Where:  Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Ave, Ithaca

When:  Jan 8, 2009 * 6:00-8:30

Home Food Processing is an important part of building our local foodshed—keeping food on everyone’s tables.  Join experienced IthaCan food preservers for an evening mini-workshop featuring five different food saving techniques.  Hands-on activities in Canning, Cellaring, Drying, Pickling and Freezing will be offered.

Dinner:  Provided and Dishes-to-pass welcome    6:00
Slideshow:  How & Why to Put Up Food    6:30
Workshops:  Choose one of the five    7:00

This event is free and open to all.

Sponsored by:

• IthaCan
• Sustainable Tompkins
• PreparedTompkins.org
• Cornell Cooperative Extension Healthy Food for All

]]> http://www.preparedtompkins.org/?feed=rss2&p=150 0 http://www.preparedtompkins.org/?p=138 http://www.preparedtompkins.org/?p=138#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:44:48 +0000 Martha Geddon http://www.preparedtompkins.org/?p=138

Adding a small root cellar to your existing home will provide you with fresh veggies throughout the winter and spring. Irma calls the design provided here a root closet, because it’s roughly the size of a bedroom room closet (the interior space is 3½’ x 7½’). At less than 27 square feet, it will be one of the hardest working corners of your basement.

For more on the benefits of root cellaring see, 11 Reasons to Have a Root Cellar.

Some details to consider:

• If your basement is heated, be sure to insulate the root closet walls, ceiling & floor against warmth that might seep in from your basement. Insulation also prevents cold from the root closet from flowing into heated areas.
• Vents to the outside are essential to keep air moving. There should be two: one intake and one output pipe. Install a vent near the ceiling and bring the other to the floor, using elbows and pipe as needed to place them diagonally across from one another. This maximizes the passive exchange of warm & cool air. It’s a good idea to screen you vents so mice and bees can’t nest in them.
• Plastic or wire racks designed to carry at least 200# per shelf are better than wood shelving, which attracts mold and warps. Plastic or wire shelves are easy to clean, allow air to circulate and won’t bow under the weight of a bushel of potatoes. We found the perfect specimens (pictured above) at Home Depot. Freestanding shelving, as opposed to built-in fixed shelves, also allows you to change your storage arrangement as needed.
• The perforated cans in the design (pictured left) are available at Agway. These galvanized steel cans are terrific. They allow air to circulate, stand (on their own legs) 2″ above the floor, have tight fitting lids, keep critters away from your prize veggies, clean easily and last forever. Bea Reddy’s cellaring cans are over 20 years old and still going strong.
• Use a thermometer with a hygrometer to keep track of the temperature and humidity. Ithaca Agway has a terrific selection of these.
• Install an overhead light in your root closet. You’ll want to be able to see what’s going on in the bottom of your storage cans. But be sure to remind the kids to turn off the light when leaving; a large part of your success cellaring is dependent on keeping the root veggies in the dark.
• Some veggies, like onions and potatoes, do well stored in ventilated boxes on shelves; others, like beets and carrots, do best stored in layers of sand or leaves in the perforated cans (above).

Root cellar reference: Root Cellaring by Mike & Nancy Bubel. A terrific resource, Irma keeps finding herself looking up storage tips in it. The book includes many different root cellar plans, shelf life of common garden produce, humidity and temp recommendations for fruits and vegetables, nifty root cellar innovations, and lots of examples of root cellars.

“Release your inner carrot. Think like a beet when setting up your root closet. Keep the space dark, moist and cold.”

-Irma Geddon-Reddy

- is easy

- preserves nutrients

- saves energy

- is space efficient

As a food preservation technique dehydration is only eclipsed by root cellaring for preserving valuable nutrients. Dried foods have a 3-5% nutrient loss; compare this to freezing’s 30-40% or canning’s 60-80% nutrient loss.

