[moovova]

Wait for sales wherever you buy! Augason.com has one sale product every day. Good way to go if buying a case (not a minimum purchase, but cases of stuff like biscuit, pancakes, veggies, etc).

Prices have gone up over the last couple of years. Full price is pure price gouging...with freeze dried meats being at the tip-top of the scale.

Costco, BJs Warehouse, Sam’s and Wal-Mart offer dehydrated and freeze dried foods. They sell a lot of Augason. You might have to buy online thru them.

RE meat. If you’ll rotate...buy canned meats by the case online. Not cheap, but cheaper than freeze dried. Canned meats don’t have the 25 year shelf life of F.D., but if you’re rotating stock, you’ll be good. Canned beef, hamburger, pork, chicken...they’re not bad.

[thesearethetimes...]

bookmark

[moovova]

Also...keep an inventory spread sheet. Cost, where purchased, when purchased, shelf life, when opened, how long is it good for after opening.

Mark cases with contents because 20 cardboard boxes full of food look...all exactly the same.

Mark cans when opening a can...date opened, best by date, etc. Mark the can off your list as opened.

That stuff will get away from you if you don’t keep up with it. You don’t need food poisoning when the nearest doctor is non-existent.

[William Tell]

I live in a rural area and we only go food shopping two or three times a month. As a result, we normally have much more food available than the typical city dweller.

In addition, I found that the Mormon church runs canning centers to support their members self-reliance goals. Here is a link to their web page.

https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage?lang=eng

If you are interested, I would locate a local center and verify what is available. My wife and I did spend several hours packing some of our food and some for other purchasers.

The price list shows the shelf life for the various products. Many are good for 30 years.

Prepping is a multi-faceted endeavor. Some people are interested in surviving a storm that might knock out power for several days. Others are attempting to be ready to live off-grid for months or years.

Despite the many things I have done, I estimate that my wife and I are prepared for about four months, though that would entail a lot of beans and rice. Getting from there to a year is not just triple the effort. The longer you expect to go, the more important variety, vitamins, and fats become along with scores of non food items. We probably won’t get there and hope never to pay the price for having neglected to do so.

I hope there aren’t too many of us hoping to barter ammo for other necessities. I think I should buy some booze for barter.

[LibWhacker]

We like Mountain House freeze dried food, available at Amazon. I may be stating the obvious here, but make sure you try each dish before going out and buying a bunch of it. We like beef stroganoff, rice and chicken, wild rice mushroom pilaf, apple crisp and a few others. Least favorite was scrambled eggs and bacon. I’d hate to be stuck in some bunker somewhere with 20 cases of that crap! :-p

[mumblypeg]

Many of those “numerous vendors” of “survivalist kits” are marketing an overpriced idea of prepping.
You’re getting $10 worth of food in a $5 bucket slapped with a label that says “PREPPER!!” for $75.
Most of the individual meal servings are not enough calories to keep an anorexic alive. You have to eat 4 servings to feel like you’ve eaten anything.
Put together your own supplies from what you find at the grocery store.
Canned goods, dried beans, rice. Flour, sugar, salt.
Buy or make your own dehydrated jerky and veggies.

Buy airtight, food grade plastic buckets with lids, and oxygen inhibitors to toss inside.
Learn how to purify water and buy calcium hypochlorite to do it.

If you have land, plant, learn canning, get some chickens.

[TTFX]

Why not simply milk powder? You have to practice to dissolve it well, sometimes one has to leave it for a few hours.

[moovova]

Sorry...didn’t realize “normbal” had covered Augason Farms.

I also gave you the wrong website name. Normbal got it right at augasonfarms.com.

[Organic Panic]

Not sure about your area. Our local WalMart started carrying the big #10 cans of freeze dried foods. I tend to get just raw ingredients and make my own recipes. there are only so many times you can eat “Chili” before it’s boring. Cans are anywhere from 5 to 15 dollars. Closed they last for 20 years. Open. I’ve been on some cans over a year and they taste fine.

Dehydrated is great if you’re an avid gardener. But it only lasts a year max so make sure to use it up and rotate. Get a vacuum sealer while you’re at it.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You should have two weeks to a month of canned goods. What I call "dump and serve". They require little to no preparation and cooking. You should have someway to generate heat, fireplace, Franklin stove and fuel. Don't plan on chopping the wood after the emergency starts. You will be far too busy. You will also need enough water put up. About a gallon a day per person. Half of this can be bottled water.

