Posted on 10/01/2012 12:20:57 PM PDT by djf
As food prices continue to skyrocket, having a bulk supply of food is a great investment. But it also provides security and peace of mind against potential emergencies.
By now most people should be aware that grocery stores only have about 3 days of food in stock when crises strike. So if anything was to disrupt the food supply chain for an extended period of time, there would be untold chaos in most communities.
Any number of events could trigger mass disruption to a fragile food system, many of which are well documented and even predicted. Even NASA has warned its staff to prepare for potential disasters with survival foods and other precautions with their "Family Preparedness Program."
Prepping for disasters can seem overwhelming with so many aspects to be considered. However, for those just beginning to recognize how perilous these times are and are new to prepping, you can find many great survival foods at your local grocery store.
There are many fancy freeze-dried food companies offering light-weight storable meals. These are cost effective and great for new preppers. But if you don't have $1000 laying around to by a large supply, it may be better to pick up a few key items each week at the supermarket to build up your food bank gradually. And by buying base foods at the store, you'll ultimately save money.
It's best to keep your survival food list simple, and concentrate on storing foods with the highest amount of calories and the longest shelf life. This list is geared toward foods that will help you survive a crisis that lasts for extended periods of time.
Here are the ten best and cheapest survival rations available at any store:
Rice: Every time you go to the store you should buy one 10-lb bag of rice. You can find them for around $5 at most supermarkets. Rice will stay in good condition for 10 years or more if stored properly. It offers high carbohydrates which is especially important if you are exerting a lot of physical energy during a crisis.
Beans: Beans are known to be one of the best all-round survival foods. They're high in protein, and if sealed in food-grade buckets with a small amount of dried ice, they'll stay for up to ten years. Make sure to store them in a cool, dry, dark location. Buy a 4-5 lb bags of dried beans every time you go to the store. All dry beans are good to store; black beans, red beans, pinto beans, lentils, etc.
Cornmeal: All-purpose flours are good to store, but cornmeal may be the best overall. Cornmeal is packed with dense carbohydrates and contains oils that helps extend its shelf life. Additionally, if the power grid is down during a mega disaster, it is much easier to make good corn breads and tortillas with cornmeal in a simple skillet or solar oven, where refined flour will need yeast and oil to make decent bread or biscuits. Get a 5-lb bag of cornmeal ($10-$15) at each grocery visit. Seal and store the same way as beans (buckets, salt and dry ice), and it will safely keep 8 months to 2 years.
Lard: If you're a health-conscious reader, hydrogenated lard does not sound very appetizing, but in a survival situation you can't afford to be picky. Animal lard or vegetable shortening both offer much-needed calories during times of crisis, cooking oil for multiple uses, and it will keep longer than cooking oils because of the hydrogenation. Buy a 6-lb can ($12) and store in a cool, dry, and dark place and it will stay good for 2-3 years or longer.
Salt: Salt is one of the most useful survival food items. It's used for storing food, curing beef, and flavoring most meals. Salt will stay forever, so always buy extra when you're shopping.
Canned Fruit & Vegetables: These are another obvious survival food, but not as practical as many would think. They're heavy and somewhat costly for the calories they deliver. Additionally, acidic fruits and any cans with tomatoes will not keep as long as most people think. But most canned food is good for 5+ years. Buy green vegetables and fruits like peaches and pears for long-term storage, but more importantly, buy what you already eat in case you need to rotate them into your diet before they go bad.
Canned Meat: Canned meats like ham, tuna, and chicken are excellent to store. They typically will keep for 6-10 years and they're an excellent source of protein. However, if the grid is down for a long time (apocalyptic), hunting and fishing will likely provide most meats. Therefore, it may be sufficient to buy extra canned meats every other time you go shopping.
Sugar: Brown and white sugar will add much-needed flavor and calories to a survival diet and they'll keep for ten years or more if stored properly. Honey is also excellent as it will store forever. Make sure to buy extra every other time you go grocery shopping. You won't need too much, but they'll be well worth having if a crisis strikes.
Pasta: Pasta is a good light-weight storable food that is also a great source of carbohydrates. Pasta will not keep as long as rice, but it can stay for around 5 years in good conditions. Pasta is also very inexpensive and extra should be bought at each trip to the store. It will take up more space in your food bank that rice, beans and cornmeal, so plan your space the best you can.
Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is a terrific source of protein, fat, and calories. Plus, it's just a great treat to have on hand. Peanut butter can last up to five years in root cellar conditions. Stock up whenever there are good deals at your grocery store. You'll be happy you did if the SHTF.
If you consistently buy these items 3-4 times per month, you'll quickly acquire a year's supply of survival rations for your whole family.
How to store it?
A really basic way to store the rice, beans, cornmeal, sugar and pastas is to buy several 5-gallon seal-able paint buckets or food-grade buckets from your local hardware store. Put a cup or so of salt into a sandwich baggie (opened) at the bottom of the buckets. Then fill it with food stuffs and add a couple of ounces of dried ice (found at large grocery stores) which will remove the oxygen from the bucket after it's sealed. Finally, label each bucket with its contents and the date, and place it in your cellar.
