Food is a key part of prepping. Without a stockpile of food to keep you going through at least the initial stages of a crisis, your chances of survival are very low.
Unless you’re already completely self-sufficient – and not many of us are – you’ll be relying on that stockpile when the SHTF, so it needs to be large enough to keep you going. The question is, what should be in it?
Firstly, the kind of food you want in your survival stockpile depends on exactly what you’re planning to survive.
If you live in San Francisco and you’re putting together a stash to get you through the aftermath of an earthquake, your needs are very different to someone who’s preparing to survive the long-term collapse of civilization. In a crisis, any food is better than nothing – but the right food will make a big difference.
Let’s look at what you need in different scenarios.
Short Term Survival
Most residents of California’s earthquake hotspots take the state government’s advice and keep an emergency food supply at home, to keep them going for at least three days after a disaster. Personally I think everyone should do that. Even if you already have plenty of food at home it’s worth keeping a short-term stash in case there’s a natural disaster like a storm.
This sort of food supply should focus on food that’s energy-dense and doesn’t need much in the way of preparation. A storm or earthquake can leave large areas without power or water, so food that can be eaten cold and without rehydration is the best option here.
Military-style MREs are good; they can be eaten cold, straight out the packet, if necessary. They do taste a lot better if you can heat them, but it isn’t essential – and anyway, you can easily and safely heat them with a flameless ration heater. They’re also packed with energy, so they’ll keep you going for days.
Related: 4 Long-Lasting MREs You Should Make For Your Stockpile
A lot of bulk survival foods aren’t a good choice here. A bucket of survival food might promise 60 or 120 portions, but they won’t be very large portions; in my experience it’s best to half the number of servings the manufacturers promise, if you want to get anywhere near enough calories. They also need a lot of water, and you really don’t want to be eating cold rehydrated food – it’s pretty vile.
Instead of MREs, or as a supplement to them, look at canned foods like chili and stew. These taste better hot, but they’re palatable cold, too, and they don’t need any extra water. Pouches of tuna are good too. Add canned fruit, cookies, chocolate and candy. A nutritionist wouldn’t be happy, but this isn’t a long-term diet; it’s just meant to give you enough energy to push through the first few days after a disaster.
In this scenario, in an urban area, it’s not a luxury to have food that doesn’t need cooked; it’s essential. Even if you have a stove to cook on, damaged gas pipes could make it too dangerous to risk any kind of flame. Make sure you have enough food that can be eaten with zero preparation.
Medium Term Survival
So you’re all ready to survive for a few days if you get snowed in or the city falls down around you.
Next, what happens if there’s a nuclear war or a serious social breakdown?
Now you’re looking at having enough food to survive for weeks or even a few months.
Over this length of time, the sort of stuff in your short-term cache starts to show its limitations. For a start, it’s expensive. With MREs selling for $15 each and upwards, a three-month supply is a serious amount of money. Over this sort of time period the nutritional weaknesses of MREs and prepared snack foods start to show up.
We’re now looking at the classic prepping food supplies. Dried beans, rice and pasta should be the base of what you’re stockpiling. That gives you plenty of carbs and adequate protein. Add in cooking oil to supply fats. Canned meat, vegetables and fruit will add fiber, more protein and variety.
Salt and sugar contribute flavor and can also be used as preservatives. Don’t forget seasonings so you can produce varied, interesting meals – that makes a huge difference to morale. Flour will let you make your own bread and other baked goods. Don’t forget tea or coffee to keep you supplied with hot drinks.
Related: I Tried to Eat My Emergency Foods and This Is What Happened
In the medium term water and energy for cooking are less of a problem. You’ll still want to minimize how much you use, because they’re not limitless resources, and some survival foods aren’t naturally economical – dried beans, for example. There are ways to cut fuel use, though. For example, presoak beans to reduce cooking time.
I’m going to mention dehydrated survival food again. These do better in the medium term than as short-term emergency foods, but I’m still wary of them. They taste OK when properly prepared and served hot, but all the same problems of small portions and inadequate caloric content still apply. I wouldn’t recommend making these a major part of your stockpile. Stick to dry bulk goods and cans.
Long Term Survival
If you want to be able to stay fed indefinitely, sooner or later any stockpile is going to run out. There are long-term items that can keep you going for a year or more, until your own crops and livestock take up the slack; dried goods are key here.
Beans and rice will still be the basis of your carbohydrates.
Store as much salt and sugar as you can; producing your own isn’t easy, and you want to put that off as long as possible. Your long-term supplies need to prioritize things you can’t make easily or at all; basic protein, carbs, fiber and fats are, at some point, going to have to be hunted, foraged or raised.
Buying survival food isn’t just about buying as much food as you can and storing it in your shed or basement. You need to tailor your stockpile to suit what you think the danger is – but also keep it as flexible as possible.
If you live in a disaster-prone area and want a week’s worth of prepared food, add enough dried and canned goods to last another week if the crisis lasts longer than expected.
If your priority is long-term self-sufficiency, stockpile some MREs or prepared food just in case you have to get through a period of chaos before you can start using your main supplies. Like everything else in prepping, buying the right survival food is all about planning and making the most efficient use of your resources.
Selecting the right survival food is crucial for your preparedness strategy, yet it’s equally vital to consider sustainable, long-term solutions. Despite a well-stocked pantry, your ultimate resilience lies in getting really good at being self-sufficient, particularly in food production.
For those who are serious about surviving whatever comes their way, I strongly recommend this comprehensive guide. It offers invaluable insights and practical advice for transforming your backyard into a self-sustaining homestead.
Remember, while stockpiling food serves as a temporary fix, learning how to grow your own food ensures you can keep going for the long haul.
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For liberals buy MRE’s for longterm food supplies, the rest of us forget about it.
My Patriot is a good longterm product for the rest of us. Veterans know what happens with MRE’s in the field without chewing the gum in the accessory packet.
The UN wants people to eat bugs by the vegan cultist spreading their deceit. The well heeled upper will be eating their steak and lobster courtesy of Bill Gates farms and probably from the Chinese America owned farmlands in the USA.
Again who started the Texas million acre fire? Don’t believe that fire was Mother Nature, could be the saboteurs crossing the Biden open border of things to come.
The mass shootings are occurring more frequently as the Deep State continues to defang our private gun ownership against future terrorist plots.
Can people actually grow enough food in their home gardens for a year?
Not counting the vegetables lost to rats, mice, raccoons, birds and coyotes.
Can preppers honestly say their gardens will sustain a family of four for a year? In the snow country will need to use a greenhouse.
The Texas fire maybe away to reduce the meat supply as reported people died and so did a lot of cattle.
Why is the UN so interested in America?
Isn’t it time for America to boot the UN out of America and defund them too?
The Bible and American Christians stymy the deathocrats. One world government is talked about in the Bible. That cannot happen if the USA is still here and, still strong. So the davos demons decided we gotta go. The demon deathocrats are more than happy to help. Remember: You don’t need God. You have us Democrats – Nancy
Pelosi.
Do what you can and most of all, prepare your soul
Also the soil everywhere is ruin by all the GMO and chemtrails that are sprayed so heavily in the the farm lands!! I know because I live in one!! Some times they spray everyday for weeks to months at a time!!! They crisscross us so heavily you can not see the sky!!! And it is not just the US that is being inundated! Has anyone seen the video of this guy showing how badly Glasgow is being sprayed WOW!!! The soil even in my back yard barely grows anything and when it does the produce is small!! I use to be able to grow anything NOT NOW! I am using pots to grow veggies most of the time. still it is not as good! I read that the potting soil is really bad now too! A lot is made of human waste!! Which is contaminated with drugs etc.! It is called “depopulation”!!
The Indians used to fire the Texas prairies every February, fire cleared trees and brush and created a lush and diverse landscape easily hunted and teeming with plant and animal food sources. I like to think it was the ghost of Quanah Parker starting all the fires this year.
Yeah, same thing in south America, they call it slash and burn agriculture. The Amazon Indians and corporations like mining companies have ruined a lot of the Amazon forest areas. Most of those companies do not plant the forest back after their mess. Not an environmentalist, but like to see the wildlife habitat repaired and help the animals have shelter and also helps for the outdoor hunters too.
It wasn’t Parker’s ghost, it is more likely the terrorist, illegals or some arsonist.
As I read this article, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Askaprepper telling us to eat MRE’s holy crap! Have you ever survived on MRE’s in the field for 30 days? Just try taking a crap after 14 days! Next to impossible! Then saying have a 3 day emergency food supply! Are you for real? Most people in America have about 3 days supply of food in their homes, which is entirely inadequate! The grocery stores won’t last and fast food places won’t either. In event of an EMP this country will be without power for years and vehicles newer than 1986 will be useless as their electronic ignitions and computers will be fried. This means No Food Deliveries! Askaprepper you need to tell the truth!! If people can’t grow their food or hunt for it, they will be hurting and starving! Then comes the killing for what others have that they don’t! People you need to read One Second After by William R Forstchen. It is a story about what happens after an EMP type event and the author is not righting a story, he is giving a warning about how everything will change and mostly for the bad. Mr Forstchen is a historian and specializes in Military history, he worked with many scientist on a report to Congress on the effects of an EMP attack on the US would have. Emergencies happen and the government is not always going to be there right away. Ask anyone who survived in Louisiana after Katrina hit. The point is this, prepare for the worst (and test your preparations) so you can survive even the smaller emergencies.
Askaprepper, you need to be more mindful of getting people ready for things that could happen currently the worst ones are an EMP attack or the eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano. Don’t give us that 3 day supply B.S. you know better and a lot of us veterans know better as well!
Right on, hit the nail on the head, spot on!
The younger people use smartphones to get their food delivered by food delivery services, good luck in the One Second After SHTF.
That why Chinese buying up American farmland and meat processing companies is a national security issue with Bidenomics.
Totally agree. We also need to be mindful when the military does show up. If it is FEMA, they could be there to TAKE you and your stock to camps instead of giving food so you can stay in your home.
Interesting the Chinese nationals are working on Chinese owned pot farms in America. They can get the red diaper doper babies hooked on pot mixed with fentanyl. The same stuff China is shipping by the Mexican drug cartels and the illegals such as the Chinese nationals.
Bidenomics wants to kill off Americans by the bunch to make room for his replacements of the dying Americans here. Either by drugs, gang violence and mass shootings. Can you trust the Bidenomics administration anymore Demoncrats?
I rarely see the use of pressure cookers mentioned. I’ve used them for years and not because of prepping. I use them because they make great food in a short time. Until recently when we aged out, we spent 6-9 months a year off the grid. Either sailing or camping. 12v and propane. I have a pressure cooker on the boat, camper, and house. Great fuel and time savers. They are also great for other things like regular cooking or popcorn!
Look around: Small pressure cookers exist, and this REALLY shortens cooking time and is easier to store.
I find that at least two major things are not mention well enough regarding enjoying any long or short term survival foods.
First; A single serving does not mean that is only what you would eat for a single meal, but what you would have along with other single servings. Much like a single serving of potatoes, a single serving of corn, a single serving meat and a serving of whatever, (could include a liquid mix).. Or you could fix 4 servings of any one item.
Second: I’ve survived on MRE’s and other rations for quite a period of time and found the secret (not really) is to have a variety of spices to add to your cuisine.
This is good solid info right here. Info designed for everyone to integrate.
Thanks again for emailing me these links. I don’t have a lot of time and it’s great to know I could sign up to get these articles emailed to me in a nice click link. I also apricate you don’t shove a bunch of ” Buy this Now or you’re going to die!!!”, down my throat and call it the future.
Having the skills and the necessary equipment can get you out of any crisis, but the most important thing is to be in a safe place, anyone can make their own bacon or ham, even learn to smoke or make bread, I repeat if you are not in a safe place. you couldn’t do anything!! Eating processed food for long periods of time has its consequences, it is not the same if you are 30 years old as if you are 70 years old!