I wanted to discuss long term food storage and why people should prepare. I know there are many sites out there that dicuss this and this is nothing new to some people. But I spent a lot of time looking into this from multiple sources and thought I would share in one post what worked for me. I'm not saying you should do this for a pending economic meltdown, or because China will invade or because zombies are coming. I writing this up because it makes good sense no matter what you believe.
FEMA says you should have a 3 day food reserve on hand [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Me and my friends have 90 day rotating food supply on hand with a backup of multi year supply of food in long term storage.
Just turn on the national news and even those spineless bastards are covering the storms in the east and noticing that food supplies in stores are gone. I saw multiple news channels showing pictures of store shelfs empty of food. So what you going to do?
Long term food storage can be done fairly cheaply by using buckets to store your hard dry items. I've been collecting food for a long time and I started to notice how the price of survival food is going up in price. I decided there must be a better way to get large quantiities of food for long term storage at a cheaper price. Here are some things we found.
1) 5 gallon bucket - make sure it is of food grade quality. When looking for the correct 5 gallon bucket look for the recycle icon on the bottom. In that icon will be a number, you are looking for #2 this means food grade. Many online retailers sell these for $6.95 to $10.95.
If you don't care about color then you can get orange #2 bucket from Homedepot or grey buckets from Lowes. Both are priced at $2.34 - good deal
2) 5 gallon bucket lids. There are many people who say any type of 5 gallon lid will work when sealing the bucket but you need to have a o-ring or rubber seal to make the bucket air tight. If you have kids or older family members who might need to get into these buckets when the time is right you might not want the cheap "painters" lids which are very tough to open. A good solution is a gamma lid.
This lid has a ring that snaps onto the bucket and has a threaded top which goes in the center. It is a very accessable lid. Prices range from $3.98 (if you buy a pallet) to $10
A good source is here with the low price of $5.95. These guys are out of Texas and carry some other items that might be of interest to the prepared.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
3) Mylar bags - Never put food directly in the buckets. Best practice is to add your food into a mylar bag and seal it then seal the bucket.
Here are several videos on how to do this.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Mylar bag distributors can be found on ebay or here are some other sources with good prices. Make sure you don't skimp on the bags and get the heavier duty 3.5mm to 4.5mm bags these are food grade. make sure not to get anything less.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
4) Oxygen absorbers should be added to any dry goods going into mylar bags. I recommend 1500cc to 2000cc for any 5 gallon bucket. For the smaller 1 gallon buckets use a couple 300cc bags. These things are cheap and you can't harm the food by adding too many. (I don't think).
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
When looking for the mylar bags and the O2 absorbers remember that survival stores will cost more. Go for the distributors they use get your supplies for less.
5) Food - If you want bulk items such as rice, wheat, flour, sugar etc go to your big warehouse stores or restruant distributors. Costco, SamClub are great places to get large 50lb bags of rice flour sugar etc. Out here on the west coast we have some distributors called smart and final. Ther prices are anywhere from $1 to $10 cheaper then costco and sams.
Now Costco does have their own long term food storage items that you can buy outright. A 5 gallon bucket of rice in a long term storage bucket will cost $49.99 on their website. Of course shipping and possible taxes are not included.
Compare that to my 5 gallon bucket from HomeDepot, my mylar bag with O2 absorber and my 50lb bag of rice from smart and final. Grand total was $26.50.
Food that can be stored and I'm sure there is more
Rice
beans all kinds
flour
wheat
sugar
baking soda
pancake mix
pasta
anything dry should last a long time if stored correctly.
In conclusion I'm sure there are many things I've missed and I welcome the replies. But for someone just getting started or looking to get started this helped me out and I hope it can help others.
__________________ Officer...The devil made me do it.....thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
Looks like a good start! Similar to what I and others are doing. I have started prepping my third offsite multi-year food and munitions cache. My longterm food tends to be freeze-dried (35+ years) and sealed spam cans of ammo.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
If I get back to work I should be able to "beef up" my preps further. I hope to get more rural real estate as well.
__________________ When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America , you get a front row seat. - George Carlin
I was thinking this was a good start for the larger quanity of food. I've been collecting MRE's and cases of #10 cans since the early 90's. It's only been within the last few months I decided to expand my storage and I started seeing the prices of #10 of rice beans etc and thought there must be a better and cheaper way.
I like the site you linked to, I have bookmarked it and plan on reading more.
I also have a secondary food storage/weapons cache which like my main site I will now expand more with the process described above.
__________________ Officer...The devil made me do it.....thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
A Food Saver vaccuum unit is also a good investment. You can break your flours, sugars and coffee etc. into smaller portions for easy use and possible trade. You can't use them for rice or pasta though because eventally the bags will rupture even inside the buckets.
