Who has the best long-term food reserve products?

[Mo]

So, we're finally in a position that we can do a bit of stockpiling.

I'm thinking that 3 months worth of food for the fam is within budget and should be able to get us through any natural disaster as well as any potential in-house quaranteen type situation.

I'm strongly leaning towards just buying something like this from Mountain House and calling it good.

Are there any other companies at whom I should be looking? NitroPak has some stuff, but other than those two, it's surplus MREs.

Additionally, we always have at least 50# of beef and close to 20# of frozen veggies in the freezer, so we could easily supplement the freeze-dried food with frozen.

Yes, I realize that in the worst case situation, the freezer would be worthless in a week or two, but that's still a week or two worth of food.

[tonka22]

check into military issue IMP the candian ones taste good

[aloharover]

Canned food. Add to this dried beans, pasta, flour, sugar, bisquick, powdered milk, salt.
It is a slight pain but develop a rotation plan.
Figure out what and how much you need. 2-300$ is a hell of a lot of food. Its the fresh stuff that adds to your weekly bill. Helps to spend some time in the store with a pad of paper developing the list. If you have a big family consider Costco.
Go and buy the 3 months worth of stuff all at one time, place it in your planned storage area.
Now I figure that when supplemented with fresh food, the canned will last 6 months. So every six months go and buy the exact same bunch of supplies. Place these in storage and pull everything out of storage and move to the kitchen.
If done right you will not see any change to your overall yearly food expenses and the weekly amount will drop.
You will also learn what items you thought were a good idea but no one in the house will eat. You can always donate this stuff during food drives.

[Pavemen]

http://saratogatradingcompany.com/index.html also has Moutina House products, but they also have full on 'kits' that include water storage, pumps, porta potty, etc.

The kit you linked to is actually $50 cheaper right now at Saratoga Trading then your link.

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by aloharover

Canned food. Add to this dried beans, pasta, flour, sugar, bisquick, powdered milk, salt.
It is a slight pain but develop a rotation plan.
Figure out what and how much you need. 2-300$ is a hell of a lot of food. Its the fresh stuff that adds to your weekly bill. Helps to spend some time in the store with a pad of paper developing the list. If you have a big family consider Costco.
Go and buy the 3 months worth of stuff all at one time, place it in your planned storage area.
Now I figure that when supplemented with fresh food, the canned will last 6 months. So every six months go and buy the exact same bunch of supplies. Place these in storage and pull everything out of storage and move to the kitchen.
If done right you will not see any change to your overall yearly food expenses and the weekly amount will drop.
You will also learn what items you thought were a good idea but no one in the house will eat. You can always donate this stuff during food drives.

you can also gather coupons ahead of time, watch for killer sales and reap big time.

[SilverZuk]

Start canning at home.
It is the same stuff you eat day to day.
You can take fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit that you grow yourself and can it.
You eat it through the year, so you are rotating stock.
If the proverbial "red dawn" happens, you are going to have a hard time carrying quart jars in a back pack across the mountains.
If that type of situation occurs and you leave your home, you will only be able to carry a small portion. So you will have to learn to live like an apache anyway. If it comes to that, I am filling belly, stuffing a couple of pockets with food, and going out the door with the intention to beg, borrow, steal, or kill whatever I need.

So home canning works for me.
I do carry an MRE in the truck. It is great on those cold nasty days out hunting or fishing and your biscuit and gravy wore off hours ago.

[Lazarus401]

We have probably over a year supply of food. Water is the harder part, as it doesnt last as long, before it needs to be rotated. Finally got the wife letting me stock pile ammo, as well. Not alot, But a thousand rounds or so every couple of months, is a good start.

[Paul Gagnon]

Here's a good starting point. http://www.foodsaver.com/ You can use it for just about anything.

