Long-Term Food Storage For Paupers
Don't believe the hype. You can survive the coming famine for years on the cheap.
The prepper food industry is booming right now. It’s a growth industry and people are pouring their life savings into it out of panic and fear. People spend money because they are scared their lack of knowledge on the subject is best accommodated by throwing buckets of cash at the problem like their anxiety is a roaring fire.
As always, a little understanding and forethought can save your money for something better. Stop, control your impulses and you’ll have a budget that produces far better results with less hype. If you kept 90% of the money that you would have thrown away on expensive prepper meals, that’s money you could spend on your shelter and gear. Once I was in an underground shelter built cheaply from railroad timber pilings where a guy had splurged $9000.00 on two years worth of canned dehydrated food for his family but he didn’t have a shortwave radio, an air filtration system or even a reliable supply of electricity inside his shelter. Worse, had he packed this food himself from the supermarket, he would have had a ten year supply at the same price for just a little more labor. You walked to the back of this shelter and he had this super expensive prepper food stacked on a wooden palette on a bed of gravel - but he still hadn’t figured out how to put more than a hollow core fire door on the shelter he found at a junkyard! The place was lit by a battery powered camping light hanging off the ceiling! I felt sorry for this person knowing he was in the grip of panic and he wasn’t thinking clearly about what he was doing.
These newbie errors are common, I’ve made them myself. You won’t make them if you pause and stop to get a grip on your fears.
Remember the advice in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Don’t Panic! Fear is the mind killer, it causes you to make stupid mistakes when you allow that emotion to drive your decisions.
These are three basics required in any food storage plan :
Location to store food that is sufficient volume, high, dry, dark & cool year round.
Enough food to keep you and your loved ones from starving for the duration.
A supply of clean water and the energy needs to heat it to prepare the food.
If you have these three, you’re off to a very good start already.
** Note : When you’re really hungry and you can’t find a can opener, you can scrape the top of a can back and forth on a rock or a cement surface. It only takes a minute for the lid to get thin enough to pop the seal. The can is sealed with a thin ridge of metal that wears away quickly with a little pressure grinding.
Calorie Count and Nutrition
Planning daily calorie counts and choosing foods that give you well-rounded nutrition are the most challenging aspects of long-term food storage.
FDA Daily Calorie Count
1,600 to 2,400 calories per day for women
2000 to 3,000 calories per day for men
Daily Nutritional Requirements
Carbohydrates: 50% to 60% of your daily calorie intake
Proteins: 12% to 20% of your daily diet
Fats: 30% of your daily diet
Malnutrition: 5 Side-effects
Loss of Energy
Reduced Ability to Focus and perform normal tasks
Reduced Physical Performance makes it less likely you will complete the tasks necessary in a survival situation
Altered Moods such as depression may lead to giving up or group instability
Inability To Concentrate which may lead to making the wrong decisions or no decisions.
Check out the comprehensive YouTube video: How Much Food to Store for Each Person to get more detailed information on the daily calorie count and nutritional requirements provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Stock Foods That You Eat
A common mistake new preppers make is storing foods that they haven’t tried. You don’t want to find out on the back end that you bought a 50 lb bag of untested food that nobody in the family will eat.
Purchase Foods You Eat on Sale and In Bulk: It reduces your overall cost.
Stock Foods You Eat to Minimize Wasting Storage Space: If you don’t eat it because you don’t like it then it will be taking up space that would be better utilized by foods you do eat.
Stock Foods You Eat, or You’re Wasting Money
Purchase Small Quantities of Untested Food to see if it works in your pantry.
Dry Staple Foods
Staple foods make up a significant portion of your standard prepper diet. They provide a majority of your calories and nutrition. When planning your long-term preps, store staples like:
Rice
Wheat
Pasta
Dried Beans
Pulses
Think of staples as the bedrock of food prepping.
One of the most important things you can own once you have food stored away is a portable hand grinder or 12 volt milling machine to make flour out of hard stock essentials. You will often find that adding bread made from these staples will add enormously to your diet and menu.
I started my long-term food storage with white rice and dry beans because they are readily available and cheap. You wouldn’t want to survive on just beans and rice, but you could do it for quite some time. You add some spices, sauces and gravies and before you know it you’d adapt to these two staples if that was all you had. It’s not that it is a good diet - it is a diet good enough to keep you from starving to death.
