Emergency Food?

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I was comparing some prices and the #10 cans from Walmart.com seemed reasonable. I got 9 cans. The mountain house cans were cheaper at Walmart than on the mountain house website. Also got two cans of sweet and sour pork for 17.00 off retail each, so look for what's on sale at the time. Most of what I bought was at least a couple dollars off regular price. One good thing as well is you just buy a couple cans at a time as you can afford. As long as it's 36.00 or more it's free shipping to your door, but it's always free shipping to the local store. There is no way I'm going to say this stuff is cheap though, unless you're comparing it to the cost of eating out....
 
Welcome aboard. Emergency food can also include food that you eat every day and should include food that you don't have to cook to eat. While that usually brings to mind MRE's, many of us old timers will recognize items straight from the old C-Rats. (Spageti with Meat balls, chilly with beans, pork and beans, corned beef hash and beef stew ) All can be eaten cold right out of the can and have a reasonably long shelf life. Additionally, they are familiar items that your family can identify with and not believe it's a hardship. Add in a can of fruit each day and two cans of the C-rat items can keep an individual going for quite some time. Add a few boxes of crackers and jars of peanut butter and you'll be set for a week or two.
 
Sarge7402 said:
Welcome aboard. Emergency food can also include food that you eat every day and should include food that you don't have to cook to eat. While that usually brings to mind MRE's, many of us old timers will recognize items straight from the old C-Rats. (Spageti with Meat balls, chilly with beans, pork and beans, corned beef hash and beef stew ) All can be eaten cold right out of the can and have a reasonably long shelf life. Additionally, they are familiar items that your family can identify with and not believe it's a hardship. Add in a can of fruit each day and two cans of the C-rat items can keep an individual going for quite some time. Add a few boxes of crackers and jars of peanut butter and you'll be set for a week or two.
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The spaghetti and meat sauce was my favorite of the c rats! Can't say it was good, but was better than the rest.... the cookie was decent too.
 
I have been studying on long term food storage , beef chicken and pork when vacuum sealed can last a year or longer,veggies can be frozen also ,so if you can afford to go solar and have a big freezer,you can eat like it is just another day for at least a year just vacuum seal it all,canned goods and things like pasta will last a long time without doing anything to preserve them other than a cool dry place spot to store them,,,beyond that and unless we have a major nuclear war a years supply should be more than enough to get you thru,,,,,Wise Survival food is a good company to get your survival foods from if you believe we may be headed for a long extended disaster or you can't afford to go solar,,most of us can not go that route
 
Basic survival food :D

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Honestly I would not put myself into debt trying to buy up a bunch of 'survival' food but then I am not one who uses credit cards either. I am the person people get mad at when they are behind me at check out and I pull out my checkbook. Call me old fashioned. For food, we buy basic items that have a long shelf life. Flour, sugar, cornmeal, bean, rice, etc. The list goes on. I have two chest freezers and one standup full of meat and veggies that we have raised and grown. Also stockroom shelves full of home canned goods. It has taken us years to get to this point, but we did it little by little. If you just buy a couple extra items at the store each time, it can add up quick. One 25 lb bag of flour is a little less than $10, 25 lb sugar $15, 3 lb bag rice can be caught on sell for $1. I've gotten canned veggies as cheap as 25 cents, even if there is a limit, get your spouse or friend to go thru the line too. Check sells. Lots of times you can find really good deals and even check the discount shelves. I got Knorr rice dishes for 25 cents apiece. I know the checkout lady thought I was crazy for buying over 40 of them and probably a little pissed at me is nice she had to do the hand override on all of them. Buy all the chicken you can when it goes cheap. We get it for 29 cents sometimes 39 cents a pound. Cook it up and dehydrate. Makes a good addition to those Knorr side dishes and also makes it a full meal. Point is, be creative. I find it a lot cheaper in the long run into doing your own survival foods, but I got the time to do things like that. It was a lot harder when I worked full time. Not impossible, but at a slower pace.
 
Yeah my thing is the time to do all these things , I seem to be trying to ready the family for this prep all on my own bc nobody thinks anything disastrous can happen to us . So already prepped seems like an easier go to ... For me anyways.

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I agree with danilgrl about don't use credit cards. Buy it as you can when you can. Regular canned goods of what you all ready eat is a great start. Just rotate the cans as you get new ones. I have a sharpi marker in the pantrys and everything gets a date when put in. It also goes to the back or left to keep organized.
 
Brent S said:
What is the shelf life of peanut butter? I know honey will last a looooong time, but not sure of this.
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According to JIF, two years unopened and three months opened.
http://www.jif.com/about-jif-peanut-butter
But that is actually just a "Best Used By" date meaning it won't taste as fresh after that, but will actually not spoil for a long time.
 
Even when peanut butter gets a little off in taste, use it to make baked goods like cookies, pies, fudge, candy. You won't even notice. We go thru about 12 lbs a year.
 
Survival food should be the same food you eat normally. Otherwise, your system won't be used to it, and you're going to spend those first few weeks of surviving a disaster in stomach pain....

There are many things with a long shelf life, that with just a little prep, can become your own survival food. Dry rice, pasta, cereal, for example. Dry beans, corn. Mashed Potato flakes. Sauce mixes. Canned foods.

Better yet, learn to do home canning, and really create your own.
 
A good way to get cheap canned food is to go to a scratch and dent store.