A lot of people in the "prepper" community go to a local LDS (Mormon) cannery and buy their longterm food storage cheap. I think most are open to the public and at some others you got to find a member to go with. You volunteer time at the cannery to seal #10 cans of food that you buy at discount. Good prices but I haven't gone to one myself. My baby brother and his family go to a LDS cannery in Idaho where the selection is more varied than online. They are stocked up with grains and dehydrated foods. I read on a couple sites that the selection might be limited now because they are sending a lot of relief to Haiti.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
__________________ When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America , you get a front row seat. - George Carlin
Many are Stocking up on Food in Today's Volatile World
Many are Stocking up on Food in Today's Volatile World
Saturday, 19 March 2011 10:51 Rick Haymow
We live in troubling times as the Middle East is in turmoil, energy supplies threatened, and major food shortages around the globe. Oil is over [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], and [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]by the crisis in Japan. The price of [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. As Americans witness these issues swirling around them and on the news, many are taking precautions and planting more vegetable gardens, and stocking up on food--it just makes good sense to be prepared.
See [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Reasons to Rely Upon Food Storage:
• Natural Disaster - hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes
• Terrorism - it is not IF, but WHEN, and no one knows "where"
• Labor Strike
• Economic Depression - (dollar crashes, food shipments to grocery stores disrupted
• Drought - America's bread basket runs out of food
• Crop Failure - pestilence, such as the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]• Personal Tragedy
• Civil Unrest
• Unemployment
The best source I have found so far is one a friend of mine told me about, and its called Shelf Reliance. After doing the math on the amount of food in one of their 10# Cans, the shelf life and the excellent taste of the food, I was so impressed, I started my own. The rack storage systems are second to none. The only criticism I have have is their website is slow (its slammed with business). Anyways, check it out yourself, but in 6 months I will have a 12 month supply of food for me and my family and will be able to rest easier at night knowing we are set for food for a year. What do I Need for Food Storage?
Water. Although a person can survive as long as two weeks without food, the human body wasn't designed to go long without water. Depending on the conditions and surrounding environment, this could be as little one day. Use any of our water storage containers to hold your water supply. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Food. When it comes to food storage, the first rule to remember is to store the food you eat and eat the food you store. This concept helped us develop what we call our [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]Because all food has a shelf life, these systems will help you effectively rotate your food and protect your investment. We also offer the basic foods needed to sustain life. The food you eat during an emergency has a dramatic impact upon the psychological well being of those affected. Use our [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]to determine how much to store for you and your family. The their[Only registered and activated users can see links. ], grains, vegetables, fruits, meats and beans, basics
Emergency Preparedness. We offer a range of emergency supplies and 72-hour kits that can be customized to match the needs of your family. Use our[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]to determine the items you will need for a specified amount of time. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
__________________ When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America , you get a front row seat. - George Carlin
Many are Stocking up on Food in Today's Volatile World
Suburban Survivalists Begin Hoarding Food, Water and Weapons. Here’s How to Get Started
Author: Kim Bauer
Published: February 17, 2011
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Snippet:
A new breed of survivalists is emerging in this country. I affectionately refer to them as Suburban Survivalists. She (yes, she) is most likely a minivan driving soccer mom who spends most of her time running the household, brushing up on her survival skills by watching Bear Grylls, and practicing target shooting on the weekends.
Advertisers already know the power and influence of these women. They make almost 80% of the family purchasing decisions, thus wielding significant power over a large portion of the GDP. While the husband is bringing home the bacon, she is figuring out how she can keep it frying in case of emergency. She knows it’s not a matter of “if” something catastrophic will take place. It is simply a matter of when, and she is quietly scrambling to get ready for whatever “it” is.
The suburban survivalist realizes that when “it” happens, she has to have pretty darn compelling answers to the following questions… “Where will we get food and water, mamma? Where will we sleep? How will we survive? Will we have to eat bugs?”
That last question in particular wakes us up at night in a cold sweat. We no longer care about seeming like we are part of the lunatic fringe. Our cars are loaded with our 72 hour bug out boxes, (that’s survivalist lingo). Our mantra is “Bring it on, baby. I am prepared!”
On a practical level, storing food, water and weapons “just in case” makes perfect sense. We have insurance policies on almost every other aspect of our lives. Why not insure ourselves against starvation? Unless you are married to a genuine mountain man or you are part of the Mormon faith which has been practicing the art of food storage for centuries, you might be confused about where to begin
Read more: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
__________________ When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America , you get a front row seat. - George Carlin
I hit the food pantrys/freestore every month to build up my supply of SHTF cargo.Some stuff like cream corn and caned beets may never touch my lips.
My stepkids often stop by and releave me of some of my food when federal
reserve notes are in short supply.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. NRA JPFO MC/NAVY Right Wing Radical Gun and Bible Toting inactive Marine
The very best think I have found is something known as Efoods.com. Freeze dried full gourmet kind of meals you only need to add water to and stir. If you can take a squirrel or dove to add to these, you have a really full meal.
Long term food storage
Linear Mode
