$100 Food Storage Challenge

[Weedygarden]

I recently mentioned watching YouTube channel Out of Goshen. They have issued a $100 Food Storage Challenge. I immediately wanted to participate, even though I am good for food storage, only really needing fresh food, which only lasts a little while. My thought, and I suggested this to someone who commented on their live feed, even if you do not physically go buy the food, maybe just making a plan would be interesting and helpful for many, especially those people who have just woken up about the importance. Figuring out a menu helps to know what to buy. My menu will include more carbs than I usually eat but I think that will probably be true in a SHTF scenario.

I am still working on my plan. I will be looking at some ideas and prices this weekend. I want to do a list with actual costs. Some items on my $100 list will include peanut butter, cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, canned chicken, beans, rice, flour, canned hams, pasta and sauce. Figuring out the financial piece to see how many meals I can have will be one aspect I have to work on as well.

Tuesday evening Out of Goshen does a live show, 7 p.m. EST, and this coming Tuesday, March 3, 2020, they will be doing the show about it. just a thought if anyone is interested. Even if you don't make a plan, watching this episode might be helpful for some of us.

BTW, I have invited them to join us here! I don't think they have, but they have 7 children at home, so they are busy.

 

[Terri9630]

That's one of the ones I watch too.

 

[LadyLocust]

I will have to watch in the morning. Our internet is too slow in the evening. Is the challenge to see how long you can eat on $100?
Might look at buying a pkg of lettuce seeds cheap and will feed you quite a while.

 

[Weedygarden]

I will have to watch in the morning. Our internet is too slow in the evening. Is the challenge to see how long you can eat on $100?
Might look at buying a pkg of lettuce seeds cheap and will feed you quite a while.

It somewhat evolved from when it first came to them. There were people who said they didn't have much money to prep. This can be true for some. They were talking about what kinds of things they prep and they originally were talking about protein. Preparing for one or two people is very different than preparing for a family of 9 as far as $100 goes. I decided that I will make meal plans and then see how far I can go with $100. I believe this is also a good idea to help people who seem stuck, and in the Facebook groups, people are so hysterical they have no idea what to buy.

 

[LadyLocust]

Ah ha! Makes sense. I'm glad I'm not feeding 9
A friend of hubby's went to Costco and bought tons of stuff with long exp. dates. He ended up with a bunch of junk food essentially (chips, top roman etc.) Hubby didn't say too much but suggested stocking up on things that are nourishing that have some shelf life (canned veggies etc.) Also, many folks have no idea how much they eat in a week, month, year. I've always kept at least some store of food, but even when I was trying to work out how much we needed per year, there were some adjustments and some guessing. I can see how this could be useful especially if just getting started.

 

[Weedygarden]

Ah ha! Makes sense. I'm glad I'm not feeding 9
A friend of hubby's went to Costco and bought tons of stuff with long exp. dates. He ended up with a bunch of junk food essentially (chips, top roman etc.) Hubby didn't say too much but suggested stocking up on things that are nourishing that have some shelf life (canned veggies etc.) Also, many folks have no idea how much they eat in a week, month, year. I've always kept at least some store of food, but even when I was trying to work out how much we needed per year, there were some adjustments and some guessing. I can see how this could be useful especially if just getting started.

I want to write out a weeks menu and to take it from there. I know I will eventually have menus for a few weeks.

I want to do some price checks for things like beans, rice, canned chicken, frozen vegetables, frozen fruits and more. I will do price checks at Costco, Wallyworld, Safeway and King Soopers (Kroger). I'm not sure that I will make the Tuesday deadline, but I will give it a shot.

I actually thought of making a few different $100 lists, just for the fun and variety of it. I am not necessarily buying what I am saying on my list. It is more of an idea of what people can do. I think it will help me to fill in some gaps as well.

When it comes to my own food storage, I know I need or want more canned meats, newer condiments, peanut butter and some other things. I really need to continue to check my inventory for freshness and how good things still are.

 

[Tank-Girl]

I need more tinned meats as well as peanut butter, pasta, rolled oats, beans, lentils, beef and chicken stock powder and garlic.

