Does anyone have any suggestions for a six month supply of food for three? There are buckets of food you can buy online that are supposed to last for 25 years but I was wondering what some of your thoughts are. Thank you in advance.
My thoughts are that food buckets are OK, if you are desperate and need it right away. Keep in mind, they usually VASTLY overestimate their servings sizes so whatever it says on the bucket for how many days of food it has in it, halve it.
With a little research, you an do much much better. For a small amount of food, like a six month supply, you can usually just get away with buying extra of the food you already eat. Most food sold on shelves, is good for 1-2 years. Some much longer. If its the food you are already eating, you don't need a 25 year shelf life, your six months supply will get rotated through twice a year through normal consumption.
Example 'normal' foods with at least year shelf life: this is not a comprehensive list by any means.
Pasta
Baking supplies.
All canned goods.
Mayonnaise.
Oils
Pickles
Ketchup, mustard etc.
Rice
Flour
Sugar.
Dried soups
Raisins/dried fruit.
Crackers
Candy
Spices.
Broth
Tea
Drink mixes.
All frozen food (if you can keep it frozen)
This includes things not commonly frozen but that freeze well like:
Butter
Milk
Cheese.
Bread
Other foods that last a good three or more months if stored in a dark cool place:
Onions
Potatos
Carrots
Winter squash (6 months and more is possible)
Eggs.
Until you get past the 'six months' level, I really do not recommend people get any dedicated long term food preps. Prepping is expensive, but buying more of the food you ACTUALLY eat, is just shopping a head of time, the net extra cost is almost zero.
It's also a way to train yourself to look at supplies, and shopping in general, in a different way, and makes you more ready to actually USE true LTS foods when you get to that point.
And once you get to that point, you will know how to select and package your own ultra long shelf life foods, and they will be foods that you know how to cook, and actually want.
Here in South Carolina, it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.My supplies come in #10 size cans. and pails for such things as wheat. nutritional value good for 20 years. I get them thru Emergency Essentials. (be prepared.com), It's a mormon owned company, and those folks have been into preparedness for a long time. They do not try to convert you to their beliefs either.
What the others wrote.Does anyone have any suggestions for a six month supply of food for three? There are buckets of food you can buy online that are supposed to last for 25 years but I was wondering what some of your thoughts are. Thank you in advance.
Store what you eat and eat what you store. Look at what you are currently eating and expand that a little.... Most shelf stable foods have a shelf life of about 2 years, if you manage your food storage on a First In First Out (FIFO) control system you should be able to get by on every day store foods.Does anyone have any suggestions for a six month supply of food for three? There are buckets of food you can buy online that are supposed to last for 25 years but I was wondering what some of your thoughts are. Thank you in advance.
Store what you eat and eat what you store. Look at what you are currently eating and expand that a little.... Most shelf stable foods have a shelf life of about 2 years, if you manage your food storage on a First In First Out (FIFO) control system you should be able to get by on every day store foods.
I have found that many of the "long term food solutions" are very expensive, and if you don't eat them you will never know if you are going to be able to eat them in an emergency. Here is a chart comparing cost per 1000 calories that I made a long time ago, but the idea hasn't changed much:
View attachment 70532
I am going to assume that you have a family of 4... if that is the case here is my list for you, it is only an estimate:
View attachment 70530
Well this is might be more than you asked for but I hope it helps..
Urban
Thank you, Urban! This is great!Store what you eat and eat what you store. Look at what you are currently eating and expand that a little.... Most shelf stable foods have a shelf life of about 2 years, if you manage your food storage on a First In First Out (FIFO) control system you should be able to get by on every day store foods.
I have found that many of the "long term food solutions" are very expensive, and if you don't eat them you will never know if you are going to be able to eat them in an emergency. Here is a chart comparing cost per 1000 calories that I made a long time ago, but the idea hasn't changed much:
View attachment 70532
I am going to assume that you have a family of 4... if that is the case here is my list for you, it is only an estimate:
View attachment 70530
Well this is might be more than you asked for but I hope it helps..
Urban
Okay, thanks. So mylar will last no more than 5 years then.My 2 cents...if you only want 6 months worth of extra food, and you buy what you eat, and rotate your food correctly, you have no need for mylar or anything else. Just store the food normally in your kitchen. There is just more of it.
Now if you want to store really long term, as in you have built up a year or 5 worth of food. Then yes mylar is the way to go. Put the food eg rice in the mylar bag, with oxygen absorbers, seal it up. Then seal that mylar bag in a bucket to protect the bag from getting ripped or punctured etc.
The problem with plastic is that it is air permeable.
Over time, and yes slowly, air is going to get inside that vacuum pack. And with that air come food deterioration.
Thank you!Hi BreckI think what most of us think an no one has said yet is that you will likely be eating whatever you buy much sooner that 25 years. So shorter term foods are a good start.However if you have the money and really want to try freeze dried food I recommend Alpine air or Mountain House you can get them in small 2 serving packs. Places like sportsman warehouse, cabela's and backpacking stores. One of our favorites for kids breakfast is MH oatmeal with blueberries. It has its own powdered milk miked in and 1/4 cup is quite filling.
Why???Great post. I’ve taken lots of crap on other forums for promoting ramen noodles, so thanks for helping to demonstrate that they are a cost effective food item to have in your rotation.
Why???
Ramen noodles are light weight, low cost & easy to prepare. The season pack has to much salt in it, but you can use only a little.
I do not see the problem.
So is it fair to say, rotate them every 120 days, eat them first after the shortage's are in affect & save the 180 to 365 day food until after they are gone. Ramen noodles last longer than most fresh produces, like bananas & tomatoes. Apples, pears, winter squash, onions & potatoes, can last for months, (180 day).It's because they contain oils that go rancid relatively quickly, after about 6-8 months in normal storage conditions. The rancid oils often don't even have a detectable flavor (and probably not after the salty seasoning is added) but they have major health risks associated with eating them, and cumulative long-term health effects.
They are fine to store for normal use as long as they're rotated regularly, but a bad idea for medium to long term storage food. The problem is when people think of them like other dry foods (pasta, beans) and think they'll last just as long.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a six month supply of food for three? There are buckets of food you can buy online that are supposed to last for 25 years but I was wondering what some of your thoughts are. Thank you in advance.
Thank you! What about storage of staples like rice, beans, grains, spices, etc. in mylar bags (with air fresheners) or in vacuum sealed bags? See links below. I don't trust mylar bags to keep food edible for 25 years. How long do you think they would last?
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