Gaye Levy
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The next book in the Backdoor Survival Spring 2014 Book Festival is The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months. Daisy Luther, the author, is a prolific writer and blogger. She is also a member of my “Prepared Bloggers” group – a very special community of abut 100 bloggers with prepping, homesteading and self-reliance websites.
Naturally, I have a print copy of Daisy’s book to giveaway, but first, enjoy the interview!
An Interview with Daisy Luther
Tell me about your book, The Pantry Primer. What is it about?
The Pantry Primer is a book that is written with the beginner in mind. The idea of building a one year food supply is very daunting for people who are accustomed to having enough in the cupboards for two weeks or less. This is a guide to break the process down into easy, weekly steps and it also focuses on making the healthiest possible choices on a budget.
What type of research did you have to do while writing your book?
Actually the book is almost like a journal. My daughter and I moved last year from Central Ontario to the Pacific Northwest.
For several reasons, we were unable to bring our preps with us. First, there were many restrictions with Customs for bringing food into the country. Secondly, our belongings were in a metal trailer in the middle of summer, and the inside of that trailer reached well over 120 degrees Fahrenheit, so anything we brought would most likely have spoiled.
As we rebuilt our stockpile, starting from nothing, I wrote about the experience in the hopes that it would be a helpful guide to those just starting out.
How long did it take to write?
It took me 3 months to build my supply, during which time I tracked the journey on my website, The Organic Prepper. Then it took perhaps another month to compile the articles and information into a book format, edit it, and submit it for publication.
Every book, fiction and non-fiction, includes a message. What message do you hope my readers will take with them after reading The Pantry Primer?
I want to let people know that even when your budget is tight, you can still prepare for the future and do so in a healthful, budget-conscious fashion.
Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?
I’m a single mama of two wonderful daughters. I work from home as a freelance writer. I have previously worked in the health and fitness industry, so I particularly enjoy tying together my interest in health and my interest in preparedness.
We find that a very simple lifestyle is very gratifying – it really helps you to slow down and enjoy those little things that lots of people overlook because they’re so busy looking at the bigger picture.
As an author in the survival, prepping and/or homesteading niche, what are you personally preparing for?
I can’t really narrow it down like that. I believe that if you have a preparedness mindset, it means you’re ready for whatever life throws at you. That could be a bad storm that leaves you stranded at home without power for a couple of weeks, a job loss, encroaching tyranny, a national economic collapse or something even more long term and devastating like an EMP-type disaster that takes down the grid permanently or war on American soil.
Do you have plans for another book?
Yes, definitely. My next book is being edited and illustrated right now, and will hopefully be out before summer. It is called The Organic Canner, and it’s a cookbook and canning guide, loaded with individual canned items as well as complete nutritious meals.
Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers?
No matter how small the amount of money you can allot to preparedness, every small amount of food you put back is insurance against the time when food might not be as readily available as it is today. There is no step too small – it all adds up, so just start.
The Book Giveaway
A copy of The Pantry Primer has been reserved for one lucky reader. Here is this week’s poll:
Which of the following food storage accessories have you used? (Indicate all that apply.)
A – Vacuum Sealer (such as a FoodSaver) or similar device
B – Pressure Canner
C – Mylar Bags with or without Oxygen Absorbers
D – Large Buckets
E – Other (Describe)
F – None of the Above
To enter the giveaway, you need to answer this question by responding in the comments area at the end of this article. The deadline is 6:00 PM Pacific next Thursday with the winner notified by email and announced in the Sunday Survival Buzz on June 8th. You will have 48 hours to claim the winning book.
Note: If you are reading this article in your email client, you must go to the Backdoor Survival website to enter this giveaway in the comments area at the bottom of the article.
The Final Word
Starting an emergency food pantry from ground zero and with limited funds is daunting. Add to that the desire to store only wholesome, nutritious and predominantly organic foods and, oh my, you have a challenge ahead of you.
Not to worry. In Daisy’s book, you will learn of some strategies you can use to build your pantry while keeping your budget and health concerns intact. She has done it herself and will show you that you can do it, too, in just three months!
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Spotlight Item: The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months
A one year food supply means freedom. It means that you are less subject to the whims of the economy. You can handle small disasters with aplomb. You aren’t reliant on the government if a crisis occurs. Being self-reliant begins with a pantry full of food.
Learn how to build a pantry on a budget with this easy 12-week outline. Don’t be discouraged by all of the doom and gloom out there. You can take the most important step towards security today…the step of getting started. In this book, learn about the different types of pantries, how to expand your pantry with home canning, and how to develop a well-balanced, nutritious stockpile to see your family through difficult times.
Bargain Bin: Today is all about books. Listed below are all of the books in the current Backdoor Survival Book Festival. There are both fiction and non-fiction titles and a bit of something for everyone.