You can dehydrate fruits, vegetable and meat using a variety of methods. There are convection ovens designed with dehydration settings (check your users’ manual), electric dehydrators (sold in most department stores) and solar dehydrators (which you can build yourself). More creative methods are out there too, like dehydrating in the back window of your sun-drenched car or using the low heat from the pilot light on your gas stove.

However you dehydrate your food, the trick is in keeping a steady low temperature and low humidity. Dehydration temperatures need to be high enough to prevent mold from setting in, but low enough not to cook the food as the moisture is being extracted. The optimal range is between 120-140°. Here’s a great how-to site from the National Center for Home Food Preservation on the topic.

Bea Reddy’s dehydrated tomatoes that you see featured here will be dropped into winter soups or reconstituted with oil olive for stir fries.

Title: IthaCan – Team Tomato ‘08
Location: Local Homes
Description: Water-bath canning of locally grown tomatoes. Join in the fun. For more info contact: pdoliner@twcny.rr.com
Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2008-09-13
End Time: 13:00

This is the first of a two part series on home preparedness.  This segment focuses on short-term preparedness.  To read the PreparedTompkins.org post on long-term preparedness click here.

What does preparedness entail given the current landscape? A few years ago, articles on home preparedness began by explaining the impending environmental, economic and energy crises that loomed before us. Well, we’ve arrived. Now, all but the most entrenched elements of the status quo acknowledge these crises as ongoing realities with no easy solutions in sight. The transition to a post-fossil fuel era has begun. If we are to survive as a species and as a culture, we must again live within our means, sustainably. That’s the big picture.

But what do we do now in our daily lives? How do we prepare for the volatility in goods and services that is certain to unfold as the old paradigm wanes while also building the resilient lifestyle needed to make the shift into the new era before us? What do we let go of? What to we keep? What do we pursue?

Home preparedness is a complex subject, however a simple way to approach it is to focus on four basic elements: energy, shelter, water and food. Individual circumstances for both the long and the short term vary, of course, but these core elements will keep you centered on the most important things first. Whether you live in an apartment, co-housing, the burbs or have a spread in the countryside, a complete preparedness plan will include all four.

Do you have the means to produce and maintain these necessities (energy, shelter, water, food) for your household indefinitely? Unlikely, few people do. Our present culture is predicated on highly centralized interdependencies, like just-in-time warehousing and specialization of services, that are not easy to replicate or extricate yourself from. Since our present lifestyles are products of that system, it’s going to be the rare household – at this stage of the transition – that is able to be entirely self-sufficient.

Individual preparedness, constructed in a social vacuum, isn’t the long-term goal in any case, building community preparedness by developing vibrant and sustainable social and economic structures is. Richard Heinberg’s article on resilient communities discusses this topic in more detail. Yes, we need less complacency and more individual activism, but not a revisioning of the American rugged individualist. A collective goal, to mobilize our community, is the winning strategy. Attempting to be an island unto yourself, like the “beans, boots and bullets” survivalists, not only raises ethical issues but is impractical as well. Our very nature is to be interdependent communal creatures. Still it’s easy to be discouraged or outright frustrated with transitioning the commons (or Commons in Ithaca’s case), but that’s the task ahead of us. “We’re all in this together” is not just happy talk; it’s an accurate assessment of our circumstances.

Although changing the system for the long run is a big part of what we are working on, let’s first take a look at short-term emergencies that volatility in the oil or gas markets could engender.

Short-Term Preparedness

If there is a regional shortage in gas or if grocery store supply lines are disrupted or if the electric grid fails, is your home prepared? In the event of one or more of these scenarios, grocery stores and gas tanks will empty in a matter of a few days, if not hours. The systems that depend on fossil fuels in your home and community will be compromised in short order. How will Tompkins County fair? Will we be ready with the necessary social and infrastructure supports to weather such a disaster?

With few exceptions, all households in our area could be prepared to provide their own stored heat, water and food (FEMA recommends 3 weeks of each) or have an evacuation plan in place. Making this a priority in Tompkins County, where floods and earthquakes are rare, is the tricky part. NOTE: FEMA recommendations are based on how long it takes (on average) for relief efforts to reach victims, but you may find it prudent to prepare for a longer period.

