What do you have in your food storage?

arbilad · Head Chef

What do you have in your food storage?

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

I try to get a year's supply of Spaghetti-Os.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Oh gross!

I stopped eating Chef-Boyardee type stuff when I learned how to cook and determined there was better things to eat on a campout by the time I was a junior in high school!

So, for my family, a year's supply of the stuff would be like maybe 1/2 dozen cans... we just don't eat the stuff. So much better to make our own pasta dishes (of course, that means storing dry pasta and sauce and/or durham wheat and having a grinder and pasta maker).

I'm starting to incorporate some MRE items, and a variety of things in addition to staple things like rice, beans, wheat. Tuna fish and other canned meats are good things to include. Maybe some beef jerkey too. Hmmm... I wonder, is there anything like freeze dried hot dogs that you could store and then reconstitute by soaking in water overnight. The kids like hot dogs, and the youngest haven't really developed a taste for jerkey yet (and I'd rather hog all that myself).

crazymom5 · Senior Member

Besides the basics we have CHOCOLATE in various forms: boxed brownie mix, cake mix, choc. chips, choc pudding, choc chip muffin mix. Oh wait a minute, chocolate is a basic food storage item, so as for having anything that is not basic, hmmmm.

arbilad · Head Chef

Cat, you can find some good food storage meat here. It's waaaay too expensive to build a year's supply out of, so get your year's supply of wheat and all that wonderful stuff first. Then add this so that you can have some fun stuff to eat.

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

We have really good 72-hour kits. Next year our goal is food storage.

Each person in the family (with the exception of the wee ones) has a backpack with 3 MREs, dried fruit, jerky, nuts, water, juice boxes, toiletries, medicine, a change of clothes, flashlights, sleeping bag, etc.

Every six months, on the month after conference (so we get one winter one summer), we go on a "72-hour campout." We can only use what's in our kits. Over the past year, we have added essential things (the tiolet paper inckuded in MREs is not nearly enough) and taken things out (don't need a big pillow--a rolled up shirt or towel will do.) It's the whole "train the way you fight" mentality, I guess. Plus it helps the boys accomplish scouting requirements.

What would ya'll recommend for starting food storage? Build it for a month at a time, or get an entire year of one commodity at a time?

arbilad · Head Chef

The church typically recommends getting a month at a time. They even have some cool "one month kits" that's all the food necessary to sustain the life of one person for a month. It would work well for you to just, whenever you can, get another month's worth for each member of your family. I think it's only something like $30 per person. Not cheap, but definitely not expensive.
Having said that, I didn't really follow that path. I got a year's worth of each thing individually. So for a while my year's supply was terribly imbalanced. But I would not recommend that course to others.

crazymom5 · Senior Member

Roper, I don't recommend you get a yr supply of one item at a time. Depending on your finances and how close you live to a bishop's storehouse, I'd start with a couple of cases of some staple items: wheat, rice, sugar, oats, etc. If you can go every month or every other month you'd be surprised how fast, depending on your family size, you can get a yrs supply. Also, watch for sales on pasta, canned veggies, etc to add to your supply.

We've had to start over twice due to moves (across country) and we've been able to do it in a relative short amount of time. We have 5 kids, but only one left at home now.

Pt314 · Senior Member

I probably don't have enough in my food storage, but that is probalby typical of a college student.

Out of what I do have, lots of cans of soup (mostly tomato, mushroom, vegtable, ...) stew, chili. Some bags of dried fruit, marshmellows, and a big container of oatmeal.

Probably at most 6 months worth.

My parents on the other hand...

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Don't forget the case of shotgun shells. Those will work in any situation!

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

salesortonscom wrote:

Don't forget the case of shotgun shells. Those will work in any situation!

But man do they give ya heartburn!

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

You're just not preparing them right. You need to boil them in water first, they make a decent soup.

--Ray

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

I like to cook mine right on the coals!

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

Mmm... like popcorn...

arbilad · Head Chef

You'll hear a popping alright...

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

And you don't even have to swallow them or even raise them to your mouth... the buckshot goes right to your gut directly... not to mention all your other exposed bodily organs...