Interesting Fact: “Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population – more than 3.5 billion people depend on rice for more than 20% of their daily calories.” ricepedia.org
40 Recommended Foods Sorted In Priority
This list is not comprehensive, but it contains foods commonly found in stocked long-term food pantries because they are cheap, ubiquitous and easy to handle.
#1 : Long-grain White Rice
White rice is king when it comes to long-term food storage and it is the first food I would stockpile for a 30-year shelf-life.
White rice is the cheapest survival food pound for pound and it is proven to sustain people during famine and food shortages. I suggest storing dry beans to complement white rice because together they provide a full protein. On the other hand, Brown rice is not suitable for long-term storage because it contains oils that lead to quick oxidation.
#2 : Wheat
Wheat is outstanding for storage it will last 30 years if properly stored and it can be cooked whole like a porridge or used in daily baking. In comparison, pre-milled wheat (flour) will not store as long as the whole wheat kernel. To complement wheat storage I suggest learning to make Levain which is a sourdough yeast you can make at home with just flour and water.
#3 : Corn (Dry Field Corn)
Field corn is excellent for long-term storage if you can get it. Purchase freeze-dried corn in #10 cans with a 25-year shelf life, store cornmeal or hard corn to make masa, the flour used to make tortillas.
If you can’t get field corn in bags you can substitute popcorn from most grocery stores. It is best stored in mylar bags after purchase. Popcorn is good for morale and it can be mixed into soups and even used to make candies with sugar. The microwave bags are already a long term storage system but you may not have a microwave in your shelter. You can tear open the bag and cook it over a source of heat just like regular popcorn.
#4 : Sugar (White granulated/Brown)
Sugar is a flavoring agent, high in calories, and most importantly it is a preservative. It will keep indefinitely in a sealed plastic bucket with no oxygen absorbers and it is outstanding for barter, fruit preservation, and fermentation of alcoholic beverages (another barter item).
Brown sugar is just as important as white because it makes rolled oats edible and you may be eating those for breakfast quite a bit. The problem is it rarely lasts more than five years in storage. If you can get people to eat oatmeal with honey or maple syrup you have a better long term strategy.
#5 : Salt
Roman soldiers were paid with salt and ancient wars were fought over it, pure Salt will keep 30 years in a food-grade plastic bucket and it is excellent for food preservation, flavoring, and barter.
A fifty pound bag will last 50 years stored dry. You don’t miss it until you need it. Normally we get too much during peacetime, on a storage diet you will soon find you crave it. It is required in many recipes and increases the taste satisfaction on many foods. For example, it may sound odd but some sprinkled on peaches makes it more appealing.
#6 : Instant Mashed Potato Flakes
Instant potato flakes are not something I would build my stockpile around but they are good to have for a shot of carbohydrates, to thicken soups and stews, and to alleviate palate fatigue. Properly stored they will keep on the shelf for 30 years.
#7 : Freeze-Dried Vegetables
Dehydrated carrots have a shelf life of 10 to 15 years in #10 cans and most of us will have to buy them prepackaged to get that shelf life because home dehydration won’t remove enough moisture to capture max shelf life.
#8 : Hard grains
Hard grains include wheat, triticale, buckwheat, dent corn, Kamut, Millet, Spelt, Hard red and white wheat, and Durham wheat. Store hard grains for up to 30 years.
#9 : Soft Grains
Properly processed and stored, most soft grains will last 8+ years. The soft grains include, Rye berries, soft white wheat, soft red winter wheat, Barley, Pearled Oats, Hulled Oats, Groats, Quinoa, and rolled oats. The best soft grain for long-term food storage is rolled oats.
#10 : Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are one of the few soft grains that have a proven 30 years shelf life. They are an outstanding addition to long-term food storage and are a proven famine food.
#11 : Baking Soda
Baking soda is good for lightly leavened baked goods such as cookies, pancakes, and cakes. Finally, baking soda has no expiration date.
#12 : Baking Powder
Baking powder is a light leaving agent used in caked, cookies, and griddle cakes. Also, Baking powder has no expiration date. Get baking powder as a food storage ingredient to complement baking with wheat flour from milled wheat berries or pre-milled flour.
#13 : White Vinegar
Store vinegar in your food pantry for meat and vegetable marinades, as a flavoring agent. Also, Vinegar mixed in a 1:1 ratio with water has many uses as a cleaning agent and it lasts forever.
