Need some advice food storage

[Bloodknight]

Live in Southern Arizona, thought its time with present situation, plus with the election & stuff coming. To get some supplies other than Firearms & Ammo together. Since I've never purchased these supplies & there's lots of dealers out there.Im goin where I know I'll get good info. Maybe a 4 month or so supply of "What ?" I seen this coming for years .Just not so fast.We got like 10,000 people 90 miles from here who want in

 

[belladonna]

I have A LOT of this stuff. I tried it and it's pretty good, as survival food goes. This is purely non perishable, mind you, and like MREs. I am canning when I can from my garden, and that includes meat (venison, but beef is good too).

Give this a look. I was skeptical at first, but they are a good start.

4Patriots | We Champion Freedom and Self-Reliance

4Patriots helps keep you & your family safe in an emergency with Survival Food, Solar Generators, Water Filtration and the latest emergency preparedness supplies to keep your family safe. Portable power stations for home keep lights on in a blackout.

4patriots.com

 

[mikep]

I’d been thinking about this too but have no idea where to start. I have a decent packed pantry with enough food to last a week if needed. But real long term?

 

[Talyn]

I break mine into these categories.

1. Commonly used foods (frig & panty stuff) - perishables & supermarket types. Stock and replenish according to your regular trips to the market. Eat first if the need arises.

2. Freezer & dry goods. - stock up according to your storage capacity. Includes garden/Farmer market stuff that you can dry/store. These can include dry soup/stew mixes that need extra items to complete & cook up. Dehydrate/freeze dry your own depending on your budget for the equipment. Eat second.

3. Commercial freeze dried - quality brands. Make sure you're getting good protein & low-sodium types. A lot of commonly seen TV advertised brands have minimal nutrition. You get what you pay for. Long-term storage life.

4) Storage #2 & #3 in cool & dark place(s) to maximize storage life.

5) Vitamins - Don't forget to store vitamins, etc.

6) Don't forget water needs for cooking & to avoid dehydration. This included water storage & purification.

7) An easy/sustainable way(d) to cook.

My .02.

 

[Talyn]

#2 includes canned food.

As needed rotate #2 & #3 into #1 needs, and replace.

 

[mikep]

I break mine into these categories.

1. Commonly used foods (frig & panty stuff) - perishables & supermarket types. Stock and replenish according to your regular trips to the market. Eat first if the need arises.

2. Freezer & dry goods. - stock up according to your storage capacity. Includes garden/Farmer market stuff that you can dry/store. These can include dry soup/stew mixes that need extra items to complete & cook up. Dehydrate/freeze dry your own depending on your budget for the equipment. Eat second.

3. Commercial freeze dried - quality brands. Make sure you're getting good protein & low-sodium types. A lot of commonly seen TV advertised brands have minimal nutrition. You get what you pay for. Long-term storage life.

4) Storage #2 & #3 in cool & dark place(s) to maximize storage life.

5) Vitamins - Don't forget to store vitamins, etc.

6) Don't forget water needs for cooking & to avoid dehydration. This included water storage & purification.

7) An easy/sustainable way(d) to cook.

My .02.

Great layout, Talyn. Thanks.
One of the stumbling blocks for me is that i don’t use canned foods or ready mix soups/stews. So rotating the inventory from an “emergency item” to a “regular use item” wouldn’t happen too often.
The second biggest hurdle for me has to do with throwing out or wasting food, which stems from a previous living situation when i was younger. I’d hate to buy food just to have on hand only to throw it out upon expiration.
So those are the 2 issues i contend with. Maybe i’ll look into freeze drying.

 

[Old_Me]

we have canned foods. this includes soups, and vegetables. most if not all have a shelf life of 1 year, and we rotate many canned foods at 6 months.

the wife used to can/preserve many things that we grew from the garden, but not anymore, as each year the harvest just isn't much anymore.

 

[The Night Rider]

Eat what you stock, stock what you eat.

It is an LDS Doctrine to have a two-year supply of non perishable food on hand. There are several LDS owned companies that cater to this Market.

I don't know if anybody said specifically this but when you go grocery shopping. If you normally buy four cans of soup buy 6.

