I have some long-term food supplies put away, but I wanted to put together a 30-plus day supply for my husband and I that contains foods in all of the main food groups. My budget is only $100 and I want to make the most of it.
Walmart recently began offering free pickup in my area, so I decided to try it out on this project. Walmart’s free pickup service gives me the advantage of keeping a running total of my order while I shop, plus having an easily accessible list that I can use while I shop and plan. The only downside was that there were no pickup times available for the same day that I ordered, so I had to wait a day to pick my order up. I guess you need to order before noon to get a same-day pickup in my area.
The Long-term Food Storage Plan
I live in a coastal region of Florida, so my biggest concern right now is a hurricane, but this food list will work for any disaster. I need to be able to either evacuate with these foods or shelter in place, so I am looking for foods that can be easily cooked on a hotplate or camp stove.
I am planning for at least 30 days’ supply for two people, which is equal to 60 days for one person. You can multiply or divide to determine how long it will feed your family. When I am done totaling up my meals, you will see that I got more than 30 days of meals for my $100. I think that the list I put together could actually sustain us both for 45 days or more, with some rice and pasta left over at the end.
With the exception of dried foods that are easily stored, I tried to buy in quantities that we could use in one day. For example, I chose to buy several small cans of pasta sauce rather than the giant sizes that would be cheaper by the ounce. I decided to do this because refrigeration might not be available to store the unused portion. If you are feeding a large family, you can save by buying larger packages.
I want a variety of foods that are cheap, tasty, and have a long shelf life. They also need to be nutritious, easy to prepare and containing enough calories to allow for hard work, if required.
Serving Sizes in Food Storage Plans
My serving sizes are calculated to be for a reasonable meal. You’ll find that many long-term food storage plans use small serving sizes. One-quarter cup of rice is a serving if you are using it as a small side dish, but when eaten as a large part of a meal, for example in a stir-fry, it is not enough. I like to estimate that we will eat at least ½ cup of rice per serving, for planning purposes. My portions are generous because I won’t be serving an elaborate meal with many different small servings.
Meats servings are estimated by the day. For example, a 4 ounce can of tuna contains 2 x 2-ounce servings of tuna for a total of 4 ounces according to the label. This works great for the two of us, but for 1 person, it’s not so great. I would estimate 1 can as a single meal in that case because you can’t store opened tuna with no refrigeration.
Many of the foods I have purchased will require water for preparation, so please allow for that in your planning.
Breakfast Foods
My main breakfast choices are grits, hash browns and oatmeal. I also purchased one package of dried milk, although we do not drink much milk at our house. Grits, hash browns and oatmeal are easy to cook, filling and have a long shelf-life. I plan to season them with leftover fruits, vegetables, and spices (not included in my shopping). If you don’t like any of the foods listed, substitute your favorites.
I purchased six 3-ounce packages of hash browns. Each package claims to be four half-cup servings, but as the main dish for the meal, I am expecting to get 2 generous servings per package. The expiration date on these packages is November of 2020 but, stored in mylar with an oxygen absorber, they will keep for five to ten years – possibly even longer.
I also bought a five-pound bag of quick-cooking grits. For $2.78, I got 61 servings of grits. Each serving is only ¼ cup, so I am allowing for only 30 servings or 15 meals for the two of us. The best-by date for this bag is April of 2022. Properly stored in mylar, I expect my grits to be good for at least five years and probably much longer.
The Great Value Old Fashioned Oats came in a 42-ounce cardboard canister, so I will be repackaging them into a mylar bag. The unopened package had a best by date of Feb 2020 ,but transferred to mylar with an oxygen absorber they should keep for up to 30 years. The canister contains 30 servings, or 15 meals for the two of us.
I also purchased a 25.6 ounce bag of nonfat instant dry milk for drinking, coffee or cooking purposes. I’ve listed it here, but I will probably use it mostly for the mashed potatoes.
Related: 11 Food Storage Lessons Learned from WWI
Meat for Lunches and Dinners
My plan allows for meat every two or three days with other high-protein foods such as pasta, rice and beans or macaroni and cheese on other days. Most of us eat far more protein than we need, so don’t feel that you need as much meat as you might usually serve. I purchased a four-pack of canned tuna, two cans of corned beef hash, two cans of chicken and two cans of smoked ham. I will use one can a day for the two of us, giving us a total of ten days with meat entrees.
Rice and Beans
Fourteen main dish servings of beans for $3.42 and 100 half cup servings of rice.
I purchased 16 ounces of dried red beans and a 20-ounce bag of bean soup mix, along with 20 pounds of rice. We are not overly fond of beans and rice, but we do enjoy bean soup, and it is a great way to stretch your prepping dollar. Beans and rice are both available cheaper when bought in bulk, but for this purpose I wanted to concentrate on other foods, so I bought smaller amounts.