#14 : Dry Pasta
Dry pasta is an excellent staple food that is prepared cooking in boiling water for 9 to 11 minutes. Use pasta to stretch meat vegetables and sauces to provide a hardy meal. Finally, uncooked pasta has a 30-plus-year shelf life if stored properly.
#15 : Dried Beans
Store dried beans and long-grain white rice in your emergency food storage. Both are relatively inexpensive, provide a long shelf life, and combined provide full protein and excellent nutrition. The backbone of my emergency food storage is filled with pinto beans, black beans, and long-grain white rice because they are a really good foundation for other foods, and if you have nothing else to eat they will keep you from starving.
#16 : Lentils
I consider dry lentils as being a bean because you use them the same way but they are actually a pulse. Lentils cook quicker than beans and they are high protein and low cost. Also, if packaged for long-term storage, lentils will store for 30 years
#17 : Non-fat Dried Milk
Non-fat dry milk is excellent for baking and is a primary food in most LDS pantries. Augason Farms Instant Non-fat dry milk has a 20-year shelf-life.
#18 : Raw Honey
Real honey is an excellent sweetener, said to have medicinal qualities and it has an indefinite shelf life. As a side note, purchase real local honey because around 90% of the world’s honey supplies are adulterated with corn syrup.
#19 : Worchestershire Sauce
Use it on rice, meat vegetables, salad dressings, and marinades or to improve the flavor of stir fry. Indefinite shelf-life stored at cool temperatures (it lasts forever).
#20 : “All Purpose” Seasoning
Herbs and spices will lose some potency over time which means you will have to use more to get the same flavor. Herbs and spices store indefinitely but may lose potency. At catering houses you can buy big bags of what is called “All Purpose Seasoning” to put on almost any food which has a little bit of everything in it. Stored dry and cool in a low oxygen bag it will last at least 20 years.
#21 : Powdered Eggs
It can be made up with powdered milk or water and it will make excellent scrambled eggs for breakfast, which is good for morale to start with protein in the morning. It can also be used in many cooking recipes as a substitute for actual eggs. A little harder to find sometimes but many supermarkets carry it now. Make sure it is made of real eggs and not the plant-based vegan substitutes which generally taste terrible.
#22 : Canned (and Powdered) Soups
If appropriately stored, canned foods are good past the best-buy date. These dates vary depending on the type of food. Some soups will have expiration dates up to ten years from when purchased and many can be stretched past that. Use judgement. If you can find some of the very common powdered soups that taste good, they are likely to last far longer.
#23 : Canned Meats & Fish
These can be tuna, chicken, pork, turkey, roast beef, sardines, spam, ground beef, chili and pasta meat. Many brands will last ten years or more in storage.
Spam is legendary in Fallout Shelters for going 25 to 50 years without any change in taste or texture. You can remove a lot of the salt and make it far more palatable by boiling slices of it before eating.
Rotation is important for these to make sure you are always eating the oldest cans. This way you can integrate your supply into your regular meals when they expire.
#24 : Canned Fruits
Don’t store acidic fruits or juices, they have a short shelf life. Other things like peaches, pears, cherries and apple slices can last a very long time kept in the right environment. They are also excellent for morale. Learn how to make whipped cream from dry components to start and make these into nightly desserts. Really good for morale.
#25 : Powdered Vitamin C
It’s sold in most pharmacies as “sodium ascorbate” or “ascorbic acid.” It goes the furthest because a half a teaspoon a day will prevent scurvy indefinitely. It is particularly important because most of the fruits that store the longest don’t have much Vitamin C and you may otherwise develop a deficiency which could be fatal. If you can mix it with powdered fruit juices most children will drink it no problem.
#26 : Canned Vegetables
Almost any vegetable that comes in a can will have a shelf life of at least 5 years and some things like potatos and pickles can last decades. Freeze dried vegetables will outlast anything in a can but they can be more expensive.
#27 : Powdered Drink Mix
Including powdered tea mix. Excellent to drink at any time awake and will boost mood and morale. Keeps 30 years stored correctly.
#28 : Powdered Garlic
Powdered onions are also good, you can find them at catering houses sold in big mylar bags. Adds a lot to any meal to make it more appetizing.
