Storing food for 2+ years. Starting out..

[je25ff]

So now that I have a growing family, I'm trying to decide what would best to store for 2+ years in case things get..dicey..

Where do I even start? I have a 2 week freeze dried supply, but those can be pricey for the time frame I'm looking for. I want to have at least 3 months to 6 months of food stored. Water shouldn't be an issue where I live, but food would be.

I really just don't even know where to begin.

 

[pernox]

I think the best place to begin is with extras of things you can find easily at the grocery store.

Grab an extra can of corn, beans, pears, and mixed fruit every time you or the wife goes shopping. Grab a few mylar bags and Homer buckets, and start putting away a big bag of rice once a month. Instead of getting one box of oatmeal for the kids, get three.. And when you have enough to store, seal 'em up and put them away.

Gung-ho is not the only way to go about it - sometimes adapting gradually to the squirreling mindset and practices can be easier, more affordable, and more practical.

 

[je25ff]

I think the best place to begin is with extras of things you can find easily at the grocery store.

Grab an extra can of corn, beans, pears, and mixed fruit every time you or the wife goes shopping. Grab a few mylar bags and Homer buckets, and start putting away a big bag of rice once a month. Instead of getting one box of oatmeal for the kids, get three.. And when you have enough to store, seal 'em up and put them away.

Gung-ho is not the only way to go about it - sometimes adapting gradually to the squirreling mindset and practices can be easier, more affordable, and more practical.

Sounds like a plan. It seems to me the best thing to start with are dry goods such as rice, pasta, and beans. Should I vacuum seal them in containers? I read a post in this forum about putting in o2 absorbers, sterilizing things, etc. Every website I go to seems to prefer to sell me a, "system" or their own food rather than some basic principles.

 

[Jrob24]

Keep in mind that 2 years worth of food will take up a lot of space.

 

[NewGunGuy]

Go to your local grocery store during AM hours and talk with the bakery manager and ask about some of their icing food grade buckets. If you can get about 10 and then order order some mylar bags to use inside the buckets. Once you get those, then start going to sams,bj's to buy some bulk rice and dry beans if you can find them. There are some websites that if you get with some people you can buy some bulk stuff from that is cheaper than the 16oz bags you get from store. Check this place out then just do allot of reading.

http://www.bulkfoods.com/whole-foods.asp?wholesale=1732
http://www.prepperforums.net/

Charles.

 

[je25ff]

Keep in mind that 2 years worth of food will take up a lot of space.

I'm fine with that. I have a decent sized area underneath my basement stairs that I've set aside for food, gun storage, etc. I don't want to start building out shelves and things like the until I actually know what and how I'm storing it though.

 

[namedpipes]

So now that I have a growing family, I'm trying to decide what would best to store for 2+ years in case things get..dicey..

Where do I even start? I have a 2 week freeze dried supply, but those can be pricey for the time frame I'm looking for. I want to have at least 3 months to 6 months of food stored. Water shouldn't be an issue where I live, but food would be.

I really just don't even know where to begin.

Find the thread on the LDS Cannery expeditions.

Find out about canning dry goods, canning veg, fruits, preserves, meats, etc.

Buy bulk, use the older stock first.

 

[NewGunGuy]

Keep in mind that 2 years worth of food will take up a lot of space.

Sorry man but I beg to differ. It does depend on how many people you need food for, but I bought some stuff from emergency essentials and the year supply for 2 takes up hardly and room at all. Now sure you will need water and if you have buckets it takes up more room, but it is manageable if your not a hoarder or pack rat. Best of luck and would like to share more ideas though anytime.

Charles.

 

[OPM]

You can beg all you want, but minimum recommended supply for 1 for 1 year is around 600lb, which is about 12-15 buckets. He said 2 years and growing family (3 or more). Baby of course need less than adults, but even so, he is looking at few tons of food.