The beans will require a long cooking time, so I will probably cook several meals at a time if refrigeration is available. I usually pressure can my beans in pint or quart jars a pound or two at a time. The beans in this order will be stored dry in mylar and will keep for ten to 15 years. The two bags of beans provide 29 half-cup servings, so 14 high-protein meals for the two of us.
Rice also makes a great side dish, or can be used with leftover vegetables and canned meat to make stir-fried rice or other dishes. I’ll get a lot of mileage from my 20 pounds of rice.
Pasta Meals
I purchased several types of pasta meals. First, I got a five-pack of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. There are three servings per box, so 15 servings in total. When used as a main dish, I would cook one box for the two of us, so I’ve got ten main dish servings or five meals for the two of us. If you are cooking for yourself only, you can use part of a box as needed.
I also purchased four 16-ounce boxes of elbow macaroni and a four-pound package of spaghetti. I will use these to make main dishes, salads, side dishes and as a stretcher for soups and other foods.
To sauce my pasta, I purchased three cans of meat flavored sauce, two cans of four-cheese pasta sauce, and one jar of Alfredo sauce. I am estimating my haul to include six pasta main dishes, because that is how many cans of sauce I purchased. If I have refrigeration I could easily get twice that many, or I can use leftover sauce to flavor other dishes. The main disadvantage I see is that I end up with a lot of tomato based meals, but the sauces are flavored differently and can be used as a base for many meals.
My pasta packages have a best by date of 2020, but I will store them in mylar and they will last for five to ten years. The sauces are also best by 2020 to 2021, so I will rotate them into use in 2020. Most vegetables will keep much longer than the best-by date, but tomatoes are more acidic and can spoil faster if there are any nicks in the can liner, so I prefer to rotate them before the can has a chance to rust.
Related: Canning Pasta Sauce for Long Term Preservation
Vegetables and Fruits
I purchased mostly canned vegetables which have best by dates in 2020, but I fully expect them to last another couple of years past that date. Vegetables are safe to eat long past the best by date as long as it can in is good condition with no dents, rust, or bulging. I will probably put these into rotation in 2020.
I looked for a variety of vegetables that my family enjoys eating. I chose the German Potato Salad because it is already seasoned and could be eaten as a meal straight from the can in an emergency situation.
I only bought 4 cans of fruit, mainly to be used for an occasional dessert. Many of the choices available to me were packaged in plastic or glass. I prefer to use cans for long-term storage whenever possible, because of the possibility of glass breakage. Cans aren’t the perfect container, but they are my choice unless freeze-dried fruits are available at a reasonable price.
Potatoes
I purchased potatoes in the form of hash browns for breakfasts, a cheezy potato bake mix that can serve as a main dish, and several varieties of mashed potatoes, including 2 packages of mashed sweet potatoes. I chose to purchase both “complete” mashed potatoes that need no butter or milk, and plain potato flakes that must be seasoned. This allows me to use the potato flakes to thicken soups or other dishes. The mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes are great value when you consider that each pound of dried potatoes is equal to ten pounds of fresh potatoes. Potatoes also have a lot of nutrients and are a filling side dish.
In Hindsight, Things to Consider When Planning Long-term Food Storage
I probably should have purchased some gravy mixes, soy sauce and a few other seasonings. Oil would be a good addition, but it needs to be rotated frequently.
My meal plan uses mainly rice, potatoes, and pasta for bulk. It is important to use them creatively so you don’t tire of them. Use them in salads, soups, stir-fries, and with spices. By varying flavors and ingredients, you can enjoy a different meal everyday without too much repetition.
Related: 10 Long Shelf-Life Canned Foods Every Prepper Should Consider Stockpiling
A List of What I Purchased, By Category
Meats
- 4 cans of Sunkist chunk light tuna in a 4-pack for $3.98
- 2 cans Great Value corned beef hash (2 x 1.98 = $3.96)
- 2 cans Great Value chunk chicken breast with rib meat (2x 0.98 = $1.96)
- 2 cans Hormel chunk smoked ham (2 x1.34 = $2.68).
