http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110712_18_A1_ULNSon423402
Expecting hard times, more people are growing, stocking up on food
Rod and Lauretta Smith feed chickens on their 5-acre property in south Tulsa. BILL SHERMAN / Tulsa World By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 7/12/2011 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 7/12/2011 7:50 AM
Rod and Lauretta Smith estimate they could survive a year without going to the grocery store.
A large garden on their 5-acre property in south Tulsa produces hundreds of quarts of canned and frozen beans, tomatoes and other vegetables. Chickens provide eggs.
The Smiths are among a small but growing number of people stocking up on food to become more self-reliant in a time marked by natural disasters and economic uncertainty.
"We're living in what is at best a tenuous economy," Rod Smith said. "There's a sense that as a country, things could turn overnight economically.... People are beginning to realize we've got to be ready to help not only ourselves, but also our neighbors."
Lauretta Smith said wherever she goes, she hears people talking about gardening and raising chickens.
"They're asking us questions about how to garden and how to can," she said.
Rod Smith, an Assemblies of God pastor on leave from his last church, sees a spiritual element in preparing for tough times.
"I think God is preparing the church to help others," he said, noting the biblical Joseph was warned of a coming famine in Egypt and organized a huge food-storage operation enabling the Egyptian nation, and his own family, to survive.
Paula Sutton runs a Skiatook cooperative that orders wheat, beans, rice and other dry food in bulk. Her coop is a natural extension of her business, Paula's Bread ( www.tulsaworld.com/paulasbread ), that provides grain grinders, mixers and other supplies.
Twice a year, in the spring and fall, more than 100 coop customers place pre-paid orders with her for bulk food.
Orders typically run 25,000 to 30,000 pounds. This spring, her customers ordered 48,000 pounds of food, a full semi-trailer.
"Since the economic crisis, people are more aware." she said, "They're telling themselves, 'Boy, I better watch out.'
"A lot of people do it because they're scared. Others just want to be prudent, to be more prepared for job loss or economic instability. And a lot do it just to save money," she said.
The Rev. Nick Garland, pastor of First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, said he is hearing a few church members talk about stocking up.
"I think it's because Scripture teaches that in the last days hard times are going to come," he said.
"It's not a major movement among folks that I know, but I do know some folks that are doing that, and it's based on the conviction that we're trying our best to be ready, when difficult times come, to care for our own."
Veda Byers of Jenks recently self-published a faith-based planning guide for emergency provision and preparedness, entitled "Let's Get Started." The book offers biblical principles of preparedness and practical help with everything from preparing a three-day emergency kit to long-term food storage, complete with meal planning charts.
"I think God will bless us in the midst of crisis," she said, "but he wants us to be doing something, not just sitting around doing nothing."
She said many Christians believe the world is entering a period the Bible describes as "the beginning of sorrows."
For one U.S. denomination, the idea of storing food for tough times is nothing new.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a tradition of encouraging its members to be self-reliant, born out of a long history of persecution and forced relocations.
"We've always been self-reliant," spokesman Dale Jones said. "It's part of our roots. Our heritage is such that we've had to learn from lean times."
The church has a Family Home Storage Center in Oklahoma City, one of many such centers across the country, that provides bulk food for families.
Local congregations order from that storehouse every few months, after taking orders from their members who are stocking up on food in their homes.
Church members Jay and Lori Cummings had two years of food in their Broken Arrow garage when he was laid off in 2001 as an information technology manager at Lockheed Martin in Tulsa.
That included 2,000 pounds of wheat, several hundred pounds of rice, dried milk, many hundreds of cans of food, as well as toothpaste, deodorant and other personal items.
The couple and their six children lived on the stored food for two years until he got another job.
"We cut our grocery bill to almost nothing," Jay Cummings said. "The kids moaned a bit, but we got by."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110712_18_A1_ULNSon423402
Expecting hard times, more people are growing, stocking up on food
Rod and Lauretta Smith feed chickens on their 5-acre property in south Tulsa. BILL SHERMAN / Tulsa World By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 7/12/2011 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 7/12/2011 7:50 AM
Rod and Lauretta Smith estimate they could survive a year without going to the grocery store.
A large garden on their 5-acre property in south Tulsa produces hundreds of quarts of canned and frozen beans, tomatoes and other vegetables. Chickens provide eggs.
The Smiths are among a small but growing number of people stocking up on food to become more self-reliant in a time marked by natural disasters and economic uncertainty.
"We're living in what is at best a tenuous economy," Rod Smith said. "There's a sense that as a country, things could turn overnight economically.... People are beginning to realize we've got to be ready to help not only ourselves, but also our neighbors."
Lauretta Smith said wherever she goes, she hears people talking about gardening and raising chickens.
"They're asking us questions about how to garden and how to can," she said.
Rod Smith, an Assemblies of God pastor on leave from his last church, sees a spiritual element in preparing for tough times.
"I think God is preparing the church to help others," he said, noting the biblical Joseph was warned of a coming famine in Egypt and organized a huge food-storage operation enabling the Egyptian nation, and his own family, to survive.
Paula Sutton runs a Skiatook cooperative that orders wheat, beans, rice and other dry food in bulk. Her coop is a natural extension of her business, Paula's Bread ( www.tulsaworld.com/paulasbread ), that provides grain grinders, mixers and other supplies.
Twice a year, in the spring and fall, more than 100 coop customers place pre-paid orders with her for bulk food.
Orders typically run 25,000 to 30,000 pounds. This spring, her customers ordered 48,000 pounds of food, a full semi-trailer.
"Since the economic crisis, people are more aware." she said, "They're telling themselves, 'Boy, I better watch out.'
"A lot of people do it because they're scared. Others just want to be prudent, to be more prepared for job loss or economic instability. And a lot do it just to save money," she said.
The Rev. Nick Garland, pastor of First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, said he is hearing a few church members talk about stocking up.
"I think it's because Scripture teaches that in the last days hard times are going to come," he said.
"It's not a major movement among folks that I know, but I do know some folks that are doing that, and it's based on the conviction that we're trying our best to be ready, when difficult times come, to care for our own."
Veda Byers of Jenks recently self-published a faith-based planning guide for emergency provision and preparedness, entitled "Let's Get Started." The book offers biblical principles of preparedness and practical help with everything from preparing a three-day emergency kit to long-term food storage, complete with meal planning charts.
"I think God will bless us in the midst of crisis," she said, "but he wants us to be doing something, not just sitting around doing nothing."
She said many Christians believe the world is entering a period the Bible describes as "the beginning of sorrows."
For one U.S. denomination, the idea of storing food for tough times is nothing new.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a tradition of encouraging its members to be self-reliant, born out of a long history of persecution and forced relocations.
"We've always been self-reliant," spokesman Dale Jones said. "It's part of our roots. Our heritage is such that we've had to learn from lean times."
The church has a Family Home Storage Center in Oklahoma City, one of many such centers across the country, that provides bulk food for families.
Local congregations order from that storehouse every few months, after taking orders from their members who are stocking up on food in their homes.
Church members Jay and Lori Cummings had two years of food in their Broken Arrow garage when he was laid off in 2001 as an information technology manager at Lockheed Martin in Tulsa.
That included 2,000 pounds of wheat, several hundred pounds of rice, dried milk, many hundreds of cans of food, as well as toothpaste, deodorant and other personal items.
The couple and their six children lived on the stored food for two years until he got another job.
"We cut our grocery bill to almost nothing," Jay Cummings said. "The kids moaned a bit, but we got by."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110712_18_A1_ULNSon423402
