Our second preparedness challenge for February is to buy food storage breakfast foods and oats. If a three-month supply is expensive, start with a one-month supply. Perhaps gather long-term oats after you’ve finished gathering your 3-month supply, or gather a combination of both like I do.
Boxes take up a so much space. Dense foods like oats or granola use less space. Watch for sales throughout the month.
Buy Food Storage Breakfast Foods
- Gather breakfast cereal, granola, oats, breakfast bars, pancake/waffle mix, pancake or maple syrup, and other shelf-stable breakfast foods.
- If you like to cook from scratch, make sure you have those ingredients on hand.
- Yes, you can use some of your long-term oats to make oatmeal. This will help you rotate it. Or just buy short-term oats for your 3-month supply and long-term oats for your long-term supply. Your food storage, your choice.
Buy Long-Term Oats
- The Latter-day Saint Home Storage Center sells rolled oats in 2.8 lb. cans for $6.81 (2023) and quick oats in 2.4 lb. cans for $6.38 (2023). Both have a 30-year shelf life unopened. You can also buy a box with 6 cans. It’s so wonderful that we don’t have to can our own oats anymore! You can also shop online at the Latter-day Saint store, but it will be a little more expensive.
- A recommended year’s supply of oats for one person is about 12 #10 cans or 29 lbs. Adjust amounts for children: Age 3 and under, 50%; 4-6, 70%; 7-10, 90%; 11 and up 100%
- I buy a few cans or one box of long-term oats each year so they don’t expire at the same time.
Buy food storage breakfast foods and long-term oats this week for your family. And as the British say, Cheerios!
Best wishes and be persistent,
Valerie Albrechtsen
The Food Storage Organizer
Purchase my food storage and emergency preparedness items in my Etsy shop.
I have a family member who is allergic to oats. Do you have any ideas on what I could buy instead for this week’s challenge? I have been trying to come up with something for over 15 years and I am still at a loss.
Hi Dixie, I would ask your doctor for ideas. You can substitute any of the long-term grains for a different grain. Also, you don’t have to store long-term grains and could store another shelf-stable food item. Hope that helps.
You are amazing! Do you spend your sleeping hours figuring out all this stuff?
I’m living in Florida but lived right there in bountiful.
Long story to why I moved. Anyway I had no idea you were there. I would have loved to meet you. I have been asked by RS president to be in charge of preparedness for the sisters. I sure wish I could talk to you. I’m so behind in the year that I won’t be able to catch up.
I know you are building treasures in heaven by the good work you are doing.
Thanks, Connie. I tell wards to jump in with the weekly challenges. No need to go backwards. Best wishes to you!