#29 : Protein Powder
Add water, and you have a ready source of protein and nutrients. Ten years is normal if kept dry and cool. If it tastes like a milkshake and doesn’t have any crap like sucralose (or aspartame(!) or acesulfame potassium(!) ) in it you’ve got a winner on your hands there.
#30 : Powdered Peanut Butter
Peanut butter doesn’t have a great shelf life but it is a powerhouse of protein and fat. You can mix it with oatmeal, spread it on crackers or bread. The problems with its shelf life can be surmounted by buying it in a powdered form.
Nut butter is an option if you can make it yourself but you need to know how to can. It can last many years in a semi-congealed state before it goes off.
Powdered peanut butter can last ten years if it is stored cool and dry - you can buy it off the supermarket shelf without the extra work needed to make it and store it immediately. Again, avoid the vegan substitutes they sneak in at the grocery store.
#31 : Beef Jerky & Dried Meats
Indefinite shelf life when stored correctly. Pemmican was found edible in root cellars that was at least 100 years old in parts of the Southwest. They sell completely natural brands now with no chemicals and organic grass fed beef. A really important source of protein when you can’t even cook.
#32 : Powdered Gravy Stock
Can literally make any meal satisfying once poured over it. Especially good complement to mashed potato flakes. Check them for sodium it is often quite high. Better brands usually have much less and fewer preservatives.
#33 : Tabasco Sauce (Hot Red Pepper Sauce)
The legendary prepper must-have condiment sauce. Can make anything taste delicious. The hardcore survivalists recommend it for meat and fish that can taste gamey otherwise. For example, catfish do well in aquaculture in cold water and low light environments but when it comes time to eat them you’re gonna need Tabasco.
#34 : Freeze-dried Coffee
Coffee is good for morale so I suggest stockpiling to drink or for barter. Also, companies like Augason Farms have a coffee and creamer in the same kit that has a 30-year shelf life.
#35 : Olive Oil & Lards
Olive oil is far better for you in cooking and in your diet. Storing it in metal cans unopened means you will likely have to rotate it frequently and use in your everyday diet. Even the expensive brands will only last about two years before their taste and texture deteriorates and it begins to smoke in cooking.
Probably the best way to get around this is to store lards and/or solid state shortenings in place of olive oil.
Lard is just solidified oiI you plan to use to fry food. Ghee is a good substitute but Crisco in cans will also last a long, long time. Ghee is better for you than the cheaper stuff because it is clarified butter and improves taste in food enormously. It’s not uncommon to describe ghee in a sealed metal can as indefinite shelf life as long as the temperature is low and the seal on the can isn’t broken. Ghee can be mixed in with almost anything and it will improve the taste and satisfaction of that meal.
You didn’t hear it from me but I think Crisco will stay good at least 5 years if it is not opened. It’s the cheapest option of all and comes in gigantic big cans. It’s not the best option in terms of a fatty acid but it will serve for purpose as a cooking oil.
#36 : Leaven
Learn to make your own yeast for baking.
#37 : Raw Maple Syrup
Indefinite shelf life and is useful in a thousand recipes to add sweetness and flavor.
#38 : Hot Cocoa
The last cup at the end of a long hard day in a fallout shelter. Will last twenty years in a #10 can which can be bought anywhere. If you can get it with dried marshmallows it will cheer you up no matter what is going on. Is a good excuse to sit around and talk and laugh about the things you have to be grateful for.
#39 : Hard candy
Indefinite shelf life and a reward booster. You can pack a lot of it in a small space, too. No Fallout Shelter is complete without a barrel full of atomic fireball candy.
#40 : Freeze-Dried Survival Camping Foods
Mix with hot water and ready-to-eat. Cheaper than MREs. Comfort foods for immediate meals after a major event without cooking, just boil hot water and pour it into the mylar bag, seal and wait until it cooks. Good for the first couple of hours of occupancy in a shelter with little effort needed to get them ready to eat.
Giant plastic or metal barrels highly recommended but pack with discrete mylar bags instead of pouring it all in without isolation. Prevents contamination by off-gassing from the plastic and portable in the event you have to move it quickly. HDPE Plastic is good and foodsafe (and cheap) but stainless steel barrels will survive a fire. It’s okay if you use plastic barrels because of the cost savings but take pains to make sure there is not enough combustible material in your storage location to ever melt the barrels around the food they contain.
