I really wish I lived near one of you ladies. I sure could learn a lot! (And I need to if we are to survive the coming chaos.) Funny thing is that when I try to talk to my family about preparing, investing in something other than dollars, just in case — they treat me like I need medication.<<<
Get used to it, my family say that I am old fashioned and still talk like I was in Texas.
Do your thing, and store food, then when the day comes that your husband comes in, in the middle of the work day and says, “can you take me to the hospital, I think I am having a heart attack?” and it is 2 years before he can take the smallest of jobs, you will be thankful for every stored bite of food.
If I wanted to learn and was willing to make the effort to do so, I would check the college and community college for classes, but they go so slow.
If you are a church goer, ask your Minister who cans in your Church? Then go to them and ask them allow you to help and learn.
There are tricks to canning, that are not in the books.
Another source of information, is the State Farm Bureau, they have publications and our is Wellton had classes.
I would find the Mormon Temple and contact them, they will know and the Bishop will know who to send you to or have to contact you.
If you offer to work for the education, they will welcome you and I am sure you are a nice person, so don’t fear suggesting these moves for you.
Look on the internet for something along the line of:
Mormon groups in [your town or state].
The Mormons here had a ladies night for years, the ladies met, had worship, new ideas for foods were served and recipes shared and we split up and took classes, choose what is of interest.
I have taken sourdough and they shared a 125 year old sourdough starter with me from Alaska.
House cleaning, class by a couple of ladies who did it as a business.
Quilting, cooking, every week different.
I am not a Mormon, almost, but not quite.
I find them to be like a Freeper meeting would be if those of us on this thread had a pot luck, lots of hugging and support.
Look around for someone with a garden, by now you should know gardners and canners love to talk.....LOL
I would start now looking for canning jars...
The sales for them were up 40% this past year - I sort of expect to see prices go up and supplies to go down this summer during the canning season.
Many times you can pick them up free if you start asking around, and yard/garage sales can also be productive sources as most people don’t know what they are good for. Just look for the Kerr, Ball or Golden Harvest ones, but do not buy any of the fancy old ones - with a wire bail to hold down a solid glass lid with a rubber gasket. They are not recommended as you cannot tell if what you can is really sealed and holding a vacuum. Just be sure you check for cracks and for any chips in the top rim as they will fail.
I would suggest hoarding dome lids and jars - You will find them priced all over the place. We have a Big Lots store that for the past several years have had pint jars for $6.50 a dozen - the same jars will be found for $12.95 at other stores. The lids can run from .99 at Big Lots for their sale to $2.49 at some other stores. If they are stored in a dry location, they are good for years before you use them. The bands are not a big problem, as they come with new jars and you can reuse them over and over.