Very rarely does a book cross my path and jolts me into action. When Daisy Luther asked me to look at her book, The Pantry Primer: How To Build A One Year Food Supply In Three Months, I knew it would be well written. No sooner than I had opened the book, I realized how different her spin on this popular prepping topic would be.
The author’s purpose of this book is to show you that creating a food pantry from the ground up is possible and won’t break your pocketbook. All it takes is a single step toward action, some meal strategizing and initiative on your part. She decided to experiment with how long it would take for her to start her preparedness pantry from the very beginning, and week by week, adding to it until she had reached her goal of having a one year food supply. Her grand experiment paid off and she successfully filled her pantry in three months’ time. In the book, she takes you through the process and provides weekly supply lists, tips and explains how to do it frugally.
What jolted me into action was her extensive detail on the growing concerns about the taintedness of our food sources. GMO’s hormones/antibiotics, pesticides and neurotoxins are all present in certain food sources. The FDA has even admitted to our corrupted food supply. For instance, in 2011, the FDA admitted that small amounts of arsenic are present in chicken meat; but stood by the product and said, “It’s safe to eat.” In The Pantry Primer, the author takes a hard stance on these corrupted foods and emphasizes how these foods correlate to your well-being and all play a part in the diminishment of your health. Regarding food ingredients that are difficult to pronounce, she believes “if you can’t picture what an ingredient looked like in its natural state, it probably isn’t something you really want to eat.” I believe that we should all be more mindful about the foods that we purchase and serve to our family. Daisy places emphasis on thinking for yourself and what is best for your family.
At 98 pages, the book is a quick read but packed with information! Daisy Luther has done a great job at simplifying this often confusing part of preparedness. From the very beginning she demands your attention on how food is often used as a control mechanism with governments around the world and how each household can avoid this by having a layered food pantry. No one wants to repeat history; but in order to avoid this, you have to prepare for it. Daisy Luther’s well thought out plan is the perfect book to use to begin your food storage endeavors and her tips will save you money.
What I love about Daisy’s book is that she places an emphasis on how you can create a healthy food pantry frugally. She explains the differences between the agrarian pantry, the bunker pantry, the bargain-hunter pantry and how to combine the three into a layered pantry system powerhouse that you can rely on. She believes in layering her pantry with fresh foods, adding larger stockpiled foods to the pantry and how to add home canned foods for tasty and healthy choices. Further, she believes that to be efficient, every home should have pantry basics on hand to use in scratch cooking.
Each week, she provides a list of foods she added to her own pantry, meal suggestions and tips on how to save money throughout the book. She believes that one of the best ways to build a healthy stockpile is to preserve local organic foods when they are in season. Chapter three focuses on how to frugally build a food pantry in this manner. She takes the reader, step by step on the canning journey to get their favorite preserves, soups and meals canned and ready. Later in the book, she provides excellent advice on how to maintain your pantry and where to store your food source.
This book would make an excellent addition to the home library for those wanting to keep healthy foods in their pantry without sacrificing their budgets. I would highly recommend this book and am looking forward to more books from this author. Great work, Daisy!