About Me

My Stats

Name: Melinda Beth
Age: 32
Height: 5′4″
Weight: Varies depending on whether I am pregnant or not
Marital Status: Married since April 2000
Children: Six and more to come
Education: Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science from Pepperdine University (1998)
Religious Affiliation: I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am, I know God’s plan….

Allow me to introduce myself

Food is an essential element of life and therefore will be of importance as long as there are human beings on earth. I think it would be a real drag to go without food for any extended period of time, so why not store some for times of need? I’ve been spoiled growing up in the latter days. I complain when I have to spend an hour of my Saturday afternoon strolling through the grocery store debating whether to buy Town House or Ritz. I used to give little thought of the processes involved in growing, manufacturing and shipping the food items to the stores. As I stand at my electric range in my air conditioned kitchen, cooking a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, I wonder how much sweat Adam dripped from his brow as he labored to provide nourishment for his multiplying family for nearly one thousand years. Then I think to myself, what if Nabisco couldn’t deliver Chips Ahoy cookies?  Do I have the ingredients to bake my own cookies? You bet I will! My goal is to have enough food stored properly in my home to last my family at least one year. Yes, this is a lofty goal, but I don’t like to be hungry! I focus on foods that will sustain life, but realize it is also important to include comfort foods such as chocolate chips, M&Ms, and a stash of Hershey Bars. Wouldn’t you agree?

I’m a normal person

I consider myself to live a relatively normal life. I live in an average sized home on 0.15 acres with no basement nor walk-in pantry. I have small children with picky appetites. We earn a modest income.  I shop at Target, Walmart and Old Navy. I flip through the weekly grocery store ads looking for bargains. I did not grow up drinking powdered milk or making my own clothes. I’ve eaten my share of Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Little Debbies. I appreciate the quality and style of Pottery Barn but will happily settle for the cheaper knock off version. The only normalcy our family defies is that we drive a 12 passenger van because mini vans just don’t fit six or more kids.

What is Holy Cow! Food Storage!?

I developed this website to document my experience with food storage and share what I learn from both my successes and mistakes. With a background in nutrition, I had the desire to compare the USDA MyPyramid with the recommended amounts of food to store. During the process I exclaimed several times “Holy Cow!” when the reality hit me of the quantity of food that is required for one year for a family our size to maintain a nutritionally balanced diet. Then I thought how nice it would be to have a “holy cow” to use as a source of fresh milk to drink, make cheese, make butter and use as an emergency supply of meat. But since my neighborhood does not allow livestock, I decided to create this website. I testify that storing food is important and that your life will be blessed when you take the time to prepare. My goal is to help others by showing that obtaining food storage is possible. Note that I did not say easy nor inexpensive, but possible. As a normal person, I hope to motivate other normal and abnormal people to get a supply of food in their homes. Let us never be hungry in a crazy world!