Because our nation has never experienced an extended involuntary shortage of fossil fuels or electricity, it is most likely that we will face a future shortage without being adequately prepared – despite efforts advocating for preparedness. Although we are perched, precariously, on a complex system that requires numerous elements to function properly, we don’t spend much time on contingencies because, for the most part, we’ve been isolated from disaster. We are no more ready for an abrupt shortage in oil or gas, even though many of the warning signs for this possibility are present, then we were for the failure of the levees protecting New Orleans.

But your household can be ready to ride out such a short-term emergency. By focusing on the basics: energy, shelter, water and food, you’ll develop a solid preparedness plan.

Energy

Make an assessment of your energy situation first. Can you supply it yourself? If not, then figure out what critical systems (heat, refrigeration, water) in your home are dependent on electric and strategize how best to deliver those systems off the grid or think about how you can live without them. If you can’t live without them, then you’ll need to evacuate your home. Many utility appliances, such as heating systems, even if they are oil based and your tank is full, cannot run without electric igniters, fans or pumps.

If you can generate your own electric, great, but for how long? If you rely on a generator, how many hours of fuel do you have? If you are plugged in to alternative energy, how much of your usage will you need to curtail and how long will your batteries hold out? Can you keep critical systems (heat, refrigeration, water) going?

Test your energy plan by simulating a power outage in your home, then make corrections or enhancements to boost your off the grid longevity.

Shelter

Historically, lack of heat is the number one reason people are forced to evacuate their homes in the northeast, largely because ice storms or heavy snows bring down power lines. However, fuel shortages or electric failures aren’t seasonal and in a post peak oil world, we need to be prepared for these as well as natural disasters. Secondary crises, such as social unrest, gas leaks, and water borne illness can also be potential concerns if the power outage or shortage is prolonged, as it was in New Orleans in 2005.

Having alternative shelters identified ahead of time will increase your chances of staying safe through the crisis. Assemble a communication list with your family and neighbors, so you can offer each other assistance if needed and keep a small hand crank radio.

Water

After loss of heat, the next reason for evacuation is lack of water. Storing water is as easy as it is essential. You’ll need to store 1-2 gallons/person/day for a minimum supply of twenty-one days, so that works out to be 21-42 gallons/person. (FEMA recommends a gallon a day per person, but two gallons a day will give you some cushion for the unexpected.) More information on how to store water and where to obtain the needed supplies is available at the PreparedTompkins.org post, 2 Gallons A Day.

Sanitation quickly becomes a significant issue too. A simple 5 gallon bucket (like those used for dry wall plaster) can be converted into a toilet. Inexpensive snap-on toilet seats are available through preparedness vendors, like Red Flare, for this purpose. Small air-tight portable toilets with water reservoirs are more expensive, but are also available. Work out where you plan to safely dispose of your waste (this will undoubtedly involve a shovel and an inquiry to your township’s zoning board) as part of your short-term plan.

If you have a drilled well on your property, you may be able to install a hand pump to use in emergencies. Hand pumps can be installed on top of the well casing if the residual water level in the well doesn’t exceed approximately 100 feet. For more information on installing a hand pump on your well, see Hand Pumps on Drilled Wells.

Food

Storing food for short-term emergencies can be done in a number of ways. Some people prefer to put aside a portion of their grocery money to build a supply over time or you can do it all at once. You can even purchase rations through preparedness vendors online, which costs a bit more, but is a good choice for those pressed for time. Use a food storage calculator to estimate how many pounds of each food group to put away. Also check out the posts on the food section of this website, including how to pack a “superpail.”

Rotate your stock and do an annual inventory. Pick a quiet time of year (perhaps February?) and involve the entire household in the exercise. Not only is it good to share the knowhow and have help with the job of storing food, in the event that you may not be at home during a shortage, there will be at least one other person in your home who understands your food storage system.

