February Ark Project Info

"There is a wise old saying " Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". Thrift is a practice of not wasting anything. Some people are able to get by because of the absence o expense. They have their shoes resoled, they patch, they mend, they sew, and they save money. They avoid installment buying, and make purchases only after saving enough to pay cash, thus avoiding interest charges."
~James E. Faust~

Spiritual Goal:

• Schedule time each day to read with your family from the Book of Mormon.

Priesthood Provident Living Goal:

• Plan and carry out an FHE on home fires, include planning an escape route and practicing it.

Storage Goal:

• 100 pounds pasta or flour per person
• Hand grain mill
• Thread, needles, buttons and zippers

72 Hour Kit Goal:

• 1 gallon water per person
• Scriptures
• Personal documents - genealogical records, wills, insurance, contracts, Passports, birth

January Ark Project Info

"Let every head of household see to it that he has on hand enough food and clothing and, where possible, fuel also for at least a year ahead...."
~J. Rueben Clark~

Spiritual Goal:

• Hold Family Home Evening every Monday for the month.

Priesthood Provident Living Goal:

• Review your retirement goals. Are you putting enough aside to be able to support yourselves and to do the things you want to do when you retire? Also change batteries in smoke alarms.

Storage Goal:

• 24 cans of meat or fish per person
• 1 gallon bleach per person
• Can opener
• Garbage bags
• Laundry detergent

72 Hour Kit Goal:

• Gather change of clothing including underwear and shoes for each family member. Include warm coats and boots or have them immediately accessible.
• Ax, shovel, bucket and utility knife
• Infant needs
• $20 cash and $5 in change for phone

Sale at Winn Dixie

Thank you, Jennifer, for the heads up. If anyone knows when this sale ends, let me know and I will post that information as well.

"Winn Dixie has 10 cans of Bumble Bee, Albacore white tuna, for $10. I priced the same at Sam's…they were more expensive. The expiration on the tuna was 2011. Also the Hunts pudding packs, 10 for $10. The expiration on the Hunts was from Jan – Nov 2010."

Reading Codes On Canned Food

Thought this was useful.

The encoded dates on cans represent the date the can was filled and processed. They are NOT "use by" dates. But this can be useful knowledge if you aren't sure how old a particular can is.

As a rule of thumb, acidic canned foods like pineapple and tomatoes can be stored for 12 to 18 months. Low-acid foods, like meat, beans and most vegetables, can be stored much longer - 2 to 5 years. Do discard any can that is bulging or rusting, however, as the contents are almost sure to have gone bad.

From mealtime.org:

Reading Can Codes

Each canned food manufacturer has a unique coding system. Some manufacturers list day, month and year of production, while other companies reference only the year. These codes are usually imprinted on the top or bottom of the can. Other numbers may appear and reference the specific plant manufacturing or product information and are not useful to consumers. Below is a sampling of how some manufacturers code their products so consumers know when the product was packaged. If you have specific questions about a company's product, contact a customer service representative at the phone number listed.

Note: For month coding, if a number is used, numbers 1 through 9 represent January through September, and letters O for October, N for November and D for December. If letters are used, A=Jan. and L=Dec., unless otherwise noted.

Note: For year coding, 8=1998; 9=1999; 0=2000; 1=2001; 2=2002, etc.

Bush Brothers & Company (voice) 865-509-2361
Four digits
Position 1: Month
Position 2 and 3: Day
Position 4: Year
Example: 2061 (February 6, 2001)

Chiquita Processed Foods (voice) 800-872-1110
Ten digits (only 6-8 are pertinent to consumers)
Position 6: Year (A=1999, B=2000, C=2001, etc.)
Position 7 and 8: Julian Date
Example: A195 (July 14, 1999 - July 14 is the 195th day of the year)

Del Monte Foods (voice) 800-543-3090
First line, four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9045 (February 14, 1999)

Faribault Foods
Consumers can send inquiries and product coding numbers via an online contact form at the Faribault Foods Web Site, and a company representative will help them understand the coding.

Furman Foods (voice) 877-877-6032
Second line, first four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9045 (February 14, 1999)

Hirzel Canning (voice) 800-837-1631
First line, four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 0195 (July 14, 2000- July 14th is the 195th day of the year)

Hormel Foods Corporation (voice) 800-523-4635
Five digits on the top line
Position 1-4: Information about plant and manufacturing
Position 5: Year
Example: XXXX0 (2000)

Lakeside Foods (voice) 920-684-3356
Second line, second through fifth digits
Position 2: Month (January=1, September=9, October=A, November=B, December=C)
Position 3 and 4: Date
Position 5: Year
Example: 4A198 (October 19, 1998)

Maple Leaf Consumer Foods (voice) 800-268-3708
Top of can, grouping of last four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2,3, and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9130 (May 9, 1999)

Mid-Atlantic Foods (voice) 410-957-4100
Second through fourth digits
Position 2: Month (letter)
Position 3: Date (A=1, Z=26)
Position 4: Year
Example: MDE0 (April 5, 2000)

Pillsbury/Green Giant and Progresso
(voice) 800-998-9996
Five digits
Position 1: Month (letter)
Position 2: Year
Position 3: Plant information
Position 4 and 5: Date
Example: G8A08 (July 8, 1998)

Seneca Foods (voice) 315-926-6710
Two digits on the first line
Position 1: Month (letter)
Position 2: Year
Example: L1 (December 2001)

Stagg Chili (voice) 800-611-9778
Second through sixth digits
Position 2 and 3: Month
Position 4 and 5: Day
Position 6: Year
Example: S02050 (February 5, 2000)

Vietti Foods
First line, five digits
Position 1: Month (letter)
Position 2 and 3: Date
Position 4: Code for product type
Position 5: Year
Example: E02D2 (May 2, 2002)