And if not, at the very least pick up the free Kindle app so that you can read Kindle books on your PC or favorite electronic device.
Spring 2014 Book Festival #5 – Fiction
Brushfire Plague: Reckoning
Through Many Fires: Strengthen What Remains
Flight of the Bowyer
The Jakarta Pandemic
The Perseid Collapse
Leaving The Trees
Fury of the Fifth Angel
Fugitives from Northwoods
Phoenix Island: A Tale of Disaster, Survival, and Rebirth
Spring 2014 Book Festival #5 – Non-Fiction
The Prepper’s Complete Book of Disaster Readiness: Life-Saving Skills, Supplies, Tactics and Plans
Simply Canning: Survival Guide to Safe Home Canning
The Prepper’s Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster
The Prepper’s Cookbook: 365 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals
Jake and Miller’s Big Adventure: A Prepper’s Book for Kids
The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months
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No list of books would be complete without my own e-book, The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage.
The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage is a book about food: What to store, how to store it and best practices. It is a roadmap for showing ordinary citizens that long-term food storage is not something that will overwhelm or burden the family budget. It is based on my own tried and true experience as someone who has learned to live the preparedness lifestyle by approaching emergency preparedness and planning in a systematic, step-by-step manner.
Whether you simply want to prepare for natural disasters or whether you believe the world is headed toward a major food crisis, this book is for you. It covers basic tips and techniques you can use to stock your food storage pantry so that you can be assured that your family will have food to eat, no matter what.
100 Responses to “Spring 2014 Book Festival: The Pantry Primer”
A – Vacuum Sealer (such as a FoodSaver)WE use it all the time for freezing and also for dried foods from the dehydrator
B – Pressure Canner we have 2 and they are working hard not only in summer but in winter I can meats that were stored in the freezer till we could get them done. We raised our own pork this year. That meat will go into jars soon.
C – Mylar Bags with or without Oxygen Absorbers yes we have them but you must be careful with them as some foods like rice and noodles have sharp edges.
D – Large Buckets Love these as they hold a bunch and stack well. I even used a few to store things for the children in case they show up with crayons, coloring books, clay, chalk and of course decks of cards.
E – Other (Describe)We also purchased a treadle sewing machine. My husband cleaned it up and made it work, now I have to learn how to make it sew. We also gather clothes from people that throw them out after garage sales or they are moving and getting rid of lots of stuff. We wash them and repair what needs to be done and store them in totes.
My answer would have to be F none of the above. I am just getting started.
I have used all of these
I have all of the above including a dehydrator (except a food saver) and use all of the above. I have some thing similar to a food saver. I would like to have one but am really saving for a HERC cooker. I have been
doing this stuff for a long time but there is always more to learn and people always come up with new things and new ways. I would love to have this book to see how this lady could do in three months what has taken me years to do!
I have used all the above, as well as a food dehydrator. My fave being pressure canning.
Which of the following food storage accessories have you used? (Indicate all that apply.)
A – Vacuum Sealer (such as a FoodSaver) or similar device Absolutely, one of the best money saaving devices available
B – Pressure Canner – Yes, but not as much as I should. You can also pressure can meat.
C – Mylar Bags with or without Oxygen Absorbers NO
D – Large Buckets – Yes
E – Other (Describe)For short trerm storage I use a smoker
I am new to food preservation and storage and found your site. I have only about a week supply of food and a few day’s worth of bottled water. I have not tried any of the accessories you listed. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the giveaway.
A. Food saver lids–daily
B. Quite often
C. No
D. 5 gal, yes, many
I’ve used a vacuum sealer and big buckets.
And I know I didn’t do those right, after all I’ve learned in the past year or so!
So I’m glad to have resources, such as this and other sites, to learn what to do properly so that I’ve preserved things rather than wasted them.
On the other hand, though, I did learn to make a very nice mead 😉 I figured that if nothing else, I’d have a trade good that many people would want!
I just subscribed to your website newsletters from Backdoor Survival. I have genuinely enjoyed reading the articles. In the last week, I have used my vacuum sealer several times, a few times to reseal my oxygen absorbers. I have purchased a small pressure canner that I am looking forward to using. My husband hunts, and we want to preserve some meat. I have used a 5 gallon mylar bag, a 2000 cc oxygen absorber, and a large bucket with a gasket in the lid to preserve some regular white rice for long term storage. I also used a 2 gallon mylar bag and a 2 gallon bucket with a 300cc oxygen absorber to preserve some regular oatmeal for long term storage. I found the 2 gallon bags on Amazon and the 2 gallon buckets with gaskets at Walmart. Everything else I found at Emergency Essentials-they are great! Hope it’s not too late to enter the giveaway for the book! Thanks for your website!