Five full 55 gallon barrels marked RICE, BEANS, CORN, MILK and OATS will support a family of four for a year! It may not be a good diet but it will keep you from starving. This of course is based on a supply of water that is required to make it edible through boiling or cooking.
Rotate Emergency Foods With F.I.F.O. (food storage guide)
F.I.F.O is defined as first in, first out. Eat the oldest food(s) first. Following this rule is more important for canned foods and foods with a shorter shelf-life. By rotating foods into your regular diet, you can reduce foods lost by time.
How to Implement F.I.F.O. For Food Storage
Mark Your food with the date you stored it.
Store similar foods in the same area of your pantry.
Keep an inventory of what you use so you can replace it.
Put heavy food (s) towards the bottom of your storage.
New food (s) go in the back of your storage.
Eat the oldest food first.
Replace foods as you use them.
Purchase what you eat, or you’ll take up space and won’t rotate.
Keep your storage area clean.
Don’t use damaged cans or cans that are bulging.
Don’t eat any foods that have an off or foul odor.
Don’t eat any foods that don’t look or smell right.
Store Survival Food In A Controlled Environment
Do the best you can to store food in an optimum environment. Avoid hot garages, sheds, or any space with uncontrolled temperature. The environment described below is ideal for food storage but may not be attainable.
Ideal Long-term Food Storage Environment
The storage area is clean and dry, with adequate ventilation to prevent high humidity. A dry storage climate will keep mold and bacteria from growing.
50°F is the optimum temperature for dry food storage. 70 °F will work. Anything higher than this may reduce shelf life.
Put a thermometer on the wall near your food storage so you can keep an eye on the temperature.
Protect food from heat and light, which increases oxidation and decreases shelf-life. (Don’t store supplies next to hot appliances or the furnace.)
Keep your food up off the floor and away from the wall, for good air circulation.
Do not store food or water close to any chemicals to reduce the possibility of cross-contamination.
Keep an eye out for pests and infestations and use control measures if necessary. (Keep pantry area clean to reduce the possibility of infestation.)
Where Should I Store My Emergency Food Supply?
You may not have an ideal location for food storage. Most of us don’t. Pick the best site (s) you have available. You may have to get creative, but it’s worth it.
11 Storage Locations (food storage guide)
In the basement on heavy-duty shelving. Build shelves from dimensional lumber or purchase prefab shelving.
Closets-Consolidate what you have stored and get rid of stuff you don’t use like old clothing.
Under beds, inside plastic totes
Wall shelving anywhere you have extra wall space
Cabinets and Pantries
Root Cellar - For most of us this isn’t an option but it’s a pretty good one if you have the resources to build
Bury Storage in the ground. Use a water-proof container like an old refrigerator or freezer and leave the door above ground. Hide it by covering with a board or burlap.
Foot-stools and Couches with Storage Compartments
Luggage or backpacks
Nooks and crannies like under stairs, in crawl spaces, in an old camper or trailer, or an outbuilding
Survival Tools and equipment don’t need to stay cool, dry, and dark, so they can be stored in a garage, shed, or detached storage units that aren’t climate-controlled
Oxygen is The Enemy of Food Storage
Oxidation is a term used to describe the reaction between oxygen and a food product. When oxygen is present in a food container, it supports the growth of microorganisms and causes changes in color, off-odors, and flavors in packaged foods. It is one type of spoilage or food degradation.
2 Main Goals When it Comes to Oxygen and Food Storage
Remove Oxygen From the Storage Container: My preferred method of achieving this is by using the correct number of Oxygen Absorbers in a Food-grade container (s) like Mylar bags and food-grade buckets used together.
Keep Oxygen Out of a Food Container: This is achieved by using a quality food-grade container that keeps a seal and isn’t easily damaged. Mylar bags by themselves are easily damaged but pair them with a lidded food-grade bucket, and you’ve got a solid oxygen barrier that isn’t easily damaged.
Oxygen Absorbers & Long-term Food Storage
Properly used, Oxygen absorbers absorb oxygen and effectively reduce the aerobic environment in a container to 0%. Packaging and the container seal are critical for oxygen absorbers to work.
5 Things Oxygen Absorber(s) Do in a Food Container
An O2 -free environment kills bugs, bug eggs, pupae, and full-grown bugs within two weeks.
Oxygen Absorber (s) protect the quality of dry-food and eliminate oxidation.
