about provident living because our Stake President has requested that the whole stake get 72 hour kits put together, and put in a three month supply of food.
So, with this class coming up, I thought we would just go ahead and get the supplies and put them together.
Here are a few pictures. I purchased everything at Wal Mart:

Organizing the food

Jeff and Ben packing the food kits

The Home Production and Storage booklet from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Ben, Andy, and Jeff work on the kits

Food packs from Wal Mart

Food purchased from Wal Mart

Jeff with finished packs
Why Wal Mart? It is the most economical store to get everything you need to buy.
Early on I believed that I could only get emergency supplies from stores like Emergency Essentials and American Family and it is true that if you want pre-packaged 72 hour kits and certain supplies like gas masks and potassium iodine, you will need to purchase them from these suppliers.
But the thought of eating MRE’s, which I think are gross, or those nasty food bars that have a five year shelf life completely disgusts me, and I know my kids won’t want to eat them. I have this image in my head of a mormon meeting house filled with members, and everyone sitting around munching on those stale food bars and after about five hours getting really sick of eating them.
So, instead of buying a pre-packaged kit and letting it sit on the shelf for five years, we instead have a yearly 72 hour kit party where we eat the old food and replace it with new food. Because we eat mostly home made food from cooked from scratch, it is fun for my kids to eat foods like Beef A Roni, Beef Stew, or Chunky soup.
Today I purchased six entree meals for each person in our family (42 individual meals for lunches and suppers – each cost about $1.25). Foods like Cambells chile in a pop top microwave bowl, and a bunch of Hormel entrees. While these foods taste better heated up, they can be eaten cold, and need no refrigeration or can opener to get them open. In the early 90’s I bought a family kit from Emergency Essentials of MRE’s and let them sit in our basement for a couple years. Then I decided to replace that food and pulled them out for us to eat. No one would eat ANYTHING. The crackers were stale, the meat tasted terrible, the peanut butter was gross. I had to throw it all away. At least if I purchase these ready to eat meals at the grocery store, I know that eventually I can feed them to my family and the money will not be wasted.
I also bought tons of baby wipes, which can double for toilet paper and give a quick sponge bath, as well as anti-bacterial wipes that could be used to cleanse any surface that has been contaminated.
I bought boxed milk and beef jerky, as well as crackers, cheese in a can, peanut butter and jelly, cookies, and power bars for snacks.
I also bought canned fruit for breakfast to be eaten with instant oatmeal and granola bars.
Granted this food will only last a year or so packed away in our kit, but we do this every year, and so minimal waste will happen and most of the food will get eaten.
Once last year I was low on grocery money and was wondering what to do to supplement our food storage. And I remembered! 72 hour kit! Where I keep a stash of cash and some snacks for the kids. I pulled it out and all my worries just slipped away. Not a tragic emergency, just life, but our life was enhanced by having the supplies ready to go. I replaced the used cash and food the next time we had a paycheck.
The purpose of a 72 hour kit is to be a bridge for an individual or a family between an emergency and help arriving. To determine what supplies you will need in your kit, use your imagination to determine how life will be for you if you are out of your home and living in a shelter, perhaps at the local high school gym, or in a church, or just out in the open.
You will want some comforts, the most important of which are water, food, and shelter.
We have a huge kit, with tent, sleeping bags, camping gear, cooking equipment and lantern, as well as our shot gun and ammo. I have one large water bottle for each child, a back pack filled with food, one change of clothing including sweat pants which can double for jammies, toothbrush and other toiletries, scriptures, coloring books and puzzle books for bored children to play with, psychological foods like candy, suckers, and gum. I also have gas masks and chemical masks for the whole family, ponchos, hiking boots, and a few supplies to help in case of chemical or nuclear terrorism.
My prayer is simply that if something does happen, we will not have to evacuate our home. One tip I heard was that if it was cold and the power was off, you could set up your tent in your living room and have the family sleep in it together for added warmth. In a shelter situation a tent would provide a measure of privacy and safety even if it was pitched indoors.
The first years of our marriage we did our kits in laundry baskets, and gradually moved to back packs found at garage sales and thrift stores. As the years have clicked by, I invested in quality water bottles and food packs that are cold/hot safe as well as lined with hard plastic. This gives a tremendous amount of protection to the food being smashed or crackers broken.
My biggest mistake in regards to 72 hour kits came about eight years ago when I purchased a 55 gallon water barrel on wheels to put everything in. I bought a couple of those 2 and a half gallon water bottles from the grocery store and put the water at the bottom of the garbage can. I then loaded the rest of the supplies on top of the water. I had things like canned tuna and soup, as well as crackers, peanut butter, and some camping supplies. The whole can weighed a ton and was happily sitting in our basement for a year or so when a very noxious scent started wafting from it. The cans had settled on the water, punctured them and the crackers etc…were sitting in a pool of water just rotting.
It was such a huge mess to clean up and just about all of the food was wasted, cans rusted, etc… I decided to dump the whole garbage can idea, and go to backpacks and suitcases on wheels with extremely high quality water bottles.
One of the things we do all the time is keep four cases of water bottles in our car. We also keep the car filled with at least a half tank of gas. I purchase the water bottles at Sam’s Club for about five dollars each case and this provides multiple gallons of water in case of emergency. Water which is in small containers which are easier to melt in case of cold, and are constantly being used by everyone in the family, so the water does not go bad. In the fall when the weather gets cooler, I keep some food out in the car, but I have had several food containers explode in hot cars – like the large bottle of peanut butter stashed in our old van that decided to explode on a 100 degree day, or the granola bars that got bugs in them.
As the years go by, and you learn by experience the best foods to buy and the best way to store the supplies, you too will learn what to do and what NOT to do as you make these sorts of preparations.
The main thing is to just have something for your family in case of an emergency.
Finally I would like to mention that the number one thing most families wait in line for after an emergency is in fact plastic diapers and baby formula. Today I purchased three cheap bottles, two pacifiers, and a case of ready to use baby formula. Why? As an ardent breastfeeding mother, I know that stress has a huge impact on my ability to produce breastmilk. In a stressful situation I can think of nothing worse than a screaming baby and me so stressed out and dehydrated that I cannot produce anything for my child to eat.
So I keep baby formula, plastic diapers, and pacifiers in our kit, at all times, even when I do not have a new baby. I remember reading that when hurricane Andrew hit in the south, the lines for plastic diapers and formula were a mile long in certain locations, and the American Military was being used to pass out these supplies to families who had none.
I believe if everyone would put in those crucial supplies wether they have a baby or not, we will be able to help the most needy in our population survive any sort of disaster until help arrives.
I would encourage all breastfeeding mothers to consider these ideas and even if the thought of purchasing some formula is nauseating to you, it could truly help your child in the event you were not able to make breastmilk. Babies can get dehydrated so quickly! Keep your family safe by putting in the needed supplies to help.
Jenny Hatch
UPDATE:
Paul took the boys camping last night and taught me the folly of my ways in setting up the kit before the summer camping season is over. A wholesale raiding took place as they packed the car for the trip to Carter Lake.
Here are some photos:

Jeff cooking supper

Ben swimming at Carter Lake

When he arrived home with our three boys, Paul helped re-pack the supplies. Right before I took this picture he said to me, “you know how I feel about having my picture on your blog”…. with a twinkle in his eye, of course…

Paul was happy to stack all of the food packs high up in our front hall closet where I cannot reach after the campout.

Here is a picture of my kit with a gallon size water bottle. I love these bottles because they can go in the dish washer for sterilization purposes, and they have a strap on them. We have a gallon size bottle for both Paul and I, and the children have the half gallon size. Water is VERY heavy to carry and so it is nice to have the shoulder strap.

Here is a picture of the food in my kit. I bought six entrees to serve as lunch and supper for three days. I also have some other snack foods. I NEVER buy this sort of food for everyday use. It is simply too expensive for our large family to eat this way. But it is perfect for our kits, and when august comes and Mom pulls out the kits for everyone to eat, it is party time at the Hatch house!

Here is a picture of the Israeli Gas Masks I purchased in 2001

Jeff with his whole kit on his body. The point of the system we use is to make it so a twelve year old like Jeff can carry all of his food, water, gas mask, and supplies without an adult helping. This is crucial if a child gets separated from his parents. Jeff has all of his own important identifying information on him, with his own water, food, clothing, and supplies. If for some reason we are not able to be together, I know that if he has his kit, he will be just fine until we are reunited. We also have a designated place where our family is to gather in case some sort of an emergency happens and we cannot be home.