 

[RATTLESNAKE]

Take it slow..as mentioned above its the little extras at first and being budget wise as well. Look for deals on things that you and yours like to eat, don't buy 10lbs of raw beans if you never use them in everyday cooking. I use the first in first out method and it seems to work well for my family, If you can invest in a freezer do so it has been one of the best things i have done.. especially when stocking up on meats...{ I know.. that is as long as I have power..{Generator}.. I have been doing this for the past 1yr and half and you would be surprised how quick stuff adds up! Once you get going try and have some sort of stock list this can make it easier when buying things that you need instead of things you don't and be organized, and most importantly it helps if you can get your better half involved it can make things less stressful plus you both will be on the same page, and try and have fun don't think of it as a task but as your responsibility for the well being of you and your family. Best of Luck!!

 

[ra5451]

Always a good idea to have a backup plan...Here's a great site to check out...


www.preparedsociety.com

 

[n1zfg]

I think the best place to begin is with extras of things you can find easily at the grocery store.

Grab an extra can of corn, beans, pears, and mixed fruit every time you or the wife goes shopping. Grab a few mylar bags and Homer buckets, and start putting away a big bag of rice once a month. Instead of getting one box of oatmeal for the kids, get three.. And when you have enough to store, seal 'em up and put them away.

Gung-ho is not the only way to go about it - sometimes adapting gradually to the squirreling mindset and practices can be easier, more affordable, and more practical.

My thoughts, with a couple of bits of trivia....

The industry standard shelf life for ordinary canned goods is 2 years. In reality, canned goods will basically remain okay indefinitely, so long as that airtight seal stays intact, and that can be decades. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the engineers and failure analysis geeks at the canneries designed the cans with a goal MTBF longer than 20 years. (In other words, after 20 years on the shelf, the chances of a can having gone bad are 50-50)

Most (if not all) retailers cycle through what goes on sale on a regular basis. In the worst case, everything in the store will get marked down to wholesale if not loss leader (a.k.a. below wholesale) once or twice a year.
My suggestion is when you see something you eat regularly go on sale, buy a bunch of it. Of course the hard part of this strategy is that people's tastes change and it sit on the shelf forever.

 

[coastie]

THe key to successful storage is to east what you store and store what you eat. Post disaster is not the time to be introducing new foods to your family. ALso if you choose to go the prepackaged FD route test all the meals before you buy them by the case. Some of the stuff is nasty. Make a list of everything your family eats for a week or two. Work on 3 to 6 months of this stuff. This is shorter term stuff that you will rotate regularly and that your family eats now. It doesnt require anything special for storage. If you eat a lot of fresh foods and bread this can be a challenge. Start working substitiues on now so the family is used to them. Learn how to make simple breads and store the ingredients for that. Once you get your shorter term stuff squared away then worry about the long term stuff. Do you have the ability to cook this food for that long?

 

[Twigg]

Store what you eat and eat what you store ! Its relativly easy to put up six month's to a year's supply of food, and by that I mean everyday groceries.
Buy a freezer and a vacuume seal-a-meal bagger. Learn to pressure can - search for "Adventures in canning" I have several threads on the subject.

Don't forget first aid items, an alternate means to heat and light your house, extra TP (!) and at the very least, a water filter.

FD foods are good to agument your pantry but do not depend on them for the long term !

Best wishes and good luck.

 

[rutilate]

Here is perhaps the best site on general and food preparedness: http://www.lds.org/family/family-well-being/home-storage?lang=eng
It gives lots of recommendations and guidelines and is well balanced.

 

[xtry51]

Based on how I started and where I'm at now for a family of five, I would suggest starting with buckets of rice and flour along with vitamins first. Rice can be had from places like BJs for $50/100lbs. About 33lbs will fit in a 5gal bucket sealed in Mylar. Same for the flour. Mylar bags btw can be sealed with a common iron. Bulk vitamins, including chewables and the gummy bear types for kids can be found on Amazon for very reasonable prices. IMO you should have vitamins stored for longer than you plan on having for food, especially for children.