Please let us know what other food items you think will be useful for new preppers....
Using crisco, or any other artificial fat is extremely hazardous to your health. Margarine is even worse.
Those oils are a guarantee of getting type 2 diabetes. They cause your cell membranes to become impervious to water, thus not allowing water soluable nutrients in, leaving them stranded in your blood, to be later stored as fat.
There should be space under the bed, under the couch, behind the dresser. Build a small box as a window seat with storage inside. Change out end tables and coffee table with trunks or other storage containers. Use a garbage can, top it with a piece of wood and throw a piece of fabric over the whole thing for a night stand. Two by fours fit perfectly behind open doors so make some shelves.
Agreed. Throw in if the country isn't trying to make a comeback then it's done.
"Can somebody help me with that information............"
One of the best ways I have found (if you have access to a good fire/heating source) is to use a "moonshine still" design.
The basic ingredients are a container you can seal up. An old crock pot is good. the bigger the better.
A goodly amount of flexible copper tubing. and you will need a fitting to attach it to the lid of the crock pot. Then a plastic 5 gallon bucket for the "sump" and then we used another fitting to run the copper tubing out the side of the bucket at the bottom.
The idea behind this is you put your water in the crock pot then seal it up and the copper tubing is ran to the bucket and coiled up (looks like a spring when you get done.) and run out the side of the bucket. you need a fitting here because the bucket needs to hold water.
The water in the crock pot turns to steam is forced along the tubing until it gets to the bucket where the water in the "sump" (Water that surrounds the outside of the copper tubing) will cool it back down and the steam then changes back to fresh "distilled" water.
Also if The SHTF you can make both wood and grain alcohol (which has hundreds of uses) with the same still.
Here is a brief youtube video that gives you the idea. Crock pot Water Distiller
>> “Cases of bottled water.” <<
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Whatever you do, do not buy the 2.5 gallon polyethylene bottles with the spigots; they all will fail after 2-3 years from cracks due to poor design. I have lost probably 150 gallons of spring water that way.
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but all white and all yellow pvc plastic paint buckets meet the conditions listed in your Wiki link.
Good point.
In a serious SHTF scenario where there is death there will be an explosion of rodents and varmints. A rat can chew through a 5 gallon plastic bucket with ease.
The book "Earth Abides" is a classic post apocalyptic novel by George R. Stewart. In the story almost everyone dies from a mysterious disease. The central figure is a survivor who is faced by a plague of rats that attack his food stores. His solution is to store non-canned food in steel filing cabinets.
I thought that was a great idea.
In my area used filing cabinets are fairly plentiful at places that resell used office furniture. Filing cabinets with scratches and dents are usually pretty cheap but as long as they still close tightly are perfectly good for rat proof storage.
PS - If you haven't read the book I recommend it as a good read.
It's an oldie but well written and the theme of survival in a post apocalyptic world is timeless.
Used paperbacks are commonly available for $1 or so.
Great places to store stuff AND you can enhance this area by removing bed frames and couch legs and building bases for both using plywood etc. and making proper storage shelves under them.
Its amazing how much stuff you can store under these just by raising them a few inches and making proper shelves under them.
Check a bucket for the proper markings, don’t rely on the color. Easiest way is to get them for next to nothing is at a bakery.
Calcium hypo chlorite is a really poor choice to ‘purify’ water. It is quite toxic, and the taste alone will render the water unpalatable.
Just 2 or 3 drops of SSKI will purify the water better, without making it toxic, or unpalatable, and you can carry the little bottle of SSKI in your pocket wherever you go. That little bottle will purify over 100 gallons of water.
Well I think that during shtf it’s going to be a little hard to run down to the Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s and get a quart of extra virgin olive oil don’t you?
Yes - freezing and refrigeraton work well.
In fact, those are really the only ways to prolong the shelf life of common cooking oils and shortening.
Seeing how Calcium hypochlorite is used pretty much by ever by every city water treatment facility in the country I am surprised we are all dead already.
“Cornmeal: All-purpose flours are good to store, but cornmeal may be the best overall.”
I’ve been a prepper for over 2 decades and this has never been a consideration for 2 reasons- pellagra, and the fact I never use it. I’m surprised it’s at the top of your list. One size does not fit all when prepping. If you don’t eat it, wouldn’t eat it, don’t store it. Also, #1 law of prepping- don’t show off your preps.
Yeah but the chemical from the PVC leech into the Nestle Quick and will kill you eventually kill you, not to mention what the sugar and other ingredients of the Nestle Quick will do to you.
“Two by fours fit perfectly behind open doors so make some shelves.”
Some years ago I got long metal racks with hardware to slip over the top of a door. Each one has six rows of attached racks. I have three bedrooms and each one has those racks behind the door.
We found a solution: go shop at the Latin mercados or the British ex-pat stores. Their stuff is packaged in metal for export. Prices are comparable to Wally World.
No harder than getting crisco?
The point is not to store poison for food.
Coconut or olive oil would be a far better choice. I have olive oil stored up at the ranch that is 5-6 years old and is still in good shape; used some of it sunday making breakfast.
The quick recipe now has half as much sugar as the original.
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