Buy a couple extra bags of dry beans buy a couple extra bags of dry rice every time you go shopping. Before long you'll actually have quite a stock.

there are groups on Facebook that aren't even necessarily dedicated to prepping but they post notices of deals are available out in the community or supplies that are being given away.

My wife got 50 lb of flour that apparently already has the yeast in it so all she has to do is add water and we've got bread.

She found some people in our neighborhood who had 50 2 quart cans of the dehydrated LDS Food that they were just giving away.

My main point is to buy extra of foods that are conducive to long-term storage that you normally eat anyway.

If you go from eating your normal diet to eating two dehydrated pork patty MREs everyday it's going to suck

 

[Talyn]

Great layout, Talyn. Thanks.
One of the stumbling blocks for me is that i don’t use canned foods or ready mix soups/stews. So rotating the inventory from an “emergency item” to a “regular use item” wouldn’t happen too often.
The second biggest hurdle for me has to do with throwing out or wasting food, which stems from a previous living situation when i was younger. I’d hate to buy food just to have on hand only to throw it out upon expiration.
So those are the 2 issues i contend with. Maybe i’ll look into freeze drying.

Everyone has to figure out how to approach things, and what will work for them.

There's dehydrating machine & then there's the much more expensive freeze-dryers but essentially you can make you own ready-mixes much better with freeze-drying.

Here's a good source of ready-mix stuff, that you add fresh/other needed ingredients if you want.

Simple, Natural Soup Mixes - Anderson House

Anderson House is now the home of Frontier Soups - simple, natural soup mixes! We have a new look, but everything else about us is the same.

andersonhousefoods.com

 

[Grayfox]

I generally keep 2 months worth of food in the house. Restock monthly with my regular grocery shopping. Plenty of canned goods. I also keep a couple of cases of MREs just in case. I also stock bottled water.
If the time ever comes, eat perishables first. Start with the refrigerator and go to the freezer eating whatever is thawing first. Save canned and long term foods for last.
I avoid any dried or dehydrated foods. If the S should HTF, drinkable water will likely be more important than food.
A camp stove and spare fuel will also come in handy. Don't forget an old fashioned manual can opener.

 

[The Night Rider]

I also stock bottled water.

A water purifier would pay for itself very quickly

 

[powerboatr]

A water purifier would pay for itself very quickly

yup we have an RO system with 2 spares on filters in the RV. it can easily be tapped to run the house if needed. plus we have 100 gallon storage.

as far as food, as a sailor we always have an over stocked situation. but have adjusted less frozen to more cool dry storage is ok .
not to be an ass, but we have lots of wild critters running round for fresh meat.

 

[Shibadog]

I have A LOT of this stuff. I tried it and it's pretty good, as survival food goes. This is purely non perishable, mind you, and like MREs. I am canning when I can from my garden, and that includes meat (venison, but beef is good too).

Give this a look. I was skeptical at first, but they are a good start.

4Patriots | We Champion Freedom and Self-Reliance

4Patriots helps keep you & your family safe in an emergency with Survival Food, Solar Generators, Water Filtration and the latest emergency preparedness supplies to keep your family safe. Portable power stations for home keep lights on in a blackout.

4patriots.com

I’ve had good luck with 4Patriots stuff. I’ve got food for 3months for the wife and I and water for a couple weeks, plus a large water filter to purify water from my stream. Generator will give me power for a few days as well. Plus there are deer and assorted critters that could become dinner if need be. I just want to be ok if the grid goes down for a few days or food gets disrupted for a bit (plus storms, etc. ). If it’s a true “end of the world” situation I don’t really care to hang around (besides once my meds run out I’m pretty much done anyway)

 

[Shibadog]

Just a heads up-Isaw yesterday that 4 Patriots was having a “Buy one get two free” sale on their 72 hour emergency for kits. That’s 9 days food for two for $29. I think that’s a deal. I ordered it to boost my supply a bit and suggested my boy do the same. I’ve no association with 4Patriots at all except for being a customer. If you order they’ll keep making other” offers before you complete your order which is a PITAbut stick with it and you’ll get the order placed.

 

[KASHIRA-3]

Dont make it more difficult than it has to be. Although there are plenty of good companies out there, dont fall victim to the hype and saturation marketing that occurs each election cycle. Stick to the baiscs... here are just a couple of bullet points

1. Water water water
1a. a way to sanitize water, and carry water. I like 7gal aquatainers for storage and mobility. Something larger than the standard 35 gallon water heater would be another boost.

