Food preservation is essential for every homesteader and survivalist, but far too often our stockpiles contain dozens of pre-packaged boxed meals that are tantamount to junk food.
But there is a better way to stockpile food, and this week’s guest on Off The Grid Radio tells us everything we need to know. Her name is Kathy Bernier, a Maine homesteader and a Master Food Preserver as part of a University of Maine food preservation program. She also writes the Practical Prepsteader blog for the Bangor Daily News website.
Kathy stores a year’s worth of food, but it’s not Hamburger Helper, ramen noodles or even cereal. It’s food that she grows and “puts up” the same way her grandparents once did.
Kathy tells us:
- Which four primary methods of food preservation she employs.
- Why diversity in food preservation is so important.
- How long food will remain edible when frozen or canned.
- Which websites she trusts most for food preservation tips.
“Prepping” and stockpiling food, Kathy says, should be practiced by everyone – as it once was decades ago in her rural part of the country. Back then, it was called “common sense.”
Before we let her go, Kathy also gives us growing tips for short garden seasons that can only be learned in a cool climate such as Maine’s. If gardening and food storage are your interests, then don’t miss this week’s edition of Off The Grid Radio!