Slightly dented canned food is perfectly safe and wholesome, provided the cans aren't rusty and/or bulging. Bulging cans may kill you from botulism toxin.

I routinely see such sales for $.20 on the dollar.

If you clip coupons and take advantage of special sales, you can store enough food to last a very long time for a pittance.

Rotate your food, and...if nearing the end of it's shelf life...donate to a church-based soup kitchen so you can offset the cost with a healthy tax deduction.

Be generous with food post SHTF with regards to your neighbors, and, hopefully, cement some loyalty and debt that you might use to your advantage.

It might be handy to have a doctor owe you because you fed his family, for example.
 
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One other thing to consider in your emergency supplies is it isn't just food. You need toiletries like soap, shampoo, medicines, etc. You don't need enough for the end of the world or anything, but having enough to get thru three to six months is wise.
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DrHenley said:
Toiletries will be hot barter items. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, etc.
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There's been a lot of threads here about the importance of toilet paper. I buy the 36 packs, and have at least 4 of those at any given time. Most don't think much about it, until they run short.
 
Brent S said:
One other thing to consider in your emergency supplies is it isn't just food. You need toiletries like soap, shampoo, medicines, etc. You don't need enough for the end of the world or anything, but having enough to get thru three to six months is wise. View attachment 7879
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Yess! Absolutely... Something we always stack up on thank goodness

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Brent S said:
One other thing to consider in your emergency supplies is it isn't just food. You need toiletries like soap, shampoo, medicines, etc. You don't need enough for the end of the world or anything, but having enough to get thru three to six months is wise. View attachment 7879
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I am adding cleaning supplies to your nonperishables. . . I too have those items you mentioned stored up. I do lack on some of these right now, but my once a year shopping is at the and of Nov so will be getting stocked back up. Cleaning supplies, hydrogen, alcohol as in the rubbing kind, cotton balls, q tips, mouthwash, floss, charcoal, lighter fluid, bleach (cheap and your friend in a disaster situation). Great thing about extra soap is you can make laundry detergent with it if you run out. Think of thing you use everyday or frequently. Store those too if you can.
 
I've built up quite the medical stock. At one point, I'd love to convert a non-used stall into a medical / vet bay....but I just recently filled up with boarders, so may be a ways off. Damn, that means come Sunday, we'll have TEN horses on the property (only 2 are ours). Good revenue stream, even though a pain in the ass.
 
Brent S said:
There's been a lot of threads here about the importance of toilet paper. I buy the 36 packs, and have at least 4 of those at any given time. Most don't think much about it, until they run short.
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If you live up north, an excellent renewable substitute for TP is mullein (Verbascum sp.).

This plant is great because it grows wild all over the place (at least in upstate N.Y.), and it's supposedly good for asthma and flu symptoms.

The leaves are velvety soft, yet large. They also don't rip easily, and are an appropriate substitute for TP.
 
Brent S said:
There's been a lot of threads here about the importance of toilet paper. I buy the 36 packs, and have at least 4 of those at any given time. Most don't think much about it, until they run short.
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I always have a supply of toilet paper. I have other stuff too, but I am always concerned about having an adequate supply of toilet paper.
 
Danil54grl said:
I am adding cleaning supplies to your nonperishables. . . I too have those items you mentioned stored up. I do lack on some of these right now, but my once a year shopping is at the and of Nov so will be getting stocked back up. Cleaning supplies, hydrogen, alcohol as in the rubbing kind, cotton balls, q tips, mouthwash, floss, charcoal, lighter fluid, bleach (cheap and your friend in a disaster situation). Great thing about extra soap is you can make laundry detergent with it if you run out. Think of thing you use everyday or frequently. Store those too if you can.
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Once a year shopping.. I love the idea of that. I wish I could get away with it. I keep a close eye on sales and try to stock up when I find good deals, but I would love to be just one and done! I have a good supply in my closet, but I hadn't thought of hydrogen peroxide, q-tips, and cotton balls. I am adding them to the list.
 
DrPrepper said:
Once a year shopping.. I love the idea of that. I wish I could get away with it. I keep a close eye on sales and try to stock up when I find good deals, but I would love to be just one and done! I have a good supply in my closet, but I hadn't thought of hydrogen peroxide, q-tips, and cotton balls. I am adding them to the list.
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Bleach tablets, soaps, extra toothbrushes, etc. the list could be endless. I've thought about never being able to go to the grocery store again and what I use commonly. Hopefully we will never see that come to pass, but having a few months stocked up of supplies just makes sense to me.
 
And rubbing alcohol. And other alcohol. In case of snake bite or rheumatism or something.

A buddy is a dentist. Tons of freebie toothbrushes and toothpaste. Pretty big med kit, complete with store bought and homemade remedies. My wife found a recipe for a natural antibiotic salve. Works better than the store stuff!

We’re going to get to where we need a building for our preps......

Oh yeah - a suture kit too. Hope it never gets used...........
 
DrPrepper said:
Once a year shopping.. I love the idea of that. I wish I could get away with it. I keep a close eye on sales and try to stock up when I find good deals, but I would love to be just one and done! I have a good supply in my closet, but I hadn't thought of hydrogen peroxide, q-tips, and cotton balls. I am adding them to the list.
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Hydrogen Peroxide does not have a long shelf life. Better to store tincure of iodine and povidone iodine.
 
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