Emergency Food storage/supply

I've been looking to buy a year of food supply for some time now but I'm in Canada. The only compagnie that I know are in the US and the shipping cost is enormous, more than 400$.

My questions are: do you have storable food? How much of it? Where did you bought it? How long will it last (5-10 years)? Do you know any compagnies in Canada? What are the best deals you have? Would it be bright to store 3 weeks of food in your home and the rest you bury it somewhere else?

Please shoot all the websites and compagnies you know of that sell dry storable food!

[edit on 18-9-2007 by Vitchilo]

While some on this forum have poked fun. I keep quite a few MRE's as part of my food storage. They are easy to find and come in many varieties

They are cheap (entree only packs work out to about $2.65 each over the net and in bulk). If kept cool MRE's can last several years. Also dried beans and rice etc, should keep for a long time as most dried foods have an extended shelf life.

You can always drive over the border and load up as well. that may be the best thing with the exchange rate so favorible these days.

Just google MRE's and you will get plenty of hits.

Some of the stuff that you can buy at your local grocer is almost imperishable. Mostly the vacuum packed stuff (NOT processed meats and cheese in the deli!). Lots of canned goods and dry goods as well.
Don't go simply by the expiration dates - many goods will be consumable long beyond the default date printed on the the package. But in order to determine the relative shelf life of any given product you will have to do a little research and use common sense.
Also, in America (can't vouch for Canada) many outlets are available to purchase military rations. Most of these will be able to survive long beyond the shelf-life of the humans meant to consume them. Again, you will have to check into it and see what is available in your area.
P.S. You CAN buy this stuff on the internet/mail order, but it is usually a lot more cost effective to find a local supplier.

[edit on 18-9-2007 by passenger]

I heard that the MREs taste funny, also the shelf life is only 3 years. Of course passenger you say that the shelf life is much more than printed on the package but how long can it last? 5 years? 10 years? Do I have to keep the MREs in a cold area?

I wanted to buy from efoods direct but the shipping was over 400. I would like to have a 1 year supply that last at least 5 years under 1.500$... is it possible?

Could someone survive for 5 months with that: those things?

This seems cheap and good... what do you think?

[edit on 18-9-2007 by Vitchilo]

I'll tell ya one group of people who are really big on preparedness: the Mormons. They take it pretty seriously and they are who I contacted and asked a lot of questions about preparation (food and water storage). You don't have to be a Mormon to get advice and they have booklets and things with loads of tips. Since they are well known for having large families they have preparation (with a budget in mind) down to a science.
Jules

Originally posted by Vitchilo
I heard that the MREs taste funny, also the shelf life is only 3 years. Of course passenger you say that the shelf life is much more than printed on the package but how long can it last? 5 years? 10 years? Do I have to keep the MREs in a cold area?

I wanted to buy from efoods direct but the shipping was over 400. I would like to have a 1 year supply that last at least 5 years under 1.500$... is it possible?

Could someone survive for 5 months with that: those things?

This seems cheap and good... what do you think?

[edit on 18-9-2007 by Vitchilo]

That a double hell no. If it was I'd be stocked for a few years, long storage foods as in frezz dried foods are expensive as hell. I try to shop for some good prices but they are pritty much the same I've found a few that seem like good deals but I'll have to look that information back up if you want it but then again you like in canada so shipping would be an issue. So of the deals i've seen ship free in the U.S. excluding the MRE's cuase they weight more or something. But a box of 12 complet meals Mre's run 70 to 80 bucks with is good for 4 days at 3 meals a day for one person. Get some of those ration bars they kind a cheap taste like greasy cookies but they work.

I'll keep looking which i do an a regular basses. Anyways can foods would be the best bet you could always get a dehydrator and dry frutes and veggies heck even meats and vacum seal them for long term storage. Just an idea.

As most on these forums know I'm all about the MRE's. how ever it is cheaper and better to Make as much of your long term storage food your selfA homemade food Dehydrator

Vacume sealer for mason jars.

You can also make a great vacume sealer from an old compressor And a vacuum space bags. and ziplock sandwich bags. Put food item in ziplock bag put ziplock bag in the spacesaver bag. vacuum out spacesaver bag. while still holding a vacume zip the ziplock bag. it's not as good as a store bought vacuum sealer but its cheaper.

Here is instructions for homemade MRE's

Hope this helps somebody

You're much better off if you learn how to store and prepare food yourself. You can build a dehydrator for next to nothing (or even use a car in the summertime) to dry some meats, fruits, and veggies. Also, canning, while a lot of work, is great for storing fruits, veggies, and meats for the long term. I also am salting meat, and so far it has gone pretty well, although I'm going to boil the heck out of it before I eat it.

If you are looking for bug out bag food, MREs are good, but Coast Guard 3600 calorie bars are better. Taste like dried coconut, but flaky and dry out the mouth. However, you can eat half a bar a day and still have the energy to stay mobile. You lose variety, but your bug out bag is not made for long term survival.