Vegetables
- 2 cans Read German Potato Salad (2 x 1.18 = $2.36)
- 1 can Glory Foods Sweet Potato Casserole ($1.48)
- 2 jars Aunt Nellies Sliced Pickled Beets (2 x 0.88 = $1.76)
- 2 packages dried Betty Crocker Homestyle Sweet Potatoes (2 x 1.50 = $3.00)
- 2 cans Margaret Holmes triple succotash (2 x 0.84 = $1.68)
- 2 cans Margaret Holmes tomatoes, okra and corn (2 x 0.84 = $1.68)
- 2 cans Margaret Holmes Squash (2 x 0.84 = $1.68)
- 2 cans Great Value Sweet Peas (2 x 0.64 = $1.28)
- 2 cans Great Value mixed vegetables (2 x 0.68 = $1.36)
- 2 cans Great Value Green Beans (2 x 0.64 = $1.28)
- 2 cans Great Value whole sweet corn (2 x 0.50 = $1.00)
Fruits
- 2 cans Great Value Chunky Mixed Fruit in fruit juice (2 x 1.08 = $2.16)
- 2 cans Great Value Lite Pear Slice in Extra Light Syrup (2 x 1.08 = $2.16)
Pasta and Pasta Sauces
- 5 pack Kraft Macaroni & Cheese $4.50
- 4 – 16 ounce boxes Mueller’s Elbow Macaroni (4 x 1.34 = $5.36)
- 4 lbs GV Spaghetti pasta $3.88
- GV Meat Flavored Pasta Sauce, 24 ounce $1.50
- GV Classic Alfredo Pasta Sauce, 16 ounce $1.50
- 2 cans Hunts Meat Pasta Sauce (2 x 1.50 = $3.00)
- 2 cans Hunts Four Cheese Pasta Sauce (2 x 1.00 = $2.00)
Potatoes
- 2 packages Idahoan Applewood Smoked Bacon Mashed Potatoes (2 x 0.88 = $1.76)
- 2 boxes Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes, 26.2 ounce (2 x 2.98 = $5.96)
- 2 boxes Great Value Mashed Potatoes, 15.3 ounce, (2 x 1.58 = $3.16)
- Betty Crocker Three Cheese Potatoes $1.24
- 6 packages Idahoan Premium Hash Brown Potatoes, 3 ounces (6 x 1.00 = $6.00)
Rice and Beans
- 20 pounds GV Long Grain Rice (2 x 4.98 = $9.96)
- 16 ounces GV Small Red Beans $1.16
- 20-ounce bag Hurst Hambeens 15 Bean Soup, Cajun flavored $2.26
Other
- Great Value Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, 25.6 ounces $6.98
- Quaker Grits, 80-ounce bag $2.78
- Great Value Old Fashioned Oats, 42 ounces, $2.48
Total Spent: $99.94
You can see that $100 can go a long way toward supplying your long-term food storage, especially when used to purchase inexpensive and filling foods. I feel good knowing that I have at least 30 to 45 days of food put away that will be filling, nutritious, and enjoyable for my husband and I.
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Need more meat products in this list. I don’t think ten small cans is enough. Seems like this is a fifteen day supply not thirty for two people. Enough for one for thirty days but probably not tow.This would make for a good experiment. Buy all the supplies and actually live on it for a month.
Meat’s nice to have and a good source of protein, but it’s not an essential – and it’s not cheap either. If the goal is to build up food stocks on a budget then, as long as you include other sources of protein and a couple other nutrients, meat is a good place to start making savings.
Meat isn’t a pure source of protein, what does a cow eat? Grass, oats and grains, just cut out the middleman. Those are the main thing I stock my pantry with.
Lisa: But, meat has carnizine and a host of other things essential to the body. Every American Indian I knew who went vegan died rather badly because of diet issues. I can go without all non-meat, but to go without meat means my body and mind weaken. niio
I was born and raised on a small farm in the late 40’s and early 50’s. Meat of some kind was always on the table, even the cheapest cuts. At one time pork steak was 17 cents a pound. But times were harsh sometimes and we had fried mush for a meal. Now that I’m old, there is plenty of meat in the fridge and veggies stacked in cases.
I would be really interested in how to help me prep for someone with diabetes (oral meds and diet controlled )for my wife.
Jim: when Mom came to live with us, she was an uncontrollable diabetic. She would go as high as 400 in the day and drop as low as 20 overnight. We had stopped eating anything with gluten. In about 10 days she was back to normal. LDL cholesterol dropped to the low-good range. Her sugar stabilized at 120. No more cracks in hands or feet. No dizzy spells. She started to go out with family and friends again. niio
RE single serve options for tuna – the tuna pouches might be a better choice for the single serve option.
Additional protein may be needed if having to do heavy labor during storm cleanup, repairs, etc. Rice and beans combined are a good alternative to meat. Together they make up the complete protein the body needs to rebuild itself after strenuous activity.
The calorie count is low. I prefer something with high calorie count like Vienna sausages with app. 325 per can, or potted meat at 230 calories/can..
What is a great food dehydrator to buy or make.
You can’t go wrong with an Excalibur dehydrator. They’re expensive but well worth the investment. I have used the cheap round ones like you can buy at Wal-Mart but they couldn’t stand up to the volume I do. The Excalibur is a little expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run, since it won’t have to be replaced every few seasons.
Yep. I got an Excalibur 9-tray when it was on Woot.com and it works great. I’ve only done fruit and fruit leather on it so far…apple rings, banana coins; and frozen cherries, pineapple, and mixed berries–those I ran through a blender, then poured out on plastic wrap and dried. I’m hoping to do some jerky, but haven’t gotten around to that yet.
The Excalibur is “the One” to purchase for serious quantity
dehydrating – you will not be disappointed. Approved by “America’s Test Kitchen”
Excalibur is the best, in my opinion.
This year I went vegan, and I’m also a long distance hiker, so dehydrating vegetables and having a good soup base was key to getting from point A to point B.
