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Chipped dried beef
Yes, the little drinking glass-type jars. Well salted, keeps for years, regardless of the date on the container, in my experience. I have to soak it in water before I use it, too much salt otherwise. In the army, it was called S.O.S., we had it when I was a kid and as stated above, I've also maintained it as a tradition. It's one of the few things that I do well in the kitchen. Somewhere along the line, I started substituting Jimmy Dean sausage meat, very yummy.

Army S.O.S. wasn't made with actual canned, chipped beef. As I recall, they used hamburger meat. Which is okay too.
 
Due to a lot of dietary restrictions I can not eat a vast majority of the most common foods that are prepped/stocked so we eat mostly fresh foods.

I do have a small pantry and a large-ish freezer so barring a long term black out we would be fine if there is another rush on the food stores.

One thing I feel should be pointed out is (imo - ymmv) that creating your daily diet around rotatable food is for most people a pretty unhealthy way to eat.

You are much more likely to die from the side effects of a poor diet then the world ending and you being 'set and ready for it'.

Just my way of thinking - to each their own etc.

Some ideas on foods:

Costco organic coconut oil - large tub:
Other then a massive source of calories for very little cost, it is antibacterial as well as it can be used for so many things that I keep a full tub in the kitchen always. I even heal my tattoos with it - look into it, it's fantastic stuff and room temp stable.

The Kirkland organic creamy peanut butter is some of the best I've ever had but it separates and has to be stirred. No big deal but I have found extended time unopened in the pantry does not do well so it isn't a long term food/brand I would recommend and most of the more commercial peanut butter has a bunch of crop in it that is not all that great for you.

Fat and protein would be my main sources to stock up on personally - carbs are not your friend in the long run but even I keep 50#'s of white jasmine rice in the house but I grew up overseas so it's a staple in our house (used in moderation now).



Lastly, I honestly can not fathom how anyone lives on $3 a day in food costs…. I would be hard pressed to make a lunch for that price, if I could even do it. So kudos to those of you that have that figured out, my food bill is one of my highest expenditures.
 
I second the Costco organic coconut oil - large tub. Very versatile, very stable. We keep the open one in the pantry and a spare with the food stuffs in the garage. Garage is temp/humidity controlled as it does multiple duties, it's a gym, my reloading area, food storage and the dogs "quiet area" when we're making too much noise in the house.
 
Thanks $15 minimum wage….

Food prices are outrageous at this point.
It's scary out there, I don't see how some families are cutting it. Food costs have risen much faster than salaries this year. My employer was generous with annual raises this year, I scored 5%, that's almost double the average over the last several years.

Non-perishables I like to have several of an item, I hate reaching for something that was put back with less than a serving. Teas, spices, condiments, honey, agave, oils, spray oils, beef and chicken base pastes, boxed rices, split peas, and some cereals like Cheerios, corn flakes and Rice Krispies, yup like to stack those deeper because they all get cycled through.
 
I am going to work on getting an extra months worth of food on hand that I can rotate into my diet every month. I would like to have this done before 2023 begins. The $3 a day challenge should help me figure out what foods I will enjoy on a regular basis what foods will work best for this system of food storage. Space will be a problem and most of the food will have to be shelf stable and easy to prepare on a stove top.
Making a spreadsheet on the computer with auto calculate functions makes this start to get a lot more understandable - I named mine "Mormom shelf project." First I list the food item, then the calories of that item in that container, then how many of those containers I have of that item. Some foods have really long shelf lives, well past their best by date when properly stored so eating through stock is less of an issue. I ate salsa the other day that was nearly 10 years old in a jar, tasted fine.

Vitamins can fill the nutritional gap of simple foods.

Figure out how many calories per day you expect to consume and then work backward from that for how long you want that daily consumption to take place from your stored foods.

A decent sized shelf can store a lot of canned and dry foods, but I think it is important to note that this is designed to be "emergency food" - it doesn't have to be what you want to eat, it just needs to fill your belly and keep you from starving.

I prioritized food items that could be prepared/eaten with little prep. I figured in the time of me needing to eat "emergency food" I would not want to spend a lot of time and energy related to food prep, taking my attention away from other things. For example, I don't have any dried beans. Dried beans have to be soaked before they are eaten - if I am eating my emergency food there is a good chance the city water supply could be unavailable too and soaking beans just isn't happening.
 
One thing in the bigger survival picture is to practice/learn to cook without electricity.
I did that challenge last year:)



Edit: and everytime I visit my cabin. I should revisit that grid down challenge in the heat of the summer. I imagine my spoilage potential will greatly increase.
 
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Good point, but then I would also need electricity. Depending on how big of a "bad" situation that was happening that would cause me to eat my emergency food, that might not be an option.
The stove top pressure cookers can be used on camp stoves. I have done it. That reminds me of another item they stole from my cabin. I had an old school stove top pressure cooker I picked up at Goodwill, it was stolen too.
 
Good point, but then I would also need electricity. Depending on how big of a "bad" situation that was happening that would cause me to eat my emergency food, that might not be an option.
Stovetop. As in any stovetop. Including camp stove or barbecue (barbecue side burner best, less fuel used).

Heck, with care wood coals would work as well...

Edit, adding: Hawkins stovetop cookers are currently $40-$50 on Amazon, for "reasonable" couple to family meal sizes...
 

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