--Ray

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Since none of you know where I live and can come raiding....this is what I have:

Food Storage:

MRE's (subject to change)

72 Chicken Breast

70 Entrees (mixed type)

46 Sides (mixed type)

46 Desserts (mixed type)

20 Drink Mix

9 Cocoa

24 Cookies

24 Crackers

10 Cheese Spread

7 Peanut Butter Spread

1 Fruit Mix

1 Pears

1 Cookie Bar

Additional 3 day supply for three adults in 72 hours kits

Perma Pak

#10 cans unless otherwise indicated

Dairy

24 Milk

3 Cheese Blend

Meat/Meat Substitute

7 Beef TVP

2 Chicken TVP

3 Taco Beef TVP

3 Sloppy Joe TVP

2 Ham TVP

2 BBQ TVP

2 Bacon TVP

1 Pepperoni TVP

1 Sausage TVP

Breakfast

11 Egg Mix

6 Five Grain Cereal (4 lbs.)

Vegetables

2 Diced Carrots

6 Granulated Potatoes

2 Diced Potatoes

2 Potatoe Slices

2 Chopped Onions

3 Green Beans

3 Green Peas

2 Sweet Corn

1 Rice

4 Navy Beans (5 lbs.)

2 Chili Beans (5 lbs.)

2 Pinto Beans (5 lbs.)

2 Split Peas (5 lbs.)

2 Lentils (5 lbs.)

4 White Rice (5 lbs.)

4 Popcorn (5 lbs.)

2 Cornmeal (5 lbs.)

Grains

4 Rolled Oats (4 lbs.)

2 Pearled Barley (5 lbs.)

4 Hard White Wheat (45 lbs.)

4 Hard Spring Wheat (45 lbs.)

Noodles

4 Macaroni (4 lbs.)

4 Spaghetti (5 lbs.)

Fruits

1 Applesauce

3 Apple Slices

2 Strawberry Flavored Apple Slices

2 Raspberry Flavored Apple Slices

3 Fruit Galaxy

1 Bannana Chips

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Drink Mixes

1 Apple

4 Orange Breakfast Drink

2 Apple Breakfast Drink

Miscellaneous

4 Margarine Powder

4 Soup & Stew Blend

1 #2.5 Beef Soup Base

1 #2.5 Corn Starch

4 #2.5 Tomoto Powder

2 Sugar (45 lbs.)

1 Salt (5 lbs.)

Provident Pantry

#10 cans

Dairy

6 Milk

1 Cheese Blend

Meat/Meat Substitute

5 Beef TVP

2 Freeze Dried Diced Roast Beef

2 Freeze Dried White Turkey

2 Freeze Dried Ground Beef

2 TVP Bacon

1 TVP Taco

2 TVP Chicken

1 Chicken Boullion

1 Creamy Soup Base

Breakfast

1 Buttermilk Pancake Mix

1 Blueberry Muffin Mix

1 Instant Oatmeal

2 Creamy Wheat

2 Cereal - 9 Grain

2 Cereal - 6 Grain

1 Low Fat Granola

2 Scrambled Egg Mix

Vegetables

4 Sliced Mushrooms

2 Freeze Dried Carrots

1 FD Green Peas

1 FD Green Beans

1 FD Sweet Corn

1 FD Broccoli

1 Diced Carrots

1 Potato Flakes

1 Potato Slices

1 Chopped Onion

1 Split Peas

Grains

2 Pinto Beans

1 Small White Beans

1 Red Beans

2 White Rice

6 Hard White Wheat

6 Red Wheat

2 Yellow Cornmeal

2 Popcorn

Noodles

1 Macaroni Noodles

1 Egg Noodles

1 Spaghetti Noodles

Fruits

1 Peach Dices

1 Bannana Slices

1 Apple Slices

1 FD Strawberry Slices

Drink Mixes

1 Apple Drink Mix

1 Orange Drink Mix

1 Peach Drink Mix

Miscellaneous

2 Sugar

1 Salt

1 Baking Powder

1 Baking Soda

1 Tomato Powder

1 Margerine Powder

1 Shortening Powder

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Mountain House (#10 cans)

3 Beef Teriyaki

1 Chicken and Noodles

Family Canning (#10 cans)

3 Rice

3 Instant Soup

3 Sugar

5 Rolled Oats

1 Macaroni

3 Corn

1 Pinto Beans

1 Refried Beans

3 Apple Slices

1 Chopped Onions

1 Milk

1 White Flour

1 Box Potato Pearls (40 lbs.)

Water ( ** denotes purified with bleach)