Lisa: Just have plans for a solar dryer for then SHTF. Also, in summer, you can make sopa seca and dry the solids for a fast, light meal. Same with refried beans. For that, solar works best. niio
Hi Scott; I bought one of those round one’s 15 years ago. I use it 1/2 dozen times a year. I make the best salmon jerky plus good meat jerkies ” poultry & red meat’s”
It works great for drying fruit”s & veg. Good luck with what ever you decide.
Bought myself a Ronco 5-tray dehydrator about 10 years ago and it hasn’t failed me yet. Think I paid around $30 for it. Use it for jerky, fruits, veggies, fruit leathers and herbs (use the tray inserts (extra cheep purchase) for leathers & herbs)
Scott: Depends on where you live. Arizona, usually very low humility, so a frame with two sheets of tin and clean mesh between. Say, no more than 3 inches apart, 18 inches wide, however long you need it. 24 hours and the food is dried. Any opening needed to allow air flow, close with more mesh. niio
With a few quibbles, I like this article a lot, and it goes more with my philosophy on food preparation, which is that rather than buy the prepackaged emergency food and hope that if things go south that you will like it, buy the stuff you normally eat and rotate it through along with your normal meals. Yeah, you probably should have some of the freeze-dried stuff to go in your BOB in case you have to hoof it out, but chances are more likely you’re going to be bugging-in, or bugging-out in a vehicle, and this is a better way to go in either of those two scenarios.
Quibbles: First is water. You need a fair amount of liquids for a month, and many of the foods you bought need liquids to prepare, too. I realize that this is slightly out-of-scope to the title and intent of the article, but if nothing’s coming out of your tap, or that tap water is fouled, it’s a bigger problem than the food. Cases of water (1/2 liter or gallon) are cheap and good to set aside. I camp regularly and generally take a case or two of water on a camping trip, so mine get rotated easily, and I keep 3-4 cases at the house.
The second quibble is cooking heat. Having ridden out a couple of hurricanes myself, we’ve generally been without power for several days to over a week, you need alternate cooking heat sources. Again, this is a bit out-of-scope to your article, but should be part of the equation in preparing the food, whether it be wood, charcoal, propane, Coleman fuel and/or isobutane, or a decent generator…with fuel. That last can be a bit dicey as I have a few friends who went through Harvey with generators, but were out of fuel before power came back on, and they had no way to get new fuel…for the same reason.
Thanks, I really liked this article.
When I had to replace my kitchen stove a few years ago, I got an off-the-grid propane one from Unique. It makes cooking during a power outage a lot easier than trying to use a camp stove or a campfire. (uniqueoffgrid.com)
Thanks for the Link, Homesteader!
You’re welcome.
When planning alternative cooking for emergency situations, I feel one must include apparatus for cooking over a fire. Fuel is usually easy to find, and for free as well.
This forum had a outdoor wood stove a few years back, made from car wheels. I need to get mine made, as I plan to try canning on it to save money.
Ditto on your comment – this is a good article and your comments are right on target.
Regarding cooking fuel alternatives, I keep five propane tanks for cooking on the grill, plus a half-dozen small propane bottles for use with a camp stove. I have my own well, so access to water is not a big problem. Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to keep a few cases of drinking water handy.
I’m on well too, good as long as we have power.
I’d like to amen the part about buying what your family is used to eating. Had a stockpile mostly bought from Winco and decided to use it up rather than move it. It had a lot of things like TVP in it that we do not ordinarily eat. Got a chance to try that stuff, but we were slow in using it, I can tell you. I like the food list in this article and with some tweaking would do for us. Can’t forget the Dinty Moore.
OIL??? Buy lard and no worries for spoilage.
And I just read to not buy tuna in pouches for long term.
Yes, where are the ham/turkey/chicken in cans for ham salad, turkey salad and chicken salad sandwiches??
Lard will go rancid if it isn’t kept cool enough, but then, you can always make soap with it if it does.
OMgosh..I have just put in Cool Whip plastics a 5 gallon bucket of lard bought in 2009.
It is now in the freezer–it’s fine.
YODER’s Canned Meats
I’d add that protein is more important than you give it credit for and pasta etc doesn’t really contain protein – its almost pure carbs especially as you need the white version to store for a long while. Seasonings yes, as you said and things like coconut oil will store for longer, plus lard is great to store outside a fridge and is good for you. Fats, proteins give more energy than carbs
I’m also not a big fan of rice but in an emergency. Apparently beans and rice together are supposed to be a very good protein substitute for meat.
I had always wondered about the Mexican diet of bean and rice. I always thought how high in carbs such a diet would be. Then when I started reading about nutrition a little bit I learned that there is a substance in rice that releases the protein in beans that makes a beans/rice combination a good substitute for meat protein and can provide our daily need for protein. Whodda thunk? If you are not careful you learn something new every day. That certainly was an eyeopener for me. However, no matter what kind of sauce you dress ’em up with, I think in short order a steady diet of beans and rice would be B – O – R – I – N – G !!!
