$1,000 to Spend for starting some food storage - Looking for ideas/recommendations

SpiderMA

SpiderMA

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I am just starting out getting in to the preparation "stage". I have already created a very good bug out bag with 72hrs supplies, have plenty of 'security' supplies. I also have purchased probably a month supply of food/water my family eats on a regular basis (Sams club etc). Most of which has a shelf life of 18-24mths that I will have no problem cycling through. I am now lookinging to go out a little further with my prep on longer term items I will not need worry about.

I am considering the Wise 360 Package (see below). They are offering me 1/3 upgrade (buy 3 mnts supply, get the 4th free). Cost is $690.

http://wisefoodstorage.com/360-serving-package.html

Looking for thougths on this product and any other suggestions.
Thanks
 
I think it's a good idea to have some of this stuff put back. Nutritionally, it's not the best stuff for long-term subsistence (high sodium, etc..) but I feel better having a couple of months worth of FD meals at the ready.

I have a couple of the Wise buckets, but I haven't tried them yet. If they are throwing in the fourth pail free, then this is a really good price, otherwise, it's pretty typical to the other websites.

One thing that they do not mention, and it can either be a plus or a minus for you, is that these entrees are 100% vegetarian. They intentionally leave off the usual meat names in their 'Ala King' and 'Stroganoff' descriptions, because they do not contain chicken or beef. They are all textured vegetable protein.

I think that if you are comfortable with the amount of canned food, etc... that you have, then this is a good way to add to your stocks and give you long term peace of mind. I would avoid going with the 'year supply' type deals, just because you may not want to eat this stuff for that long.

Good luck.
 
Product is very high in sodium and expensive for what it is. If you are looking for good long term storage food info look for the storage food thread here started by BigDaddyAl. Great basic info. $1000 should get you a lot of basics.
 
I have to hop on my soap box about these meals and I apologize in advance.

First before you dump $700 try a sample. You can call them and they will send one right out to you. Make sure it is something that you want to eat.

Second, go here to see what you are really getting calorie/nutritional wise:

http://wisefoodstorage.com/emergency-meals.html

They talk about a 1 month supply for 4 adults at 3 servings a day but if you look those 3 servings at best would barely provide 800 calories for a day. I feel this borders on deceptive advertising because I am sure a number of folks so that they say one month supply, buy this and put them away thinking they are all set. To get enough calories to do work you are either going to have to heavily supplement or eat this a lot faster. Either way you are going to spend a lot more money on food storage.

I think you would be better served by using the money to extend your canned foods and other foods that you regularly eat by at least another month and then look at the longer term packaged foods from places like Honeyville Grain or the LDS.
 
coastie said:
First before you dump $700 try a sample. You can call them and they will send one right out to you. Make sure it is something that you want to eat.
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Never stock up on anything you have not tried and do not actually like to eat. It may help keep you alive, but what state will you be in after three straight months of food you hate. A friend stocked up for Y2K and by middle of 2001 decided to start eating the MREs and other bulk stuff he had stock piled. He ended up getting rid of most of it at a loss and throwing a lot out. I think he also lost a lot of rice to insects.
 
As others have stated get some samples...

Also look into eFoodsDirect. Their food is pretty darn good and I'm a picky eater. Their foods are packaged into bags that can be split into 2 or 4 servings easily. When I last checked, their foods were the same price or cheaper than Wise. These types of companies are always running specials...wait for the special.

Also, I think the eFoods meals by the case are a better deal than the responder packs. They load up the responder packs with oats, milk, and granola. A couple #10 cans of those items might be cheaper in the long run.

Couple other options for LTS foods:

+ The LDS have a web store that sells #10 cans of rice, beans, oats, and even mylar bads and o2 absorbers. The pricing on their stuff is outstanding! store.lds.org

+ The local LDS cannary in Worcester sells foods in bulk packaging so you can put them into mylar bags yourself (best option IMO).
 
