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Where is the best place to buy a 1 year emergency food supply kit?
I've seen Legacy, Wise, etc in #10 tins or the plastic pails.
Sure looks like the pails would be nice for storage or transport to me at first glance.
I'm new at this, comments/tips/tricks welcome.
THanks.
 
My personal ramblings after doing some investigation into the various freeze-dried products...

The number of calories per stated serving may be lower relative to a typical 1500-2000 calories per day. For example, if the stated serving provides 300 calories and you assume three servings per day then you'll probably use the food at 2x the assumed rate.

Freeze-dried products require water. Will you have the needed, clean water at all times?

Some of the freeze-dried products contain as much as 40% of your daily salt. Again, investigate and do some math relative to how many servings you might eat per day. All that salt is also going to make you thirsty (more water!).

Have you considered "balancing" your approach with some freeze-dried items, and then canned soups, fruits, beans and more from Costco or other sources? The latter could be rotated through as part of your normal food supply.

I am no expert here.

Peter
 
QUIET Going along with all of the above, only let those who need to know, have information about your supplies
where they are and what is there. We are all proud of preparing but that ego could cause problems. When it comes to your supplies ? STFU... and family and friends you do tell make then aware of the importance of keeping it quite.

Great advice, Salted. In prepping, the best advice is to STFU. I learned that just a couple years back, late to the game on that one. A simple dis-info campaign can do a lot of damage control though. Let people know over time that you are embarrassed that you overreacted to fear and now you got rid of all that crap, don't like guns anymore, etc.
 
Burt, I couldn't agree more. I have made the mistake of trying to get my friends at work to start prepping but unfortunately in the process had revealed too much about my plans. Fortunately I have said nothing about this to my neighbors... most of my coworkers live 40+ miles away so that helps a little.

SO good advice to someone new at food storage is first Shut up about it. Secondly have a good mix of various items as they all have good points. Bulk rice, beans,wheat, oats in mylar bags in 5 gal buckets sealed with oxygen absorbers makes up the bulk of an economical food storage system. Lots of canned foods.
MRE's are good too but expensive. Freeze dried stuff is also good but expensive as well.
Plan to store 1 gallon of water per person ,per day MINIMUM. Locate water sources nearby and get the gear to sanitize it.
 
Where is the best place to buy a 1 year emergency food supply kit?
I've seen Legacy, Wise, etc in #10 tins or the plastic pails.
Sure looks like the pails would be nice for storage or transport to me at first glance.
I'm new at this, comments/tips/tricks welcome.
THanks.

Costco has some good bundles. I wouldn't get a full year kit and plan to subsist on just that. You'll run into food fatigue, so mix it up. Also, if you get a monster kit, they're going to have to deliver it and, depending on your situation, it might be pretty obvious to your neighbors.

They have frequent sales on some of these as well.

Costco stuff.
 
To me, the 1-year food kits aren't the best idea. You end up with a lot of cheap stuff available elsewhere for much less. Sometimes it's semi-perishable. Better to start with a 1-year supply of freeze-dried meats (Mountain House), you know it will last 30+ years and packs a lot of calories into small storage area.

Then, if you have time, grab enough food for a long-term crisis. 1/2 ton of Hard red wheat, 1/2 ton misc dried goods. Near Portland, Bob's Red Mill and the LDS cannery are good sources.

Here is a good example of what you can get from Bob's. She was non-local though and had to ship it:

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/04/stocking_up_on_grains_and_legu.html
 
In prepping for foods mights I give a few things pardon the pun, but food for thought.


SHELF LIFE : Allot of products have limited shelf, a prepper buying food 5 years ago may end up throwing
out some things year. so check shelf life.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE : As was mentioned perhaps water , flour or something if needed to
prepare your food be aware of its shelf live and availability .

Weight and size : One must decide are you BO or staying put some food items weight allot
the better tasting ones usually do. But you can not cart 50-75 lbs of food on your back for 2 weeks to feed
2-3 people. So decide is your food mobile or stationary for use. Maybe have a little of both.

Don't forget content, In a word, calories,calories,calories. If you are mobiles or it is cold or hot you will burn up
more calories, Makes sure that your food has a good calories even if it does not taste as great think survival not IHOP.

Visual Is your stock known or accessible to others. Having a truck deliver pallets of supplies may be
cost effective, it will also let everyone know you are stocking up and if SHTF, they know who has food.