An oxygen-free storage environment drastically reduces the rate at which foods go bad. Think in terms of decades of added shelf-life.
Aerobic bacteria and fungi can’t grow.
Food is not crushed like it is with vacuum packing
Fact: A food package leak makes an oxygen absorber useless. The contents inside the package will have a reduced shelf-life and will be more susceptible to bugs like beetles and weevils.
Tip: A quality food storage container like Mylar bags, in conjunction with food-grade buckets or pails, is suggested to ensure the food container is not physically damaged or breached by oxygen.
How Many Oxygen Absorbers Do I Need For Food Storage?
The number and size of Oxygen absorbers you need in a food storage container are determined by the volume of air inside the container after it is filled with food. There are charts down below that tell you how many absorbers you need for the common food containers.
Determine How Many Oxygen Absorbers You Need
The Volume of Oxygen In Your Container when it is full of dry-goods
The size of the absorber determines how many Cubic Centimeters of Oxygen is removed from the container. Oxygen Absorbers are rated in CC for their capacity to remove Oxygen.
Tip: If your container has 300 ccs of Oxygen, you will need an absorber that has, at least, a 300 cc capacity to remove the Oxygen. Using too many absorbers will not hurt the food. Overkill with absorbers is a good idea. Always use two bags where one should suffice to guarantee it is all sucked out once sealed.
Number Of Oxygen Absorbers By Food Container Type (food storage guide)
*Note, these are average amounts at sea level. You may need more or less depending on individual conditions and the remaining residual volume of air. There is no danger in adding too many oxygen absorbers, as this does not affect the food.
Oxygen represents 21% of the total volume of air, and the number in cc’s above represents the amount of oxygen that would be absorbed.
If you are into math, head over to PackFresh and learn how to calculate Oxygen Absorber requirements based on container volume. click here
Heat is the Enemy of Long-term Food Storage (food storage guide)
Heat plays a significant role in degrading both food and food packaging. Avoid storing food in outdoor sheds, hot garages, or next to utilities or appliances that put off heat. Avoiding heat will add years to the shelf-life of your food. It’s another reason to keep at least one low-tech thermometer hanging on the wall where your food is stored to check regularly if it is within safe margins.
Light Causes the Oxidation of Food
If food is stored in sunlight or UV light, shelf-life is reduced. It also hastens the deterioration of some food packaging. Light oxidation is mainly an issue if you are storing food in clear packaging like ball jars or recycled PETE bottles.
If you are using clear packaging for food, store it in a dark location or cover it.
Remember … with sunlight usually comes heat so you get double trouble from the sun.
Moisture and Food Storage (food storage guide)
Dry Goods should have a moisture content of less than 10% before they are packaged. Most long-term preppers store grain whole and grind it as they use it.
Leaving grain whole isn’t just for shelf life; it is also for food safety. Foods like flour are susceptible to Botulism if they are stored with high moisture content.
The storage environment itself should have no more than 55% humidity.
Warning : Dry goods packaged with a moisture content greater than 10% can lead to Botulism poisoning. Poisoning is rare but deadly. Consider how dangerous the situation can be where you have no doctor to intervene.
Foods High in Oil & Lipids Have a Short Shelf-life
Foods that have a high oil content oxidize much quicker than those that
Consider this, Long-grain white rice will store 30 plus years in a #10 can because it has a low oil content.
Brown rice, on the other hand, has a high-oil content because the husk is still on the rice grain. It has a maximum shelf-life, even if stored in #10 cans, of 18 months. This makes brown rice a loser stored for any length of time.
8 Foods That Are Not Ideal for Long-term Storage
There are a lot of foods that aren’t the best choice for long-term storage. Most of these are particularly undesirable in that when they go bad, they can sprout fungal rot that could be poisonous or make you very sick. Any food that oxidizes rapidly presents the danger of developing into a toxin that could be life threatening - especially without access to doctors. For this reason I recommend they be avoided studiously for long term storage.
Barley
Any grain that is pre-milled other than rolled oats
Granola
Beef Jerky
Nuts
Brown Rice (brown rice has a husk that contains oils, causing it to oxidize quickly)
Brown Sugar
Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables unless they are sufficiently dried to snap when bent. (Freeze-dried may be a much better option)
Protect Your Food Against Bugs and Rodents
Most grains have bug eggs when purchased but this is a problem you can solve. Kill bugs by removing oxygen, kill them with heat or freeze them.
