Food Storage Preparation: A Simple Guide to Emergency Food Storage

I get 30-50 emails a day, which is great because I love hearing from you guys and gals, especially when you fill my head with words of praise and agreement. Many readers are looking for advice on one topic or another and while I try to reply to everyone, I sometimes get covered up and lose an email in the mess. If I don’t respond in a timely manner, please be patient, I’ll likely catch up in a couple of days.

The most common query is related to food storage. It seems that so much has been written on the subject that some get lost in the mountain of words and get confused about what, how and how much. While I’m not the authority on the study of food storage, I have gained enough experience through my own efforts to intelligently respond to readers with solid solutions to their problems.

what to store

This is by far the most common question asked.

Wheat
This is the backbone of your survival diet. Wheat is nature’s longest storage seed, with an indefinite shelf life under the right conditions. Wheat can also be germinated by adding fresh greens to the diet even in winter. Put back 400 pounds per person.

Salt
Although it is not a food but a mineral salt, it is essential for diet and individual health. Salt is also used in preserving food and animal products. Salt, like wheat, has an indefinite life of its own. At least £20 per person.

Affection
As a sweetener, honey makes an unmatched contribution to the diet. Some think it is a super food that gives energy and renewed vitality. Being an extract from the plant kingdom, it surely contains numerous components that contribute to health. Honey, like wheat and salt, has an indefinite life of its own. At least £10 per person.

Milk powder
Most people reject even the idea of ​​powdered milk, preferring whole milk from the supermarket shelf. Granted, it does taste slightly different, but it’s not unpleasant to drink, after a week or two it seems to “grow” on you. Studies have shown that nonfat powdered milk, when kept dry and reasonably cool, will store with little change in value for more than 15 years. You need £60 per person.

Other meals
After you get the four staples (wheat, sugar, powdered milk, and salt) in the right proportions, it’s easy to add other foods as you get the extra money. Pinto beans, white rice, split peas, soybeans, dried peas, whole corn and canned meats, fruits and vegetables can be added to give more variety to the diet. And don’t forget to include pepper, baking powder, baking soda, canned yeast, dried eggs, cooking oil, multivitamins and minerals, as well as extra vitamin C capsules.

How to store
I store all my grains, beans, and powdered milk in food-grade plastic buckets. There is a lot of confusion and controversy as to whether or not a bucket is food grade. A #2 inside a small triangle on the bottom of the bucket means it’s made of HDPE plastic and is food grade.

I bought mine at the local hardware store in the paint section. They also had them at Walmart, but I prefer to buy from local business owners if possible. Sometimes you can even get them for free from bakeries and restaurants, just make sure they only contain food products, not paint, chemicals, or other things that could make you sick or kill you.

Oxygen-packed foods do not store as well as those in an oxygen-free atmosphere. Oxygen absorbers (available from Nitro-Pak) remove air from the closed container, leaving an atmosphere of 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.

Do not open the bag of oxygen absorbers until ready to use because they will absorb oxygen from the surrounding air and become useless. Have everything ready before opening the package. Unused absorbents can be stored in a small mason jar until needed.

Make sure you have everything ready before you start. Then, for the food you plan to keep in the buckets, slowly shake each one as it fills to settle and distribute the contents. Fill each bucket to about ½ inch from the top and place three oxygen absorbers in each food bucket.

Quickly place the lids on each pail and close them by placing a board on top and tapping them with a hammer or mallet. After a few hours, the absorbents will create a vacuum causing the pail lids to “pop”, indicating a good seal and a suitable atmosphere for long-term storage. Be sure to label each one with the date, contents, and weight written on the front in permanent marker.

where to store

The next question is where to put all this food? Lack of space is the main drawback to living in a 26 foot travel trailer. Almost everything must be stored outside. Even in most homes and apartments, life can get cramped as more junk is brought in to fill the space. One option is to sell some of the things you don’t use, perhaps cleaning out a large cupboard and filling it with stored food. You will need to consider your personal situation and available space, and store your food accordingly.

I have most of my groceries stored in my outhouse behind my trailer. This may not be the set idea, but it is dry and shady in the summer. I took a series of cinder blocks and placed a 4×8′ sheet of plyboard on top to form a platform to stack the cubes on and keep them off the ground. I’d love to have a basement big enough to hold most of my food storage, but for now I’m dealing with something less than perfect.

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