I am presently reading a book that discusses the lessons learned by an Argentine as a result of the economic crash that happened in the country because they were spending more money than they were taking in. (Sound faintly familiar?) He discusses pigeons, cats, dogs and other urban animal life. He definitely recommends against urban pigeons, although he heartily endorses rural pigeons. He says cat tastes like rabbit which everyone knows taste like chicken. He said dog has a rather harsh taste but is edible. I have heard from friends in the Far East who claim to know that brown dog is tastier than black dog.
The Argentine author also recommends raccoon, possum and other urban wildlife. I shot a couple possum when I was a teenager and they were so greasy I don’t know how you could gag it down. I would have to be really, really, really, really hungry before I could scarf down a possum.
He also strongly recommends avoiding urban rats and mice although, again, he is in favor of rural rats and mice. He feels that urban critters carry too much disease. He does recommend that if push comes to shove, that you cook the urban critters quite thoroughly.
Just thought I would pass that tidbit of information along from somebody who claims to have been there and done that. I notice today that the Argentine equivalent of our Federal Reserve raised the interest rate to 75%. Wow! that’s the kind of vigorish that Vince and Tony get.
Really! You would eat cats and dogs? Well dont stop with the family pets… How about children? Are they on the menu?
Dont waste your time asking me.. the answer is NO, I would not kill my pet or anyone elses to survive. I would find another way or die trying. PS everyone does NOT know that a cat tastes like chicken. I could have lived a full life never knowing that. eew!
Go to the Philippines and buy STAR meat in cans, it is by the tins of cat meat. Star = rats spelled backward. You can pas trucks full of dogs in crates going to manila to be butchered for food. Around the world many different animals are eaten. None I know of condone eating children or adults. Crickets, grasshoppers, and silkworm larva are crunchy and salty. No, dog does not taste like chicken, and horses is sweeter than beef. Caribou is not as gamey as moose, and Mt. sheep is the best tasting of all.
Graywolf12 – Did your moose come from somewhere here in the lower 48? That may have been the difference but I’m not sure. The moose I had while living in Alaska was tasted a lot like beef except a little sweet. There was no gaminess at all. I had it in several forms – steaks, roasts and burgers – from different animals with no gaminess in any of it. Caribou was great too but harder to get. Most people who got a caribou had it all ground to make sausage. No one seemed to want caribou roasts, steaks or whathaveyou. Just wondering if location makes that big of difference in moose meat.
Some one asked me where the Moose came from. one Up by Talkeetna and another on a fly in hunt South West of Anchorage On West side of Cook inlet..
If the moose you’re getting is gamey, something must have changed for them up there over the years. That’s sad to hear.
Don’t know about Alaska game, but have had Moose from Colo. and it was not gamey. I’ve butchered and eaten many a deer from Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. I found that if the deer was field dressed properly, there was NO gamey taste (eweee). If you bleed it, gut it, cut the bags off, I have never cooked or eaten a bad one. (I have had a gamey one from other people). Yuk…..it’s why some people say they don’t like wild meat. They haven’t had meat from a good hunter. I’ve used deer meat and elk for anything I used beef. If it weren’t for wild meat we killed, in the first 7-10 years we were married, we wouldn’t have had meat except for a can of tuna, bologna, or a chicken now and then! Most of it is in the hunting and knowing the time of year, the age of the prey, what they’ve been eating, etc, and how to field dress it. I’ve butchered deer in my clean bath tub!!!! We got free (back then) tallow from the butcher for fat. Although we stopped doing that and just ground what we wanted for hamburger without it. Just sayin. The only difference in dear/elk that is noticeable to me is the tenderness and you can cure that with a pressure cooker (which I would add to the emergency pots and pans) or just eat back strap!
K – You really haven’t been hungry, have you? I’m talking about the kind of hunger that feels like your stomach is chewing on your backbone. The kind you get when you haven’t eaten in days and don’t know when, where or how you’ll get another meal. That’s the kind of hunger that will make people start looking at cats and dogs as food and not pets. Just take a close look at what is happening in Venezuela. There the people have been so hungry, they have eaten not only their cats, dogs, horses, etc but even the zoo animals were on the menu. Pray you never know that kind of hunger.
As for what cats taste like, well, it is sort of like chicken, bit not as firm as chicken, especially when made into various dishes. If you were not told that it was cat, you probably wouldn’t know. I speak from experience. A former favorite Chinese restaurant was shut down, license revoked, because the Health Dept found they were serving cat instead of chicken in their dishes. After all, chickens cost money, cats were free.
Problem with urban critters is most likely not disease; rather, poisons. Think motor oil, fuels, anti-freeze, pesticides, and all the stuff that settles out from polluted air. Disease vectors can normally be destroyed by thorough cooking/freezing/drying and proper handling; poisons not so much: and the higher in the food chain the mor concentrated the toxins will be.
I would add nuts to this list. Good source of protein and satisfying to chew on.
