Free Republic

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

With inflation pushing up the price of groceries, more people in Wisconsin are turning to food pantries for help. The cost of food at home has gone up 12.4 percent since this time last year, according to the Consumer Price Index. Suzanne Becker is the executive director of Feed My People Food Bank, which serves 14 counties in west central Wisconsin. Rising costs have many people turning to the food bank for the first time, she said. "Imagine if your family was just getting by before, and now all of a sudden, they're having to pay so much more to...

Dear Sisters, We have car insurance in case we get into a car accident. We have life insurance should something happen to us and our daughter needs to be taken care of. We have house insurance should we have a fire or storm and need to rebuild. We have health insurance should we need to be hospitalized or see a doctor. But another insurance that is a necessity for us is food insurance. We have food insurance in case of sickness, unemployment, or a tough season. Both of my grandmothers always had food insurance living in N.H. with the threat...

My pantry is out of control. I’ve known this for a long time but have been unable to muster up the motivation to tackle the job.Noooooooooo! Not today!And trust me, it’s bad:Really bad, check out the bottom half:Time to summon  Mrs. Tittlemouse: But the untidiness was something dreadful—"Never did I see such a mess—smears of honey; and moss, and thistledown—and marks of big and little dirty feet—all over my nice clean house!" As you will note I no longer have a floor in the pantry. It’s been replaced by wine, booze (for extreme emergency purposes), a case of Bundaberg gingerale...

Give me some sites for a freestanding kitchen pantry cabinet...I would like one of good quality...it is not easy to find...Don't recommend IKEA fall apart stuff.....Would prefer the female Freepers advice...it is for my wife and i would like to suprise her with something nice.....Thanks.

Some foods to consider for longer term storage are: Carbohydrates: white rice, pasta, wheat, oats, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, sugars, honey, fruits, roots and tubers (cook these well) and cereals. For those with wheat allergies, click here. Proteins: legumes, eggs, nuts, peanut butter, canned meats and fish, oatmeal, grains, wheat, quinoa, seeds, MREs, popcorn Fats: whole milk, ensure, peanut butter, oil (preferably plant based oils), nuts and seeds Vitamins and Nutrients: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, vitamin powders, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, seeds to grow vegetables and for sprouting, survival bars

Many of us believe that we should have a supply of food on hand in case the "bottom" drops out. Unless we eat this emergency food and carefully rotate stock we wind up with foodstuffs which eventually need to be thrown out. If we don't manage it carefully, then we can waste a lot of food. In this post I propose a strategy which will keep our pantries current. At the end of the year we are always confronted with charities which need food for their pantries. I suggest that at the beginning of the year you purchase cases of...

The chemical Bisphenol A, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because of potential health effects. The Food and Drug Administration will soon decide what it considers a safe level of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), which some studies have linked to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. Now Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods we...

We have had a number of open discussions here at FR for quite some time about the importance of personal emergency preparedness. Many of us have taken an interest in this subject for a long time, and have been working steadfastly toward being prepared for a real emergency, and this evening I thought I would share my progress on one phase of our plan, food. Anyone who knows anything about preparedness will tell you that the first thing you should do is make a plan that fits your personal needs. A bachelor has much different survival needs than a family...

I don't want to alarm anybody, but maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food. No, this is not a drill. You've seen the TV footage of food riots in parts of the developing world. Yes, they're a long way away from the U.S. But most foodstuffs operate in a global market. When the cost of wheat soars in Asia, it will do the same here. Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons...