Best food for long term storage

[Jack Johnson]

I'm wanting to start a long term food pantry and I need to know what's the best foods that are available at the local Wally World. Canned meats and veggies, dry foods, etc. What brands and best containers to store them in. Would like to get a 6 month or even a year supply of storable food then start rotating. Thanks.

 

[xseler]

Honey will never go bad. Also, I'd stock up on vitamins. If you end up with a limited/poor food intake, the vitamins could help get you a lot further down the path. Soups and beans would also be good choices.

Good luck!

 

[swampratt]

Be careful with vitamins.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hea.../is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

I quit taking pills 6+years ago and my allergies are almost non existent and seldom get sick.
I would rather get vitamins from natural food.
I have read too much bad stuff on pill vitamins to want any of them.

As far as meat goes Spam lasts a long time as do some other canned meat.
Shelf life on many canned goods is much longer than a year so get what you like.

Canned soups and beans and refried beans to me are a must have.
Read the nutrition label on refried beans and compare to other canned goods.

Dried pasta is good and canned meats like tuna and chicken.
You can use the water in the canned veggies to cook the pasta in.

I do like canned pineapples and other fruit.
I keep a good stock pile but should keep more.

 

[golddigger14s]

https://www.thrivelife.com

 

[swampratt]

Neighbor grew sweet potatoes and they were small like 1" to 1.5" diameter and long spindly things.
I got a walmart sack 1/4 full of them and ate some and stuck the bag in the perforated wood corner box I keep potatoes in.
A year later those small sweet potatoes looked the same.
They were just as hard as the day I got them. Tasted the same.

Carrots grown in the garden will grow through the winter here in central OK.
You can also fill a 55 gallon steel drum with fresh horse poo and that barrel in a barn will keep at about 80 or so F during the winter
months and you can grow plants in it. Father grew tomatoes in one in the winter.

I have never tried it ..Probably because I do not have a horse.

 

[sklfco]

My simple advise is this, try it before you buy bulk (sucks getting stuck with stuff you won’t eat)
Water, you will be dead from thirst long before starvation drives you mad.
A good way to start working towards your goal is to simply grab a couple extra cans of _____ when you are grocery shopping.
Avoid bulk home deliveries for the same reasons you don’t show folks pics of your larder.

 

[Catt57]

Neighbor grew sweet potatoes and they were small like 1" to 1.5" diameter and long spindly things.
I got a walmart sack 1/4 full of them and ate some and stuck the bag in the perforated wood corner box I keep potatoes in.
A year later those small sweet potatoes looked the same.
They were just as hard as the day I got them. Tasted the same.

Carrots grown in the garden will grow through the winter here in central OK.
You can also fill a 55 gallon steel drum with fresh horse poo and that barrel in a barn will keep at about 80 or so F during the winter
months and you can grow plants in it. Father grew tomatoes in one in the winter.

I have never tried it ..Probably because I do not have a horse.

All you need is the horse's *** and there are plenty of those on here....

 

[RickN]

Buy whatever canned goods that you would normally eat. Rotate your stock. To many people load up on survival stuff they will never eat and that cost more than regular canned goods. About the only survival type foods I would invest in is powdered milk, eggs, butter and cheese. You can get canned cheese and butter that is very good but they are also expensive.

 

[MacFromOK]

I'm wanting to start a long term food pantry and I need to know what's the best foods that are available at the local Wally World. Canned meats and veggies, dry foods, etc. What brands and best containers to store them in. Would like to get a 6 month or even a year supply of storable food then start rotating. Thanks.

Believe it or not, I've eaten Ramen noodles that were still good after 5 years. Absolutely no old/stale taste whatsoever, and they were simply stored on an open shelf in the kitchen.

Dried beans are another item that stores extremely well, just keep them dry. Humidity is not your friend with any dry foods.

Canned goods of any type should keep for a few years, but be aware that highly acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes and fruits) will eventually eat holes in the can.

We never had honey go bad, but it will eventually crystalize (at least, once it's opened). But you can reheat it to melt the crystals and it goes back to normal.

Most any type of airtight containers work well. Dry foods in zip-loc bags and tupperware type containers (that seal) will last for years.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[HoLeChit]

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of-shtf-in-90s-bosnia-war-selco-forum-thread-6265/

AmCardon posted this earlier this year, and I feel it is a great eye opening experience that can help you have some bearing, if you're prepping for some sort of collapse or whatever. I have a hard time with the idea of keeping large stores of stuff laying around specifically for preparedness reasons, but I could likely live off of what I have in my house for about 6 months with the old lady if I had to. Brands? I dont think it really matters, I just buy what I like/can afford.

-Rice (I like jasmine and sticky rice, best way to get the best is to buy the good stuff from the asian super markets, it typically only comes in 20-50lb bags anyways). If you're eating lots of anything, esp grain, I have been told you're likely to develop some sort of a sensitivity or allergy to it, so its good to keep a variety. Wild and brown rice doesn't have a great shelf life though.
-oatmeal/quinoa are good to keep the grain variety up too, and can be great for adding to things.
-Dry beans (they keep a while and I do eat them) I typically keep 5lbs or so each of black, pinto, 8 bean soup mix, and split peas, The old lady is against me buying a 50lb bag of black beans, we don't really have the space anyways.
-Ramen/dry pasta. I can make my own, but I certainly dont like to do so.
-Canned Meat, I like spam, corned beef hash, tuna, chicken, and dried beef.
-Regular canned veggies and fruit, They last a while too, and while I prefer fresh, they can save me from going to the store when I forget something.
-Honey (we use a lot, and I'm about to start beekeeping as a hobby anyways)
-tea/coffee stores well and we use a lot of it anyways.
-dry soup mix and bullion would be a lifesaver for changing up meal plans and adding flavor, and doesn't take up much space so I keep a generous amount of that on hand too.
-flour, salt, and sugar is typically cheaper in bulk anyways, so that's typically what I buy.
-chia seeds and spices are good things to keep on hand well, chia seeds can add a lot of nutrition, and spices keep things interesting. Both keep pretty well.
-dried fruit like raisins and dried cranberries keep a while too, and theyre cheap, so we always have a big bag or two of each laying around.
-If I felt that something bad was about to happen, I would likely buy a couple extra bags of dog food as well, cant forget about our best friends. Its easy to keep and cheaper than feeding the dogs human food, although the weenie dog wouldn't mind living off spam and eggs.

This all is typically what I keep in my pantry and actually use on a regular basis, so I guess you could say it is a rotating stock. Its the least wasteful, easiest, most reasonable way for me to go about "prepping".

Also, I do keep a few pounds of curing salt and keep a pretty decent stockpile of frozen veggies and meat in the freezer.

Other things to consider, borrowing heavily off of the aforementioned article, I keep a few gallons of everclear in storage for cleaning and first aid, it would also work well if I had to barter with people, because when people are having a hard time alcohol consumption goes up. Its also more likely that lack of cleanliness and hygiene will kill you before hunger does. I also keep a few handles of affordable whiskey around for similar reasons, I can drink it if I decide the world isn't going to end. Disposable lighters and batteries are good things to keep around, as well as extra first aid supplies. Candles, ammo, and oil/spare firearm/auto parts are great things to keep on hand as well.

As far as storage, I just keep the booze wrapped up in spare blankets or whatever inside rubbermade boxes in storage. All of my other food stuff is stored in the pantry. If I were to get more serious about it, which I likely will when I have more space, I intend on buying mylar bags online and oxygen absorber packets. food saver vaccuum bags are nice, but they have pores in them and wont keep a seal for long terms storage. Portion out the food so you dont open up more than a few days worth of stuff at a time, seal it in baggies, drop baggies into 5 gallon buckets with gasket lids, place into some sort of climate controlled, dark storage. I dont think anything bigger than 5 gallon buckets is practical, cause you cant just throw a 55gal barrel full of food into the car, or have the old lady go out and get a 55gal barrel down off the shelf to get food out to feed the kids.