Oxygen absorbers create an oxygen-free environment that kills bugs at all stages of life. Make sure food containers are sealed and protected from physical damage.
Dry Ice: The solid form of Carbon Dioxide. Carbon dioxide is effective in killing weevils and beetles.
Freezing: freezing is suitable for small batches or if you have freezer space. Depending on what you read, freeze grains anywhere from three days to two weeks.
Baking Bake grain in the oven at 120° for one hour to kill weevil eggs and mature weevils.
5 Ways To Keep Rodents Out of Your Food Storage
Rodents are pretty nasty. Rat droppings are a vector for all kinds of disease. Keep rodents from showing up or eliminate them. Mice can chew through nearly anything and rats can chew through everything including metal.
Keep your pantry meticulously clean - not even a crumb left out.
Set wooden traps on access runs and places they are likely to pass through.
Get cats on patrol … this can be unreliable in an emergency.
Use #10 Cans to store food (they are very hard for mice to chew through).
Use Mylar bags in conjunction with sealed food-grade buckets, plastic is good but steel is best. This controls odors well that would otherwise let rodents know there is food nearby.
Build a cheap mouse collector from a small board they walk up into and fall into a bucket they can’t get back out of. Instructions on how to build one of these kinds of traps is here. In a big infestation this could help you to get rid of them overnight. These traps reset themselves and are reusable in addition to being easily constructed from cheap components. You seal the lid after dropping them in and they asphyxiate quickly after they breathe up the air inside. You can kill a hundred or more mice a night with one of these simple buckets. If the mice are taking too long to expire in the bucket, try dropping in a cotton ball saturated with camphor. The trapped vapor in the bucket will usually seal their fate in about 5 minutes. They will just fall asleep and never wake up.
Fact : A female mouse can have 5 to 10 litters per year, averaging 6 to 8 babies. That’s 30 to 80 new mice per year from one female.
Protect Long-term Food Storage From Flooding
The last thing you want to happen is to have a flood or hurricane surge taking out your entire food store. There is no perfect scenario here but do your best to get food up off the ground. It is difficult to feel sorry for people who live in a flood plain and buy $10,000 worth of prepper food they put in the basement.
At a bare minimum, store emergency food and water on a pallet.
If you are in an area where you think you are safe from groundwater or storm surges, consider that something as simple as a leaking freezer line or a leaking window can put down 6″ of water quickly.
Food Container Size For Long-term Food Storage
If you are storing food for the long haul, avoid using grocery store packaging for things like pasta and rice because you won’t get a maximum shelf-life. Also, consider the size and weight of the container when it’s full. A 55-gallon drum of water weighs 458 pounds and a 5-gallon pail of rice weighs 36 lbs.
Long-term Food Storage Containers
Smaller containers are more convenient and light-weight, so they are easier to move around and store
Small containers reduce the amount of food exposed to the environment when opened.
Containers that fit together or stack will minimize the amount of space used for storage. I.e., square buckets instead of round buckets
Large containers like five or 6-gallon pails are going to expose a lot of food when opened.
To remedy this: Package large quantities of dry food in small 1/4 to 1-gallon Mylar bags and place them in a food-grade bucket. As you open one bag, the remaining packs will still be sealed and protected by the pail
Mylar Bags, Food-grade Buckets, And Oxygen Absorbers
Probably the best option for most preppers. The equipment is pretty inexpensive compared to #10 cans, it is easy to do it yourself, and the materials necessary are readily available on-line. If you look a little harder you can locate tin cans of roughly the same size but they are also more expensive.
6 Reasons to use Mylar Bags, a Bucket, And Oxygen Absorbers Together
Removes all Oxygen from the container
Kills bugs at all stages of life, including eggs and pupa
Allows you flexibility in the size of Mylar bags you use
Protect Mylar bags from physical damage.
Protection from light
Allows you to choose the shape of your bucket to maximize space
5 Reasons to Choose #10 Cans for Long-term Food Storage
They are tough
They take an excellent seal
They create a quality oxygen barrier
They keep out light
They store a manageable amount of food
They are mouse and rate proof
#10 cans are expensive, but they are excellent for food storage.
Don’t store food in containers that are not marked as food-grade. You may get chemical leaching, and certain plastics do not create a quality air barrier.
