Woman preserves 426 meals in jars to feed her family for eight months

Kelsey Shaw says she feels ‘prepared for anything’

Saman Javed
Thursday 01 September 2022 09:20 BST
Comments
Savvy woman preserves 426 meals in jars to feed her family for eight months

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A savvy mother of three has prepped and preserved 426 meals to feed her family for the next eight months.

Farm owner Kelsey Shaw, from Indiana in the US, said she began preserving her produce in 2017 so that her family could eat home-grown food all year round.

Shaw is self-taught and knows how to preserve a variety of foods, from pickles to beef stew, using methods such as dehydration and water-canning.

Her family consumes fresh food from the farm during the summer months. It is during this time that she gets to work preserving food for the months to come.

She said it means that she is already prepared for any natural disaster or pandemic that could disrupt food supply chains.

“When we moved to the farm we wanted to live a slower lifestyle and wanted to know what we were eating and where it was coming from,” Shaw explained.

“I taught myself how to preserve food and learnt lots of hacks like making corncob jelly which tastes like honey.

Shaw’s pantry full of meals
Shaw’s pantry full of meals (Kelsey Shaw / SWNS)

“It does take a long time. I spend at least two hours a day in the garden and then the process of preserving things can take days as I go back to things in stages.

“It is a skill to be able to do all the preserving. I’m very proud every time I walk in the pantry.”

She said the meals should last for the family from October through to May.

Shaw uses dehydration and water canning
Shaw uses dehydration and water canning (Kelsey Shaw / SWNS)

The family’s lifestyle proved particularly useful during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, as they “didn’t have to panic about running out of food”.

Another positive of having meals stacked in her pantry is that Shaw does not have to worry about making dinner after a busy day.

“I preserved whole meals, so I’ll make jars of beef stew and then put them in a pressure canner, so they are then ready to keep and use whenever I need them,” she explained.

“Preserving food is time consuming but I’ve found a real love for it, and it makes meals easier for us as a family. We’re prepared for anything.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in