Or you can save a few dollars by buying the food in bulk and repacking it yourself. You can purchase these staples already packed in cans or buckets with oxygen absorbers and Mylar liners for maximum longevity.
Survival foods to stockpile how to#
The drawbacks are that you'll need even more potable water than for freeze-dried foods, and you'll need to know how to cook. They're also relatively easy to work into your regular meals. Dry pasta, rice, flour, dried beans, sugar, and many other staple foods can be stored for 30 years with negligible nutrient loss when properly packaged. Roughly 900 cans will provide you with a six-month food supply, and these are the easiest foods to work into your normal meals.Ĭost for six months: $1,800 to 2,700, with no shipping costs if purchased locallyĬanned Beef Stew 8-Pack $17.52 Ĥ Dry Goods and Grains: Cooking these foods and preparing palatable meals from them may be a bit of a challenge, but if you're familiar with cooking from scratch, this is the cheapest way to go. You'll need at least five cans per day to reach 2,400 calories. Check the calorie count when planning meals with canned goods. They're even heavier than MREs, and their life span is only about five years as well (maybe less for pop-top cans). Canned goods do come with a few drawbacks, though. They're typically ready to eat from the can without the need for extra water, and cans are insect and rodent proof.
Survival foods to stockpile plus#
You'll need about 180 cans or 720 pouches for a six-month food stash.Ĭost for six months: $4,500 to $6,300, plus shipping (though discounts may be available for large orders)ģ Canned Goods: Your average canned pasta, stew, and chili are more cost effective than MREs or freeze-dried food. The greatest asset to freeze-dried food is shelf life, with 25 years or more expected. 10 entree cans only contain about 2,000 calories each, yet cost over $30 apiece. Four pouches a day will be needed to reach 2,400 calories. They're available in serving-sized pouches, larger cans, and even buckets. Freeze-dried foods generally require hot water to prepare, and they're as bulky as MREs (yet without the weight). They're even more expensive than MREs, but may last up to five times longer. This is a great morale booster and perfect for those who are cooking-impaired.Ĭost for six months: $2,880, plus shipping (though discounts may be available for large orders)Ģ Freeze-Dried Food: Mountain House and many other companies provide a wide selection of freeze-dried meals and food items.
Better MREs include a water-activated chemical heater, which would give you two hot meals a day. For your daily ration, open up two MREs, pick through the contents to decide which items you want for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then eat them when you'd like.
You'll need 360 MREs (30 cases) for a six-month supply. Each MRE contains approximately 1,400 calories, so two per day provides an average of 2,800 calories. This approach is easy and no cooking is involved to prepare the food - it's truly “ready to eat” as the name declares. In this article, we'll look at four different approaches to building a food supply: MREs, freeze-dried food, canned goods, and dry goods.ġ MRE: Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) are a quick solution to build your food reserves, but they're expensive, bulky, and only last about five years. You don't need to plan 180 days of unique meals, but a two-week menu plan will give you some much-needed variety (unless you're buying a pallet of MREs or mixed, freeze-dried foods).įinally, you'll need to decide which food preservation method best matches your plan. It's also helpful to plan out the meals and create a meal rotation. You'll want to pay great attention to calorie content, methods of food preparation, storage conditions, and your own personal dietary restrictions. “Plan your work, and work your plan.” A project like this can be a daunting task, so planning is one of the most important parts. For any of these situations, building a food reserve becomes a valuable insurance policy - one that you can actually eat. Perhaps you're just suffering a personal crisis, such as a job loss or an injury that prevents work. But maybe your problems aren't so widespread. In these types of situations, you'd have to rely on your own reserves, or devolve into a hunter/gatherer (and there are no guarantees with that menu plan). 11-style attack - these and any number of similar catastrophes could wipe out your normal resources for food. But if you're reading a magazine like RECOIL OFFGRID, you already know why long-term food storage makes sense.Ī Katrina-level natural disaster, an economic collapse, or another Sept.
You may find yourself asking, Six months of food? Do I really need that much? - especially when most people seem to be content with 72-hour go-bags and two-week disaster kits.
0 kommentar(er)