The 185 gram tins of tuna I normally buy have jumped from $1.19 per tin to $1.30 overnight.

The on-line store where I buy my canning jars were suppose to get a shipping container full of regular mouth pint jars and lids last Monday but so far they haven't shown up as available in their store yet.

Rice selections looked really thin at the supermarket.

I need more poisons like insect spray and insect repellents.

Toilet paper.

 

[Weedygarden]

I have somewhat changed my idea of how I will do this. When I have many categories done, I will try to do some mixes of items, but for now, how many of each can I get for $100? I also want to do an evaluation of how much of each feeds one person, and therefore, how much would it take to feed your family? How many people does one pound of beans feed for a meal?

Beans: If you shop around and know prices, you can get beans for $1 a pound, or around 100 pounds of beans for $100, give or take a little by where you buy them and what type you buy. Dollar Tree has 1 pound bags of white, black, pinto and lentils for $1 each, at least the last time I was there. I will be going this weekend to check that and a few other items. The LDS Bishops storehouse is very similar, but some are a little more and some a little less. Essentially, you can get close to 100 pounds of beans for close to $100 at the LDS storehouse.

I didn't check the prices and variety at Cosco or Walmart, yet. My grocery stores have beans for a little more, depending on time of year and seasons. I haven't checked them this week either.

I am wondering if prices are going to go up and if there will be shortages coming soon as people start to panic? From what I am reading in prepper groups, those who have not previously gotten stocked up are filling their cars full now. I think I should take some photos when I am out, as I would encourage others to do as well.

I have heard that the companies that sell preparedness food are also having a lot of business since the corona virus hit the news, and they are out and low on some items.

 

[Amish Heart]

I hear that some long term storage companies are out of food. Do you have a restaurant supply store near you? I got decent prices on flour, rice, and dry beans at the Shamrock store in Albuquerque. You could buy there even without a business.

 

[SouthCentralUS]

When I am canning beans. one pound makes 3 pints. So how many people would that feed?

 

[Sentry18]

When I am canning beans. one pound makes 3 pints. So how many people would that feed?

Not sure how accurate it is, but my cooking guide says one gallon will give you approx. 30-40 portions, one quart yields approx. 8-10 portions, one pint provides 4-5 portions.

 

[Amish Heart]

I think it depends on how much you like green beans. In our house, a pint would serve 3 adults.

 

[Weedygarden]

I think it depends on how much you like green beans. In our house, a pint would serve 3 adults.

She may be talking about canning beans that she purchased dry. I know some people can them, and I think it is a great idea. I just never have canned any.

 

[Weedygarden]

Dry pound of pinto beans says serving size is 1/4 cup of dry beans. A one pound package serves 10, according to this package. At a $1 a pound, that is 10 cents a serving of pintos, if that is enough food for a person.
A dry pound of lentils says it serves 13. This package does not say 1/4 cup of dry per serving. Both of these packages came from Dollar Tree, but are packaged by different companies and are $1 a package/pound.

100 pounds of beans feeds 8-10 people 100 meals, with other foods included. Of course, you can add other thing such as rice, cornbread, or other food. I think it is a great idea to have a variety of beans in storage. There are more than 1000 varieties of beans, and I try to keep a variety in storage.

 

[SouthCentralUS]

Yes I was talking about dried beans. They are wonderful to have on hand canned.

 

[Caribou]

SCUS I assume you are talking about cooking and pressure canning your dry beans. I think that is a great idea for some of your dry bean inventory. This is a great way to have a ready meal with less fuel. I keep some canned beans as well as the dried. I figure that a pint of cooked beans would feed me for a meal. Add a can of corn and you could feed two people and have a complete protein. Add I some onions, garlic and cheese, or cream of mushroom soup and it might even taste okay. A can of chicken or beef and you can feed three or four or feed yourself for a couple of days.

 

[Terri9630]

I can beans for hubby. A pint jar makes a side dish for 2 meals.

