I bought a couple of Augason Farms 45 day "Emergency Vaults" from Sam's Club when covid hit. Same purpose as you, I don't ever plan on eating them, but have them in case of SHTF. They are in an interior closet with the seals intact, so I don't know how good they are.
I've since started pressure canning which will work for a shorter term basis and I know it's as good as I make it.
I bought one of those giant bags of pinto beans at Costco once. I can't remember exactly but I think it was 20 lbs. I opened the bag and stored them in a plastic bucket with a screw type lid with a gasket seal. I ate those beans for two years without any problems. Some people have a problem digesting beans but I've had a steady diet of those most of my life, being a border rat.
Rice will also store for years sealed with oxygen absorbers. Rice and beans, assuming you can cook those, isn't a bad plan.
Last edited by Borderland; 01-19-2024 at 03:41 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
A friend had a few buckets of survival food in her basement. Given where she lived at the time (MO), I asked her what would happen if New Madrid II happened.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
Pressure canning used to be a ritual in late summer for many people. My wife's parents used to do it every year to feed a large family. We canned some salmon, green beans and beets awhile back and they lasted several years. It's time consuming and you don't want to screw it up. It's a lot like loading your own ammo.Originally Posted by Spartan1980
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
You may want to reevaluate your goals.
The problem during Covid wasn't really in the food supply but in the distribution network for food and other items. There's a ton of food in this country. It's a really good country for food. Even in most really hardcore disaster scenarios there's food. The problem isn't really food but going to get it and how people are acting about it.
A 3 month supply of freeze dried or canned food is better than starvation by a long shot, but I'd take a realistic look at how long you're going to get by on that when there's food available nearby but there's danger involved in getting it. Living on freeze dried food ain't easy. You might want to consider how much work and storage space rotating of staples and having the ability to preserve other foods will be. In most people's situations it's a minor adjustment and a moderate increase in storage utilization.
I think the most overlooked thing is having enough to give away to the less fortunate/prepared/lucky. Over half my preps are designated for charity purposes. Americans are really lucky in not having to see truly hungry children. Most people fantasize about putting bullets in raiders but people are pretty clever when hungry and historically it has been hollow eyed kids at the door.
I guess, if she didn't fall in, then she could eat for a while.
First, I would recommend keeping extra of the dry goods that you already frequently use. For example, if you often have oatmeal for breakfast, notice the “best by” date is typically 16-18 months out from the time you purchase it. So just buy extra, and have the discipline to replace it as you use it, and be sure you’re using the oldest one next. It only takes a bit of thought and discipline.
Salt, sugar and honey are good practically forever. So would flavoring like bullion cubes, which are mostly salt and sugar, and having some flavor may be worth it’s weight in gold. Bullion cubes also contain MSG unfortunately, but if things fall apart that might be the least of your worries.
I think the canned chicken from Sam’s Club is a pretty good source of protein, and I eat some of what I put aside. But I keep more canned meat and vegetables than we use as a form of insurance. To dispose of excess stock I watch the dates, and when they are within 12 months of the “best by” date I donate them to the local food bank at the Catholic Church. Obviously I do not donate items that are past date as that would be scummy.
I would echo that MREs are horrible. If you want a stockpile that you can put away and forget, you can’t beat beans and rice. I have 30-40 pounds of rice and beans that I have stored away in half-gallon mason jars with oxygen absorbers that should be good for decades. My wife and I regularly get into jars that are 3 or 4 years old and you can’t tell the difference. But, I am also kind of busy, and not sure if the extra effort to make it last decades is worth it. My current thinking is why not just put 50lbs of bean and rice in ziplock bags, seal them up in a metal trashcan and dump it all out and replace it every two or three years? What we’re talking about is cheap insurance against calamities and natural disasters.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...lity-trash-can
The ziplock bags would keep out the moisture and the can will keep out the mice.
I'll say that MREs may be appropriate for circumstances in which food prep has to occur with minimal water and no other facilities, and in which space and weight for storing and transporting them are not at a premium. I stock them in my truck kit (and rotate seasonally) in case I have to spend a night or two in a ditch or an interstate median. At home, though, they're the last line of nutrition. I'm too old to LARP Able Archer '83 if I don't have to.
We're fans of PackIt Gourmet for kayaking meals, but they're a bit expensive for stocking in bulk, and many of them require (or are best with) additional fresh ingredients or more complex prep.
The way we do science in XCOM is basically by shooting things first.
- Jake Solomon
IMO:
Datrex for the car. Gets by the short shelf life issue, and if we are stuck in a ditch it's just fine to fill the tummy and get some sleep.
HeaterMeals for static situations in the conditions you're describing, like maybe an office or panic room.
We use MREs at work for the situation you're describing, as well as at my last job in EMS. I'm not a fan, especially since everyone seems to think MREs are a 24 hour ration, when in fact most civilian market ones are 800 calories and the military one is still only 1,200 calories. Results in people being chronically underfed in what are otherwise good emergency plans.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
I can personally vouch that a 7 year-old Datrex bar that had been sitting in my car's trunk the whole time until I ate it tastes just fine.
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