Learn how to make your own bread and do it regularly, at least twice a month. Simple recipe here. Stock the ingredients necessary to do so. Buy bulk dry yeast, not the packets which are a complete ripoff. Have a way to reseal the yeast. Once you know how to do this stock Peanut butter and preserves. Ta da, sandwiches. I think I ate peanut butter and jelly for at least grades 1-6, so I'm pretty sure you can live on it

When you go shopping buy extras of things you normally consume like canned vegetables, tuna and pasta.

Buy bulk spices and baking ingrediants like vanilla, baking powder, etc from places like BJs. Never buy these from a regular grocery store, it's far too expensive.

We cycle thru our supplies, but have a rule that if we "run out" upstairs and steal something from the store room you write it down on the list and replace it with no less than two. This prevents you from getting into bad habits and "stealing" from yourself.

Definitely learn how to can and have a garden. Grow it with heirloom seeds and learn how to harvest your own seeds.

Go to a LDS event. Many here have been to more than one.

Keep at it and ask questions. I think the worst part is the more you try to plan, the more you feel inadequately prepared. It helps to remember you're trying to do something, which is more than 95% of people.

 

[ShadeWPI]

Sorry man but I beg to differ. It does depend on how many people you need food for, but I bought some stuff from emergency essentials and the year supply for 2 takes up hardly and room at all. Now sure you will need water and if you have buckets it takes up more room, but it is manageable if your not a hoarder or pack rat. Best of luck and would like to share more ideas though anytime.

Charles.

Charles - their 1200 calorie per day for 1 person for 1 years is 84 #10 cans or 8 1/2 cubic feet (and that's ignoring the roundness of the cans) left in their boxes, they're 1/8 cubic foot each or 10 1/2 cubic feet per person per year. And that's only for 1200 calories per day rather than the 2000 calories recommended or the 2,500-3,000 calories most Americans eat.

Their 2k calory per day set-up use 126 cans per year-person - or about 32 cubic feet (as packed). That would likely fit under a set of stairs - 12 cans high, 5 wide and 4 deep or flat against a wall it's 6' high and over 5' wide 6" deep. Space most people can find in their house- but it's hardly "no room at all"

BTW - 2 cans deep (12") you should be able to fit 126 cans under a queen sized bed.

 

[xtry51]

Storing food for multiple people for two years is going to take a lot of space and some planning to organize it. You most likely will have to reorganize it several times as your stores grow. We've completely restocked ours twice since starting due to adding shelving and moving buckets around.

I would suggest setting aside at least a 10' x 10' area in your basement for that much food and buying some steel shelving. Basements are better due to more constant temperature and humidity. Plus you don't have to worry about buckling your floor with all that weight.

I agree storing some freeze dried food is good, but personally we try to store normal food we eat, of only the non perishable ones. Freeze dried foods are great to mix in, but meal for meal they are very expensive to purchase, especially when you start looking at 3+ people. If you plan on storing only the prepped freeze dried foods I would strongly suggest as other have that you blend it into your normal routine and ensure you 1) like it and 2) your stomach likes it.

 

[ShadeWPI]

I'm going to offer some of my advice.

Start by reviewing the shelf life of the items you currently use - a lot of the food you likely buy everyday has a long shelf-life and can be effectively used for a long term store.

Next, with the foods you've identified, plan out some meals for the people in your house. I'd recommend at least 10 each Breakfast, Lunch Dinner and a snack item (if you can expand this to 10 breakfast, 10 snacks, 20 lunch and 30 dinner, that's even better) make a list of the ingredients that you need for each meal. Add up all the ingredients to cover 30 each breakfast, lunch, dinne and snacks. That's your 1 month requirements.

