Thread: starting food storage

Hey all. I want to get started on food storage and emergency preparedness. My ideal situation will be to add a bit of food or emergency goods each time we grocery shop.

I'm trying to do this as economically as possible. I use whey protein for workout supplement and they come in big tubs. I realized that these things must be food safe so I decided to start using them for dried goods. Do you think the screw cap will be a good enough seal?

The other thing I'm wondering is vacuum sealing vs Mylar. I see the Mylar keeps light out, but is the clear vacuum seal bags a bad way to go especially if I have access to the equipment?

Hey Patrick, I would vacuum seal the goods and then put em in the tubs. As you rotate stock you will see the results. Keep them in a closet. You could go with mylar but it sounds to be worth a try with what you have.
Be well,
Shawn.

If your container is impermeable to light then a simple vac seal would do the trick. If it's white or clear then mylar will stop the growth of any micro-organisms that need light.

I would start by pasta25lbs ,rice25 lbs,beans25 all in 5 gallon food grade buckets all that would run you less than seventy dollars then comes the can goods tomatoes,corn,green beans fruit ect

mylar with oxygen absorber keep oxidation out, this is for long storage

I did some Googling and looks like the plastic lids could get brittle and of course isnt air tight so may be best suited for shorter term storage.

ive had dryfood in them for 5 years no problem

If you're starting out, keep it simple. Every time you buy a can of something, buy 2. Use the one, and store the other. That will cost about $1 at a time. Pretty soon you'll have a pantry with a couple weeks of food you are accustomed to eating. Most canned goods, dried pasta and rice will keep a few years in their retail packaging.

That's a deeper pantry is all. You consume it first in first out. Works swell if you get snowed in, etc. Once you've nailed that, then move onto air tight buckets, etc.

Just my $0.02

Also, take a look at grocery outlet stores and dollar stores for some of your purchases. Just pay attention to the use by dates, you can save a bundle.

Originally Posted by patrick21

Hey all. I want to get started on food storage and emergency preparedness. My ideal situation will be to add a bit of food or emergency goods each time we grocery shop.

I'm trying to do this as economically as possible. I use whey protein for workout supplement and they come in big tubs. I realized that these things must be food safe so I decided to start using them for dried goods. Do you think the screw cap will be a good enough seal?

The other thing I'm wondering is vacuum sealing vs Mylar. I see the Mylar keeps light out, but is the clear vacuum seal bags a bad way to go especially if I have access to the equipment?

Mylar does more than just keep the light out, if sealed correctly it keeps the humidity out and the hot/cold out. Throw in some oxygen obsorbers and it keeps the air out as well.

BoPET - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by salmonriverjohn

pay attention to the use by dates

Ditto on the grocery outlets. Don't buy some things....Olive oil....I forget what else, some other stuff. I usually go with an expert who conveys more intelligence to this subject than I could ever muster.

She tells me what's what.

In the current situation I would pack them for short term use. Buy several cases of canned goods, about the cheapest long term storage you can buy. I would store water and buy a water filter as well. Buy what you normally eat, plus some comfort foods.

I usually go with an expert who conveys more intelligence to this subject than I could ever muster.

She tells me what's what.[/QUOTE]

Have you been shopping with my Wife and financial advisor? They do have their ways don't they!

Congratulations on making the first steps. Most Americans have enough food to last themselves 3-4 days so you are way ahead of them.

Don't forget water. Cheap, nearly free, easy to treat and store and more vital than food. If SHTF people will be trading food and other commodities for water. I always tell people that want to have something to barter, but have little money, to store water.

Even pre-SHTF our water supply is a delicate issue. Just a little while back, Portland drained an entire reservoir just because some punk was caught on video pissing in it.

Yeah, they drained an open-air reservoir that has ducks swimming and bubblegumting in it because somebody peed in it. That was a good use of taxpayer money.

Why shouldn't you buy Olive oil? The stuff almost never goes rancid. When I was a Custom knifemaker I used Olive Oil as my carbon steel heat treating quench. As it had a flash point near 1500 degrees and would never rot. I had Oil I used for maybe 10 years and it never went bad. I can't imagine that sealed in a can or bottle it wouldn't last 5-10 years for food use.

The stats I've seen recommend rotating any oils every 2-5 years. If you get the tins of olive oil then I can see that lasting longer since no light can get in. But you'd better buy the high quality stuff as many low-cost oils contain an amount of water.

You have the right idea starting with buying a little extra every time that you go grocery shopping. Buy what you normally eat and when you run out of storage space in your pantry, begin long term storage in vacuum seal bags or mylar bags and buckets. I buy 5 gal. buckets at Walmart for about $2.50 each and gamma seal lids online at freckleface dot com for about $5.25 each. I like the gamma seals because they are airtight, resealable and I can quickly access the contents without any special tools.
I use mylar bags for beans, rice, oatmeal, 6 grain cereal mix, and wheat berries. I use vacuum seal bags for spaghetti noodles, fruit leather, dried fruits. I also store dried soup mix in vacuum seal bags that I buy at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukee, Oregon. The dried soup mix tastes great and it is a quick meal to fix for lunch or dinner, I keep some in my ready bag and it is also great to take camping for a quick, easy meal.
Don't forget water storage, it is more important than food storage IMO. I recommend LC Industries 5-gallon water containers, these are extremely durable and easy to transport, they run about $20.00 each - buylci dot com, drill down in the "tactical" menu to find them. I also recommend that you consider storing several 35 or 55 gallon barrels for long term water storage. FEMA recommends that you should store at least one gallon per person per day, this is the minimum to get by for emergencies. A better plan would be to store 3 gallons per person per day; 1 gallon per person per day to drink, 1 gallon a day to clean/hygeen etc., 1 gallon for cooking, this adds up to a lot of water. A 35 gallon barrel is the minimum for 1 person for 10 days. It is also critical IMO to have a water purification system, some popular manufacturers are Katadyn, Sawyer, MSR, First Need, SteriPEN, and Berkey.
Congratulations on taking the first steps to store food and water. Don't try to do it all at once because it can be overwhelming and expensive. Store what you eat and eat what you store. Get a sharpie pen and write the date on the cans or bags and use the FIFO method to rotate your supplies. Don't forget to store water and consider purchasing a water purification system if you don't already have one.

I keep plenty of Nalleys or store brand canned chilli when its on sale, less than a dollar a can. It will keep for as long as you live ( remember when there were no use by dates on canned goods ). Prepare it with whatever else you have on hand or is in season or wild game and you have a high calorie meal for two to four family members. If SHTF you won't be on a diet. I would store as much canned goods as possible as they last forever and have liquid in them also. As far as water storage goes think about where you live. If water source is close by you don't need to store a lot but keep in mind methods to sanitize it. Boiling in a kettle on a wood fire comes to mind as simplest with no planning. If you are in a dry area then you need to make plans. These simple basic thoughts will get started and you can go from there. If you have guns and ammo you can trade for or get anything else you need.

Olive oil does indeed go rancid after a while, even unopened. You could still use it for a great many things after it goes rancid, from lubricating to burning for heat/light in an oil lamp to using it for diesel fuel.