Help with long term survival food and storage.

R

R.H.Clark

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Aug 23, 2007
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I want some ideas for long term survival foods and storage of such.I am looking to store 6 months to a years worth of non perishabla foods.It's my opinion that such a store could become necessary under certain conditions.

My list so far includes dry beans,rice,peas,milk,and oats.Also canned goods including fruits,vegetables,and meats such as Salmon.Also seasoning including salt.

I also intend to store some meds like Tylenol,Ibuprofen,Asprin,and some anti nausea meds.I realize experiation on these must be carefully monitored.



I know the dry goods need to be stored in a cool dry place but I want to take all precaution to prevent spoiling or contamination.My main question to you folks is,would sealing the individual packages of dry goods in storage bags help or possible hinder preventing spoilage.Also is there any substance that might be added to the main storage container,where the individual packages are stored,to help prevent spoilage,such as a layer of salt.

Anything you would like to add to the list or input about storage would be appreciated.
 
vacumn sealing the dry goods, say in 5lb amounts, then placing the vacumn sealed pouches inside a food grade bucket with seal-able lid, and using dry ice to expel the air before sealing the lid , is a well known way of LONG TERM storage. Mark the contents, date packed and amounts on the outside using a sharpie marker.

store in cool dry rodent proofed cellar, off the ground and your good to go for many years.

here is a link explaining how the dry ice is ised: http://www.survival-center.com/foodfaq/ff17-co2.htm
 
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store what you use, use what you store.

there are oxygen absorbers available that will help if added to a bucket or vacuum pack.

bay leaves help keep bugs out of some grains... or so they say. i've never found 'em to be that effective.

freezing grains will kill any bug eggs.

diatomatious earth is supposed to kill bugs.

some people will put dry ice into buckets to displace oxygen. (it's carbon dioxide) however, if you use too much, KABOOM! it expands as it thaw/turns to gas and has been known to make buckets and other caches explode.
 
beprepared.com has a pretty decent food calculator with suggestions in each category for what you need in storage for a given length of time. I've used this to build my "shopping list" then I go buy local.
Storage in 5 or 6 gallon buckets with gamma seal lids is a good thing. Stacking everything on rack shelving is a good idea, too.
 
fixer said:
store what you use, use what you store.

there are oxygen absorbers available that will help if added to a bucket or vacuum pack.

bay leaves help keep bugs out of some grains... or so they say. i've never found 'em to be that effective.

freezing grains will kill any bug eggs.

diatomatious earth is supposed to kill bugs.

some people will put dry ice into buckets to displace oxygen. (it's carbon dioxide) however, if you use too much, KABOOM! it expands as it thaw/turns to gas and has been known to make buckets and other caches explode.
Click to expand...

yup you have to leave the lid 99% sealed, then burp it and seal it.
 
Grains and dry beans can be stored for many years without special treatment. Go heavy on those. Canned foods are only good for 2-4 years, so you have to rotate and fuss. I keep those to a bare minimum.

For about $120, you can create a long-term core supply that'll give a family of four a large hot meal daily for three months. Here's a rough breakdown. It's been a while since I've done this, so the numbers may be off a bit. Everything except the buckets came from Sam's Club. You may have a lot more money to spend, but some folks reading this don't and I hope this gets them going.

4 Home Depot buckets with gasketed lids ($20)
8 - 10lb bags of rice ($35)
8 - 10lb bags of pinto beans ($40)
2 cases tomato paste ($10)
2 large powdered chicken bouillon ($15)

The last two items will need to be rotated every two years. The rice and beans place four bags per bucket (don't mix) and close the lid tightly. About 1/2 lb of rice plus 1/2 lb of beans plus some seasoning will feed four people well once. It's very basic food, but even if that's all you have, you won't go hungry.

Mylar liners and oxygen absorbers are good, but not absolutely necessary. Food-grade buckets are a waste if you retain the original packaging or use liners. And lastly, build a solar oven and learn how to use it. Also store cooking fuel or firewood. Whatever cripples the food supply can do the same to fuel and utilities.

Here's a two part video of a guy opening various grain buckets, MREs and canned dry foods that were stored for 10-20 years. Everything was usable, even though it was stored in simple buckets and placed in a leaky metal storage shed in the yard. This guy has a nice collection of food storage videos that are based on real life experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi-Pmc6Fir4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVMDBVJCodI
 
Don't store everything in one place. Spread it around.

Thanks for the links and info.
 
Best way to store grains in plastic buckets or barrels is to use dry ice. Fill the container with grain to about 5/8ths capacity, then set a plastic plate or bowl on top and dry ice in the plate/bowl. The dry ice thaws into CO2 vapor which will quickly seep down through the grain and fill the container. When the vapor starts to go over the top, remove the dry ice, fit lid, and tape it up with duct tape. Will keep for a VERY long time and no bugs in the CO2 environment. Most supermarket delicatessens sell dry ice. My local Albertsons has it for 50 cents per pound.
 
Check out Mountain House freeze dried food. Avaliable in#10 cans with a25-30yr shelf life. Big enough PVC pipe and a couple of caps and you've got yourself a cache.
 
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