Jeff’s whole kit sitting on the back of our Piano

One spring I bought these snow suits at Wal Mart for the whole family. They were having some crazy sale and I bought them for ten bucks each. The suits are great, they can be used as a sleeping bag and act as extra insulation over coats. One of the things I have done over the years as we have accumulated equipment is to look for sales at the end of the season – winter stuff in spring and camping gear at the end of the summer. We have bought most of our stuff really cheap, and much of it is second hand. We go to Savers thrift store every couple months and I am always on the lookout for used hiking boots, back packs, sweatshirts, and bedding that is designated as just for the kit.
It is important with growing children to pack clothing that is too big for them, as they will certainly grow throughout the year. Pack clothing that is two sizes too big. I always pack extra underwear and socks and lots of mittens, hats, and scarves.
Jenny Hatch

Go Here
Family in good shape At hospital, rescued
By Matthew Brown
Staff writer
From a crowded, dark attic surrounded by floodwater in a city pushed to the brink by Hurricane Katrina, 5 pounds, 4 ounces of hope has arrived.
James Kenneth Brundy Jr. was born just after midnight Tuesday to Waldrica Nathan, 19, as she was stranded with family members in her fiance’s 9th Ward attic.
More than 36 hours after they were rescued by boat, Nathan and the baby were in excellent shape Wednesday at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, doctors said. The child had been delivered by his father, James Brundy Sr. and his two grandparents, who had picked up a few obstetric skills from watching the Birth Channel.
“The doctors said they were amazed that the family did all the right things,” hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Steel said.
As she lay in a maternity gown in the hospital’s delivery unit,
Nathan said her family’s saga began Monday about 6:30 a.m. Nine months’ pregnant, she and the others were forced to climb into the attic as waters rose rapidly on Metropolitan Street. By about 8 a.m. at the height of the storm, she started having contractions. While she gritted her teeth through the pain, family members dialed 911 but were told no one could help.
“Boats and helicopters were passing by all day but none stopped,” Nathan said. At exactly midnight, her water broke, and James Brundy Jr. was born 22 minutes later.
The grandfather “knew just where to cut the cord and how to tie a shoestring around it,” she said.
“We cleaned him off with some alcohol pads, wrapped him in a clean sheet, and I breast-fed. That’s all he wanted to do, was eat,” she said.
By morning, as the rising sun quickly heated up the house, the newborn’s father and grandfather broke through the roof to try to wave down rescuers. To keep the baby cool, they took him down from the attic to the still-flooded first floor.
In a cradle fashioned from a laundry basket, the baby floated on top of waist-deep water in the living room. Help arrived Tuesday afternoon: a rescue boat manned by agents of the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“The man was crying in the boat. He couldn’t believe it,” Nathan said. “He was like, ‘A baby, look at this baby!'”
After being dropped off on a highway overpass, mother and baby were driven to the hospital and arrived about 4 p.m. But Nathan said the joy she feels for her new son is tempered by the fact that her own mother, who is 9 months’ pregnant and thought to be trapped in her own attic in another part of town, has not been heard from since the storm.
“We don’t know if that baby is born. We don’t know nothing. We still can’t get in touch with her,” Nathan said. “I’m happy I got through that and survived the storm.”
Go Here
Jenny Hatch
Emergency Childbirth
Read the Introduction to this Blog

A couple of good articles, blogs, and resources to check out:
Go Here
And Here
And Here
And Here
A few noteworthy quotes from these sites:
President Benson said, “Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church–and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing–a famine in this land of one year’s duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.265, 266)
Elder Benson makes a strong conclusion, “From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. ‘There is more salvation and security in wheat,’ said Orson Hyde years ago, ‘than in all the political schemes of the world’ (Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.
Church members can begin their home storage by storing the basic foods that would be required to keep them alive if they did not have anything else to eat. Depending on where members live, those basics might include water, wheat or other grains, legumes, salt, honey or sugar, powdered milk, and cooking oil.
WATER
One gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation.
Children, nursing mothers, and sick people may need more water.
If you live in a warm weather climate more water may be necessary.
Store water tightly in clean plastic containers such as soft drink bottles.
Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person.
FOOD
Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water.
Pack a manual can opener and eating utensils.
Choose foods your family will eat.
Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
Protein or fruit bars
Dry cereal or granola
Peanut butter
Dried fruit
Nuts
Crackers
Canned juices
Non-perishable pasteurized milk
High energy foods
Vitamins
Food for infants
Comfort/stress foods
Red Cross recomendations for water and food storage
Finally, my dear friend Susan has started a new blog in the wake of Katrina – Emergency Childbirth Blog.com Go Here
This blog has begun in light of the peril that pregnant women, mothers and babies have succumbed to due to hurricane Katrina. Expectant women, mothers of babies, their families and the public need to be informed about how medically unassisted childbirth, breastfeeding and sling wearing can increase their chance of surviving a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
If Ye are Prepared, ye shall not fear!
Jenny Hatch