Look over your 1 month supply list and try to get a feel for how much space you need for each month worth of supplies and pick up the wheeled metal shelve for at least 6 months of your estimates. Start with 1 month, get a good feel for that and then expand, either by adding new recipies or adding more meals of existing recipies. Planning for a range of recipies will help keep surviving from becoming boring and you're more likely to average out to a good mix of nutrition if you're rotating through a large number of meals.

Kept cool and dry, grains, flours, meals, rice and pasta all keep VERY well. Mylar lined 5gal food buckets with a silica gel and de-oxy packet will keep extremely long in a basement. If you can get a hand grain mill and mill your own grains into flour and meal, even better.

I'll definately second the making your own bread (and pizza and pasta dough as well as pie crust). Practice cooking with the materials you're storing (both to cycle them and to make sure you know how to make them interesting and exciting to eat) Also useful to practice cooking using your survival solution cooking surfaces - woodfired brick oven, propane stove, charcoal grill, etc. Whatever you're planning to cook with, practice.

-- This is one of the reasons I love cast iron cookware, I find it to be extremely forgiving of your cooking medium. From laying it into a bed of charcoal, on the grate of a propane grill, even into a fireplace, it works extremely well. And it can be effectively cleaned with just water.

Once you've have a good store of food started, don't forget to think about diversions during an extended emergency where you might need such food supplies. Like keeping the food interesting, keeping life interesting can be hugely important and in an extended emergency where you need months worth of stored food, you'll likely have a lot of hours on your hand that you want to fill with something other than working, sleeping and eating. Planning out some diversions - games, puzzles, hobbies, ect that don't rely on modern conviences can be extremely helpful.

 

[xtry51]

Take Shade's recommendation of practicing preparing foods without power very seriously. Knowing haw to bake bread in an electric or gas stove does not mean you know how to do it with propane or wood, and the last thing you want to be doing when you actually need food stores is wasting supplies you can't replace learning how.

Most, if not all, scenarios that lead to needing a year or two of food also mean there will be no electricity, oil or natural gas due to unaffordable prices (hyperinflation) or disaster (hurricane, civil war).

If you don't store it or make it yourself, don't practice with it.

 

[radioman]

I'm a low income person yet I prep and I do it well. Cans are your friends!! Most all caned food will be fit to eat way past the date printed on it. Buy as many of the on sale cans as you can at the time. I regularly find caned vegetables on sale for 50c a can. Sometimes you can get the large 20oz beans for 1.5ea. At WalMart in Amherst NH they have the #10 bean cans for a good price sometimes. Honey and Spam are your friends, I just bought 6 cases of Spam at WalMart for a buck fifty a can and honey lasts for 5000 years!! Amazing sale as Spam never goes below 2.5 a can!! I have the spare bedroom in my house all shelved out. Every wall is shelved and I built 3 16' long 2' wide 6' high free standing units for the center of the room. All windows are covered to keep the sun and cold out. No one thinks your a weirdo because all you have to do is shut the door and you look perfectly normal! I built the shelves from the cheapest strapping I could find. The most expensive part was the shelve surfaces' themselves. I used 1/2CDX plywood. I used all screws. You'll need to predrill the holes in the strapping, as if you don't it will split every time. If you use 2" screws the strength will surprise you. I have food for 2 for 2 years (not counting the new spam) and counting.

Yes my post-apocalyptic fair will not be gourmet but we'll be alive for a while.

 

[coastie]

I'm a low income person yet I prep and I do it well. Cans are your friends!! Most all caned food will be fit to eat way past the date printed on it. Buy as many of the on sale cans as you can at the time. I regularly find caned vegetables on sale for 50c a can. Sometimes you can get the large 20oz beans for 1.5ea. At WalMart in Amherst NH they have the #10 bean cans for a good price sometimes. Honey and Spam are your friends, I just bought 6 cases of Spam at WalMart for a buck fifty a can and honey lasts for 5000 years!! Amazing sale as Spam never goes below 2.5 a can!! I have the spare bedroom in my house all shelved out. Every wall is shelved and I built 3 16' long 2' wide 6' high free standing units for the center of the room. All windows are covered to keep the sun and cold out. No one thinks your a weirdo because all you have to do is shut the door and you look perfectly normal! I built the shelves from the cheapest strapping I could find. The most expensive part was the shelve surfaces' themselves. I used 1/2CDX plywood. I used all screws. You'll need to predrill the holes in the strapping, as if you don't it will split every time. If you use 2" screws the strength will surprise you. I have food for 2 for 2 years (not counting the new spam) and counting.

