Speaking of Preparedness

This article was published in the Ensign in 1982, and talks about a survey that was done three years earlier in 1979. I wonder if we are just as ill-prepared as the saints were then.
This article has charts in it, which don't show up well on this blog post. They are much easier to read if you click on the link below.


http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c07eaeca0ea6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Ensign » 1982 » January

When Disaster Strikes:
Latter-day Saints Talk about Preparedness
By Marvin K. Gardner
Assistant Editor

Speaking of Preparedness …

In 1979 a personal and family preparedness survey was sent to 600 members in 60 U.S. wards. 78% of the people responded, most of them active members of the Church. Here are some of the findings:

“Of the 244 adult members who answered the questions about home production and storage … 209 (86 %) reported that they have some type of home storage program.”

The following chart compares recommended amounts of basic supplies to what the average member has stored:

Item


Recommended Per Person


Average Stored Per Person


Grains (wheat, rice, beans, etc.)


360 lbs.


147 lbs.


Powdered milk


75 lbs.


16 lbs.


Honey/sugar


60 lbs.


29 lbs.


Salt


5 lbs.


4 lbs.


Water (2 weeks’ supply minimum)


14 gallons


23 gallons


“The inventories of food storage were analyzed using a computer program … to determine their nutritional content. The results of the analysis showed that members are not storing a full year’s supply of most needed nutrients. Furthermore, … most family storage programs provide a very imbalanced supply of needed nutrients. …

“If a family’s production and income were cut off by emergency circumstances such as a lost job, illness, natural disaster, etc., the average family completing the survey would be able to live for the following number of weeks on each of the commodities listed.”

Storage Item


Average Supply
Would Last


Food


26 weeks


Fuel


.5 weeks


Clothes


52 weeks


Water


2 weeks


First-Aid Supply


8 weeks


(Information taken from Personal and Family Preparedness, Vol. II, Home Production and Storage, Presiding Bishopric Assessment Services, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, March 1980, pp. 1, 3–5.)