Mar82010
My Food Storage Master Plan
I admit I’m a latecomer to the whole food storage scene. It wasn’t too long ago that the only thing I could say I stocked up on was boxes of brownie mix. Never a bad idea, but hardly comprehensive!
After some research and a few missteps, my current food storage plan is built around three categories of food.
1. Grocery store goods. This category is the easiest to acquire, the food is often very inexpensive, and it’s all familiar stuff. During stressful times, I think we’ll all appreciate a nice big bowl of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. The downside of this food category is that it isn’t meant for long-term storage, so keep an eye on expiration dates.
2. Freeze dried foods. These are lightweight, and don’t take up much room. You could pack 6 months worth in the back of a pick-up truck. In fact, I’ve stored ours’ near our back door in case we ever have to evacuate. With a relatively small amount of water, bingo, you have a meal. Freeze dried food is more expensive up front, but when you price it out per serving, it’s actually pretty budget friendly. One caveat. Pay attention to serving size. If you have big eaters, you may find yourself zipping through a #10 can of turkey tetrazzini over a weekend. Two companies I’ve purchased from are Ready Made Resources and Freeze Dry Guy. My friend, Suzanne, owns All-in-One Preparedness, and is especially helpful. Be sure to shop around for the best prices.
3. Bulk dry food. This category includes rice, beans, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, cornmeal, wheat, dried milk and a whole lot more. These foods are meant to last a very, very lo
ng time, up to 20 or 30 years in many cases. This food must be stored correctly, but ultimately, it will be the backbone of your food storage. To get started, download Walton Feed’s catalog, and use it to check off what your family currently eats. That will give you an idea of where to start with this category of food. My own family prefers rice and beans over potatoes, so my food storage reflects that. Again, check around for prices, including local resources.
I prefer this balanced approach over stocking up on just one category of food. The combination provides us with comforting, familiar foods, ultra quick meals if all we have available is water, and food I can rely on to be there years from now. I don’t think there’s any bad way to begin your food storage, except procrastinating until “tomorrow.”
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(13) Readers Comments
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How-to: Storing food in buckets
I've been stockpiling Idahoan potatoes and such, and wonder how to bes
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Larry
Get a good book like "Emergency Preparedness the Right Way" by Howard Godfrey. This book covers food storage, water storage, water purification, bug out bags, emergency cooking excetra. One book will not cover everything, but this is a good starting point. It has a good list of referance materials at the end
TheSurvivalMom
Larry,
A good survival library is indispensable. If the electricity ever goes out and you can't use Google to get an answer, you have your library as a resource, plus anything you've printed out for your survival binder. The book I started out with was The Crisis Preparedness Handbook by Jack Spigarelli. Any comprehensive book is a good place to start.
Hey, thanks for visiting my blog! I have quite a few guy readers!
Lisa
Glenn
With these tips here, it doesn't sound like any house needs a large pantry. Maybe a small cupboard will do. Honestly, I like the idea of storing goods at the back of the pick-up truck. It would be better to have less food storage done inside the home. Am I right?
TheSurvivalMom
It would be hard to store a couple of months worth of groceries in a pick-up! Foods that are dehydrated or freeze-dried take up far less volume, but are more expensive, and for most of us, are intended to be in the long-term food storage category.
Lisa
doug
do you know of a food storage calculator resource that will include the serving size? Without knowing how much and when to serve a particular item your calculation wont work too well. All the resources I find get you prepared on the front end, but leave the back end unplanned. any help? Thanks
Red Icculus
This do something very similar. We also added MRE's to be a bit more palatable and less prep. They are great portion control and I use them if we forget to cook lunch the night before.
mary
For freeze dried foods in No. 10 cans (both singly and by the case) I have found Honeyville Grains to have great prices and quick shipping. Your total order is only $4.49 for shipping too! Once I ordered 50 lbs of whole corn and 50 lbs of hard red wheat and just paid the $4.49 shipping fee. I thought it was a deal. I've ordered the dehydrated pork chops from the Freeze Dry Guy also and I think he's reasonably priced with quick shipping.
Morris TN
I purchased 5 gal. buckets and gama seal lids and oxygen absorbers and stored rice, beans, pasta, etc. it was cheaper than buying from the companies. Shop at the discount grocery stores such as Sav-A-Lot and stores such as Family Dollar for great savings on generic label items.
TheSurvivalMom
I haven't shopped at the dollar stores for food storage items, but that's definitely a good idea. Most preppers are on tight budgets, and we love finding bargains anywhere we can.
Jan
I have been getting free 5 gallon food grade buckets from the bakery at the local grocery store. They just need the gama seals and they are ready to go for large amounts of food. The store also gives me smaller 3 gallon buckets (that fruit or creme filling comes in) that I make master mixes in and store on my pantry shelves. Having large batches of master mixes makes things alot easier for me. Many of my friends are LDS and will pick up things for me when they go to the cannery. This has helped me alot. I have also attended meetings hosted by members of their church that deal with preparedness. I learned alot at those meetings. I also found some good deals at a mill that is a few hours away from here. They sell everything in 50 pound bags. Some things were a good deal, some things were not. I am in a rural area, so traveling 100 miles one way for good deals is common.
Jenny
Hi Jan, I would like to know what state you are located in and what type of church you found wiling to host preparedness classes? Please share with me. Jen
TheSurvivalMom
Jen, just in case Jan doesn't see your post, the classes are held at LDS (Mormon) churches. You might try contacting one in your area.
dry food storage
I've always had a WELL stocked pantry and 2 freezers. Make sure that any meats are well wrapped, in freezer zip-loc baggies, with the date and name on the front ……As soon as you get close to using up something in your pantry, refill it at the next opportunity:) Store pastas, beans, rice in tupperware or glass mason jars; it keeps them fresh and looks pretty in the pantry……