I went through the same thing a while back, the Wife and I bought large bags of pasta and rice, not these 5kg bags but 1 kg bags, or various shaped pasta and different types of rice.We sealed them in their bags inside the click and shut plastic boxes that when you put the lids on and push the sides down forms an airtight seal.
We also bought tubed tomato puree and garlic puree, which last a year or so providing you don't open them, and if you do last about a week before you either use them or throw them.
Packets soups are cool , finding flavours you like is a challenge though as I know the Wife doesn't like soup.
Tinned stuff is ok, for about 3 months upto a year, tinned tuna lasted us about 6 months.
Also from my experience, find a cash and carry or restaurant suppliers to buy in bulk, we bought about 6 months supply of bottle water, kept in the garage so its cool and dark in there prolonging life. use as you need and rotate your stock as well.
Bottled sauces for your pasta is ok for about 2-3 months , frozen veges should last months providing your freezer doesn't pack up. Meat lasts months when frozen. got a beef joint in ours from about 6 months ago and still fresh .
Fresh vegs are not good to store , but frozen berries are cool,we have a bag from last year of blackberries, and I'm very tempted to thaw them out and snack on them, once you defrost them use them quickly within a couple of days as they'll turn, make a juice or smoothie with them.
My real advice is learn to garden, build a small square foot garden for potatoes, theres lots of hints on the net how to do it. because if the supply of processed or prepacked foods is distrupted either through power loss , or something worse then your basically stuffed, but if you can garden your own fruit and veg you'll be ok, plus if money is still a viable option should TSHTF bigtime then you'll make a fortune supplying food , providing you can keep it of course from the marauding masses of hungry people looking for processed junk food.

My family consists of Me,My wife,my 4 year old son. I built a large pantry and we spent about 1 grand to fill it up. We have about 100 cans give or take. All kinds of dry goods. And when we use something we put it on a list. After a couple weeks we take that list to the store and restock. The new stuff goes to the back and the old stuff gets moved forward. We have enough stuff to last us 6 months.
Also look at your city laws. Most cities will allow Egg laying chickens provided they are propperly kept. No roosters though. An egg layer will lay 295 eggs a year. You get 4 or 5 chickes and you got all the eggs you will ever need.
Let them roam your yard and feast on bugs. They also love table scraps. Chickens can eat anything. Supply them with a good calcium diet because they are egg layers and will need the extra.

Originally posted by Darkice19
My family consists of Me,My wife,my 4 year old son. I built a large pantry and we spent about 1 grand to fill it up. We have about 100 cans give or take. All kinds of dry goods. And when we use something we put it on a list.

How did it cost you that much! I could fill our large pantry for maybe 100 pounds, and that's pushing it. Dried beans are around £1.20 per kilogram, canned vegetables are often under 60 pence per can. Sorry maybe you have purchased some expensive items but i just can't see why it should cost anyone that much.

Remember the mantra of Jack Spirko,

"Eat what you store and store what you eat."

How often does your family go shopping for food? Once a week?, once a fortnight?

Go and look in your pantrys and cupboards right now. How much food is in there, how long do you think it would last.

The truth is that people will sometimes have more than they realise. I you go shopping once every two weeks then you have half your food right away! It doesn't take too much to extend it by a little every time you go shopping. If you buy stuff that you eat anyway all you have to do is keep rotating your stock.

The best bit is you might even save some money...

As soon as you have a good stock that is rotated regularly you are now in a great position to buy bulk when it's on special offer. Not on offer this week? No sweat, you have plenty at home. As food prices increases you will also mitigate the eventual cost as you are eating at last month's prices.

The trick is not to panic and buy something you're never going to eat.

Go have a look in your cupboard now, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984

Originally posted by Darkice19
My family consists of Me,My wife,my 4 year old son. I built a large pantry and we spent about 1 grand to fill it up. We have about 100 cans give or take. All kinds of dry goods. And when we use something we put it on a list.

How did it cost you that much! I could fill our large pantry for maybe 100 pounds, and that's pushing it. Dried beans are around £1.20 per kilogram, canned vegetables are often under 60 pence per can. Sorry maybe you have purchased some expensive items but i just can't see why it should cost anyone that much.

I should have explained better. Its a 12/12 room and it took pretty much 10 full grocery carts to fill up. Most people know that a full grocery cart costs between 200 and 300 bucks to fill.

My family started a Pantry about 2 months ago. I suggest shopping places like Big Lots and Dollar General. You can get lots of great deals on off brand merchandise. I go every 2 weeks and buy about 100.00 worth of stuff that goes straight to the "pantry." We pick up extra water all the time.
Also put together a good first aid kit. I bought a bunch of first aid stuff from big lots. Saved a bundle!! Got basic band aids, pepto, and bunch of vitamins.
I have recently added beef jerky to the pantry because it pretty much lasts forever.
Take a little money and start. The hardest part is starting. Once you get it going then you just keep adding and it really doesn't cost very much. I know how it felt in the beginning. Seemed overwhelming. But now its really fun looking for the deals. Skip wally world and hit discount stores!!

Yes the hardest part is starting, from then on it just becomes second nature.. "oh , we should get some of these'..

I agree with the first aid, could come in very handy. And a few luxuries too, candy or what ever your comfort is. No reason to sit around anxious.

My family has always been big into gaming, board games and reading for the girls. Since we'll be spending a lot of time together we are setting unread books aside and collecting a few more games from yard sales, packs of cards and marshmallows for those kumbaya moments around the fire.

