Introduction to Food Storage

 I. Canned Goods Canned Goods Video

As long as they are stored properly, most canned goods can be stored over the 2-3 years that their expiration dates suggest. And, other than bulk rice and beans are probably the least expensive way to up your family’s food storage. I would suggest to anyone that they combine the bulk, Mylar stored foods, and canned goods to add variety and nutrients to your diet. You should concentrate on storing a lot of the foods you already eat, with large amounts of vegetables and fruits that won’t be available fresh. I also suggest a supply of meat oriented dishes that you might not typically use every day, such as canned stews or spam. These will also be handy at extending and adding variety to your bulk preps. It is difficult to store enough canned goods for a long term situation. This is due to their bulk, once you get a system of canned goods going you probably want to begin looking at other food storage methods.

There are basically two different strategies in storing canned goods, and which one you choose depends on whether you plan to “bug out” or “bug in.” If you have a large pantry and a investing in other types of food preps and have a safe place to hunker down then it is possible to develop a rotation schedule for your canned goods. They should be marked and stored so that they last as long as possible. If you have to be more mobile, canned goods should be stored in the containers you will be moving them in. I keep a variety in large bins with some other essentials. Every two years I pull them out and rotate, mixing the things we use in to our own pantry and donating things we don’t use to a local church pantry. You can’t store them in the garage or attic, climate control is critical.

Canning: If you garden and can, you probably have developed your own rotation system. This is great, and in this you are well ahead of us. Canning is outside the scope of this article but is an awesome idea.

II. Bulk Storage in Mylar Bags Storing Food in Mylar Video

Preventing Oxygen from getting to food is the key to long term food storage. Mylar is a foil like material that comes in different size bags that can be sealed with heat (the sides of the bag are melted together.) This gives an oxygen barrier. When storing foods in Mylar it is important that you add an oxygen absorber to remove the oxygen already in the bag. For the pepper/survivalist it is common to put these in sealed five gallon buckets to provide an extra layer of protection and portability. Food properly stored in Mylar is good for 10 or more years.

There are a couple of options when deciding what and how to store food this way. 1) Large amounts of bulk goods- using five gallon bags. 2) Smaller bags with a variety of goods in them. If you are set on a “BUG in” situation, that is you have a single place where you think you will be able to live out a WORL situation, then you should probably concentrate on number one. If you have a “BUG out” plan where you have a place to go, but want to store food at your residence then #2 might be the way to go. Option number two loses a little bulk storage because the smaller bags create a little air space in the buckets, but you gain modularity.
I use a combination of these two ideas. I have smaller more modular buckets at home in which I keep a variety of items in each. I have several potential bug out locations, and have several bulk buckets at each of these.

Items commonly stored in Mylar bag/buckets are rice, beans and oats. These are all staples in the prepper world, and adapt to this storage method well. It provides a bulk of calories for a very low cost. The rice should be enriched white rice (brown rice does not store this way) and the beans should be something you know your family likes. Keep in mind that these items require a good bit of energy to prepare, something you need to plan for.

III. Things that store with little preparation

There are a few items, some very important and some luxuries that are pretty much “self-storing.” Sugar and salt can both be stored quite easily. We store both in two layers of ziplock bag with a desiccant package in the outer bag. Sugar and salt are very important, make many other foods palatable and are also important in many improvised medical treatments. Other things such as tea, honey, or hard candies can be stored similarly, basically will last forever if not exposed to moisture or temperature fluctuation.

III. Freeze Dried Making Combo Food Buckets Video

Freeze dried foods are an expensive way to store food, but one of the best as far as storage space, shelf life and ease of preparation. They are far less bulky than canned goods because the water has been removed by freezing and vacuumed out. Afterwards they are usually stored in #10 cans or Mylar packages with oxygen absorbers or purged with nitrogen. Freeze dried food generally comes as pre-packaged “meals” that can be reconstituted with the addition of adding hot water. It can also be stored as bulk veggies or meats that can be used to bulk up and add variety and nutrients to your bulk stored products. Both of these are good ideas and need to be considered in your own preps.

IV. Field Food

I’m talking about things that you would most likely carry in your ruck, third line gear or BOB (whatever you want to call it.) This is food that is lightweight and easy to prepare. The standard here is the MRE, or army rations. But, you can look at low cost options such as canned goods (bad on weight) or instant grits and oatmeal either as a supplement to MREs or replacing them entirely. Ramen noodles are another low cost option. In a pinch they can be eaten dry like potato chips. They provide energy in the form of complex carbohydrates, but no other nutritional value. There are also specialty backpacking foods which offer a more expensive option. You should experiment with these things on camping trips.

V. Water

All of the things I have discussed need water for preparation, some more than others. (Canned goods don’t require a lot of water, where rice, beans and freeze dried food are inedible without it.) You also need water to drink bathe etc. In fact, you need to drink a lot more water than you probably drink on a daily basis. Conversely, you probably use far more water than you need to on a daily basis bathing. Hot and cold water is a luxury we abuse in industrialized societies. I’m not saying you should stop bathing in a post SHTF environment but you don’t need nearly as much water for it as we typically use. Bathing AND staying hydrated are more important post SHTF. That being said let’s discuss some methods for making sure your family has water.

Water storage. Storing water is an often overlooked element of prepping. It is next to impossible in some situations but you need to figure something out. The easiest thing is buying bottled water by the case (it’s a whole lot cheaper than cold ones at the convenience store.) It is also easy to rotate and have on hand. We keep a case of water in each vehicle. Having a long term supply of pre bottled water is silly, needlessly expensive and space intense. Look for water storage containers. People with a lot of space gravitate towards food grade plastic 55 gallon drums, other choices are quality purpose built water containers such as the military “jerry-can” type containers. In storing water, be aware of the axiom… one gallon per person per day, at a MINIMUM. Stored water should be treated to prevent contamination. 5-7 drops of bleach will treat one gallon of water, this is about one capful per five gallon container. After treating shake the container and let sit for at least 24 hours. Stored water should be rotated on, at least, a yearly basis.

Water collection: No matter what you need to plan to resupply water for long term situations. There are many ways to collect water depending on your climate. If you live in a desert this is obviously a greater concern. Collected water also needs to be purified. There are many ways to do this, rain water can be purified using the bleach method described above. Filtering and purifying water from streams and lakes is a multi-step process. There are many ways to achieve this- a t-shirt and coffee filters are good for removing particulates- but this needs to be followed up by other methods. In a pinch you can improvise a water filter or still, but it is a good idea to have one on hand already. At a minimum you should have a quality hiking filter. There are also chemical methods for purification, iodine tablets and the bleach method listed above, but I consider these last ditch.

VI. Final Thoughts

Your food and water preps are really the most important part of your prepping. Not nearly as glamorous as loads of guns and ammo, but it is one thing that you WILL need in the future. A good food and water plan is what separates the prepared from the poseur. A citizen warrior has to be able to take care of his family in hard times, and in a pinch the families of fellow warriors.

If you don’t have a plan I would suggest you immediately start laying back extra canned goods- then re-read this article and start researching other things. Ask questions of people who seem to have it going on. Watch our videos, read other articles and watch other videos. Find what will fit your situation (budget, storage, bug-out vs bug-in etc) and get started.