Recommendations for emergency 30 day food supply

What are some good choices for an emergency food supply that could last a month for two people, and more importantly, can be stored at room temperature and take up the least amount of space for long term storage?

I have a Travel trailer with a small generator that I'd like to have stocked and ready to go for a SHTF situation. Space is limited. My biggest concern is deciding exactly what types of food would be best to keep stocked. Ideally foods we could rotate out on a regular basis would make the most sense.

If you had to make a run on the grocery store, what foods are you going for first? Second?

I'm thinking , Canned everything, but what else would be practical and I'd really like some info on exactly how long canned "whatever" can last...Google doesn't like my way of asking for it, but a chart would be great.

reply to post by Paschar0


Granola and canned food.

Here let me google that for you

30 day supply should be pretty easy, start with the basics like tuna, peanut butter, beans/rice/lentils, canned goods, oats, granola, dried fruit, spices, coffee, etc. Consider that you might have to cook over a fire, or conserve fuel, so choose things that can be eaten raw or that can be cooked quickly.

I'd look at the staples... think of what the pioneers had. Hell, coffee might be worth its weight in gold as well as a few spare rolls of wire and duct tape. So... to put into those 5 pound pails that seal up nicely I would put in rice, beans, biscuit mix, freeze dried fruit and veggies.. jerky ( with as little salt as possible, makes you thirsty) powdered eggs... and MRE's. Lots of websites that have these things just as cheap as you can get at wal mart. Good luck with your stash!
Don't forget a well stocked first aid kit, asprin, and a reserve supply of any medications you or your family must have. Mind dates on meds, because they can expire.

reply to post by Paschar0


Dried rice and dried beans. Pasta. Canned food - mostly meat for the highcaloric value. Any canned nuts.Peanut butter is a high calorie food that should be in your kit. Lots of water. A means of making fire.

Originally posted by mileysubet
Here let me google that for you

Thanks, but I was more interested in what people HERE thought...well all but one

Oatmeal is a good choice, instant or quick cooking. Try and choose foods that give you the most bang (nutrition) for your buck, are quick and easy to fix. Have items that only need water (dehydrated/freeze dried soups) and items that don't, i.e. canned foods ready to eat. I also recommend a five pound can of organic mung bean seeds. With a little water and a couple days, you can have a "fresh" food, full of protein, vitamins and minerals. I would also recommend some multi vitamin/minerals.

The lentil family provides proteins, so split peas, black beans, pinto beans, pretty much any bean, rice, dehydrated/freeze dried carrots or mango fruit, sun dried tomatoes, instant potatoes, dehydrated/freeze dried broccoli or cauliflower, canned green beans and beets and you have a pretty balanced diet. I also dry pumpkin and spinach leaves. Get a bag of cornmeal and flour to make your own tortillas or biscuits. You pretty much need to gather what you would be happy to eat that provides you a lot of nutrition and would be "fixable" in an emergency situation. Don't forget salt and seasonings.

If I wanted something with a lot of calories and shelf life, not to mention fairly easy to transport I would have to say: Peanut Butter. I would load up on peanut butter and then consider different flavored granola's just to add variety and fiber. I keep six plastic jars of peanut butter in my BoB.. it may not be the best if you plan on sheltering in place but if you are on the move it is pound for pound the best thing to have.

reply to post by Paschar0

Thanks, but I was more interested in what people HERE thought...well all but one

I've been researching the same thing and have been wanting to start a similar thread. I'm glad you did. I want to have up to 6 months of food for 4 people and the dog that I won't have to worry about rotating. I also want assurance that if I spend thousands the grub will last at least 20 years. There was one company that interested me, if I can find it among the zillions of bookmarks I'll post it.

Never underestimate the powers of Tabasco Sauce, black pepper, and salt. You can eat nearly anything if you have those three - even MREs.

Plus, after TSHTF, you can use them (and coffee - beans only) for barter goods.