QUIET Going along with all of the above, only let those who need to know, have information about your supplies
where they are and what is there. We are all proud of preparing but that ego could cause problems. When it comes to your supplies ? STFU... and family and friends you do tell make then aware of the importance of keeping it quite.


There is my take on food.

Yes, I have made this mistake also. I also have been doing damage control by telling everyone involved that I have moved such items. There was one jerk that told me he was set and would take my stuff. Well I told him some were poisoned. He said that wasn't humane. Neather is stealing
 
This may sound silly, but Dr. Atkins (the Atkins's diet guy) has a pretty informative posting on normal, grocery store food for long term survival planning. Lots of canned foods will actually last 25+ years with proper storage, and planning your own menu will allow you to buy foods your family will actually eat. Small changes in your daily diet can help you work through your emergency food stock so that you really do rotate your stored food.

Bi-Mart is a fantastic resource for reasonably priced canned meats and canned soups and stews. I'm one of those people who has eaten my share of 20+ year old canned food and white rice my dad put up in newspaper lined 5 gallon buckets back in 1977 and I'm fine. Freeze drying is undoubtedly really cool, but it is super expensive on a per calorie basis.

It is also worth looking into vegetarian websites for guidance on complete protein combinations. It is hard to store complete protein long term, but complementary proteins from grains, beans, and seeds are super cheap and easy to store. Powdered egg whites and whey protein powder store well, and are compact forms of complete protein. Any kind of filler will do so long as you get 50-80 grams of protein a day and essential vitamins.

A note on vitamins: most folks have never had a truly empty stomach. If you swallow a multivitamin after going without any food for a few days, shortly after you will become violently sick, and your body will eject it rapidly through one end or the other. Children's chewable vitamins, broken into bits and consumed a bit at a time with a bunch of fluid, is a way around this.

Cold canned food is OK, and when you're hungry, is pretty good. Keep in mind that in an emergency that requires using your food storage, you're going to go through fuel stocks, too. Coleman 2 burner camp stoves, and about 4 times as much fuel as you believe you will need, will be handy. The stoves are cheap at garage sales, get a spare, because they are THAT important. Most food staples take a REALLY LONG time to cook. The most efficient way to cook beans, rice, potatoes, grains, et cetera, regardless of heat source, is with a pressure cooker and a haybox. Foods cook much faster under pressure. Once the contents of a pressure cooker have evenly heated to cooking temperature, taking the pressure cooker off the stove and putting it into a superinsulated container will allow it to keep cooking for hours w/o additional fuel. Quality, stainless pressure cookers aren't cheap, but quickly pay for themselves.

Be wary of producing heat in an emergency. I have never met a policeman with his own emergency food storage program, but more and more patrol cars are equipped with thermal imaging devices. People naturally use the tools at their disposal to achieve their goals, and you can bet that windows or chimneys bleeding heat are a perfect advertisement that fuel and comfort and probably supplies are inside. EVEN ON THIS SURVIVAL FORUM, THERE ARE MORE GUN OWNERS WITHOUT PROPER EMERGENCY SUPPLIES THAN THERE ARE RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE PLANNING AHEAD. Once folks have gone without food for a week, expect them to prey upon those that mind their own business. Most people suck, regardless of occupation or religious or political affiliation.

Coupon shopping and shopping at sales in grocery stores is an effective way of stocking up on emergency food supplies. Don't be that guy who ends up with a bunch of buckets of Textured Vegetable Protein. That stuff is indescribably nasty, and soy isn't quite the complete protein some think it is. Campbell's soup, Raviolis, and Dinty Moore beef stew are perfectly acceptable as emergency food, and you know what you're getting. I would never buy a pre-made kit of food. You can do a better job yourself.

Folks have already mentioned the importance of water storage, but building a solar concentrater, no matter how makeshift, can cut way back on fuel usage for heating water for washing or bathing. Projects like the Maine Solar House prove that it can be valuable in any climate.
 
