I was at the Bishop's storehouse in Medford Oregon today. We loaded 2800 lbs of food on my poor truck and hauled it home for ourselves and others. there is NO red wheat. It was ordered, and hasn't come in on either of the last two shipments. There is a stack of notices on the table, saying it isn't available at this time. White wheat is $6.25 per 25 lbs. I walked though the building (an old NG armory), and noted lots of bays and bins EMPTY. I was moving fast so I didn't notice exactly what wasn't being stocked, but those are large bays, to the ceiling, and it looks very, very empty, when one or two are empty. Worse when there are several right next to each other. No black beans, No white beans, although they did have refried beans in 25 lb sacks. No Apple slices, No fruit drink mix, and they don't stock SALT. Ever. There are only 22 items on the food storage list that are stocked, and not all are staples. Demand for red wheat exceeds Y2K levels, according to a notice posted at the storehouse. Now to an item I thought should be saved for last. Wheat was being rationed! 4 bags per person/family. I loaded up 30 bags, but it was clear from the sheaf of order blanks and checks we showed up with that we were buying for a Ward. People asked though. As to the truck, it's a 2006 dodge, with the Cummins engine. 18-19 MPG up steep mountain roads headed home with over a ton of product on it. Oregon has weigh stations that are "On" even when closed, so you can just pull up on it and get a axle weight. A pickup will just fit both axles so our weight loaded was 10,150, with a tare of 7350. 2800 Almost a ton and a half. The bed barely came down on the overload (timbrins), and the truck purred all the way home. At 60-65 with bursts of 30-45 due to snow falling in the passes, that kept the milage up there.
I am seeing the very same thing at the Kansas City cannery as well, very little is there. Very little is being restocked.
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Lo, there I see my mother, my sisters, my brothers Lo, there I see the line of my people back to the beginning Lo, they call to me, they bid me take my place among them In the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live...forever
We're going to our cannery tomorrow, so far I've been told that we will be able to can the things people requested with the exception of white wheat. Also, our cannery got 80+ cases of canned red wheat and they will be getting it in the bags again beginning next month. The cannery guy told me that the church has the red wheat, they just can't get it bagged up fast enough because of a "sudden" demand for it and the new feature at Provident Living of being able to buy it already canned has diverted their manpower to canning it up.
As for the white wheat, the church buys it commercially and the price went up much higher than they felt was reasonable to pass onto the members. Red wheat is grown by the church, hence the lower stable price for it at the canneries.
Our cannery has a shortage in dry pack things as well. My bishop's wife said that there are so many people getting food from the Bishop's Storehouse that on top of the problems crazymom mentioned, they're having a hard time keeping up. We're doing drypack canning as a ward next month, but we've been told to buy our own food to can and take it with us (we're borrowing the machines and doing it at a member's house).
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"There is order in the way the Lord reveals His will to mankind. . .we cannot receive revelation for someone else's stewardship." L. Tom Perry
I can't even think about the cannery. I have a big bunch of stuff to bucket in the garage. That might be what I do all day tomorrow. All. Day.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Yeah, well, that does sound nice. My budget, however, likes the do-it-yourself savings.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton