One Year Food Supply

There are three ways to get busy on a food storage plan -

The Cheap and Easy Plan - Start by shopping grocery store sales, use coupons and purchasing multiples of foods you normally eat, but which also store well. For instance, take rice and pasta. Both are common, popular to eat and both can be found inexpensively. Instead of picking up one pound of fettuccine noodles, get four or five pounds. Store the excess at home in the pantry or better, in a resealable bucket. Add to your supply with each grocery trip.

The Medium Plan - Invest a certain amount of money at a warehouse or club store. Make a list of foods which you eat and which do not require special storage like canned beans and rice. Make a one time purchase of a one or multi-month supply of these foods and store at home.

The Super Deluxe One Time Buy Plan - Consider making a one time purchase of Thrive or eFoodsDirect long term storage food, (up to one year) and store at home. With one purchase, you can quickly build a long term food supply for your home and family! These Long Term Storage (LTS) foods come in easy to store #10 cans packed in cardboard boxes and are accompanied by recipe guides which make preparation easy.

Building a one year food supply means having correct storage for your long term foods. It makes no sense to leave rice, beans or other dry foods in their original packaging where they are susceptible to insects, air, and moisture.

The best way to store dry food like sugar, salt, rice, and beans is in five or six gallon buckets. To ensure they last longer, place dry food in Mylar food grade bags, add an oxygen absorber and seal with a heat sealer or clothes iron. Then use a tight fitting lid and close securely. Food storage buckets should be kept in a reasonably maintained climate (outside or in the attic is not a good place) such as a closet, dry basement or cabinet.

Flour and corn meal generally does not last long and maintain its vitamin content even when stored in the above manner. Rather, purchase dried corn and whole wheat such as hard red winter and store in a bucket. Then use a wheat grinder for the freshest and most nutritionally possible flour.

Considering building a one year food supply but still have questions? I hope these will answer some of the more pressing doubts in your mind.

Why should I have a supply of food in my house? Won't the stores have plenty?

There are many reasons to have a long term supply of food in your home. After 9/11, the Federal Government advised all Americans to make sure they had a two week supply of food, water and basic necessities in their home in the event of an emergency. After the hurricanes in New Orleans and South Texas, we were reminded again about having extra food and water stocked at home rather than hoping someone comes to help. Finally, every winter we have severe storms which hamper our ability to pick up groceries and sometimes the delivery of food to the stores themselves! It makes sense to have a good supply of food in the house at all times.

Isn't it extreme to have one year's worth of food?

For some yes, But think about the economy the past couple of years. Wouldn't it have been less stressful, with all the layoffs, inflation, pay cuts and uncertainty to know that tomorrow, next week, next month or even three months from now you could put a healthy breakfast on the table for your children day in and day out without worry? That's real money in the bank. Besides, with so much of our food coming from overseas and elsewhere, the cost of food has only gone up. Investing in food now may save thousands of dollars later.

Having a one year supply of food feels like hoarding to me.

It's hoarding if you buy up all the food in the store during an emergency and when you know that there is no more coming and your neighbors and friends won't be able to buy anything. It is not hoarding when you carefully budget, plan and shop over a long period of time and fill your pantry with nutritious food. We all remember the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Nobody accused the Ant of being a hoarder and the Grasshopper as an unwilling victim.

If there is a food shortage, and my friends and family have little to eat, I will feel terrible with all I have.

Why? That is the wonderful thing about having a one year supply of food - you can share! Creating a supply of food in your homes means you have the ability to really help others in your family, neighborhood and community when times are tough.

Where can I store all that food? I don't live in a warehouse.

Of course not. Besides the pantry and kitchen cupboards, used unused space in the home. I store food under the bathroom counters, in the back of my children's closets, under the bed and sometimes under the living room sofa! If anything, it forces you to clean out the junk you don't need and replace it with something you use everyday - food!

This is a subject which comes up frequently and must be considered when putting together a long term food storage plan. While storing rice, wheat and dried beans is good, it is optimal to also store fruit, vegetables, meat alternatives and even complete meals as part of our food storage plans. That is where dehydration and freeze drying comes into play.

What is the process?

Freeze drying involves freezing the food and then removing all moisture content. The result is food which is surprisingly light weight which makes it the first choice of campers and astronauts. Also, freeze drying can be used on complete meals like stews or even scrambled eggs, which makes them particularly attractive.

Dehydration is the simple process of removing all moisture from the food. Generally, dehydrated foods are limited to single food types such as fruit and vegetable slices, eggs, and meat.

What is the preparation for both?

Freeze dried foods can be made ready to eat with a little bit of hot water and require no seasoning (complete meals).

Dehydrated foods must be re-hydrated with water before they are ready to be eaten or used in other meals.

How long do both last?

Properly stored in sealed #10 cans, which is the means both are generally sold and shipped, dehydrated food can last 10-15 years while freeze dried food can last up to 25 years.

Which is better?

That depends upon your tastes, needs and budget. Dehydrated foods are generally less expensive and shipped unseasoned which makes them useful for cooking. Freeze dried foods, while more costly, require less work , heat and water for preparation.

Freeze Dried versus Dehydrated - Which is better?

Rather than look at which is better, compare instead the products sold by major long term food supply companies. Also consider the packaging and size of packaging. Finally, and most important, think about what your family will eat and enjoy.

Mountain House Foods are all freeze dried foods. Rather than sell baking and cooking ingredients, Mountain sells large (#10 cans) and small (individual meal pouches) complete meals such as cheesy macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meat balls and beef stew. Mountain House Foods are also light weight and the preferred choice of backpackers, campers and even those who are building a one year food supply.

eFoodsdirect offers both freeze dried and dehydrated foods. eFoodsdirect has both ingredients for those who wish to cook complete meals from scratch using a combination of freeze dried and dehydrated ingredients, they also carry a complete line of "Quick Meals" which can quickly be reconstituted and served for one or an entire family. They also carry a full line of emergency "on the go meal packages" for travelers or emergencies.

Shelf THRIVE foods also has a full selection of freeze dried and dehydrated foods and complete meals. What is neat about THRIVE is their organized and easy to use system of preparing meals using their colored packaging.

All of these products come with sample size packages so you and your family can try them and choose the foods which you like best!