Are you looking to create a secure food supply for your family? Learn the fundamental tools you need to plan and execute the best food preservation methods for your budget, skill level, and interests. Is fear of a kitchen disaster deterring you from learning to can? Do you want to try dehydrating but aren’t sure where to start? Are you ready to expand into freeze drying to increase the range of food you can store? An expert on home preparedness and food supply disruptions, Lori Valone has spent ten years studying methods for gathering and preserving food. Let her show you how to plan and grow your food storage with these do-it-yourself methods. Building Food Security is two books in one. Not only is it a go-to reference on the fundamentals of canning, dehydrating, and freeze drying, but Building Food Security will also coach you through the creation of a personalized food storage plan for your family. Armed with your plan, you’ll select and apply the food preservation methods best matched to your skills, interests, and budget. In Building Food Security: Canning, Dehydrating, and Freeze Drying you will: Prepare for short and long-term disruptions of your food supply - Discover the most cost-efficient and effective methods for preserving food - Create a personalized food storage plan tailored to your family's needs - Learn how much food to store and which foods to include - Stretch your precious dollars with do-it-yourself methods Rather than relying exclusively on expensive commerically freezed-dried foods to build your food supply, learn the skills you need to do it yourself. Armed with your personalized plan, you can focus your preservation on the foods your family enjoys. Building Food Security: Canning, Dehydrating, and Freeze Drying is an essential guide for safeguarding your family's future. If you like worksheets and photographs, step-by-step methods, plus tools, tips and more, you’ll love Building Food Security: Canning, Dehydrating, and Freeze Drying. Buy Building Food Security today and safeguard your family’s future. "Lori Valone wrote one of the best food security books that, in my opinion, has been written lately." - Angery American , bestselling author of the Survivalist Series with over 1 million copies sold worldwide Excerpt © from Building Food Security: Canning, Dehydrating, and Freeze Drying Chapter 21: Where do I begin? Start (or re-start) your food security journey by completing the worksheets in Part One of this book, if you have not already done so. These will help you establish or affirm your food security goals. The vast majority of those who have wisely begun to build their long-term food security have unwisely done so, without considering their actual needs. If that is you, now is a great time to take a step back and build your plan before continuing on your journey. If you have not yet begun your journey, there is no time like the present to build your plan. It does not cost you a thing to create a plan, but it can save you time and money as you put that plan into action. Do not try to do this in your head. Commit your plan to paper and refer to it often. Once documented, you can consider how to go about executing against your plan. Use the comparison shown below, along with your completed worksheets, to determine which of the methods are most appropriate for you at this stage of your journey. Cost of entry Canning: Low - Dehydrating:  Low - Medium - Freeze drying: Very High Cost per batch Cost per batch is not substantially different for any of the three methods Time per Batch Canning:  30 minutes - 3 hours - Dehydrating:  10-18 hours - Freeze drying:  24-60 hours Shelf Life Canning: 2-3 years - Dehydrating:  5-7 years - Freeze drying:  25+ years Nutritional Value Lost Canning:  60-80% - Dehydrating:  5% - Freeze drying:  3% Ideal for Canning:  Fresh - Dehydrating:  Fresh, canned, or frozen - Freeze drying:  Fresh, canned, or frozen   Choose one of the four paths below based on your current level of experience with food preservation: I am brand new to all food storage methods - I store commercially prepared foods - I am using one or two of these methods - I am using all of these methods  An expert on home preparedness and food supply disruptions from natural and man-made disasters, Lori Valone has spent ten years studying methods for gathering and preserving food. Utilizing canning, dehydrating and, most recently, freeze drying, she researches creative ways to add to the long term food supply for both her immediate and extended family. An avid mountain gardener, she combines home-grown and store-bought foods to extend family food security.