Do you have food storage in case of emergency?

Question

If so, what things do you store?

I'm interested in hearing about foods with almost indefinite storage. What do you store, and how do you use it?

Note: This is in R&S because preparedness is part of my religion + I know there are heaps of people hanging around in R&S who might have some useful info for me. Thanks!

I need to know some very long-shelf-life foods, that ALSO have good nutrition (asking a lot).

If you know of any recipes to make food storage palatable to children, please share! :-)

Chippy... faith in prophesy leads us to be prepared.

Kerry, how do you use it?

haha, lol, mooseback.

PissingDown... The pre-trib Rapture is a fallacy.

KKingS Thanks! That's exactly what I'm looking for. It's true that kids would only eat food storage stuff if starving... that's why I don't think I'll be doing the "use and cycle" method of food storage. Our current diet is mostly fresh. (And we have food intolerances so can't eat yummy stuff like tinned tuna/meat.)

Thanks Evolved.

SuperAtheist, lol! I've already got too much of that kind of storage!

Imasis2 - I am thinking, if I have wheat, I could grow it for wheatgrass... which will supply vitamins and minerals. :-)

Diane - THANK YOU! :-D

Answer 1

I grew up in an LDS family where food storage was part of the preparedness teachings.. I am not LDS but I still see the merit in being prepared..

I have what is called a 72 hour emergency kit.. I store it in a large Rubbermaid trashcan on wheels (Fill the can, invert the lid, get a round of wood to set on top and cover with a decorative cloth and it looks just like a table setting in my livingroom)

Stuff to put inside

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/72hour_kit.htm

Note you need to change some things to fit your families tastes.. Also consider water purification tablets not listed as humans can survive several days without food as long as there is drinkable water..

I also have quite a bit of canned food storage.. (Enough for several months) Here are some good types of foods

http://www.mindspring.com/~cameronj/ldsoneyearplan.html

Canned foods are always good.. Be sure to include canned vegetables and fruits not simply grains..

Also consider seeds If an emergency situation becomes so bad that an entire year supply is needed having seeds to garden with is a good idea..

Remember to rotate your storage.. (I have a rather large basement I called in a contractor who built rolling shelving units so my food goods are constantly automatically rotated..) Below is the concept mine is on a much larger scale with individual racks assigned to individual goods (I.E. rack for canned corn, canned tuna, canned whatever...each rack built to house the can sizes I wanted)

http://cgi.ebay.com/CHROME-BEVERAGE-CAN-DISPENSER_W0QQitemZ300145001573QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The racking system simply makes rotating much easier for me and since I have the space I use it ... If you don't have the space for a racking system you simply have to be more organized and rotate manually...

I have always seen the prudence in being prepared for the inevidible bumps along the way.. I couldn't help thinking how much better off people in New Orleans would have been had they simply had 72 hour emergency kits...

P.S. It's also good to store water... I have several 5 gallon plastic water bottles (these also need to be rotated)

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I think that for the most part you should mostly store what you eat. I've heard stories of people that went from a normal diet to a food storage diet and had some major bowel problems. If there comes a point that you need your storage, work the hard stuff, like whole wheat, in gradually. My wife and I don't have a years supply, but it's just us and we shop at Costco. When something gets low, we just by a whole case of it.

I helped my grandparents move last year. My grandpa had built the house in the '60s and they still had some beans, rice, and wheat from then. We had to chuck all of it (5 big trash cans full)

Answer 4

Live on a boat in Florida Keys, I know all about prepping for emergencies.

Anything in a can will keep for years. The most useful I have found is long life milk in a carton. Again it has a shelf live of at least a year, probably 3. Water can get stale and nasty after only a couple of weeks, especially if it is very hot. Boil it and then use koolaid power to take any edge off it. Adults won't care at that point.

Anything dried I never used, its too much work when you have no power and just gas. If I am going to boil water it will be to drink not to soak rice or beans.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

If I were you, I would just store something like 50 to 100 pounds of wheat and call it good, along with honey. Then if you need to, make cracked whole wheat mush or else sprout wheat grass. My parents went through all of that food storage stuff way back in the 1970s, and later on we used parts of it off and on, but mostly we discovered that a lot of it was pretty disgusting 20 years later as far as flavor goes, and the concentration of salt and preservatives made it almost impossible for some of us to even eat. It is probably more important to have an emergency source of water, so stock up on that instead. Whenever our water has been cut off, we were much, much more grateful for having extra water on hand for bathing and washing than having dry-packed food with a bunch of salt and preservatives in it. Just stick to things you can keep on hand for 6 months or less, or keep a small garden as needed. In my opinion, based on experience.

Answer 6

Make sure you buy wisely. When my family was mormon, my dad bought a years supply of wheat and a wheat grinder- thinking my mom could make bread, pasta, etc... Needless to say, many years later he threw away a lot of wheat.

Make sure you use and replace foods by their expiration date, keeping the first to expire in front. Replace what you have used, putting the latest expiration dates in the back of the shelves.

Don't buy foods you will not use. If you buy a years supply of food and just set it aside for emergencies, chances are you will end up tossing a years supply of food in the garbage. Get a deep freeze and extra shelves and buy what your family eats normally- just in large quantities that will get you toward your goal of 1 year. Take advatage of warehouse stores like Sams and COstco and buy when items are on sale. Replace the foods as you use them.

One thing many people overlook is a generator. Get a generator powerful enough to run your freezer, refrigerator, and well pump (if you are on a well). Stock up on fuel when major storms are predicted. There is a family near us that has a windmill that powers a generator.

Extra note: I believe that if you are a good steward with what God has given you, He will make sure your needs are provided for. It was upsetting when my dad had to throw all the wheat away- it was such a waste!

Answer 7

I only keep rice, beans, bottled water, and some canned food stored away in case of a hurricane or whatnot (shelves clear out quickly...)

My father, who is Mormon, does the food storage thing. He has these buckets full of grains, rice, and I'm not sure what else. There is a shelf life on all of it but it's quite a few years. I'm not sure what you mean by eatable for children....if they are starving, they will eat it. If you are wanting ways to make simple things like rice more tasty...check out this website (cheap and easy) http://hillbillyhousewife.com/ (Don't take offense to the name of the site...it's not meant to insult.)

Answer 8

You've received a lot of good answers. The only things I can add that last a while, at least a year, and kids like are boxes of cereal and meal replacement bars (protein bars). These are easy to store, don't take up a lot of room and some come in flavors like fudge brownies and cookies 'n cream. Buy canned foods that you like when they are on sale to stock up. Use them and replace them.

God Bless.

Answer 9

120 lbs of personal blubber

at one time [mother earth magazine ] was big into that.the only thing i heard lately is [honey ] in a non opened jar Can be kept for hundred of years?

the only thing i keep on hand is 52 gallons of distilled water....our town poisoned or water supply with [rat poison fluoride] because some lazy parent didn't want to give their children fluoride tablets.drinking florid dos nothing for the teeth

painting fluoride on the teeth protects them till the age of 12. and then dose nothing, accept rot you liver...being ferocious.you live in a arid climate and it More impotent for you to be prepared for natural disasters than, some one living in the north east USA
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GAIAM

http://www.gaiam.com

all sort of good quality junk, soler cells.windmills[for the house], fans for wood stoves that dont use eletricity, yoga stuff, ect.....

MOTHER EARTH NEWS

http://www.motherearthnews.com

back to the land,organic gardening,out side heating units,ect.......

Answer 10

Yes I do.
We have water storage, grain storage, processed food storage and canned fruits and vegetables. Probably not a full years supply, but alot.