Last Edited:
Well, since every poster has valid points I'll add just a few comments.
Food Fatigue: this has been studied, and given an unfamiliar and unvaried diet in or after a disaster coupled with the stress and fear of losing their home or being in constant danger can cause people to stop eating and die of malnutrition. Children and the elderly are the most susceptible.
Your Plan: your plans must be the starting point for every aspect of your preparations, which is why nearly every poster above has mentioned it. The best example is probably my own situation. When I left the Army (young, strong, trained and hardened from soldering in very hostile environments) my plans were totally geared to bugging out (not a term much used by survivalists back then, still Korean war slang). 4X4 truck and car, gear and supply's pre-packedaged and B O locations pre- prepared and all the stuff one would do for that scenario. Now, after both my wife and I have had some health reversals, we are going to have to stand and fight if necessary. All our efforts are now bent to that end. Fortunately we have lived here for 37 years now and have friends / neighbors we can trust, armed and prepared. The B O system is still in place for our son & grandson. So, plans change, plans must be revaluated constantly and don't be locked into a plan that dosent fit anymore.
Food Storage: should be balanced by your plan. Lite, compact and expensive for to flee. Canned, dried, heavy buckets, water and some light and compact items for "bugging in".
DO be guided by the previous comments about nutrition! You are putting yourself in danger and wasting money that could be better used elsewhere when you buy empty calories. Only real exception is if you have kids include some candy etc. for mental health! You too if you are fond of sweets!
Security: DOUBLE DITTO to all above! Been here 30+ years. Those I trust after knowing them very long term who have their own supply's OK! Those that we adjudge flakey, no matter how long theyve been here, know nothing! I have gone around putting Red Cross earthquake/72hr kit posters in their mailboxes, on the sly.
Wow I didn't mean for this to be a book and an incomplete one at that! Ditto on the LDS cannery, great folks no religious pressure at all! Pretty much everything related to prepping is on Utube but watch with a critical eye. Like this post it's all opinions.
 
besides the above , variety, comfort foods, seriously what do you and you family like, try some stuff before you go hog wild. make sure everyone is ok with it, try to keep a variety around so you do not go nuts eating th esame thing every day, comfort foods, I know what I am talking about here in a bad situation where spirits are low, people are cold and tired, a pack of cookies properly stored, a cup of coffee, some hot chocolate, sun tea, etc,etc works wanders and builds relationships
 
I just saw a movie called "the way back" about 6 men and 1 woman who escaped a Soviet gulag in Siberia in Winter with little food and walked from Siberia to India. Over the Himalayas it must have been about 4500 miles through desert, forest, mountains with basically the clothes on their back. Some were old and not healthy but finished the escape. I don't know how accurate the film was but it was excellent and gave me hope that maybe we scare ourselves into believing the worst, and that even if I had to leave everything and hit the road it could be managed. I would find other good people and we would help each other. I'm not going to focus on creating tons of immovable junk I think I need to survive, but instead create numerous lightweight knapsacks with the basic nescessities and start spending more time in nature learning about it, and teach myself basic skills such as fly tying, rope making, herb teas etc. that will be useful.
 
Great advice above. I'd go with a bunch of Mountain House freeze-dried meat and freeze dried eggs (#10 cans); buckets of rice, beans, lentils, freeze-dried vegetables, wheat, oats, sugar, powdered milk, salt and honey; a bunch of spices, bullion, baking powder, baking soda and other things to make life more interesting; a good cookbook to utilize all of this stuff; some "instant" foods for when you need them - ranging from SOS food bars to MRE's to pouches of Mountain House freeze dried; and a way to treat a lot of water - I prefer Katadyn gravity filters. Keep track of the calories, number of servings and serving sizes for everything and start doing some rudimentary menu/food planning so you know how you'd use this stuff. And, then, practice with some of it so you know how it cooks, how you like it, etc.
 
This will sound strange but......make some lard. Take some real fat bacon, chop it up, melt it and then pour it into a container. In cold temperature the stuff will keep for months and it's a great source of fat which people completely forget about.
..don't bother buying lard in a store - who knows what's really in it.
 
Dosent sound strange at all. The only thing you didn't mention is to strain well. Keeps longer that way. In normal times we use a tablespoon of bacon grease for flavor with a tablespoon of lite olive oil for sautéing. 50% more flavor, 50% less guilt!

Bacon is the deity's most perfect food!!!
 
i stopped reading these after a while because they seem to mimic a lot of what you might see on just about any youtube channel, not that it is a bad thing but the pure and simple thing is, your original question has a very easy answer. no brand of food prep is good.
-every month buy one month of food with a shelf life of at least 2 year, all of which are things you eat every day or things that are very similar to what you eat. it is important not to change your eating habits when your environment has become overly stressful. it will increase the chances of depression dictating your mood and actions.
-after 12 months you will have accumulated a year supply of food. each month as you buy package them up separately and labeled by the month.
-after a year of having each box of one month of food take that food to a local food bank for donation or add it to what you are consuming in your home. this way you will rotate your supplies and not continuously store more food that you are able to keep, due to the amount of space they will take.
 

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