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Anyone know of a place that has brown rice in #10s? Everyone seems to have white rice, but I would prefer brown. Fiber is your friend.
 
bfm said:
Anyone know of a place that has brown rice in #10s? Everyone seems to have white rice, but I would prefer brown. Fiber is your friend.
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Brown rice has oils that go rancid quickly even under ideal storage conditions. I feel your pain. We eat a fair amount of brown rice but all I store is white rice because of this. Best bet for that is to just store as much as you can and still rotate it before it goes bad.
 
bfm said:
Anyone know of a place that has brown rice in #10s? Everyone seems to have white rice, but I would prefer brown. Fiber is your friend.
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I just googled 'brown rice #10 cans', and a bunch of sites came up. Here's one:

http://www.dehydratedfoodstorage.com/product/O103

I would think that bulk rice in bags will be a lot cheaper than in cans, but I haven't really compared. Mine is all in bags.
 
Bags,unless mylar, arent really sealed. The rice can be exposed to moisture and O2 which will make the rice go bad. If you rotate it fairly quickly then you shouldnt have a problem but for long term storage it really should be in mylar or a #10 can with O2 absorbers.
 
buy a pressure canner, jars, lids etc and then can your own meats

You can buy frozen veggies and dehydrate them (and make your own beef jerky!)

I think your $1000 wll go a lot further than buying from one of the big suppliers.
 
ericcif said:
I want to know if you know something we don't
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I know the world we live in is becoming increasingly uncertain. I have kids/family that depend upon me to protect and provide for them. If I can afford to provide reasonable security and protection without affecting our day to day life and enjoyment, I see no reason not to do so. I do not consider myself to be a doomsday prepper (not that there is anything wrong with that). I think there is value/piece of mind to be prepared and financially/security independent.

I don't think our "union" is strong at the moment. I speak with alot of financial experts and the value of the dollar (if it changes as the worlds standard) would have a huge impact overnight. Taking pop shots at China will not help either as thats who we owe alot of money to. I am sure last night went accross their ass sideways!

However, I will say that I did read a few books recommended on this forum that scared the hell out of me. I think the authors may own part of a survival store or something.[smile]

Thanks to all that responded. I am rethinking my choices at the moment. I am leaning towards a month's worth of the pouches just for convienence/portability (not sure from who as they all seem high in sodium) and then more long term food storage.

Still looking for any info/recommendations. I have to follow up on some of the ones already provided.
Thanks
 
I agree with you completely. I had the opportunity to talk with some Economic SME's in Beijing at the US Embassy. Our relationship with China and ability to lean on them about ANY policy, has really, really waned.

That said, I am in a simmilar position, and plan on making a big investment in my food suplies too. I go with a hybrid approach:

1) MRE's for the go bags - me and the family. I also have nutrition bars and emergency bars.
2) Regular canned food from the grocery store. Our most basic essentials like vegetables, fruit, rice, beans, etc etc. 2 or 3 months worth. I also mix in the stuff we can ourselves. The store bought stuff can stay for a few years, and the stuff we can for ourself, a year or two.
3) Our next move is the freeze dry, dehydrated, canned long term stores. If I can get 6 months at over 2000 calories per person, great. With everything else mixed in, I imagine I can go close to 8 months. 12 to 16 months at half rations.

I looked at Augeson Farms which is sold by Sams Club. Thrive also lets you grow your supplies little by little over time. $1000 is a great way to start.

Whats your plan for water? I am looking to put in a manual hand pump for my well in case power is out long term.
 
snadams said:
Well, I am in for the LDS visit on the 18th. Would be interested in comments on my 1st draft order list.

View attachment 25215
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It looks like you are getting at least a case of everything. Does your family eat a lot of onions? A case of onion flakes is a lot of onions. You got wheat. Do you have a grinder yet? Both quick and regular oats. Any reason? I see you are getting some bulk wheat. Do you have a good way to store it? YOu might be better off getting in in pouches or cans. I lost 50 pounds of wheat to mice because I was careless in storage.
 
