Food Storage, Part 1

Food storage is a big topic and there are a lot of considerations, including what to buy, how much to buy, where to store it all, and how long food lasts. We are going to attempt to answer all those questions and give you a few options on planning your food storage purchases. No plan works for everyone. Some people would rather just let the locusts (or walking dead in the event of a zombie apocalypse) eat them than subsist on wheat and potato pearls for six months. Others might welcome the challenge of seeing how many ways they can serve black beans before their fallout-shelter-mates kick them outside into the radioactive hot zone. Wherever you may be, we can all agree that eating is good and having plenty for your family in troubling times is better.

First, what to buy. We need subsistence foods that provide maximal nutrients with minimal weight and volume. These will be your unprocessed whole grains, proteins in the form of legumes or canned meats, fat in the form of cooking oil, and starches like dried potatoes and rice. You'll need additional ingredients to prepare these foods like water, baking powder or soda, yeast, salt, sugar, and a heat source. Count on buying some other spices to make your food edible and allow for variation. These items would all ideally be purchased in bulk sizes to reduce cost and reduce the number of storage containers needed.

There is no all inclusive list of how much to buy that would fit the bill for everyone, but I have put together 2 lists of food storage strategies from information published online. The first, which you can download clicking here, is a monthly buying plan for either a year supply or 3 month supply. This list is good if you have adequate space and can spend a few hundred dollars in certain months (for the year supply). The second list, downloadable clicking here, is a way of spending roughly $5 dollars a week (per 2 people) with a year's supple being the ultimate result. Some weeks cost more than $5 and some may be less, but if you put at least $5 aside each week, it should be close. Although, with food prices going up as they have, this may actually cost you a little more than $5, but it is still a reasonable goal.

Many of us have the problem of where to store it all. If this has been your major concern, here are a few ideas. Good places to put food include in boxes under beds ( you can put small blocks under the legs to give more clearance), tucked in the back of clothes closets, in an insulated attic (attics can get very hot in the summer, so beware), under couches, under end tables. If you are really short on space, try pulling out your bottom dresser drawers and using the space beneath, or putting food on top of kitchen cupboards with something decorative to hide it.

Now you've got 3000 lbs. of wheat under your bed and 197 cans of stew in your 2nd bathtub. The giant asteroids can fall like rain, and you'll be eating cracked wheat pancakes 'til the cockroaches come home and laughing the day away in your lead-lined breakfast nook. But wait, you don't know how long it will last. There is some basic information on duration on providentliving.org. Most grains, when properly packaged, will last 15-30 years. Canned foods are generally good for at least a year or more. Water should be replenished every 6 months. The key to maximizing your investment is to keep your storage in a dry, temperature controlled environment and away from direct sun (not a problem in nuclear winter).

I hope this gets you started in the right direction. Read our following posts to see other ways of attacking the food storage challenge. Share your experiences in the comments section below.