Just a comment on your canned veggies… the WalMart brand/generic sweet corn tastes awful and was GMO produced when we taste tested earlier this year. Stick to a good name brand on sweet corn.
Libby’s is the only brand I know of that uses vegetables grown only in the US and processes them here. I have heard, but been unable to verify, that some companies actually buy vegetable from China and/or have them processed there. You know how polluted China is, especially with heavy metals.
Smithfield sends their hogs to China for processing before bringing the meat products back here. How stupid is that? Hope that changes with these new tariffs.
If you are in the Northwest, Santiam brand is all grown locally as well.
China bought Smithfield years ago!
G: Good! Italy is talking lawsuit and freezing China’s assets there, to confiscate if they do sue. Let’s do that here! 🙂 niio
Where will I find mylar food bags and oxygen absorbers? Are the bags used in vacuum sealing machines the same or adequate for long term room temperature storage?
I try not to be critical in what I post on this site but sometimes I see a post that just makes me cringe, If one is to survive in an end of the world situation, it is imperative that one exercise one’s mental facilities to the utmost, otherwise a most miserable existence is the best one can hope for.
One source for mylar bags and oxygen absorbers is our old friend Amazon. A quick shift to their website and a plug-in of “mylar bags” brought up a myriad of different sizes and configurations.
So, Jo, you have got to put your big girl or big boy pants on and start doing things for yourself. If you continue to expect others to lead you by the hand. you might as well forget about surviving an EOTW situation.
Does this criticism sound harsh? I am sure there will be some critical posts about how it would be more helpful if some kind soul pointed out all the various sources on line for mylar bags/oxy absorbers, but sometimes harshness is the kindest advice. Perhaps this criticism will propel Jo into starting to act in a self-reliant manner and start figuring out how to do things for herself/himself. I hope that is what she/he does and doesn’t just go off to a safe space and curl up sucking her/his thumb.
I get my mylar bags from Baytec Containers but then I only use them in 5-gallon buckets. The link is: https://www.bayteccontainers.com/mylar-foil-bag-sealable-20×30.html
I get oxygen absorbers from the Mormons. Go to: https://store.lds.org. Click on ‘All Categories’ at the top of the page and then go to Food Storage. They even have small mylar-type bags. The Mormons have always believed in preparing for hard times. They even sell some long-term storage food items. Anyone can buy from them whether they are Mormon or not.
Hope this helps some.
It’s called a ‘search’ engine..most computers have one.
There, fixed it for you, chuck.
No. JJ, Jo needs to know about the search engine.
Jo, any time I have a question I just google it. That’s how I found my mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and dessicants I sometimes use. Now google dessicants so you will know that, too.
Oh my gosh…..y’all get off it. If you were just beginning to get into this stuff……as Jo might be, we will assume, what Jo asked would not seem so, wellllll…..so y’all had to start somewhere and sometimes when you are reading these posts, you just type before thinking. But I didn’t even know what mylar was either and had to google it! Course I’m old school so salt, sugar, vinegar, etc. Jo probably meant to ask where is the best place and what is the best kind and you experts would know that, RIGHT. So, just be nice and don’t run Jo off so Jo can keep learning and maybe survive, OK????
Good Show Joyce !
This is fine and good I suppose but I’m diabetic. All i ever see is posts for people who are not. Carb laden survival food. Would be nice to see a low carb survival food article once in a while for the other 50%of people in the country who have diabetes.
Not diabetic but have eaten very low carb for 25 years now. Canned meat is obvious, canned or freeze dried vegetables like sweet potato, green beans, broccoli. The important thing is to read labels, the foundation of the American food industry is sugar and you will find it in everything, which is why Type 2 diabetes is rampant. Also important to include snack packs of some foods with more carbs (not added sugar) like nuts to recover from episodes of low blood sugar.
On another issue it is a fact that combining a grain and a legume in a meal gives you a complete protein. Think corn and pinto beans. Add a bit of squash or orange sweet potato and some wild Pequin peppers and you have a better diet than almost any happy prosperous American currently eats.
The problem is “low-carb survival food” is kind of a contradiction in terms. You can substitute fats for some of the energy you need, but a survival situation tends to be hard physical work and you’re going to need carbs to keep going. Without them, you’re risking low blood sugar. About 7.5% of Americans have diabetes, by the way, not 50%.
This collection of food is also loaded with high sodium and gluten. It might be inexpensive, but the people living on it may die of hypertension! Or starve if they are Celiac! Or at the very least increase their thirst and water needs from consuming all those high sodium foods. I often wonder if people bother reading the nutritional values on packaged goods or are they just chosen because they are inexpensive?
You are diabetic and I am Celiac. This collection of food is mostly inedible for me. I’d love to see someone put together a nutritionally dense selection of food that actually was not going to do harm to your health.
I agree with the person who prefers to stock up on what they normally eat and rotate. Me too!
The best person to put together a list of foods that you can eat is looking at you in the morning when you are in the bathroom. If you do not realize who that is then it is too late for you.
One lady was canning split pea soup bc it was something she could eat as a diabetic. Get a menu of things you can and will eat, find a shelf stable source and stock up. Be careful of packaged foods. Read and try. Some artificial sweeteners effect blood sugar in some cases. Just know YOUR body. Good luck.
No matter what your feelings are about Walmart, that company has changed the face of Retail.
I have to wonder what the world would be like without this retail giant. More expensive, I think.
The other day I had to make a run to town. I stopped in at the drug store for an item, and since I was there, I checked out their price on distilled water since I needed some to dilute the coolant for my truck. There, it was $1.69 !!! Yikes!!!
So I went to Walmart and got it for 82 cents.
I’ve saved a TON of money over the years just picking up the little stuff there. Food stores too. The Walmart I frequent sells 25 lb. bags of all purpose flower. You have to be quick to get it though; the amish community usually snaps it up.
You’re right about WM changing the face of retail. People can say what they want about WM but they’ve been good to my family and me. Together, we had a combined 50+ years working for them. I’d still be there if my arthritis had not gotten so bad, but 15 years of standing on concrete 8-9 hours a night, plus all the heavy lifting I had to do, took its toll on me.
Not just Walmart but the whole big box store concept has changed the face of retailing as has the internet. In 1975 the National Office Products Assoc. commissioned a study by the Stamford Research Institute on the future of the office products field. There were rampant rumors that the paperless office would change the future look of offices all over the world. In 1979 SRI returned with its final report. It was glowing. I had an interest in expanding my printing business into the office products field. That report spurred me, IBM, Xerox, Sears and Cascade Paper company to enter the office products field.
SRI was absolutely correct in their assessment of the growth of paper work. What they didn’t foresee was the paradigm shift from the small family owned stationery store to the big box office products retailer.
By the year 2000, the National Office Products Assoc was defunct, along with tens of thousands of small office products retailers who had supported the association. I, Xerox, IBM, Sears and Cascade Paper were also out of the office products field. I only lasted until Price Club opened in my county.
The last stationery store in this end of the county closed about ten years ago. They only lasted that long because they owned the building, having purchased it many years ago. The business had been passed down from grandfather to son to grandson. When the grandson reached retirement age they just closed the business.
There are many stories about the details of how the big box companies have changed not only retailing but wholesaling too. Too numerous to recite here, but H.H. is right, they have wrought dramatic changes.
AS far as Walmart goes …are you rally saving that much when your tax dollars are being spent to help support their works who can’t make it on the wages they are paid, Same for amazon most of their people are on food stamps and assistance, While their Owners have BILLIONS.
Better to do it the socialist/communist way and put them all on welfare. If people have any kind of a job the government looses more and more control and that is not acceptable in the socialist/communist way. Go back to Huffington post. This is for people that do not want the government to control their lives.
When I retired from WM in 2015, new hires were making what had taken me ten years to make because WM had been raising starting pay for many years. They just don’t announce everything they do. Also, pay varies from region to region and even store to store. When I retired, I was making a little over $16 an hour. Had I been able to stay in the store I had transferred from, I would have been making nearly $20, doing the same job. I’ve worked for other companies and transferred between regions/stores but never had changes in pay like WM does.
I answered you question as where the Moose came from. It is above in reply to me. So far your question and my answer have not made the comment section.
Snakedoc, here is the reality of any job in America. You can quit and go work somewhere else if it does not meet your personal needs. You see we have a system in this country called The Free Market. As you see in that title, the word free is in it. That word applies to the employee as well as the employer. The employee is FREE to come and go when necessary. You see, no government entity telling us what we will do, where we will work, and how much we will make. Freedom is awesome isn’t it? The word Free also applies to the consumer. If you don’t like the price don’t buy it and go somewhere else. The reason there are so many grocery stores, department stores, and/or restaurants is because of FREE ENTERPRISE. No government entity telling you where you spend your money. Sometimes it is necessary to have two or even three jobs to meet your needs. It sucks but do what you have to in order to meet your needs or even wants. And if you have to hold down two or three jobs then thank God for Free Enterprise. Don’t be quick to run to government assistance because that is socialism. It has taken my money and redistributes to someone else. Welfare/socialism does not make things better it makes things worse. Well there is your economic lesson for today. They sure don’t teach that in school anymore.
Yes !!!! thats exactly what Im saying!! they are taking your money and giving it to someone else(amazon /walmart workers) while the owners have Billions and won’t pay their workers enough to keep from getting YOUR money out of YOUR pocket that you have earned no matter how many jobs you have or want! So if you have 150 Billion dollars and you increased your worker pay to keep them off government assistance and you end up with 145 billion can you really tell the difference and there is still enough for more investments to make that 145 billion into 200 billion….go figure!
You totally missed the point snakedoc. Government does not take money and give it to Walmart . Walmart budgets their money however they want. If you don’t like the way the budget their money then by God almighty work somewhere else. Government does not subsidize Walmart, it subsidizes planned parenthood and entities such as that. I’m not defending Walmart, but I am defending free enterprise of which Walmart is a part of.