We got samples of Thrive. All the samples we tried we liked. My brother was also here when we tried them. I am very picky on powdered milk and I actually really liked theirs.
 
Coyote Gray said:
I agree with you completely. I had the opportunity to talk with some Economic SME's in Beijing at the US Embassy. Our relationship with China and ability to lean on them about ANY policy, has really, really waned.

That said, I am in a simmilar position, and plan on making a big investment in my food suplies too. I go with a hybrid approach:

1) MRE's for the go bags - me and the family. I also have nutrition bars and emergency bars.
2) Regular canned food from the grocery store. Our most basic essentials like vegetables, fruit, rice, beans, etc etc. 2 or 3 months worth. I also mix in the stuff we can ourselves. The store bought stuff can stay for a few years, and the stuff we can for ourself, a year or two.
3) Our next move is the freeze dry, dehydrated, canned long term stores. If I can get 6 months at over 2000 calories per person, great. With everything else mixed in, I imagine I can go close to 8 months. 12 to 16 months at half rations.

I looked at Augeson Farms which is sold by Sams Club. Thrive also lets you grow your supplies little by little over time. $1000 is a great way to start.

Whats your plan for water? I am looking to put in a manual hand pump for my well in case power is out long term.
Click to expand...

We have a very similar plans. Although, I have never tried or considered canning. That would be a big step for me, maybe down the road.

I have deep well water as well. (like 300ft to pump, say 50' to standing water). I have a generator and approx. 50 gals of fuel that I cycle to run my home & well (everything but the kitchen stove). It can run me through a typical 2 week outage like we saw recently in MA or longer if I only use it for critical items/times. It can produce over 50gals a min, but at that depth, I need to see if there is a hand pump that will work. I also saw a basic system that you lower down in to the casing and pull it up full of water (not sure of the name). Simple and can’t break.
I also live about 100yds away from the town’s reservoir. If need be, I could walk it home and boil it on my wood stove etc. I have probably a months’ worth of water on hand bottled. It’s the start of a plan. I feel better about water/security at the moment then food.
 
Best Bang for your Buck
-Extra thick mylar bags
-Food Grade 5 gallon buckets
-2000 CC air absorbers
-Bulk Rice, Beans, whatever other foods that you want and store well

A couple hundred dollars could give your family a few years of food supply. You can find many different types of storable food if you're concerned about taste. We grow our own food which should give us enough variety (although couldn't sustain us alone). Also the stories from my grandfather who grew up in WWII Italy is that if you're really starving you won't care what food you have, so I don't expect to be eating anything fancy if I need to crack into the supplies.
 
coastie said:
Product is very high in sodium and expensive for what it is. If you are looking for good long term storage food info look for the storage food thread here started by BigDaddyAl. Great basic info. $1000 should get you a lot of basics.
Click to expand...

This. Get in on the Mormon cannery trip next month. For a grand, you can probably buy a years worth of staple food. (beans, rice, wheat, etc) for a couple people.

I also have some Mountain House meals in #10 cans, but those are expensive and very high in sodium.
 
snadams said:
We have a very similar plans. Although, I have never tried or considered canning. That would be a big step for me, maybe down the road.

I have deep well water as well. (like 300ft to pump, say 50' to standing water). I have a generator and approx. 50 gals of fuel that I cycle to run my home & well (everything but the kitchen stove). It can run me through a typical 2 week outage like we saw recently in MA or longer if I only use it for critical items/times. It can produce over 50gals a min, but at that depth, I need to see if there is a hand pump that will work. I also saw a basic system that you lower down in to the casing and pull it up full of water (not sure of the name). Simple and can’t break.
I also live about 100yds away from the town’s reservoir. If need be, I could walk it home and boil it on my wood stove etc. I have probably a months’ worth of water on hand bottled. It’s the start of a plan. I feel better about water/security at the moment then food.
Click to expand...


Canning is relatively cheap and the wife enjoys it. It encourages us to grow more of our own veggies and to buy locally.

