What foods to stock up in a SHTF moment?

The question you ask is kind of hard to answer.
Do you mean what you can get now,to prepare for a week or so?
Or a longer term.
Also depends on how much money you can put into it.

On a budget,say you don't have much storage,I would get at least a few cases or more of water.
A few pounds of rice and beans.
Maybe even instant potatoes to put your stews over.
Canned goods,a variety of stews,soups and veggies,just checked the expiration dates on it all.
Canned meat like spam and chicken and tuna.
Noodles.Ramen noodles and mac and cheese.
Nuts and trail mix.
Sugar,salt and a variety of dry spices.
Powdered milk.
Flour or bisquik.
Vegetable oil.
Oh,and everyone always forgets this one,a can opener.

Liquer,lots of liquer.
And a variety of smokes

Then buy a book on how to survive.

That is short term.

Long term,I would be looking into guns and hunting and gardening ,if that is possible.

reply to post by Theangrypea


Don't forget protein powder. Very important. The rice and corn almost have it all but ya need whey protein. Flag, and your first Star!

Does anyone have the list of "37 things you need to hoard when the SHTF" (later amended to 42)? One lesson from the kid that died in the Alaskan wilderness is that you have to have more than protein - you need calories to survive.....so dont neglect carbs (the very thing that dieticians recommend cutting back on if you are trying to lose weight). First and foremost is water, and while stocking up on various food ingredients dont forget the nutritional supplements (vitamins and minerals) and medical supplies.

reply to post by CosmicCitizen


True. Ain't olive oil a great source of non-saturated fat? That could be a sidekick to carbs.
Pastas have carbs. Put olive oil in your pasta. and a tomato can, and you're on business.

Originally posted by Theangrypea
reply to post by CarpenterMatt

 

corn syrup is a good replacement for sugar though and the sweets well they are just for some niceties

Yes, I think I read somewhere that in a SHTF scenario it's the little things that make it easier to cope, so pack some sweety treats.
As for the corn syrup, the reason it is not a healthy food is because it is primarily made up of the fructose sugar. Humans metabolise fructose differently to regular sugar, it's a throwback to our evolution that fructose bypasses the normal pathways used for sugar & instead signals the body to convert this sugar into fat. From an evolutionary perspective the reason is that when fruit was in season the abundance was short lived, so nature developed this method for us to "store" the fuel from these types of food. Now I've thought about it maybe in a SHTF scenario this is a good thing.

Here is a rundown of what is in my stores:

Dry

Pasta
->Bulk pasta in large bags, some in food grade sealed buckets
->Kraft Dinner type meals
Rice (bulk bags stored/poured into air tight food grade buckets)
Bulk Egg Noodles
Bulk Ramen style noodles
Ramen/Mr. noodles packs
Hamburger helper packs
Sidekick noodle packs
Pinto beans
Navy beans
Pearl barley
Dried vegetables
Crackers, matzos, hard tack
Soup mixes
Bouillon cubes
->Beef
->Chicken
Juice Crystals (both regular and diet/sugar free)
Sugar
Salt (iodized and sea salt)
Various dried spices and herbs, (garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, curry powder, mustard, and chili powder)
Flour (white and whole wheat)
Baking powder
Baking soda
Yeast
Corn starch
Corn meal
Dried Milk
Dried eggs
Cereals (not so much you corn flakes or cheerios)
->Red river cereal
->Cream of Wheat
->Rolled oats (porridge) not your instant or packaged stuff, but large bulk bags of it
Popcorn
Pancake mix
Various cake mixes (can be used to make loafs, and pancakes as well with the addition of flour and such)
Jello (diet and reg. plain and flavoured)
Coffee (Regular and Decaf, Instant and ground)
Tea (herbal and black of various types)
Potato
->Powdered
->Scalloped
->Flaked
->Dehydrated hash browns
->Starch
Fruit
->Currants
->Raisins
->Apricots
->Prunes
->Fruit leather
Jerky

Canned

Vegetables
Baked beans
Meats
->Ham
->Chicken
->Tuna
->Salmon
->Luncheon meet/spam
->Sardines
->Smoked Kippers
Soups/stews (various, both ready to serve and concentrate)
Tomato paste
Canned fruit (various mixes and types)
Pasta sauces

Bottled

Peanut butter
Cooking oil (olive, vegetable, sunflower, canola, sesame)
Vinegar (white, wine, cider)
Soy Sauce
Condiments (BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, various Asian condiments)
Pickles
pickled eggs
Jams/spreads

I won't go into what I have in my fridge or freezer, as it is the same as what most people have.

