Topic: Storage Program Suggestions?

[Tomac]

I have a month's "iron rations" already put back for my wife and myself but am trying to get a more comprehensive program started, enough for an additional 3 months+ for starters. I would like complete nutrition, easy to prepare w/a minimum of additional water/heating needed (able to eat cold is a big plus in my book), doesn't need to be especially portable but want best value for my money. The wife's a good cook so I'd probably be better off w/stuff we'd use on a daily basis and just rotate through the stock w/fresh replacements as we use it.
What sort of canned or other foodstuffs are you guys using and why? All input/suggestions welcomed. Thx!...
Tomac

[Hubby_MC]

we have a large pantry and the wife and i agreed long ago. When we buy any can goods or bulk good,we buy one for use, one for the upper levels of the pantry. This doesnt impact our wallet much and over time it builds a monster storehouse. As for individual goods we decided to just buy what we eat. Not necessarily the fancy stuff but staples.

[Jeff]

I posted a link to the LDS food storage calculator a while back.  I'd use that as a starting point and adjust to your diet.

[NGO]

Stock what you eat....

Oh yeah, learn to eat food you make from scratch...

We don't have pre-proccessed food in storage. They are more expensive and only last a long time because of all the added chemicals they add in them. 

[Michael N]

+1 on storing what you eat . Canned foods and veggies are inexpensive and easy to store until you can start growing your own and canning them . Don't forget to lay in a stockpile of canning supplies which are pretty easy to find second hand . I generally keep several months worth of Chili , soup , dried side dishes (lipton) , coffee , vegetables , Tuna , Spaghetti sauce and noodles , on hand as well as 100 pounds each of sugar , salt , beans and flour . It only took me a few months to build up a stash by purchasing a little extra every time I went to the store or had a few extra bucks . My next step is to build up on my Garden seed stash and get some water barrels set up for storage as well as getting a rain gutter installed across the back of my house to catch rain water in for the gardening needs . Little by little you can start packing stuff away , just remember to rotate the stock into your cupboards and put the new stuff into your stash . Another good idea is to put together a backup heat source whether its a wood stove and a couple cords of wood or a couple Kerosene heaters and a bunch of Kerosene . If the power goes out in the winter at least you won't freeze to death .

After getting together an initial food storage set aside the LDS program is a good way to to put a years food aside and allows you to monitor your progress and check things off the list as you go .

[Nomad]

 providentliving.org. This should get you to where you need to go...
 Lots of infornation out there......
 Been getting white buckets for food storage as well as extra items.

[hawkiye]

Good advice already given, I'll just add; the biggest area most people are lacking in is a long term source of water. Watch craigs list and thrifty nickle for 55 gallon storage barrels and get as many as you can. Make sure they are food grade.

Still water will get used up fast. Another method is diverting rain water off your roof for long term storage. You could do this with your barrels or a larger tank. If I remember correctly  1000 square foot of roof will provide 500 gallons of water per inch if rain. If you are going to drink it, it will need to be filtered. But it could be used to flush toilets, wash, and water a garden etc. Google rain water storage for more info.

I was thinking old water bed bladders might make some good makeshift larger tanks for collecting rain water.

[codethree]

In addition to some canned foods, we have a lot of wheat for our food storage. Cheap, good nutrition and if properly stored it can have a 20-30 year shelf life. Even though it is a good idea to rotate your food storage, I like the fact that you really don't have to with it's long shelf life.

We do have the 55 gallon drums for water storage, but I also understand that it will not last long with my family drinking, cooking and washing with it. Collecting rainwater will only work if it rains. What I did is bought a ceramic filter (it has a long life and can filter thousands of gallons) to filter out bacteria and protozoa and then a separate activated charcoal unit (Brita) with a bunch of relatively inexpensive extra filters to help filter out any non-microbial contaminants. I figure with these two filters, I could make safe most water that might be around, like river water, etc.

I also got a couple 5 gallon water bottle (the kind you put in water coolers) so that it would be easier to transport around larger amounts of water. Once it's full, you can't move a 55 gallon drum.