[fatkid]

I stock for the most part Freeze dried stuff. Its light weight if you have to get and go, Long term storage is not an issue, and the taste is actually good. However most freeze dried food requires boiling water to rehydrate it. As far as brands I prefer Mountain House. When it comes to size I believe its a good idea to have a variety of sizes for different occasions so I carry everything from #10 cans (picture a big coffee can) all the way down to 10oz single servings. With those sizes the shelf life varies from 30 years to 5 years.

As luck would have it, Mountain house is selling there Marine Cuisine stuff for 25% off right now and free shipping for orders over $50. Factory Direct also saves me sales Tax here in Cali.

fatty

[aloharover]

Originally Posted by Paul Gagnon

Here's a good starting point. http://www.foodsaver.com/ You can use it for just about anything.

Those things are awesome. Do great packing away clothes for storage too.

[fatkid]

Pic #1 is a #10 can if Chicken which is 10 3/4 cups of chicken, next to it is a 20oz serving of Stroganoff that serves 2 and the coke can is for a size reference


Pic #2 is Mountain House Pro-pak 16oz serving that's been vacuum packed to reduce size. Next to that is A Richmoor Dinner for 4, which actually feed four people. The dinners include a main meal, soup, dessert, and a beverage mix



The shelf life is between 5-30 years on this stuff and its really light.

[tonka22]

Ive neaver heard of a shelf life for water

[fatkid]

Copied off the web

"In general a product's shelf life or safe storage time is affected by a number of variables, including intrinsic parameters, such as pH and moisture content, and extrinsic parameters, such as environmental factors. Understanding these variables is key to maintaining a safe food product.

Bottled Water - indefinitely shelf live under optimal conditions
The FDA has not established a shelf life for bottled water. In the United States bottled water's shelf life is date stamped for two years. This acts as a SKU number and is mainly for stock rotation purposes. It does not imply that the product is compromised after that date. As long as bottled water is packaged in accordance with FDA processing and good manufacturing practices, 21 CFR, Part 129, and is meeting the FDA quality standard provisions as outlined in 21 CFR, Part 165, the product's shelf life should remain intact for an indefinite period of time.

Properly stored bottled water has indefinitely shelf live. However, long-term storage of bottled water may result in aesthetic defects, such as off-odor and taste. IBWA advises consumers to store bottled water in an unopened container at room temperature (or cooler), out of direct sunlight and away from solvents and chemicals such as gasoline, paint thinners and dry cleaning chemicals.

Bottled water is an excellent choice for emergency water storage. FDA Good Manufacturing Practices mandate that bottled water be produced in a sanitary environment and bottled in sanitary, safety-sealed containers.

Tap Water – rotate every six month under optimal conditions
The recommendations are different for water (tap water) that is filled in containers and stored for an food and water emergency. FEMA recommendations for water that is self bottled are to store the water in thoroughly washed plastic, glass, fiber glass or enamel-lined metal containers. Plastic containers such as soft drink bottles are considered a good choice. The containers need to be sealed tightly, labeled and stored in a cool dark place. The recommendation is to rotate water every six month.

Recently released emergency preparedness guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommend that all households maintain an emergency supply of water -- at least one gallon per person per day for three days -- for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

Resources:

Food and Water in an Emergency (FEMA)
Bottled Water Regulations and the FDA
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)"

[aloharover]

Good info fatkid. Thanks for posting. I always assumed that bottled water was 24 months, like the stamp.

To add to the last bit about 1 gal per person per day, I am sure that most people know this but double that if you are using dehydrated food. Also up it for hot weather.

[Mo]

for those that care:

Mountain House freeze dried food is quite tasty.

Backpacker's Pantry freeze dried food is not.

[Paul Gagnon]

Originally Posted by aloharover

Those things are awesome. Do great packing away clothes for storage too.

And they are thick enough that you can wash the "bags" in the dishwasher and reuse them. I slide them over the tines of the top drawer of the dishwasher so they are held open and clip them there with a couple of bread bag tags so they don't blow away.