 

[Weedygarden]

Peanut Butter: This happens to have more of a range of variables, and I am only going to do the calculation for Costco peanut butter here and now. It could change tomorrow or next week. I am thinking we may have a pb thread and I have some questions. If there is no pb thread, I hope to start one in the next few days.
https://www.costco.com/kirkland-sig...butter,-28-oz,-2-count.product.100334334.html
The current online price for organic pb at Costco is $11.49 for two 28 ounce jars. Prices can be different in their warehouses. Each jar has 25 servings of two tablespoons per serving, so each purchases equals 50 servings. At $11.49, you can buy 8 units for $91.52 or 9 units for $103.41. Nine is closer to $100. Nine units of peanut butter would give you 450 servings. That would mean 450 sandwiches. If you had one pb sandwich a day, you would have pb for about a year and a quarter. A family of four could have pb sandwiches for 112 days, or 3 1/2 months, for $100. A family of two could have daily pb sandwiches for 7 months, for $100. A family of 10 could have sandwiches for 45 days for $100.

This Costco pb is organic and kosher, for anyone who is interested.

 

[Meerkat]

Yes I was talking about dried beans. They are wonderful to have on hand canned.

Here in humid mostly hot Florida we always can ours.

I will have to watch in the morning. Our internet is too slow in the evening. Is the challenge to see how long you can eat on $100?
Might look at buying a pkg of lettuce seeds cheap and will feed you quite a while.

Lettuce is fast grower so we will do the same thing, planted some first of week and its already coming up good.

I have somewhat changed my idea of how I will do this. When I have many categories done, I will try to do some mixes of items, but for now, how many of each can I get for $100? I also want to do an evaluation of how much of each feeds one person, and therefore, how much would it take to feed your family? How many people does one pound of beans feed for a meal?

Beans: If you shop around and know prices, you can get beans for $1 a pound, or around 100 pounds of beans for $100, give or take a little by where you buy them and what type you buy. Dollar Tree has 1 pound bags of white, black, pinto and lentils for $1 each, at least the last time I was there. I will be going this weekend to check that and a few other items. The LDS Bishops storehouse is very similar, but some are a little more and some a little less. Essentially, you can get close to 100 pounds of beans for close to $100 at the LDS storehouse.

I didn't check the prices and variety at Cosco or Walmart, yet. My grocery stores have beans for a little more, depending on time of year and seasons. I haven't checked them this week either.

I am wondering if prices are going to go up and if there will be shortages coming soon as people start to panic? From what I am reading in prepper groups, those who have not previously gotten stocked up are filling their cars full now. I think I should take some photos when I am out, as I would encourage others to do as well.

I have heard that the companies that sell preparedness food are also having a lot of business since the corona virus hit the news, and they are out and low on some items.

WalMarts a good place to buy large bags of dried beans. Would prefer organic but price is too high. We do buy organic carrots in 25lb bags at Publix though at fairprice or was .

 

[LadyLocust]

She may be talking about canning beans that she purchased dry. I know some people can them, and I think it is a great idea. I just never have canned any.

I can my own kidney beans- 1/2 c. dry beans per pint jar, so I get 4 pints per pound. It could vary with different types of beans though. I also keep a selection of dried and grow some each year - at least enough to replenish my seed supply. They are fairly easy to grow.

 

[Weedygarden]

I can my own kidney beans- 1/2 c. dry beans per pint jar, so I get 4 pints per pound. It could vary with different types of beans though. I also keep a selection of dried and grow some each year - at least enough to replenish my seed supply. They are fairly easy to grow.

Canning them dry must greatly reduce the time needed to cook them to eat. Do you know that the red in kidney beans is a toxin, and kidney beans especially should be rinsed well, before soaking, and after soaking?

I do not have good luck with growing beans of any sort. It may be Colorado soil, but I have amended and amended with no improvement.

 

[LadyLocust]

@Weedygarden I did not know that, but do happen to prefer them rinsed so guess I've been lucky.

 

[Weedygarden]

Canned hams to cook in beans.
I have gotten mine at Big Lots and yesterday, they not only didn't have any, they didn't have a spot on the shelf for them either.
Not everyone has canned hams, so I searched online. Walgreens has a 12 ounce canned ham for $3.49 or 3 for $9.00.

If you are cooking beans once a week with ham, that would be 52 cans. A ham a week, $156 for a years worth.

