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Question for the board members: If the SHTF, what food items are you stocking up on for a 3-6 month disruption in supply chains?

10MTN431Medic

10MTN431Medic

Alpha
I am certainly not saying I believe it will happen, but I'm not absolutely ruling it out either. Should it really hit the fan, I'm thinking of food items I can buy and store for longer than usual. Rice, beans, lots of drinking water, pasta etc. I have not purchased any boxes of MREs or some of the commercially manufactured food items that are good for a million years...

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed. Thank you.
 
We’ve been buying extra food, meat and non perishables, since May. I had to install another pantry to hold it all. Been hording water too even though I’m on a private well. Likewise things like cigarettes, Guinness and Bombay Sapphire, toilet paper, trash bags, paper towels, laundry and dishwashing detergent, body wash, dryer sheets, furnace filters, cat food, cat litter, caffeine free Diet Coke and as much as I can afford it and find it, ammo.
 
I've added a half dozen or so cans of veggies every trip lately, just because. Right into the basement - cool, dark, dry storage. I'm on a well, so water is no problem (have a generator as well as a couple thousand gallons of fuel oil). Neighbors raise chickens.
 
This is something I've thought about as well. My approach to this point has been a bit different. After seeing the mad dash from people buying up all the pre-packed prepper food packs of late, it occurred to me that this isn't a lot different than what people do every day...buy their food. If all you're trying to do is bridge a temporary gap in supply, this makes perfect sense. However, what if it's more than a temporary gap? How would we know it's temporary when it starts? We really wouldn't. Most of us would have faith that supply will eventually return but we don't know for sure.

In observing the people in my little part of the world, I'm convinced they all believe that food comes from Walmart (substitute any other big box store if you like). I've observed that these folks can't (or won't) do the simplest of tasks for themselves. They hire everything out. Whether it's lawn maintenance, hanging Christmas lights, pest control, washing out their garbage cans (seriously, there's a service for this), car maintenance (wash, oil change, etc.), cooking for themselves, assembling their latest purchase from Amazon, and even picking up after their dogs. These people are totally reliant on the retail and service industries to survive. I see these people as an opportunity should things go sideways.

I offer an alternate approach to inevitable food shortages. Rather than stocking up on key food supplies that will eventually run out, why not develop a more sustainable plan? I've always enjoyed growing things. I've had all kinds of gardens over the years. I've grown vegetables outdoors and indoors using all kinds of methods. Regardless of the kind of gardening I was doing, the result was the same...I always produced WAY more food than I could eat fresh. This led to preserving some of it, selling some of it, and giving a lot of it away to friends. Gardening can be done by anyone, anywhere, and at any time of year. Constant supply. If SHTF, you already have a steady supply of food. That food not only sustains you and your family but it also becomes an extremely valuable asset for bartering with your highly reliant neighbors that are freaking out because they can't get any more food from Walmart and Uber Eats stopped delivering.

Just a thought.
 
Matador said:
This is something I've thought about as well. My approach to this point has been a bit different. After seeing the mad dash from people buying up all the pre-packed prepper food packs of late, it occurred to me that this isn't a lot different than what people do every day...buy their food. If all you're trying to do is bridge a temporary gap in supply, this makes perfect sense. However, what if it's more than a temporary gap? How would we know it's temporary when it starts? We really wouldn't. Most of us would have faith that supply will eventually return but we don't know for sure.

In observing the people in my little part of the world, I'm convinced they all believe that food comes from Walmart (substitute any other big box store if you like). I've observed that these folks can't (or won't) do the simplest of tasks for themselves. They hire everything out. Whether it's lawn maintenance, hanging Christmas lights, pest control, washing out their garbage cans (seriously, there's a service for this), car maintenance (wash, oil change, etc.), cooking for themselves, assembling their latest purchase from Amazon, and even picking up after their dogs. These people are totally reliant on the retail and service industries to survive. I see these people as an opportunity should things go sideways.

I offer an alternate approach to inevitable food shortages. Rather than stocking up on key food supplies that will eventually run out, why not develop a more sustainable plan? I've always enjoyed growing things. I've had all kinds of gardens over the years. I've grown vegetables outdoors and indoors using all kinds of methods. Regardless of the kind of gardening I was doing, the result was the same...I always produced WAY more food than I could eat fresh. This led to preserving some of it, selling some of it, and giving a lot of it away to friends. Gardening can be done by anyone, anywhere, and at any time of year. Constant supply. If SHTF, you already have a steady supply of food. That food not only sustains you and your family but it also becomes an extremely valuable asset for bartering with your highly reliant neighbors that are freaking out because they can't get any more food from Walmart and Uber Eats stopped delivering.

Just a thought.
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Hard to garden around here between August and May.
 
Most canned goods have a best buy date 2 years in the future so we have a lot of those including canned meats and fish. We used to have boxes of Kraft mac and cheese until we noticed it has a short shelf life. We also have a lot of cans of various soups, the type that don’t require adding water. We have water but I think it is probably no more than two months’ worth if that. One more thing we have is cash. If things go south and huge areas of the country are without power, cash will be king.
 
Oaktree45 said:
Most canned goods have a best buy date 2 years in the future so we have a lot of those including canned meats and fish. We used to have boxes of Kraft mac and cheese until we noticed it has a short shelf life. We also have a lot of cans of various soups, the type that don’t require adding water. We have water but I think it is probably no more than two months’ worth if that. One more thing we have is cash. If things go south and huge areas of the country are without power, cash will be king.
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Cash will be king for a very brief period of time. All the cash in the world can’t buy something that’s not available.
 
"Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit"

Beans, beans, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel.
So let's have beans with every meal.

And a good supply of Beano.
1610468185825.png

and/or...

Degassing Beans: Here’s How to Silence the “Musical Fruit”
 
Invest in a vacuum sealer, vacuum bag mat'l, and even the foid-grade mylar bags and O2 absorbers. So far, I have beans, bisquick, pancake/waffle mix, white rice, and even Cherrios (you can eat them if needed), vacuum sealed. I had some brown rice sealed, but learned that it (and other items sometimes) don't keep well due to the oil content in it. The instant oatmeal packets can be vacuum sealed also. If sealing Bisquick, pancake batter, etc, put it in brown paper sacks (like a lunch bag) and wtite the contents on the bag, fold the top over, then place in vacuum bag and seal. You don't want to suck the powdered products into your vacuum machine and ruin it.

I portion and seal mine by servings for the amount of people in the house. When sealing, I'll also cut the directions from the box, and seal it with the food product.

Air (and light) are enemies of food storage. When using the mylar bags and O2 absorber, you don't need a vacuum sealer. Mylar bags can be sealed with a regular clothing iron, or even one if those hand-held flat iron things the ladies straighten their hair with. The O2 absorbers need to be kept in an airtight jar, airtight container, or even vacuum sealed into a foodsaver bag. If left in the open they'll "work", and you've just,wasted your supply, and $$.

Oh, and I also vacuum seal (and of course freeze) any meat I purchase. Using a Sharpie, date all packaging. I fixed a beef roast the other night that was dated May 2020 as I recall.

At the moment I probably have 3 wks of dry goods on-hand. Also, as mentioned, peanut butter is good to have available. Water definitely needs be on-hand. I recently bought two of the 7 gallon water containers (the blue ones) that have the spigot and built-in carry handle at Walmart. Cases of bottled water are inexpensive also. I also need to pickup a few more 1lb propane bottles to have available for my little camp stove.

Sorry for the lengthy reply. The little bit I know about it has come from a family member who is big-time into food storage, and from watching YouTube vids.
 
Matador said:
This is something I've thought about as well. My approach to this point has been a bit different. After seeing the mad dash from people buying up all the pre-packed prepper food packs of late, it occurred to me that this isn't a lot different than what people do every day...buy their food. If all you're trying to do is bridge a temporary gap in supply, this makes perfect sense. However, what if it's more than a temporary gap? How would we know it's temporary when it starts? We really wouldn't. Most of us would have faith that supply will eventually return but we don't know for sure.

In observing the people in my little part of the world, I'm convinced they all believe that food comes from Walmart (substitute any other big box store if you like). I've observed that these folks can't (or won't) do the simplest of tasks for themselves. They hire everything out. Whether it's lawn maintenance, hanging Christmas lights, pest control, washing out their garbage cans (seriously, there's a service for this), car maintenance (wash, oil change, etc.), cooking for themselves, assembling their latest purchase from Amazon, and even picking up after their dogs. These people are totally reliant on the retail and service industries to survive. I see these people as an opportunity should things go sideways.

I offer an alternate approach to inevitable food shortages. Rather than stocking up on key food supplies that will eventually run out, why not develop a more sustainable plan? I've always enjoyed growing things. I've had all kinds of gardens over the years. I've grown vegetables outdoors and indoors using all kinds of methods. Regardless of the kind of gardening I was doing, the result was the same...I always produced WAY more food than I could eat fresh. This led to preserving some of it, selling some of it, and giving a lot of it away to friends. Gardening can be done by anyone, anywhere, and at any time of year. Constant supply. If SHTF, you already have a steady supply of food. That food not only sustains you and your family but it also becomes an extremely valuable asset for bartering with your highly reliant neighbors that are freaking out because they can't get any more food from Walmart and Uber Eats stopped delivering.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...
You might have to set up a rotating security watch for the garden if things get real bad. Folks might resort to stealing your fresh veggies from the garden.
 
Trail cams work for this, as do motion sensors hooked to bright lights and/or noisemakers.

I'm getting ready to mount a pair of cameras on the utility poles in front of my house, up high out of reach, to start catching all the a$$hats who toss garbage in my yard as they drive by, and anyone who "loses control" and slides off the road and through my trees. Again. Since DOT won't plant a guardrail, or let me place boulders along the road...
 
Bassbob said:
We’ve been buying extra food, meat and non perishables, since May. I had to install another pantry to hold it all. Been hording water too even though I’m on a private well. Likewise things like cigarettes, Guinness and Bombay Sapphire, toilet paper, trash bags, paper towels, laundry and dishwashing detergent, body wash, dryer sheets, furnace filters, cat food, cat litter, caffeine free Diet Coke and as much as I can afford it and find it, ammo.
Click to expand...
How much luck are you having finding ammo?
 
10MTN431Medic said:
How much luck are you having finding ammo?
Click to expand...

It’s mixed. I lucked out at a Farm and Home store a few weeks ago and got a good supply of 124 gr. 9MM NATO Winchester white box. I got lucky and Bass Pro had Federal Truball 12 gauge slugs for $6/box a few weeks back. I bought I think 14 boxes. I’ve found 5.56 but I can’t bring myself to pay $1/round for it. I can’t find primers or the shot or powder I want for my shotgun reloaders.

Of course all of this was before the Capitol thing last week.

I could use more 12 gauge and 5.56 for sure.
 
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