My well is VERY deep. Approximately 549 feet. There are several deep well pump makers.

http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.survivalunlimited.com/deepwellpump.htm

But these are PRICEY. To go about 100ft down, your talking over $2,500. And then you still have lots of labor.

But if your like me, and you want efficient, resiliant, and economical..go with this one:

http://flojak.com/?gclid=CKfkrrKK7q0CFYPc4Aodshax5g

You can get a flojak that will work for your application for just $599. All self contained and easy to install. Its not as asthetically pleasing as the steel pumps, but it's hi-resin materials is durable, and again...a fraction of installing one of the other steel pumps.
 
In God We Trust said:
This. Get in on the Mormon cannery trip next month. For a grand, you can probably buy a years worth of staple food. (beans, rice, wheat, etc) for a couple people.

I also have some Mountain House meals in #10 cans, but those are expensive and very high in sodium.
Click to expand...

I am on the LDS trip for the 18th! Last spot open I guess. Cool.

I am playing with my order now. I am trying to determine if No10 cans are better/worse than pouches. I realize it may depend on product. The proces per lb is about the same.

I would think spaghetti would fit/work better in a pouch than a can right? What about things like apple slices, carrots etc? flour?

Thanks as this is my first time.
 
snadams said:
I am on the LDS trip for the 18th! Last spot open I guess. Cool.

I am playing with my order now. I am trying to determine if No10 cans are better/worse than pouches. I realize it may depend on product. The proces per lb is about the same.

I would think spaghetti would fit/work better in a pouch than a can right? What about things like apple slices, carrots etc? flour?

Thanks as this is my first time.
Click to expand...

I would PM BigDaddyAl and ask him. I have bought things from there in both pouches and cans. For me it doesnt matter which. The boxes with the cans stack better but you get more in each pouch. For rice, corn and wheat I package it myself in 5 gal buckets. I get oats and milk from Honeyville. Beans I buy locally and seal in pouches I got from LDS.
 
Tips for anyone that wants to buy bulk from LDS or elsewhere:

Visit the LDS web store and buy a box of the 1 gallon mylar bags and a couple packs of o2 absorbers. The bags they sell are of outstanding quality.

One gallon bags are a perfect size for everyday use. Imagine how long it takes to use a 5 gallon pail of quick oats.....when you get to the bottom they're gonna taste old.

Using #10 cans is great but you're paying a lot compared to mylar and a tote bin. Mylar is just as good as a #10 can, you just need to provide mechanical protection from punctures and critters. You also have to schedule the kitchen at the LDS canary to seal up your #10 cans which I find to be a hassle.

Visit the LDS, BJ's, Costo, etc and buy all your bulk items. Fill up as many mylar bags as you have O2 absorbers. be sure to label each package. Seal the tops of the bags with a sealer (I use a monocote iron for model planes). The next morning all your bags will have shrunk as the O2 absorbers work their magic (obviously, don't store bags you don't think sealed well). Pack your bags into buckets or tote bins and seal them with tape or lids. Store in a cool place.
 
SpiderMA said:
Well, I am in for the LDS visit on the 18th. Would be interested in comments on my 1st draft order list.

View attachment 25215
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound negative. First, please read my After Action Report on the cannery. I hate to say it but you will never get that list in four hours. Remember you have to can the whole bulk package. For each of your six cans of product. you will be canning 6 to 10 cans for someone else. After 5 trips, my nephew and I working like machines only managed 221 cans in 5 hours.

Make a priority list. focus on products that are hard to find locally. Beans, onions, carrots, milk,apple and my favorite Potato flakes. Work down the list. You don't have to buy full cases. Can a product until you finish the bulk pack and take it all. Even if its more then you want. Remember it takes time to change over to something different.
Also ask when you get there what they have prepackaged. If they have Utah packed rice. Dont waste time canning it yourself.
Wait until after you ring up your order, before asking for prepackaged items. That way you will know how far over budget you can go.
Good luck, let us know how it goes
 

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