The catch is, I do not have a "special" collection for SHTF, I just have a lot more than I need month to month in my pantry, I probably have enough to go 3-5 months at normal usage, longer if I ration. This does not include perishables in my freezer and such. Having extra, over and above my monthly usage allows me to use and rotate the stock, as I use in regular cooking everything in my stocks, I am not left to figure out how to use it or prepare it in a SHTF situation.

If I bug out in place, or "Bug-In", I have the stocks, if I need to move, I can quickly transfer my stock to totes or packs and move out. I know that I can move out quickly as this past spring (2011) we were evacuated due to flooding, it took me 10-15 minutes to pack and load all of my stocks into my truck in totes. perishables went to the food bank and non perishables stayed with me.

I also store water in 20L (5Gal) water cooler bottles, both treated tap water and reverse osmosis water, I also have a supply of chlorine bleach on hand, I have usually 5 bottles on hand totally 100 Liters (25 Gallons). I have water bottles and canteens on hand if I need them in smaller servings.

To store food in food grade buckets, it was as simple as going to the local Dairy Queen (DQ) establishment and asking if the had buckets they were throwing out. Most stores that use a lot of "toppings" such as the strawberry topping you get on banana splits and sundaes get it in 3 or 4 gallon buckets. These buckets are food grade buckets that have only ever had food stuffs in them, I take them home wash them, sanitize them, and use them. Make sure you get lids with them too. These buckets are air tight and seal in a positive manner but are easy to open and reseal without tools.

Hope this helps.

reply to post by Theangrypea


I found emergency survival meals outrageously expensive. Store bought can foods last 3 years, if tshtf its gonna happen by the end of 2013 you will more likely really be onasurvobalmode. Any grocery store with good generic foods, examples can spams, chickens, meats ate 1/2 the price of and brand, same as van fruits, peanut butter, jelly, beans, spegbitti everything has at leady a 3 year shelf life, its cheap and you can quickly stickup get more fore your buck. Biochemical mask, and the materials to make a suit ota cheaper then buying.
And all the other items everybody is telling you about, water tablets iodine patassium...

I have a few hundred SIDEKICKS. All i need to add is water and cook it with my propane burner

try to round out all the viatimins and minerals you need in your collection as i hear scurvy can be quite bad but it seems that you have an amazing list of things to choose from posted by other members just try to cover all the bases that will keep your body from shutting down

If you're going to stockpile food, you need to thing about what you eat.

By canned goods, that you already use, by the case. Get a sharpie and date each and every can. Figure out how to store food so you eat the oldest first.

Dry goods. Rice, beans, flour, sugar and pasta. Store in Tupperware type containers that you can seal air tight.

You need a source of clean water.

Spices.

Also, store seeds for heritage type veggies. If you really want to stay healthy, you need to eat your veggies.

Vitamins. You should get a couple years supply for each member of your group. You should have an extra supply of vitamin C so you don't get scurvy.

IMO sun dried or dehydrated fruits and veggies vacuum sealed will last much longer than
canned foods and dehydrating helps food retain more of their vitamins/minerals. Then simply re-hydrating for soups,pastas stews ect. Also rice,dried sealed beans and whole grain pastas,honey, just a few handy/nutrient packed items that have a great shelf life and a bit easier to store. Another good idea would start a good seed bank of organic veggies,grain and fruits, and dont forget sprouting seeds such as alfalfa,broccolli,clover ect These items take up less space and are a bit more lightweight in the case you have to be on the move

here is a link for an amazing water bottle that can turn sewage into pure drinking water. A bit expensive but
IMO well worth it in an emergency.

www.lifesaversystems.com...

here is an informative video on how to sprout seeds for emergency food

Rice 150lbs
Beans 150lbs
Lentils 150lb
Pemmican 50lbs
Vit C Chewables. (like 200 bottles)

Should keep you alive for two years three if you ration constantly.

Hunting and gardening are essential skills to have in this scenario, and as far as prepping foods, fruits, veggies, and meats are the very most important to stockpile in my opinion. Preferably hunted meat and home-grown fruits and veggies, but if you can't do that, or you have no way to preserve those things, then get everything dried or canned. Canned fruit, veggies, and meat, like spam or vienna sausages, or beef jerky. It's not choice meat, but it's better than nothing. Meat is a must-have.

