Can I really give my opinion?
If you are storing a 6 months supply of food, I would not buy it at the local grocery and leave it in the plastic bags.
If you check the bulk food places, you will get fresher food and it is cheaper, in 20/25 pound bags.
I bought several times from Walton Feed, and loved every item.
The oatmeal, flours, beans, were fresh and came in different American mills bags....
For me it was actually cheaper to buy from Walton’s, than it is in Kingman stores, and that was including the shipping.
If you bunch up on the heavy items, the freight gets cheaper, they have a UPS chart on the site that explains shipping, and for me, that was into my living room.
Walton’s is in Idaho, but they ship all over and even have a couple of trucks that deliver to the east coast for large orders, or they did.
The last couple years, I have not been able to cook much, so bought grocery items and am amazed at how much of it is not edible, in 3 or 4 months.
I bought the cheap Walton all-purpose flour and it worked in my bread machine, for years, then I tried all purpose from Walmart and it does not work for bread, it stinks and in 6 months will not be useable.
A few bay leaves, in the top of your containers, will help keep the bugs out.
Is it possible to find a used/old chest type freezer, just for the dried foods?
I would not stock up too much on spoilable foods, in a freezer, with all the storms and loss of electric power we have been having, but it would not hurt the flour, macaroni, beans etc, that is dry to defrost and even be frozen again.
I recently found 2 bags of the Walton raisins in my freezer and ate about half a gallon in a couple weeks, out of hand, LOL, if you asked me, I would have said that I only enjoyed chocolate covered raisins, but something in my system needed the minerals in them, I suspect.
I did not have all the spoiled cans, flours, anything with oil in it, before, but have wasted more money this year, throwing out things, then I have eaten.
I finally got my brother to put my bed up on cement blocks, so I could store boxes under it.
If you start in now, asking at the grocery store bakery for the 5 gallon plastic buckets, you can get a nice supply for very little money and even free.
You can store the bags of grains in them and a felt pen will mark them.
I tried the 10 gallon tote bins that Walmart and other stores sell and noticed that after a couple years the food had a strange plastic smell and the crackers were not edible, no they had not been in there that long.
Use the tote bins for clothes, tools, or bore a hole in the bottom and make a planter out of them.
People think I have too much junk in my front room and I should get rid of it...I smile and say, yes, I boxed up my books when I quit reading, and they grumble and I smile, as there are boxes of books, on top of the boxes of big cans, such as my dried buttermilk, dry onions, celery, mushrooms and coffee cans of brown sugar [heavenly, smells like pralines], oatmeal, etc, all from Waltons.
They say the sealed cans of dried foods, are good for 5 to 10 years of dry storage.
But a Mormon friend gave me her 20 year old supply, and it was the old style of process, a gas was used, etc, and I was to feed it to the animals.
I hit a hard spell, was too sick to work and I started opening her cans, the wheat was fine, it would even sprout.
So were many items, a little baking soda cut the gas taste and I was able to use much of it for myself.
That is why I think it is wise to have part of your storage safe in the proper sealed cans of dry foods, but would never be able to afford it for every day use.
The difference in buying the 20 pound bags and the cans or grocery store supplies is amazing.
My brother works and has for years, on the forklifts in a food warehouse, a big name brand one.
When my sister heard that I had ordered 444 pounds of food from Walton’s, she got afraid that I was senile and called Ray to come and check me out.
Then I was still cooking, and he ate for 3 days, and went home with Walton’s address, and samples of all I had ordered.
He said that he had already, started noting that the foods often set there for years, before going to the store.
There is one huge stack that blocks his work and it had not moved or changed in 3 years.
I save all my coffee cans, any and all glass jars and even bought a few 5 gallon buckets from Walton’s, and wish I had ordered more of the small, not hard sealing containers that they had for sale. They were not expensive, a dollar or so, hold about 2 gallons and will stack, are a bright yellow, and are great for the cornmeal, flour etc.