Originally posted by TheRedneck
I still remember many years ago, when I was talking to some people. Someone mentioned methods of growing potatoes, and there was more than one person who swore off eating potatoes because they realized they grew in dirt...

THAT is the definition of sad.

TheRedneck

That is simultaneously funny and sad. Funny because i am sure they eat tons of other stuff that grows underground and sad that they didn't know they grow underground or that they somehow think it makes them bad to eat.

So many people really are completely ignorant of how food is produced.

One thing many people miss is the bottom line and I'm not talking about money.

Bottom line = Calories.

3 people x 30 days x calories per day. (for survival figure 2000. Its above average needs but kids eat less and large adults eat more.)

3x30=90

90x2000=180,000 calories.

Some would get 60 pounds of beans and sixty pounds of rice and call it a day. Add spices, cooking oil and some vitamins and you're all set to survive but it would get boring.

Others might map out every meal for the 30 days that you are wanting to survive for.

If you are on a budget or preparation time is limited, the key is to know that what you will need in calories is taken care of.

Originally posted by badgerprints
Some would get 60 pounds of beans and sixty pounds of rice and call it a day. Add spices, cooking oil and some vitamins and you're all set to survive but it would get boring.

Yep that's pretty much what i've done, with the spices it won't get broing. However i added a few canned goods, like tinned tomatoes so i can make bean curry When it comes to survival, making food enjoyable is important. Oh sure you can eat the most boring foods simply to carry on living but it gets you down, psychologically it's a serious hit.

I did an experiment a couple of years ago where i ate nothing but beans and rice, drinks were coffee and tea. After a week i was struggling to eat the same thing over and over. I actually became nauseated every time i tried to eat it, like my brain was just saying "oh not this again". I still could eat but every mouthful was an effort and it was seriously depressing.

You don't need a massive variety, just some extra stuff to mix it up.

Just look at the diet of peasants worldwide. The majority is carbs (rice) and maybe some spicy meat or fish that is basically flavoring.

You can do 100 lbs rice and 100lbs beans and be secure, throw in some salt and spice next, then get some cans of canned chicke, chili, chunky soup, stuff like that. You just gotta get it through you that most of your calories will be rice, and anything else is just flavor, not a course in the meal.

When I was a kid, my Gran could cook one cup rice, pour a cup of homemade soup on top, and feed four people with it for about $.30, and it was damn tasty. There definitely were no noses turned up at it. One cup dry rice makes like four cups cooked, and the soup makes a nice flavor. We had fresh eggs and milk, along with salt cured slab bacon. You just boil the salt meat then fry it up, very lean and tasty. This stuff is not hard to get or do yourself, unless you live in the city. People may think it's crazy to eat all that fat and protein but if you are survivin you need it. Coincidentally, most of my old folks in the family live to be ooolllllddd like 90+. My best friend's grandp's on his dad's side buy almost none of there food from the store, and they are 92 and 96. They have fresh fatty milk and eggs; butcher and salt cure their own hogs. My Gran is in her 80's and still cleans hotel rooms and milks 50 goats by hand every day. The only food she buys is flour and Mountain Dews.


Many kids these days are use to sitting down to a big burger and a pile of fries, a large coke and apple pie. We need to be breaking them in now. If you don't there will just be more resources for those of us who know what to do with them.

[edit on 16-10-2009 by hotrodturbo7]

The first time I saw a full grocery cart hit $100, I hit the roof.

I really don't mean to be rude....but my sarcastic nature can not let this one slide. When did this happen to you, 1912? I went today, spent $150 on little over HALF a cart full and there was not a name brand, or a soda, or any meat (except 5 cans of tuna), or diapers or any of the other things I still have to get even in there! No junk either, except for generic pop tarts and frosted flakes. At Wal-Mart if you are wondering. It has gotten to the point we are already eating "survival food" just to get from payday to payday for our family of 5.

Great posts and suggestions, y'all.


The ONE thing that is more important than any -- and ladies will agree with me on this -- is toilet paper! Gotta have that. But, if you run out of TP, then here's what you do: get an old towel, a threadbare one, not a fluffy one, and get a wooden spoon that has a relatively thin edge; drape the towel over the spoon, gripping the towel on the shaft of the spoon with one hand and pull that towel over the curved part of the spoon tight, then do your thing, going downwards, not upwards.


Works like a charm and you can always wash those towels with ease. Just fold up the towels with the shiat spots on the inside of the towel and they'll dry out, so it won't be messy. Start at one corner of the towel and do the spots as close to each other as you can without having any of the spots tough any part of you. It's easy. Gross, I know, but, hey, it's important.


The towel trick works like a charm -- I once forgot TP for a two-week camping trip, so I had to improvise. Everybody there at the camp worshiped me, 'cause I saved their asses, literally.


Another very valuable thing is NOT to buy anything that is already ground, like flour, coffee, etc -- get whole grains, organic, preferably. The beauty of the grains is that, not only can you grind them and cook them, you can sprout them and eat them. Sprouted grains, on the average, have seven times the nutrient value than non-sprouted grains; cooked grains have even LESS nutrient value, so sprouting is BEST for SHTF scenarios.


And you don't need to go buy 100-lb bags -- buy 25-lb bags, one at a time, of several kinds of sproutable grains and you will do fine. Do some searching into what kinds of grains sprout the best, fastest and are easiest to eat when sprouted.