5 Indoor Cooking Methods: Power Out
Alcohol Stove
Sterno (jellied denatured alcohol)
Portable Butane Stove
Candles
MRE Flameless Heater
Make sure the place where this cooking is taking place is well ventilated. This is very important in a house or any place that does not have open air flowing through it. In a shelter underground failing to ventilate the exhaust from stoves like these directly (preferably with a powered fan) can and has often been fatal. Best choice if available is alcohol or quality methanol that is sold in cans be catering houses. Keep the flammable substances in a sealed airtight ammo box when not in use.
Portable stoves create carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Please do not use them indoors or in an enclosed space. Always remember that the use of open flame indoors is a fire hazard and boiling water can be a medical hazard.
Don’t Forget Water In Your Emergency Pantry
You can last two weeks without food but three maybe four days without water. Water should be your first consideration when it comes to survival. Most storage food requires water to prepare to eat.
8 Things to Consider: Emergency Water Storage
Store water for post or pre-treatment in 55-gallon Blue Barrels or other large food-grade containers.
You don’t want to depend on filtration or purification of water after it is contaminated because most methods of cleaning water will not remove chemicals.
Groundwater, municipal water, and well water are often contaminated during flooding or groundwater surges from tropical storms and hurricanes.
Water Catchment and Storage For Rainwater: Purify with chemicals, filter, or boil.
Store-Bought Water or Bottled Water: Bottled water is suitable for hydration in a short-term emergency but not for long-term survival.
Water Filtration: Store as many backpack filters and bulk-water-gravity filters as you can afford. This way, you can filter water from natural sources if necessary.
Boiling water kills biological and viral contamination if the water is boiled for 3 minutes. Boiling does not remove chemicals but increases the concentration of chemicals in the remaining volume of water.
Iodine: Kills biological and viral contaminants but does not remove chemicals
Ultraviolet radiation: will effectively remove biological agents and waterborne viruses but not chemicals
Purify water with Bleach or Pool Shock: kills biological and viral agents but does not remove chemicals
*Fact: Most methods of cleaning water do not remove chemicals. If you are in a situation where you have contaminated municipal water, groundwater, or well water, bulk water storage is a lifesaver.
Two ways to Remove Chemicals From Emergency Drinking Water
Reverse Osmosis Systems: ROS doesn’t require electricity, but it does need water pressure, so if the municipal water system is down, you are out of luck. Not all ROS systems will remove all chemicals.
Distillation: A method of boiling water and collecting the evaporated water for drinking. Boiling water doesn’t remove chemical contamination.
Commercially Packaged Survival Foods
You can supplement your emergency food store or create your entire pantry from commercial foods packaged for long-term food storage.
When purchasing survival food, please do some research, so you are familiar with what you are getting. Try to understand the portions and the calorie count you are purchasing.
Some package deals may sell a food supply for X amount of time or X amount of calories or days, but this may be deceiving. Do your research.
I suggest purchasing samples of any food you plan on incorporating into your pantry including commercial food purchased in bulk.
Types of Commercial Survival Food
Freeze-dried foods
Freeze-dried food is an excellent way to supplement for certain situations like bugging out on foot.
Freeze-dried food retains over 90% of its nutritional value, and it is super lightweight.
Professionally packaged freeze-dried meals from companies like Mountain House have a shelf-life of 30 years.
Freeze-dried meals require boiled water to reconstitute, so consider water and fuel supplies in your prepping.
The downside to freeze-dried food is the expense.
You can freeze-dry your food with units like Harvest Right. The units are expensive, but the prices are going down, so keep your eyes peeled.
If you are in this for the long haul, then a freeze-dry unit is worth looking into, especially if you use it regularly. The amount of meat and other foods you could buy in bulk and on sale would pay for the unit in a relatively short time frame.
Resources
An Excellent Resource for long-term food storage, particularly when you are just starting in your preparations :
LDS Preparedness Manual PDF click here
*Shelf life is based on hermetically sealed packaging such as #10 cans, Mylar Bags, Food-grade buckets, and the use of Oxygen Absorbers. Store-bought packaging will not give you maximum shelf-life.
“Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.”
- Ezekiel 38:7
“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
- Hebrews 11:7
”A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
- Proverbs 27:12 (KJV)
”The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.”
- Proverbs 21:20
“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6
Regards, Tex
This is the best information on the topic anywhere.
Agree. Great work.