33 canned hams for $99 from Walgreens for the $100 challenge. What I couldn't find was how many servings per ham.

 

[Weedygarden]

Tuna fish from Costco.
There are twelve 7 ounce cans of tuna in a unit for$16.99. 3 servings per can gives 36 servings per unit at 47 cents a serving. For $101.94 you can buy 6 units of tuna and have 216 servings. Four people could have one serving a week for a year.

Tuna could be added to noodles for tuna noodle casserole or used in sandwiches.

 

[Terri9630]

Canning them dry must greatly reduce the time needed to cook them to eat. Do you know that the red in kidney beans is a toxin, and kidney beans especially should be rinsed well, before soaking, and after soaking?

I do not have good luck with growing beans of any sort. It may be Colorado soil, but I have amended and amended with no improvement.

The temperature of cooking kills the toxin. The FDA says....

The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% as much as red kidney beans.3

Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by boiling beans for ten minutes; the ten minutes at boiling point (100 °C (212 °F)) are sufficient to degrade the toxin, but not to cook the beans. For dry beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recommends an initial soak of at least 5 hours in water, which should then be discarded.3

 

[LadyLocust]

Okay Weedy. I had PB on my list so waited to see what it was for sure. I get a 24 oz jar of organic PB for $3.99. 1 oz is 2 tbl. so 24 servings per jar. Rounded, that's 17 cents per serving. It contains only organic peanuts and sea salt.
One other thing I was thinking (because these are the things I think about when I can't sleep at night.) There should be an indication of feeding your family for $100 vs. nourishing your family for $100. You can feed people tons of things that they eat and actually prefer over nourishment. I guess this is a hang up for me on things like this. I'm not willing to consume toxins and carcinogens just to save a penny or two. Many folks take the cheapest choice which often shouldn't even be considered consumable. I've seen folks in the last day or two with grocery carts loaded up with "junk." It befuddles me.
And I know; I'll go ahead and sing it: "Every party needs a pooper. That's why they invited me." I'm not discounting the idea, just adding another dimension to it (complicating it a bit.)

 

[Weedygarden]

Okay Weedy. I had PB on my list so waited to see what it was for sure. I get a 24 oz jar of organic PB for $3.99. 1 oz is 2 tbl. so 24 servings per jar. Rounded, that's 17 cents per serving. It contains only organic peanuts and sea salt.
One other thing I was thinking (because these are the things I think about when I can't sleep at night.) There should be an indication of feeding your family for $100 vs. nourishing your family for $100. You can feed people tons of things that they eat and actually prefer over nourishment. I guess this is a hang up for me on things like this. I'm not willing to consume toxins and carcinogens just to save a penny or two. Many folks take the cheapest choice which often shouldn't even be considered consumable. I've seen folks in the last day or two with grocery carts loaded up with "junk." It befuddles me.
And I know; I'll go ahead and sing it: "Every party needs a pooper. That's why they invited me." I'm not discounting the idea, just adding another dimension to it (complicating it a bit.)

You are absolutely right. There are many people who eat lots of food that provides little nutrition, but fills them up. I have seen inner city children eating their bag of hot cheetohs on the way to school in the morning.

I am curious where you got your peanut butter. That is a much better price than the Costco price, but I am not surprised. I am not a fan of shopping, so I haven't been driving around looking at prices everywhere.

This is the video from the show last night. It is two hours long, but Eric goes over nutrition and what you need, plus what they bought for $100. They got a much better price on peanut butter than what I saw on Costco.com.

 

[LadyLocust]

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. is a supermarket company that offers discount, overstocked and closeout products from name brand and private label suppliers. The company has stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
I like Grocery Outlet (that's where I got it.) I would think there would be other grocery overstock places. I'm just not familiar with them in other areas.

 

[LadyLocust]

One more thing that sorta goes along here. Have you read "The Feast Nearby" by Robin Mather? I don't agree with her 100% (but that doesn't make it wrong.) It's well written and she shares how she builds her stock pile on a limited budget. Also just a good read.
PS - a bit of deja vu I may have mentioned this on another thread somewhere.