Book Review: Emergency Food Storage and Survival Book

Because I have this thing with food storage, my husband got me the Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis by Peggy Layton for Christmas. In it she provides a list of what your family would need to survive for a year if their were a crisis and grocery store were not available, this includes food, cooking equipment, medical supplies and gardening needs. She also gives many helpful tips on the logistics of food storage, including finding space and improving the storage life. She talks about the pros and cons of various food storage items, how to grow your own sprouts and how to create a 72-hour kit. And of course like anyone with any sense about food storage she emphasizes the importance of storing what your family with use and rotating what you store.
Now there is tons of information here and it can be somewhat overwhelming, but I like that she has outline a systematic action plan which you can take at whatever pace suits you. And honestly you don't have to take them in the order listed, although I highly recommend taking an inventory somewhere near the beginning. (I personally think that staples are a much higher priority than pet food or gardening equipment.)

Step #1 Organize

• Prepare space in your home
• Build shelves and organize
• Create a 1-week menu
• Take inventory

 Step #2 Water, Survival Equipment and Gardening Needs

• Water
• Basic survival equipment
• Cooking equipment and fuel
• Garden seeds
• Sprouting seeds

Step #3 Medical Supplies and Special Needs

• Pharmacy and medical supplies
• Baby food and supplies (if applicable)
• Pet food and supplies (if applicable)

Step #4 Basic Ingredients for Baking

• Basic baking needs
• Sweeteners
• Fats
• Basic spices and flavorings

Step #5 Soups, Sauces and Spice Mixes

• Canned soups
• Dehydrated soups
• Sauces and spice mixes

Step #6 Staples

• Cereals
• Rice
• Grains
• Legumes
• Pastas

Step #7 Protein Foods and Dried Dairy

• Commercial and home-canned meats
• TVP
• Peanut Butter
• Dehydrated eggs
• Dried dairy

Step #8 Fruits and Vegetables

• Commercial and home-canned fruits
• Dehydrated fruits
• Commercial and home-canned vegetables
• Dehydrated vegetables

Step #9 Fun Foods

• Dry drink mixes
• Canned drinks
• Desserts
• Boxed mixes
• Condiments
• Additional spices

Step #10 Nonfood Items

• Paper products
• Cleansers
• Personal hygiene

I think that this book is good reference, but there were a few things I didn't like about it. There is a huge chunk of wasted paper (60 pages) in middle for you to plot out what your family needs of each item for 1 week, 3 months, 1 year, etc. If I am going to calculate that, I'll just get a spread sheet program to do it for me. I also question the accuracy of some of the recipes in the back. There's a dessert recipe without any form of sweetener and her chart for reconstituting powdered milk just doesn't add up. I'm pretty sure that the laws of physics apply to food storage too. Despite these problems, I think that the book was still worth the read.