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....
http://www.ifrc.org/Global/Publications/disasters/142100-hwt-en.pdf
http://www.alpharubicon.com/kids/homemadeberkeydaire.htm
In my opion you need more than one way to clean your water, but ways that use the least amount of energy are the best. In shft fan energy=work and shtf fan is a lot of work.
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Still it has sugar and sugar is poison.
Still it has sugar and sugar is poison.
It’s not my list, it’s another website.
Personally, I’m not all that crazy on corn meal, but one thing that is a MUST IMHO is corn starch.
Help you thicken up stews/soups.
Now just to show I ain’t a person of all words and no action, I just got back from the store.
I bought a pound of ground beef to make a couple burgers for dinner, and a ceasar salad mix. Also a pound of butter I needed.
In addition:
I knew they were having a sale on oatmeal, so I got four of the big Quaker Oats oatmeal thingies, 2 lbs 10 ozs each.
16 pounds of various canned goods, almost all for less than $1 a can.
34 bucks and I have enough food to keep me alive for over a month, I admit I’d get damned tired of oatmeal, BUT I WOULD NOT STARVE!!!
That’s what I’m talkin about.
“...In fact, I, myself, am a chocolate Twinkie.”
This sounds slightly wrong. Perhaps sinister. Now everyone wants to know - do YOU have a 127 year shelf life?
Very little hypo is used for public water supplies.
They use a method called “break-point” chlorination that allows as low as 2 ppm to do the job. But you are right, it is killing those that drink it. I do not.
You are luck, that is not the normal shelf life of olive oil. What good is it to store something that for most will very likely go bad.
The point is you need food to get you by. In shft the fan you are going to eat a lot of stuff you would normally eat. That or you can end up a very health dead man.
Well we are working on the "tofer" system.
I designed our buildings heating system with the theory that my gas and electric may be off for extended amounts of time so we have a wood/coal heating system as well as both gas and electric.
Our coal/wood system is a modern day "Franklin Stove" which can also be used to cook on. I made my water distiller to fit nicely on the Franklin Stove and we have a goodly supply of fuel AND we live in timber country.
Not as fast as Dysentery, Cholera, Typhoid fever, Giardiasis or any other of two dozen diseases I can name would.
I’ve been wondering about the feasibility of using an old car radiator as a still...
assuming of course there was a way to flush it out good first..
I haven't stored cookies. I have several recipes for no-bake cookies and I'll use those. I have not tried to make them but it's no big deal to mix up the stuff.
I did buy an outdoor oven, a Camp Chef, that uses small bottles of propane so I can bake anything that needs an oven.
“do YOU have a 127 year shelf life?”
Nah. That’s an exaggeration some lyin’ Twinkie broadcast. That would be abnormal! I’m all about truth!!
I wouldn’t antifreeze is some very nasty stuff I doubt you could ever clean it enough.
the other good thing about Calcium hypochlorite is you can make your own sanitizing solution. In a real full blown SHTF diseases have and always will kill more people than the ‘zombies’ will.
You’re joking, right? That’s a good way to kill a few people.
That would scare me because of not knowing how the seams were sealed up.
Copper tubing and the newer type fitting (requires no soldering) work well. Its just expensive now because of the price of copper.
I’ve stored Canola Oil, regular Crisco and butter flavor Crisco. It’s all stored in the dark and cool.
True story.
A friend of mine (my neighbor, actually) has another friend who had a very bad weight problem.
So the heavy guy got very into nutrition and diet and exercise, lost a ton of weight, and became a personal trainer.
My neighbor friend went to visit him, and the trainer dude called him into the pantry.
He had a Micky D’s Big Mac in the original container.
He opened it up.
Except for being a bit shriveled, it looked and faintly smelled like a Big Mac.
Nothing would grow on it. No molds. No bugs or flies went near it. It was like Kryptonite or something.
My friend is very trustworthy, and I totally believe him.
Oh, btw, the Big Mac had been purchased something like eight months previous...
Well, that’s why I say I’m “wondering” about it instead of saying I’m “planning” to do it!
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