2. Store shelf stable foods that do not require any special storage
2a. Kippered Herring, Tuna, Peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts,
Dehydrated meats, beans and eggs, steel cut oats, quinoa, DAK ham
Datrex food bricks

I like getting stuff from Honeyville farms and the neighborhood grocery

A firearm can certainly be a part of any survival system but lack of a firearm is probably not going to be the primary peril in any sustained crisis here in the States. It will likely be related to lack of food, water, medicine or proper shelter. These people who are hoarding tons ammo and crap like that are likely missing the boat.

 

[belladonna]

Dont make it more difficult than it has to be. Although there are plenty of good companies out there, dont fall victim to the hype and saturation marketing that occurs each election cycle. Stick to the baiscs... here are just a couple of bullet points

1. Water water water
1a. a way to sanitize water, and carry water. I like 7gal aquatainers for storage and mobility. Something larger than the standard 35 gallon water heater would be another boost.

2. Store shelf stable foods that do not require any special storage
2a. Kippered Herring, Tuna, Peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts,
Dehydrated meats, beans and eggs, steel cut oats, quinoa, DAK ham
Datrex food bricks

I like getting stuff from Honeyville farms and the neighborhood grocery

A firearm can certainly be a part of any survival system but lack of a firearm is probably not going to be the primary peril in any sustained crisis here in the States. It will likely be related to lack of food, water, medicine or proper shelter. These people who are hoarding tons ammo and crap like that are likely missing the boat.

Excellent suggestions, thank you!

 

[CAPMARINE276]

Dont make it more difficult than it has to be. Although there are plenty of good companies out there, dont fall victim to the hype and saturation marketing that occurs each election cycle. Stick to the baiscs... here are just a couple of bullet points

1. Water water water
1a. a way to sanitize water, and carry water. I like 7gal aquatainers for storage and mobility. Something larger than the standard 35 gallon water heater would be another boost.

2. Store shelf stable foods that do not require any special storage
2a. Kippered Herring, Tuna, Peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts,
Dehydrated meats, beans and eggs, steel cut oats, quinoa, DAK ham
Datrex food bricks

I like getting stuff from Honeyville farms and the neighborhood grocery

A firearm can certainly be a part of any survival system but lack of a firearm is probably not going to be the primary peril in any sustained crisis here in the States. It will likely be related to lack of food, water, medicine or proper shelter. These people who are hoarding tons ammo and crap like that are likely missing the boat.

Henry, .22LR, survival rifle, easily breaks down

 

[CAPMARINE276]

Live in Southern Arizona, thought its time with present situation, plus with the election & stuff coming. To get some supplies other than Firearms & Ammo together. Since I've never purchased these supplies & there's lots of dealers out there.Im goin where I know I'll get good info. Maybe a 4 month or so supply of "What ?" I seen this coming for years .Just not so fast.We got like 10,000 people 90 miles from here who want in

 

[Bassbob]

Dont make it more difficult than it has to be. Although there are plenty of good companies out there, dont fall victim to the hype and saturation marketing that occurs each election cycle. Stick to the baiscs... here are just a couple of bullet points

1. Water water water
1a. a way to sanitize water, and carry water. I like 7gal aquatainers for storage and mobility. Something larger than the standard 35 gallon water heater would be another boost.

2. Store shelf stable foods that do not require any special storage
2a. Kippered Herring, Tuna, Peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts,
Dehydrated meats, beans and eggs, steel cut oats, quinoa, DAK ham
Datrex food bricks

I like getting stuff from Honeyville farms and the neighborhood grocery

A firearm can certainly be a part of any survival system but lack of a firearm is probably not going to be the primary peril in any sustained crisis here in the States. It will likely be related to lack of food, water, medicine or proper shelter. These people who are hoarding tons ammo and crap like that are likely missing the boat.

Some might say the people who hoard food and forego guns and ammo are just storing food for those with guns.

 

[The Night Rider]

Some might say the people who hoard food and forego guns and ammo are just storing food for those with guns.

Lotta truth to that