As for longer term stuff I suggest getting sample packs and eating them. Some of the stuff is great, some is plain awful. And while calories are calories in certain situations why get something you will not like from the get go.

Cooking with true dehydrated foods as opposed to MREs takes has a learning curve. Once again, suggest that you buy a sample pack and learn how to use it. I like Harmony House for dried foods.

[Backstop73]

I have a lot of experience eating Mountain House, and too much experience eating MREs.

The Mtn House is great, but you need water. I can see water at some point being in short supply.

MREs are good enough. For sure though, if I have to get from point A to point B and things are really bad, I’ll be eating MREs. Starting a fire to heat and/or purify water seems the surest way to attract trouble.

MREs can be purchased at a military Commissary by military folks.

[leaning conservative]

Ping

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Prepper Ping List

Dehydrated Food recomendations

(includes seasonal sales, recommended varieties, equipment, etc.)

[Godzilla]

there are many options. commercial freeze dried foods are pretty pricy. My local Winco carries a 72 hour bucket for four people for about $50 from Augnesson Farm - a lot less than from the the catalogue/on line.
A cheaper method would be to stock up on canned/boxed goods. veggies, fruit, canned meats, etc. a cheaper price and long shelf life too (ignore the ‘best by’ date - thats for flavor and freshness).
The old staple of beans and rice is still good in a pinch.

The prepper axiom is by what you eat and eat what you store (cycle you storage).

[Hugin]

Buy some and try eating nothing else for a weekend. If you’re sick of it by then imagine living on it really long term. Personally I just keep a few months worth of canned and dry food I eat anyway on hand. Plenty for a power outage type situation.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Thrive Foods
https://www.thrivelife.com/shop

[Jack Hydrazine]

You can find emergency food on the Emergency Essentials website. Get on their email list and you’ll have emails from them of foods on sale all the time.

http://beprepared.com/

[right-wingin_It]

I will vouch for Mountainhouse (freeze dried) meals...they are decent.

What we currently do is have a mix of these in storage, and they are consumed on trips we take and replaced:

1) MREs -- Pros: Don't need hydration, or even to be cooked, although chemical heaters are often provided (requires an ounce or two of liquid). Like to have a few of these for hot meal if for whatever reason cant make a fire or use stove, inside car etc. However, Cons: They do not taste good compared to other options (Best ones IMO: Asian Beef Strips, Chilimac, Au gratin potatoes). If travelling with them they are heavier to pack than freeze dried.

2) Freeze Dried Meals - I can vouch for Mountainhouse brand, another brand is Backpacker's Pantry. We never really had a bad Mountainhouse meal. Good ones are Chicken A-la-king, Beef stroganoff, Lasagna, Chilimac, Breakfast Skillet). Pros: Freeze Dried has the Longest shelf life of all options (up to 25 years, Mountainhouse has a "best by" of at least 12 years, Taste good - certainly better than MREs. Light to carry/pack. Individually portioned. Con: Requires water to hydrate (we also have a high capacity backpacking water filter and collapsible buckets). However, these meals could also be eaten dry if you had to, particularly the mountainhouse. The starches - like pasta noodles etc isn't to tough like regular dried pasta. You can consume them dry. I ate the "breakfast skillet" meal dry - was not bad.

3)Supermarket Grocery Items with a decent shelf-life: Rice, Pasta, Instant mashed Potatoes, Ramen Noodles, Dried Tortellini, Oatmeal, Cereal, dried soups/bouillon, bottled , powdered Milk, instant coffee, other instant beverage mixes, nondairy creamer, canned foods - sardines, beans, soups.

Another option is "Dehydrated Meals". Pro: usually taste great. Con: has short shelf life.

Other Companies: Last year I was looking into "good tasting freeze dried or dehydrated meals" and these names always popped up. I haven't checked them out. I bet the food is good, but pricey:
- Hawk's Vittles - Pack it Gourmet
- Good to GO
- Mary Jane's Farm
- Hungry Hiker
- Heater Meals

[Lurker]

Buy a dehydrator and make your own.

We do.

L

[TexasTransplant]

If you do not plan on actually consuming your dehydrated food and rotating in new dehydrated food stuffs ... go for Freeze Dried ... they last much longer therefore there less waste.