On a side note, one of the reviews of this book appearing on this site misrepresents one of Mrs. Evangelista's statements, definitely casting doubt on her credibility. The writer of the review states that the author advocates taking retreaved cooking oil from restaurants and turning it into "soups." I thought this was rather odd for anyone to suggest, so I looked up the reference. Evangelista says: "Used frying oils make excellent soaps [not soups], when strained ..." There is, I think, a big difference between soap and soups. I suggest the reviewer, who gave the book a one star rating, read the book for comprehension next time around. I give that reader's review a no-star rating.

Anita Evangelista is a good writer, and reading this book, and her other farm-related books, will be useful to country dwellers and city-dwellers alike.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Good, basic common sense, and lots of it.  Feb 05, 1997

God talks to some folks directly. To the more sane among us, he sends messages along more conventional routes. This book is one of those gentle proddings. HOW TO DEVELOP A LOW-COST FAMILY FOOD-STORAGE SYSTEM is a direct appeal to common sense. Whether you believe the world is coming to an end or not, one day you might encounter a snow storm, a trucker strike, or a short period of unemployment that could disrupt your ability to come by food easily. Having some goodies stored up, then, is nothing more than a buffer against that eventual rainy day that comes to all of us. And Ms. Evangelista tells us how to accomplish this simple, but generally overlooked, form of personal insurance with a straightforward, no nonsense delivery. Read the book and find out how to develop a food supply that will see you happily through any tough days that might come along. Then, in the event you find yourself house bound by an icy road, or being threatened by an impending hurricane, you won't look at an empty kitchen and curse yourself for being so short sighted. Take that old Boy Scout motto to heart, and "Be prepared."

6 of 7 found the following review helpful:

An OK overview of food storage, but the details are lacking.  Apr 20, 1999

Although this book was a good overview of a food storage system, it was not as detailed as I would have liked. The author could have elaborated on many of the subjects introduced, but I suppose this would have made the price unattractive to some buyers.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

An all in one book on food for your family UPDATE  May 21, 2010
By Dody Bush-Retherford "mother of 6"
Anita covers every single kind of food preservation, collection, etc.. methods known to mankind in order to feed your children and keep food for later. Although I doubt I will be able to do much of what is in the book, I do intend to try quite a few of the recipes. I learned that alcohol used to be used to preserve food, and that meat could be preserved with out canning or freezing!

UPDATE: I did end up implementing her entire system. It makes shopping so much easier. We brandied apples too...so delicious on those cold dreary winter evenings.

4 of 6 found the following review helpful:

A useful, little book  Jun 24, 2002
By Mary Broughtan
Everyone needs a starting point when it comes to acquiring knowledge. This book is one of those points. This may not be the be-all and end-all of food storage books, but it tells you how to get started, and once you take that step, you are on your way. The information you then encounter either becomes self-evident, or you gain enough know-how in the process to "track down" additional facts. I found every page in "HOW TO DEVELOP A LOW- COST FAMILY FOOD STORAGE SYSTEM" useful. Anita Evangelista talks from a life of experience. Everyone should own this book. Highly recommended.

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