It's also a good idea to eat things that have all your essential nutrients and vitamins (as hard as that is nowadays), because in the event of a SHTF scenario, it's likely there may be a nationwide pandemic, and your immune system needs to be as bulletproof as possible... hell, even without the scenario of a pandemic, people get sick from deadly disease and die all the time, so a bulletproof immune system is essential for everything, weather TSHTF or not.

And PURIFIED WATER! Buy bottled drinking or distilled water, or buy a really good water filter that gets rid of most of the flouride and other chemicals in the tap water, some of which make you three or four more times likely to get cancer. You don't wanna stockpile on tainted water. Water is a little more important than food, so store TONS of it, and make sure it's clean. Also, if you're planning to bug out, get some water cleaning tablets... I'm not sure exactly what they're called, sorry.

Also, if you live in the country or if you plan to bug out away from the city, hunting weapons would be good. Guns, yes, but you should get things that are quieter as well, because guns are loud and will give you away to other potentially threatening people, and you'll want to save as much ammo as possible. You can get a small pistol crossbow that's strong enough to kill rabbits and other small game animals at the mall for about 20$.

I also have a huge supply of ramen noodles and instant mashed potatoes. They don't really have any essential vitamins or great health boosters, but they're the cheapest food you can find, so that's not a bad idea too.

And also, if you have a Dollar Tree in your local area, stock up on food there. They have canned fruit, veggies, and meat, and everything there is a dollar or less.

Hope that was helpful, God bless

All this dried goods ya'll are talking about...
something to keep in mind.. If there really is a SHTF moment and your doing all the last minute dash for stuff, you need to think bigger than what your gonna eat and take some serious time to evaluate your location. If you have nothing but dried goods,.. you will require lots of water.. for yourself and the stuff you need to hydrate. What about the scenario.. no electricity maybe? some homes operate on well pumps.. without electricity= no water, unless you have a hand pump back up or alternate source to run the pump. if your in the city,(never a place I would want to be in that event) then city water also runs on pumps drivin by electricity..Get what im sayin here?..hope you will have plenty of water to drink with your foods.. a gallon a day is recommended.

Originally posted by Retikx
Rice 150lbs
Beans 150lbs
Lentils 150lb
Pemmican 50lbs
Vit C Chewables. (like 200 bottles)

Should keep you alive for two years three if you ration constantly.

sorry friend,. not a good choice
and 3 months maybe

Its always good to have more than you need....
Does anyone know how long water will keep for if sealed tight in those blue containers for water machines?

I would google it, but im trying to get 20post to start a damn thread.... tx

Anti-starvation insurance only:
Deep into well after when TSHTF:

Go to a feed store and buy 50 Lb bags of rolled oats ($15) and cracked corn ($9). When it goes bad in 2 years, turn into the gardens for mulch. Can be used as bait for birds and rodents to get protein. Must be cooked to be digested and it will be horrid beyond belief to make cornmeal everything, oatmeal everything, day in, day out. Starving to death is far, far worse. Read "One Second After" by Forstchen.

Otherwise you should have 6 months of regular canned, dry foods you use daily and rotate stock.

$120 every 2 years as food insurance for 400 pounds of last, ditch survival food enough to last you through a planting, growing, and get you to a harvest season with your HEIRLOOM seeds you always use.

Originally posted by bjscribz
Its always good to have more than you need....
Does anyone know how long water will keep for if sealed tight in those blue containers for water machines?

I would google it, but im trying to get 20post to start a damn thread.... tx

The water will keep indefinitely, and you can treat it with bleach when used, it may have a slightly funny smell and taste, but it will be fine. If you sanitize the bottle then fill it with RO water (reverse osmosis) it will keep for near ever.

reply to post by RyanFromCan


Indefinetly? wow. I guess I should start filling some containers. If I filled them with regular tap water would the shelf life be dramatically different from "RO" or distilled water. Also excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by treating the water with bleach when ready to use..... tx in advance

Originally posted by bjscribz
reply to post by RyanFromCan

 

Indefinetly? wow. I guess I should start filling some containers. If I filled them with regular tap water would the shelf life be dramatically different from "RO" or distilled water. Also excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by treating the water with bleach when ready to use..... tx in advance

Relatively Clear Water - Use 2 drops of bleach per quart of water or 8 drops per gallon (or 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons). Cloudy Water - Use 4 drops of bleach per quart of water or 16 drops per gallon (or 2 teaspoons per 10 gallons).

www.grandpappy.info...

And other resourceful ways to get water.