Evacuation

Like any part of preparedness planning, arrange for this possibility ahead of time. Will you go to a neighbor’s? A family member’s? A public space? And how will you get there? Ideally, you’ll work out at least two different local scenarios and one outside our region (many disasters are regional and leaving the area, if possible, may be the best course of action). Wherever you end up, it needs to be accessible, safe and provide you with the basic necessities: energy, shelter, water and food.

Have an Emergency Evacuation Kit (EEK) complete with a communication list ready to go. Although your EEK can be made out of almost any storage container, more often than not people use backpacks for their EEKs (one for each member of the household), since they are designed to store gear, are highly portable and leave your hands free while you carry them. Putting these together in advance is important, you’ll be more clear-headed about what to put in your EEK and who you need to add to your call list, if you’re not embroiled in an ongoing emergency.

Make the go/no go decision before the decision is made for you. If you think you may need to evacuate your home, be sure not to wait too long. You’ll need time to secure your home systems (drain water pipes, turn off gas valves, gather current banking records, notify family members) and the longer you delay the more likely that your options may become limited: roads may close or darkness may make leaving harder or you may face a worsening security situation.

New Interdependencies

Preparedness, whether for the long or short term, is an interconnected process that begins with individual awareness, but it must be followed by concrete practical steps. We cannot think our way out of the triple crises of energy, environment and economy. Whatever anxieties preparedness can evoke, it also bestows piece of mind once your plan is in place and will lead you in new and unexpected directions along the way. Your short-term plan may inspire you in ways you hadn’t thought about prior to doing this work and introduce you to people you wouldn’t have otherwise met.

Grassroots (bottom-up) change has the capacity to rework not only our lives, but our larger community as well. As we put our individual plans into action, our community begins to shift too: grocery stores become accustomed to bulk buyers, green jobs in alternative energy and building grow, humanure provisions work their way into zoning laws, local farms and urban gardens flourish, plumbers gain expertise at installing hand pumps, schools teach preparedness planning in class, sewing and food preservation groups form, etc.

Myriad networks of people pool their knowledge and resources to create an interdependent lifestyle, not based on long distance just-in-time warehousing (in box stores or at home) and centralized specialization, but on local needs for goods and services. Although we are very fortunate here in Tompkins County, since this long-term process is already underway, we must not turn a blind eye to the possibility of short-term emergencies during these volatile times lest we find ourselves wanting.

Editor’s Note: Part Two of this post will discuss the topic of Long-term Preparedness.

To sign up for this activity click here.

Superpails are food grade opaque plastic buckets that come in a variety of sizes and colors: 1 gallon up to 6 gallons. In the example below, we’ll use a 5 gallon bucket. Food grade buckets are available from many retailers, like US Plastics.You can store approximately 40lbs of wheat or rice in a five gallon pail, or 30lbs of beans. So this is a great way to pack your bulk food purchases.

“I reuse my superpails and the mylar linings wipe down easily. All of the packaging is reusable – it doesn’t even go to a recylcing center. So if I combine the reusability of my materials with the savings on packaging when I buy bulk, I figure it reduces my family’s ecological footprint from Sasquatch to about a women’s size 9M.”
– Irma Geddon