Dried grains and beans are an excellent way to store food cheaply. You can buy whole food quality grains at animal feed stores for very cheap. Around here you can get 100 pounds of dried soybeans for under $10. Whole oats are good, kamut if available is excellent. They just need to be kept in an opaque airtight container in a dark place, hopefully below 72 degrees. You can also bake grains in the oven to increase storage life, but I'm a nitrogen packing guy, so my grain will be good for several years. Find a good supplier for food grade containers, hopefully locally, and get to know your local feed stores.

The one thing that you pretty much have to buy if you do not have land for chickens or ducks is powdered eggs and powdered milk. Yes, I know you can't get milk from a duck. These items are still fairly cheap and can be purchased locally in bulk.


As stated previously, the Mormon church has excellent resources for storing food. They are recommended to store 1 years worth of food for their family, and they are taught how to do it on the cheap.

[edit on 19-9-2007 by Taliesin]

I went to Wall Mart and bought a cart full to the top of canned goods and everyone was looking at me like something horrible just happened. True, yes.

One tried and true method (used by the Rhodesian and South African armies, amongst others) is dog-biscuits. Yes, that's no typo.
Now, I'm not advocating eating them on a regular basis, but properly stored (e.g. vacuum-packed) they are virtually indestructable. If the choice came down to literal starvation and a puppy treat - I'd eat the kibble. Just don't buy that Chinese melanine tainted stuff, get some premium k-9 snacks.
I'm not trying to be funny here either, it's a cheap investment and if things got really rough they could be a boon. They're cheap, light, easily stored and provide a good (if crude) source of nutrients.

I buy probably 90% of my supplies from campingsurvival.com

Theyre VERY cheap, they ship fairly quick, and Ive never had a problem with em.

One tip for those wanting dry and canned goods...

Look for food banks/food pantries in your city, for lower income people, etc.
Not only is it free, but you can go anywhere from once a week, to once a month, and it's an EASY way to get completely stock for free, plus most people frown on canned good for everyday eating, but survival guru's know better.

Instant noodles, they last forever.

The whole dog food things was discussed some time ago I don't think it ever got resolved thow
dog food for survival

Don't really know how relivent this is - but a few years back I was working very odd hours and my diet started to really suffer after a while, it was a bit of a vicious cycle where the worse I felt the less I ate.... Any who, here in the UK we have slim fast, it's for people to loose weight (thinking about it you must have it in the US also, it seems really American - shake for breakfast, shake for lunch yada yada). Well I defiantly did not need to loose weight, but I was impressed with all the vitamins and other stuff in it, and started drinking quite a lot and got back to eating properly real quick.

The point being here is that as long as you keep the stuff dry (it's a dehydrated powder for those who don't know) it should last ages - you can mix it with water if needed but it tastes a bit rank - milk is best. And if you diet is very poor on certain vitamins and minerals for whatever reason it should cover you temporally. Might even keep you from eating the slowest member of you group!

SlimFasts don't taste too bad; there are also other drinks higher in calories that have similar nutritional content: Ensure, boost, and other generic store brands. Vanilla, chocolate, etc. Depending where you shop they are about five to seven bucks for a box of six.
Jules

reply to post by angryamerican


Hi Angryamerican,
I actually heard a nutritionist being asked about survival tips on our local pbs radio. It was before 2000 when everyone was freaking out. She said her choice would be dog food. It has the greatest amount of necessary nutrients and storability.

reply to post by angryamerican


Thanks for the post, AA

Found all links very helpful...Especially the tips on homemade MRE's...The extra tip in that link to have some multivitamins handy was an obvious but often forgotten great little tip

Peace

I wouldn't buy a whole years supply of food from the net when you can but it from your own town.

Go to the supermarket and buy whatever takes your fancy off the shelf. That way you can look at the useby date on the back as your going and guestimate how much more you could squeeze out of it.

Remember the caloric content on an MRE is very high...Eating 3 a day like someone mentioned above is overkill. Unless you are burning a whole lot of calories. The were designed for one a day use. AND your body requires a lot of water to process correctly...careful before you know it you are so constipated that you cant walk...

Look for food banks/food pantries in your city, for lower income people, etc.

I would urge you not to use the food pantries to get your food!!!!!!

Come on that is for people that have little to nothing today and you want to take what little is available to horde and stash away for something that may or may not happen...Unless you are one of the unfortunates that absolutely need it...(which I doubt because you have a pc with internet)...leave it alone for those who use it to feed their families.

Man there are plenty of discount stores to buy the same stuff...Go to Aldi's or Save-a-lot, some place like that...then buy extra and donate it to the pantry.

Wanna talk survival...go to one of those pantries stand in line and talk to some of those mothers and how they feed their children with what they get. I lived in my car for 3 months w/ my dog and I wouldnt use the pantry after I saw them turn people away when they ran out of food.

Be smart about it like others are doing and make your own mre's...dehydrated veggies last a LOOOONG time when kept in a cool dark environment.

Dont forget to add items like chocolate....maybe some booze...believe it or not they are big morale boosters and one heck of a trading commodity