White Rice. You can buy mylar bags and oxygen absorbers on Amazon for $25.00 bucks for 20. (I think that it what I paid the last time). Use a clothes iron to seal them. Stor in a bucket and has a shelf life of 20 years. You can do the same with beans (good protien), sugar...etc. Another tip is that you can use an empty 2 liter bottle (soda / pop). Cleat it wit 2 tablespoons of water and 1 table spoon of bleach. Swish it around (get the cap too), pour it out and let this dry out. You can then store flour, pasta noodles, bean...etc for at least 2 years. Add an oxygen absorber and increse this for several years. Another thing is instead of buying oxygen absorbers (use about 2100 cc per 5 gallons), you can use the hand warmers that you find in the sporting goods. They are used buy hunters to break and have a chemical reaction that keeps your hands warm inside your glove, or pocket. Just throw one on the top of your food. The whole packet, doe break it to give it a chemical reaction. This has charcoal that absorbs oxygen and prevents bad thngs from growing in your food. Check out my Prepper Blog for more information. Ghost Prepper

Whew, I need spell check...lol

If i needed something to simply keep 2 people alive for 30 days in the event of an emergency: a 50-100lb bag of dried rice.

Sure, some folks wanna get all fancy with canned fruit/veggie/meat/seafood/pnut butter, etc, (and this is nice for someone wanting to look long-term survival/nutrition and having the means to store said large amount of items), but for a camper, to LIVE for 30 days. Dried rice/beans and water.

Simpler the better.

Most might find it funny, but I have a bug out spice rack.
Also a large collection of knifes, cleavers and saws.
Those canned goods aren't gonna last for ever.

reply to post by Liquesence


I agree, but most people including my SO want something more. So, throw in a large can of jalepenos, and a few cans of veggies, fruit cocktail. Simpler is better though and the ancients lived on very little variation to their diet. Squash, corn and beans or rice and beans. Most still need a vitamin C source. That's why I suggest having mung beans to sprout. Or even alfalfa, something similar that is fresh and has a lot of nutrition, takes up little space and doesn't need cooking and packs a wallop in the nutrition area.

You know, some people can live on a simple diet, but many others just can't. I'm not sure why that is, but it is. I myself could live on rice, beans, eggs and some sort of hot pepper, garlic and mung bean sprouts and salt and coffee.....for the rest of my life if I had to. My SO on the other hand, hell no.

One thing I remember reading is to make sure the food you get is something that you would normally eat. There's no sense in buying/storing food you don't like.

I'd like to know what kind of foods do people buy to keep in there vehicles too? Also what foods handle extreme heat and cold? In a SHTF situation, it's possible that power is going to go out and with temps over 100 or below 32, are there any foods that can handle both extremes, or should we have one group for summer and one group for winter.

I'd like to have food in my vehicle since I spend a lot of time on the highway and I don't want to have to load/unload every time I use the vehicle.

Originally posted by Paschar0

Originally posted by mileysubet
Here let me google that for you

Thanks, but I was more interested in what people HERE thought...well all but one

My apologies, I have done massive amounts of research on the web into this exact subject as you are now. There are how ever many great minds on ATS, but to be honest I have yet to see any thing new about this subject on ATS that I hadn't already found on the WWW.

It would be very difficult to extrapolate all the knowledge of the WWW. and post that condensed knowledge into a single thread.

Originally posted by LadySkadi
30 day supply should be pretty easy, start with the basics like tuna, peanut butter, beans/rice/lentils, canned goods, oats, granola, dried fruit, spices, coffee, etc. Consider that you might have to cook over a fire, or conserve fuel, so choose things that can be eaten raw or that can be cooked quickly.

edit on 3-7-2012 by LadySkadi because: (no reason given)

Agreed, if you start with the basic building blocks you can build anything from there.
Plus base/staple foods generally will keep longer than mixed varieties.
Don't forget the powdered milk, cocoa powder and water!!!

Canned goods arent reliable at all in a "no power" "solar-flare" "emp" situation unless you have a long term, maintainable temperature location for them...therefore useless for long term... say in a heat wave much like we are having now in the US.

Can goods can COOK in the cans and be ruined in high temps. People forget that. No power in your city? Bury them and the ground heats up anyway.

For food that STORES up to 15 YEARS, complete meals x 3 per day and snacks.....visit EFOODS.COM

*MStranger-a 1st Responder/FEMA/DHS ERT TEAM Member)