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....
Like you I have both regular Crisco and butter flavor Crisco. Shelf live is indefinite. And no one says you got to sit down with a open can and a table spoon and and scarf it down like Ice Cream my dad is 79 my Grandmother lived to be 97 and she cooked with lard or Crisco her whole life. She didn’t stop cooking fried chicken Sunday diner for everyone that wanted to come almost every week until she turned 90.
I apologize if I sounded snarky. I didn’t mean to. I’ve just been a prepper for so long...guidelines are great, but nothing beats experience. A few dozen cans of “X” might be the perfect food, but if you don’t eat it or don’t like it, when you’re under extreme conditions, it’s just going to be more torture if you have to choke it down.
Don’t. It’s a very bad idea that has occurred to others in the past, and people died as a result.
Thanks for all you tips for water purification. I have printed them out and will look into each one.
And I wasn’t taking a shot at you either, FRiend. In fact I would not get tired of oatmeal because I have a good 500 pounds of various canned goods stored, canned meats, pasta (CBD!!), canned veggies, stews chiles, soups, you name it.
My shopping experience tonight was meant to be a bit of inspiration, guidance to people to help them get more in the prepper mentality.
;-)
I haven’t made those in over 25 years but now that we are talking about it I’ll have to try it. I do save my bacon grease, I spoon the clear grease into ice cube trays and freeze. I only fill them up halfway. Then I bag them up and freeze them. When I wan’t to do some hashbrowns I drop a couple in the pan. They come in handy.
As if I am not already paranoid enough about the maintenance folks and the pest control company coming into my apartment with barley 24 hours notice. As clean as I keep my apartment, all I need is for them to find me storing food stuffs in my end and coffee tables, under my bed, behind my dresser and behind my couch, turning my bedroom night stand into a food storage locker when my building has a bug problem, even if I’m not the source. Seriously, when I get evicted, will you be willing to take me in :) ,
“no one says you got to sit down with a open can and a table spoon and and scarf it down like Ice Cream’
Oy,you owe me a keyboard! (I can’t quit laughing to come up with something pithy to say.)
I'll rely on my Big Berkey purifier plus I have 3 Katadyn water filters.
I have a 55 gal. FOOD GRADE barrel attached to a diverter in a downspout to catch rainwater and a 100 gal. WaterBob for a tub and two kiddie pools to sit on a deck to catch rainwater. There is also a 15,000 gal. pool in our small gated community.
If one doesn't have clean water, it's a life and death problem.
They are also very annoying, telling people what to eat, what not to eat. Being superior for their expensive lifestyle choices.
Meh. I'll eat as I damn well please. Given my lifestyle and history, I'm much less likely to die from what I eat than many other things.
Personally, I don't make pie crusts or tamales without lard. Given a chance (twice in my life), I'll use tallow (hard beef fat) for pie crusts. Amazingly good.
/johnny
My Dad told me more than once about the sparrow stew they ate during the depression in Chicago. They trapped them near the graineries.
I used to take pigeons on the farm with a .22
Corn-fed.
HUGE breasts!
Amazingly good char-b-q’d!
City pigeon, who knows what it’s been eating. But I doubt the zombies will worry much about that.
Recommendation- don’t try Alton Brown’s over night oatmeal in the crock pot. Epic fail! I’m always looking for on sale oatmeal. It’s a versatile food. I’m married to a pilot, so many food missions have been gifted with preps as we’ve moved and I think one friend might have opened a bar with the duty free liqueur ;)
Just adding a water tip. We have a well so water has always been a challenge when the power goes. Generators, no thanks. people will be listening for them and they will just be a magnet. I have about 30 big kitty litter jugs in the garage full of hose water just for flushing the toilet. About 40 gallons of water softened water with a few drops of bleach stored for washing up and brushing teeth, cases of bottles water for drinking and a Britta and a bunch of filters. I would like to figure out a good setup for catching gutter water if I can keep it fairly clean.
There ya go.
Today I took an small envelope and started harvesting some seed heads.
They look just like dandelion seed heads.
Wild lettuce, aka prickly lettuce. Very prolific in my neck of the woods. Also extremely nutritious.
To most people, it’s just a weed...
Thanks for the link!
Coconut oil does not have a long shelf life; less than one year. I'd keep some around and with lots of regular popcorn and a bit of canola/vegetable oil and salt for seasoning, have a delicious and high calorie food.
I dated a single gal for a while after the whole Y2K scam. You are about 1/4 of the way to what she had.
This is the subject of a lot of debate. Some maintain that it is one of those foods that never goes bad, keeping for years even in tropical climates. Others maintain that it only has a shelf life of 1 to 2 years. I wonder if some people are looking at hydrogenated coconut oil?
I know that I have had 4 year old coconut oil (opened, in the original container), and it tasted like new. It was stored on a kitchen shelf, that was warm and not particularly dry.
I don’t eat canola or vegetable oil, as a rule, but I do remember from my deep frying days that vegetable oil seemed to go rancid fairly quickly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.