Walmart & Amazon have paid no FEDERAL taxes for years. Every place they build has been TAX-FREE too, no taxes paid to COUNTIES OR STATES.Amazon pays well though & Walmart now starts at $11 an hour here.
Amazon starts at $18 an hour here in the distribution center & you have health insurance the first day there & it pays 90-100% of your medical bills. You can’t beat that.
Interesting list, food for thought, so to speak. In my house, I’d use some of this stuff for convenience now and replace it as needed, rather than waiting for the “use by” date. In a SHTF situation, food could be a comfort, but not if the family feels that they are being fed strange items.
Really enjoyed this article, and your explanation of how this works for you. It’s a good starting point for anyone to model and tailor to their own unique needs/tastes.
Appreciate the list as it gave me a few new ideas, unfortunately the DW is allergic to a number of things on the list, but there are substitutes. Use a lot more rice/yams since the DW’s high reaction, after chocolate, is potatoes.
Use rice in most soups to give them more body and feels more filling. Been known to use creamed soups, undiluted, mixed with rice or pasta.
I enjoyed the reassurance this article gave me. I shop for our home and buy what we normally eat and rotate our stores. An easy way to keep track is to date code each item so you know at a glance it’s age. I simply take a sharpie and put a four digit date on the label. Use the two digit year like 118 or 19, then use the month of May as 05, September as 10. When you need an item, you just take the one with the smallest number on it.
Chef Boyardee is the way to go. You can find them for less than a buck each- just look at sodium vs potassium content.
DMONICUS, the only problem with Chef Boyardee in a can is the tomato sauce. Tomatoes have a high acid content and with time can compromise the can and, therefore, the food. I prefer spaghetti sauce in a jar and dried pasta. Several years ago my husband and I heard a “pop” in the pantry. We got up and tried to find the source but found nothing. A few days later I found it. An older can of tomatoes had exploded in the pantry. Now I admit to having a couple of cans of Chef B’s food but they are rotated regularly and I only have a couple of cans because we don’t eat it often.
Tes
Great! The best shtf item I have is 3 electric bikes from motorcityebikes and a few yeti solar panels. 300 watt folding panel suitcase! I am totally ready! But this helps me with the food collection!!! Ty!
Have you tried the new pasta that is made out of chick peas??? it is really good and taste just like pasta, I had
it in a salad, with speg sauce and it is good. Can buy
it at Krogers and probably other stores.
I must be missing a crucial step in long term food storage, OR I’m losing my mind !!; when putting food in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, how do you vacuum the air out WITHOUT sucking up the food and/or the food itself ??
If you are using a vacuum sealer, like Food Saver for example, it won’t suck out the food unless it is something in fine particles like flour. You can also use a vacuum sealer to put just a seal on a bag without the vacuum and let the absorber do the rest. Simply squeeze out as much air as possible, like you do when closing a bag of potato chips, before sealing the bag.
Great list! It’s worth noting that most manufacturers are labeling their products with “best by” dates based on when they would really really like you to buy more, not as much on the date the product is actually good through lol.
tomorrow, 5 PM, Arizona closes for up to a month. We need to pick up more meat. For us, that’s an essential. We cannot eat gluten. But, have plenty of beans and rice, some oats and corn flour. I’ve seen too many in the family get blood disorders and diabetes and experienced some things, myself. It always points back to not eating more meat. Hope all goes well for all of you. For us, Mouser the rattler is starting to look good 🙂 Toasted worm on a stick, mebbe! niio
Thanks for replying. I should have clarified that I don’t have a “sealer”, so I’ll have to use my vacuum cleaner, hence my question and my dilemma !
Vacuum cleaners have too strong of suction for sealing food. They have to be strong enough to suck dirt out of carpets. Vacuum cleaners are also fine for sealing those storage bags for clothes and bedding because that takes a stronger suction than for sealing foodstuffs. No wonder you’re sucking out the food you’re trying to seal. I would recommend investing in a food sealer, like Food Saver. Wal-Mart, Target, and other stores sell them, so they’re easy to find; or you can get them at foodsaver.com or any number of other places on line. It will save you a lot of headaches, ruined bags and wasted food.
Silver: Yard sales? Thrift stores and so on. niio
The o2 absorber removes the air. But I have a vacuum sealer. If I am sealing flour or pancake mix I measure it into a paper bag and place 3 or 4 in the bag to be sealed and am sure to write what it is in sharpie. Good luck.
Feb 26, 2021, how did everything work out on the food front during the past year of trouble, and will you be going forward with this endeavor?
Stumps: With Mouser or are you asking someone else? 🙂 We can get beef from a neighbor, a rancher. It costs a lot more per side, but no hormones, no chemicals and so on.
niio
If you want to seal powdered stuff put it in a zip lock and seal that in the vacuum bag.