2 55 gallon **

1 30 gallon **

2 7 gallon **

2 5 gallon **

bottled water

32 32 pack 1/2 liter bottles

3 24 pack 1/2 liter bottles

Meats

7 MRE style packages salmon (single serving)

4 MRE style packages tuna (single serving)

8 large cans beef raviolli

15 cans beef ravioli

10 cans Chili con Carne

8 cans tuna

1 small can chicken breast

30 cans chicken meat

28 cans (24 oz) beef stew

1 can spaghetti meat sauce (26.5 oz)

4 jars Ragu

4 can chicken & dumplings

10 cans chicken breast

154 cans Chunky soup

6 cans clam chowder

14 cans spaghetti o's w/meatballs

10 cans spaghetti o's

Pasta

24 cans Spaghetti O's

24 cans Raviolli

Fruits

4 cans applesauce

8 cans tropical fruit salad

7 cans pears

14 cans peaches

Vegetables

9 #10 cans Instant Potatoes

14 can sweet corn

35 can refried beans

10 cans cut green beans

10 cans black olives

20 cans pork and beans

22 cans diced tomatoes

19 cans sliced carrots

16 cans potatoes

12 cans sweet peas

Drink Mixes

1 can Cherry drink powder

2 can Grape drink powder

1 can Fruit Punch drink powder

2 cans GatorAde powder

2 cans Country Time lemonade powder

2 cans Tang powder

2 boxes (32 qts) Crystal Light

100 strawberry MRE dairyshake

100 chocolate MRE dairyshake

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Seasonings etc

22 cans gravy

5 Crisco

3 Salt (1 lb.)

1 Salt (4 lbs.)

2 Lawry's Seasoning Salt

1 Lawry's Onion Powder

1 Lawry's Brown Gravy Mix

1 Steak Dust

1 Herb & Garlic

2 jars ketchup

15 bottles cooking oil

1 Garlic Salt w/Parsley

4 bottles BBQ sauce

6 cans sloppy joe sauce

2 A1 Steak Sauce

1 bottle powdered Ranch dressing

1 bottle meat tenderizer

2 jars beef bouillion base

Goodies

29 packs jello

1 tub peppermint candy

1 bag Jolly Ranchers

4 cans (#10) shoestring potato sticks

2 cans cherry pie filling

Other

14 pacakges corn bread mix

9 LDS cannery one month kits

Additional one year supply from Emergency Essentials.

Phoenix Pack

18 MRE entrees

18 MRE side dishes

1 3600 calorie food brick

2 Nuwick candles

emergency stove

stainless steel pot

small first aid kit

2 matchbooks

$30 (one dollar bills)

2 t-shirts

2 utensil sets

toilet paper roll

tube Neo-sporin

LED flashlight

Bic lighter

Two Way Radio

wool blanket

duct tape

eye drops

cortizone

3 Day Assault Pack

18 MRE entrees

18 MRE sides

2 sets children clothing

1 box 9mm

4 packaged tootbrushes

2 utensil sets

$30 (one dollar bills)

sheated knife

package of plastic army men

extra glasses

Bic Lighter

wind up LED light

4 water pouches

2 glow sticks

2 rolls toilet paper

2 matchbooks

1 Nuwick candle

1 wash cloth

tube Neo-sporin

Two Way Radio

small bottle lotion

3 disposable shampoo packs

Plus my car kit with about 4-5 days of MRE's and dehydrated food packs.

This is actually a bit out of date. I have not made any updates in several months, but is more or les accurate.

arbilad · Head Chef

Wow, Mirkwood

I hope to get to the level you are at, food storage wise. Welcome to the board!
I notice that you didn't list stuff like ammo. There's no need, though. Why let everything be public knowledge?
BTW, what's the best method for using TVP? I tried my taco TVP, and it didn't come out too appetizing.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

That is a good list, Mirkwood! Thanks!

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

That is the culmination of about 13or 14 years of preparation. We started off by using tax refunds to buy kits like these:

http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FS%20Y500_A_name_E_Traditional™%20Year%20Supply%20of%20Dehydrated%20Foods%20(12%20Cases)

These have a 20+ year shelf life unopened. Then you round them out with canned goods etc. The 20+ year shelf life allows you to store sufficient food without being unable to actually rotate foods before they go bad. We mixed in MRE's and church cannery goods. We have three of those one year kits.

Ammo...well, this was a food thread

Ok my take on ammo. 1000 rounds per caliber per shooter as a minimum. I'm not there yet for one of my rifles or my shotguns, but were getting there.

TVP: I have not cooked with it since we initially got our storage started back in 1993. I should probably go get an extra can and cook with it to see how it works out. I remember it was just fine back then.