Stockpiling food against economic uncertainty

Los Angeles Times via (Tacoma) The News Tribune ^ | 4/15/11 | FAYE FIORE

[Kartographer]

The laundry room of Tamara Huffman’s split-level here in the Shenandoah Valley is filling up with cheese powder and freeze-dried ham, at the ready should her husband, Brian, lose his job anytime in the next 25 years. She carves a little bit out of their already tight budget every month to buy some more.

This sort of stockpiling was once the purview of survivalists preparing for Armageddon. But Huffman’s fear isn’t the end of the world so much as the $5 basket of grape tomatoes she bypassed the other day at her local supermarket.

[FrogMom]

Invest in a Seal-a-meal or some such vacuum-sucking gizmo.

Freeze your product for 2 weeks (kills bugs and eggs) and repackage into vacuum bags.

Or put into vacuum bags and then freeze it. Take it out after 2 weeks and stack in your pantry.

[CottonBall]

I've been thinking of canning dried rice and beans. My idea is to put it in canning jars and put it in the oven for a half hour at about 170 degrees to kill any bugs and eggs and then put the lids on it before it cools. That would create a vacuum inside to keep it from getting contaminated.

Did exactly that. But being one to over do just about everything, I also froze the grains and beans for a couple of days first (this also kills the bugs, supposedly). Then dried in the oven. Then added an oxygen absorber before sealing the jars. Probably way too much effort - and any one of the 3 methods would've sufficed ;)

[listenhillary]

1 body = 150 fish or 800 fish heads.

[Kartographer]

Put the rice in the frezzer for 48 hours and then in food grade 5 gallon buckets with mylar bags add oxygen absorbers and then heat seal.

NOTE TO OTHERS:If you haven’t already you need to start prepared now. I truely believe that time is growing short very short. I believe within the next six months we will see a economic collapse much like that of Argentina’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs For more information on living in a collapse economy I strongly suggest that you read Ferfal’s blog SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA: http://ferfal.blogspot.com And remember as a armed society and one which contains a much more violent crimial and entitlement minded element our collapse is far more likely to be much more violent than Argentina’s was/is. For those who would like to get started preparing I have updated my Preparedness Manual and added the following sections: 19. A Highly-Mobility 72 Hour Kit-by Ward Dorrity 55. Step by Step Earthbag Construction-by Dr. Owen Geiger Thanks to eaker it can be down loaded at: http://www.tomeaker.com/kart/preparedness1i.pdf

[lurk]

Even if you store a 2 year supply, there are two problems.

One, you’re 5 years short.
Two, as soon as your starving neighbors find out you’ve got a stash of food, they’ll kill you and take your food.

[MrB]

Your aquaculture fish would eat the maggots...

[WestwardHo]

Check out the Pump-n-Seal . When I open a bucket of rice, etc., I divide it into canning jars and then seal them. I use the Pump-n-Seal on all kinds of jars and really love it. Weavils shouldn't be a problem unless you live in a high humidity area. You can easily keep weavils at bay, by inserting a few bay leaves in each container...works well with flour, etc. Dry jars in the oven sounds dangerous...but I'm not a canning expert.

[Kartographer]

Some people die hard than others. Especially those that have prepared are eating good and heve the tools and the talent to use them.

[mbynack]

Thanks. We just put in a pretty good garden and still have canned goods from last year. Even if the economy doesn’t go south, the price of food is going up faster than salaries so we haven’t lost anything by putting away something for a rainy day.

[Chuckster]

We have been carrying dry beans and rice, barley and oats on our boat for years. We just drop a bay leaf into each container. No bugs.

[Vaduz]

Indeed what was that address again?.

[FrogMom]

With a “pretty good garden”, you need a dehydrator and canning supplies.

[hedgetrimmer]

The seal-a-meal appliance has a special lid you can use with their vacuum pump to vacuum seal canning jars without heating the contents.

You could take up to 1 gallon sized jars filled with the grains and then vacuum seal them.

I’ve read somewhere that some people put a chunk of dry ice into jars before sealing them to replace oxygen with carbon dioxide to prolong the shelf life.

Haven’t tried it, maybe someone on the forum has?

[bgill]

As Sipsy in Fried Green Tomatoes said, “The secret’s in the sauce.”

Hubby went on a trip last week and raided the emergency bag. He took everything but the canned pet food. That’s fine, that needed to be rotated anyway so now to restock it.

If the woman in the article isn’t following a frugal lifestyle then she’s not maximizing the effort. Too many now days throw out more food than they eat. Here, dinner last night (and lunch today) was using up leftovers. Had a bit of pork roast and a bit of a bbq chicken breast that wasn’t enough for a meal so chopped it up, added store bought and home garden grown veggies, and made mu shu pork/chicken. Am muching down on it as I type, yuuuum. Waste not, want not.

[mosaicwolf]

"Pretty dumb to let the world know whose house to loot when food runs short."

That is what guns and ammo are for.

[Kartographer]

Link for my Preparedness Manual fixed!

http://www.tomeaker.com/kart/preparedness1i.pdf

[pyx]

A one inch square of Triple ZERO (000) pure steel wool, three or four drops of water on it to create rust inside of a small plastic bag with some small holes in the bag is the same thing as an oxygen absorber pack used in food storage. The process of creating rust absorbs oxygen.

[djf]

My next door neighbor is one of those cat-lady types.

She buys the litter in these large (must be about 2 1/2 gallon) HDPE plastic jugs.

And saves them for me, I got 14 more yesterday.

I already have a bunch filled with sugar, Non-Fat dry milk, dried shredded potatoes, you name it.

I’m running out of space to store stuff!

At first I’m thinking I should stock up because of the economic possibilities.
Then I start thinking it’s also nice to have stuff stored that ISN’T RADIOACTIVE!!!

And all the naysayers and people who want to call me some kind of doom-monger can just KISS MY BUTT!!

[Kartographer]

And all the naysayers and people who want to call me some kind of doom-monger can just KISS MY BUTT!!

Don't stress over it djf, be a proud up standing Doom Monger like me! ;-)

[pyx]

I may misunderstand your meaning. Five gallons of dried rice is a gigantic amount of rice when cooked. Unused rice could spoil before its used up. Packing and storing one week's worth of dried rice might be more prudent.