Superpail Steps

1. First, wash out your pail with a small amount of regular dish soap and warm water. Don’t use a strong cleanser or too much soap, otherwise the plastic will absorb the odor of the cleanser. Let the bucket air dry. When it is dry and odor free, you’re ready to pack it.
2. Place a large mylar bag in your pail. Mylar bags are reusable and come with different tops: reclosable (ziploc) style and heat sealable. Both types of bags are available through numerous food storage vendors, like AAOOB foods. We recommend storing food this way as it gives your stock another moisture barrier and superior air tightness.
3. Pour about half of your rice, beans, wheat, or whatever food item you wish to store in the mylar bag. Shake the pail up a bit, so the contents can settle. Then, do the same with the remaining half. Leave as little empty space as you can from the top of the pail, but be sure to have enough room to accomodate the lid and the top of the mylar bag.
4. Sealing the mylar bag depends on the style of top you’re working with. But in either case (ziploc or heat sealed), you’ll want to vacuum pack your food before closing it entirely, so be sure to leave the last inch or two of the bag unsealed. With a ziploc bag, simply engage the seal strips and run your fingers across the top of the bag. With a heat sealed bag, use a hot iron to melt the two sides of the bag together against an ironing board. The mylar melts easily and quickly so be sure not to apply the iron too long. A quick pass along the top of the bag is usually sufficient.
5. To vacuum pack, use your home vacuum cleaner to draw air out of the bag by putting the end of the hose (or a vacuum hose attachment) through the unsealed space you left in your mylar bag. Be sure to clean the part of the vacuum hose you insert into the bag prior to using it. Turn the vacuum on. You’ll see the mylar bag draw in and flatten as the air is sucked out of the space. Withdraw the vacuum hose and quickly seal the small opening.
6. Put the air tight lid on your Superpail. If you want to add oxygen absorbers, go ahead and toss a couple in, before closing the lid.
7. Label your Superpail. Include the date the pail was packed, the expected expiration date, the name of the contents, its weight (bathroom scales work well if the pail is over 20#) and if you put in oxygen absorbers be sure to note this on the label.
8. Your Superpail is almost ready for your shelf. But first freeze it for 72hrs to kill off any weevils or insect eggs that might be present. You’ll need to repeat the 72 hour freeze again in 3 weeks, to kill any lingering eggs. Indicate on label the dates that the contents were frozen.
9. Now your Superpail is ready for its home in a cool storage area.

Several options exist locally for buying bulk foods. If you’d like to store organic goods,then joining the Greenstar Cooperative Market or ordering from Ludgate Farms are your best bets. Regional Access, a restaurant wholesaler in Trumansburg, is another good source for locally grown organic foods.

Greenstar’s strengths are that it works with multiple distributors, is centrally located, offers membership discounts and a 5% bulk ordering discount. The downside to Greenstar, however, is that the process of special ordering is cumbersome, catalogs with sale items from distributors aren’t easily available, and often inaccuracies regarding pricing occur at the checkout. Still, it works, if you’re patient and learn the ropes around the market.

Ludgate Farms is family owned and operated. Located on Hanshaw Rd. a short jog off of route 13, Ludgate’s is a year round grocery and farmer’s market. Strengths here are that bulk ordering can be arranged via email, pickup is simple with the assistance of the staff, and the United Foods catalog is available on site. Ludgate’s pricing isn’t quaite as good as Greenstar’s and they work with a single grocery distributor, so availability can be an issue for grocery items. Ask for Michael (257-1765) to arrange bulk ordering.

Most chain grocery stores will also order cases for you. Go to the service desk and ask about the ordering, pricing, and pickup policies specific to your neighborhood store.

NOTE: As with all entries to PreparedTompkins, please contact
Martha Geddon if you have any refinements, corrections, or supplemental information that might be useful. Thanks…the Geddon crew.

Salt stores indefinitely, if it is kept dry and protected from vermin. Be sure to put away the quantities and types of salt you’ll need.

The 4 major categories of salt are:

• Table Salt: mined or sea salt; iodized (to prevent goiter) or non-iodized.
• Canning/Pickling Salt: a fine grained salt without anti-caking additives that add cloudiness to pickled or canned foods.
• Kosher Salt: can be flaked, granular or coarse; does not have anti-caking additives; used to prepare kosher foods; can be used for canning or pickling, but quantities will need to be adjusted since it’s not as dense as canning salt.
• Curing Salt: a special mixture of salt & other ingredients used for curing meat; do not substitute other salts for curing salt – or vice versa; it is dyed pink to avoid confusion with other salts.

To learn more about salt, check out the following:

Cooking & Canning Salt

Curing Salt

Kosher Salt

Local Salt Activity: North of Lansing,Cargill Corporation mines 1.6 million tons of salt a year 2500ft under Cayuga Lake.