I always add a layer of plastic wrap to the tops, before I put the lids on, for an extra seal.
Stack the boxes, under anything, behind the couch, and throw a cover over them, use it for books and magazines and folks will think of how useful it is to have a table behind the couch.
Just be sure to write on the boxes, what is in them.
Dr. Bill Wattenberg, says he buys a years supply at a time and when it is about 3 years old, he donates it to a Salvation Army, takes it off his taxes and orders fresh...
Yes, I believe him, as I know that there was a thanksgiving, in the 1930’s, that his father could get no work and he talks of the mission that fed them, and how he went back for years on Thanksgiving, to donate and help, to keep it alive.
My friend Don, the first of the year, decided that he had used up most of his Y2K supplies and he ordered a very large order from Walton’s, so large that it came on pallets and LOL, got unloaded in his front yard, but that was not a UPS shipment.
I was on the internet before Y2K, so watched how folks stocked up, I couldn’t, as I did not have the money, other than the fact that I have always stocked as much as I could.
After Y2K, it was interesting to listen to people talk about their use of the supplies, more of them were thankful to have stored food, as they got caught in the job losses of 2000.
But the fools, who did not like beans, did not know how to cook them and stored 400 and 800 pounds of them were very sad indeed and let it set and rot.
I have enough stored for a real emergency, if someone comes who can handle cooking, I don’t as I pass out, any time that the body wants to, so if it does not go in the microwave or crockpot, I don’t cook it.
I hope my babbling, was what you wanted or useful.
On the shelves, I would say no, not on open shelves, I feel like mine gets sun in the summer and I don’t like folks looking at what is there and counting cans.
There will be more wars over food, than there are over gold.
Well, thanks for all the advice! I’ll check out Walton Feed, but honestly, the reason I haven’t seriously thought of buying 400 lbs. of beans, 400 lbs. of wheat berries, etc. (read those amounts over at survivalblog.com), is because I don’t know what the heck to do with that kind of stuff. My mom makes terrific beans in a pressure cooker, and I’m confident I could also make a decent batch of cooked beans, but 400 pounds of them?? I would need a cookbooks just with bean recipes! (And I’m sure there are several of those around!) I’m willing to learn how to use up massive amounts of things like wheat berries, etc., but right now, I’m just focusing on what I know.
One thing that will make “regular” food more affordable is the coupon system I’ve been using. (www.couponsense.com) Sometimes I save 75% and more on my groceries, and I’d be buying things my kids are familiar with, I know how to use, and can more easily figure out what I need. However, I think I’d like to combine store groceries with things from Walton Feed.
I don’t have much of a master plan right now, other than trying to buy things high in protein and things I know the kids (ages 9 and 7) would eat. I’d like to have a list of actual meals, what I need to make them, and then begin checking off the ingredients as I buy them.
I still have the “problem” of that spare bedroom. I really have no concept of what 6 months or a year’s worth of food looks like, but I want to use our space wisely. I’m thinking of nudging hubby into building the shelving to our own specs. Would be cheaper but maybe not as sturdy as the metal shelves. Once we’ve used up that space, I will absolutely start putting things anywhere I can. We’re going to put frosted window cling to the one window in the room and keep the door locked. We, too, want to keep this very low key and away from prying eyes.
After looking over just the beans at Walton Feed, what do I pick?? Are they dry beans in cans? Should I buy different varieties? Any suggestions on how to minimize the GAS this will cause, especially with my young son?? LOL Also, by buying things in such large amounts (35 lbs. of dried broccoli, for example), how do you keep from getting completely bored with it?
Also, how on earth do I judge the proportions when I buy in bulk? If I’m going to by 35 lbs. of broccoli, I’d better have a good plan of how I’m going to actually use it up. I don’t want to be one of those people who makes rash, ignorant purchases and then ends up throwing things away.
So, that’s where I am tonight with trying to do my very best to insure my family isn’t one of those going to the grocery store one of these days to find empty shelves.