Yes my post-apocalyptic fair will not be gourmet but we'll be alive for a while.

Can you eat a #10 can of beans before it spoils? That is a lot of beans.

 

[namedpipes]

Can you eat a #10 can of beans before it spoils? That is a lot of beans.

A #10 can is around 5 or 6 lbs of beans. If beans and rice are staples of your diet, they go pretty fast. Yes, a normal family of 2 or 3 would easily consume a #10 can of beans before it goes bad.

If not, take down a week's worth at a time and reseal the rest of the can in mylar bags.

It's a mystery to me why people think dried beans will bad so quickly. Back in the day, a family would routinely buy bags of beans we would call "bulk". Their resealing process was closing the flap on the burlap bag.

 

[je25ff]

Thanks for the info, folks. I guess what I will do is just start with some buckets, mylar bags, rice, and some o2 absorbers tossed in. What I will probably do is start slowly by buying a few bags of rice from Costco when I head up to Nashua on the weekends and go from there.

 

[coastie]

A #10 can is around 5 or 6 lbs of beans. If beans and rice are staples of your diet, they go pretty fast. Yes, a normal family of 2 or 3 would easily consume a #10 can of beans before it goes bad.

If not, take down a week's worth at a time and reseal the rest of the can in mylar bags.

It's a mystery to me why people think dried beans will bad so quickly. Back in the day, a family would routinely buy bags of beans we would call "bulk". Their resealing process was closing the flap on the burlap bag.

If he is buying a #10 can of beans in WM it is not dry beans. It is either wet pack green beans or wetpack baked beans.

 

[namedpipes]

If he is buying a #10 can of beans in WM it is not dry beans. It is either wet pack green beans or wetpack baked beans.

A #10 can of baked beans can still be eaten by one person in a couple days, although it isn't wise to be around the person for a couple days post event (trust me on this, no need to test the theory).

Seriously, point taken - Wetpack beans would go bad fairly quick once opened.

 

[mikem317]

Stock up on pasta. You can occasionally find quality pasta on sale at Market Basket and Stop N' Shop for $1.00/box or less. We eat about a box a pasta a week, but in a SHTF situation that's extended, we'd probably find ourselves eating it two or three times a week, if not more.

Pasta is cheap, contains a ton of carbohydrates (great for when you're going to be doing a lot of physical work in a SHTF scenario) and have a great shelf life (the "Use By" dates on the boxes are usually understated too).

Pick a couple of "extra" boxes every time you go grocery shopping and it will quickly fill the pantry.

 

[Twigg]

Stock up on pasta. <snip>

Pick a couple of "extra" boxes every time you go grocery shopping and it will quickly fill the pantry.

Don't forget the sauce

and cheese !

 

[xtry51]

On the sauce keep an eye out for sales. My local BigY has various brands on sale for $1/jar about twice a month. And never pay more than $1/lb for pasta.

 

[mikem317]

Don't forget the sauce

and cheese !

Good job on date of purchase labeling. I've been slaking on that (but we usually eat it by sell-by-date, ascending order).

I usually make a point to get sauce in jar only (and more specifically in glass). And since my wife's Italian, only certain brands pass muster, however I think I got about half-dozen Market Basket brand in there somewhere.

- - - Updated - - -

On the sauce keep an eye out for sales. My local BigY has various brands on sale for $1/jar about twice a month. And never pay more than $1/lb for pasta.

Barilla brand on sale at MB this week for $0.89/box. Not too shabby.