Prepare: Getting Started Part Two Food

Overwhelmed? Gettting prepared is too much work? The thought of building a one year food supply seems too daunting? Never fear, the journey starts with a single step.

Survival experts say building a supply of stored foods for an emergency should be a priority. Whether it is a three day supply in the car or six months at home, having stored food is a great insurance policy. Many who are suffering in today's economy have been thankful they put back extra food. They have been able to live off their preps while money has been tight.

If you are new to prepping, maybe you have been reading some of those SHTF fiction stories online and feel completely out classed as the hero places an order for a one year supply of LTS food from Mountain House without a care in the world. It sure gets depressing when you look at your bank balance and know a similar action would be impossible.

But here's what you CAN do. You CAN buy extra food in small amounts and put it back for a hard time. You only need a plan and to get started. Don't get stressed because there is not a pallet of number ten cans piled up in the basement. Rather, focus on getting a one week supply, then two, then one month and so on. OR start getting certain bulk foods each week or every paycheck and building a multi month stockpile of food one at a time.

Note: we all eat differently. I know in my house, we are more likely to make meals from frozen or fresh meat, fresh vegetables and starches like rice, pasta or potatoes. In your home, you may use more canned and packaged foods. As long as there is not a dependence on "to go" meals or pre-packaged foods like TV dinners then a food storage plan can be developed.

And in a survival situation, we will have to make compromises in what we eat anod where it comes from.

So, for our survival food storage program, we are going to make some deliberate shopping choices when we go to the supermarket.

The easiest way to start is the "buy two" plan. Instead of buying one or two packages of spaghetti noodles, pick up twice as much. Two packages go in the pantry and the other two go into a storage bucket or bin. Take a piece of paper and write down what is in the bin and the quantity. Use this strategy and put extra effort on dried and canned goods.

Or you can start buying bulk sizes. A one pound bag of rice may be enough for a couple of meals. But for about the same price per pound, maybe even less, we can buy a twenty five or fifty pound bag of rice. Rather than going to the grocery store, we will get bulk purchases like these from the warehouse club or a specialty ethnic store.

The same can be done with pasta, dried potatoes, flour, sugar, salt, and spices.

Again, don't do this all at once. Week one, buy a fifty pound bag of rice. Week two, buy ten or twenty pounds of pasta. Week three buy twenty five pounds of brown sugar and so on.

Once a month, take an inventory of what is in the pantry and in storage. Then make a "fill in the blanks" shopping trip. That is, pick up the items missing which will complete a one or two week food supply. A few cans of chicken or tuna. Some canned soups. Maybe some bullion cubes or peanut butter. As they say, rinse and repeat. Once the checklist says that a one week food supply is complete, aim for a two week, then one month and so on.

Are warehouse prices better than the grocery store? Sometimes they are. Check the per can or package price and compare to your local market. My warehouse store has 12 cans of tomato sauce in a box for about six dollars. That's .50 a can. My grocery store has a similar product for about .80 a can, so the warehouse store wins.

However, grocery store brand canned vegetables are often cheaper, when on sale and are often three cans for a dollar. Keep a comparison "price book", watch sales and clip coupons. Again, if canned grean beans are on sale, pick up twice as many as you think you will use and store the extra.

Finally, understand where food comes from. You can raise some of your own food. Start a small vegetable garden in the yard. Plant tomatos and herbs in pots on the patio or porch. Plant a fruit tree. You can start a real food insurance program if you have the ability to produce some of what you eat.

Don't get overwhelmed about building a food supply. Start small on your food plans and build from there.

Get your supply of storable food at eFoodsDirect.com!

Prepare: The Random Survivalist

Here are the bits floating around today for your prepping thoughts...

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Lights Out - One of the best survival/SHTF fiction pieces out there. Penned and published online over a two year period. fans love this work.

The good news is the author of Light's Out - Halffast - may have this tome going to a big time publisher and is being shopped in Hollywood. However, this also means that free access to this great story is sadly over. As posted online, fair use applies..

Posted by Halffast



Before I start this, let me first say that I am very thankful to all of you who have read, critiqued, help, talked about, and pimped LO over the years. Without you all, the book would not be the success it has become. Thanks a million.

 I have been thinking about this post for a couple of days. I really don't want to have to post this, because I'm not smart enough to figure out how to do it without sounding like a dick. No matter how I word it, someone is going to take it wrong. This is the best I can come up with and I hope it doesn't offend anyone. If it does, I am truly sorry.

 There are thousands and thousands of hours of work in LO. It has been on the net for free since I began writing it in 2002. I now have a chance to make a few bucks off of it. I pulled it off the net because I no longer want to give it away. No one is authorized to post, email, or share the story with out my permission. That is what "copyrighted" means. Now, I am not so naive as to think this won't happen some. However, doing so is stealing from me. If you are fine with that, there is probably little I can do about it. All I can ask is that you respect my wishes. I hope, by early this summer, to have copies for sale that have many of the problems with the story fixed and even a few new chapters. Thanks.

So that means if you have a copy of Lights Out, don't share it.
If you have not read Lights Out, you won't be able to get a free copy online any longer.
If you liked Lights Out, you might soon get a chance to thank Halffast by buying a copy from a real publisher and possibly get to see it on the big screen.
 

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LTS Food - I posted a long post about LTS food suppliers online the other day. I forgot to mention this company which is also one of my favorites as well - AAOOB Foods.


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One solution for a successful renewable energy industry in the US -  
 
There is constant buzz in the media about renewable energy i.e. solar, wind, hydro, etc.
 
Writers point out how the government is funding (with non-renewable tax dollars!) some companies who are in the renewable energy industry.
 
They also point out how some private investment companies are underwriting private companies in the space as well.
 
What renewable energy advocates fail to point out is the single driving force which makes renewable energy technologies and thus the companies that produce them viable - demand.
 
Right now, demand is not there for some renewable energy technologies and therefore the cost cannot be justified. Enabling a non-demand industry with subsidies is not the answer. Rather, the answer is found by organically increasing demand.
 
Most people into preparedness would love to have solar panels on the roof or a windmill in the yard. And enviromentalists would be happy to see it as would companies who manufacture the hardware.
 
The problem is government zoning and home owners associations routinely block any such deployment by many homeowners across the country. 
 
A single piece of legislation by Congress could fix this overnight. Basically, such legislation would say that any homeowner could put solar panels on his roof or an energy producing windmill in his yard as long as it does not pose a safety hazard to others. Aesthetics and pencil heads be darned. And implementing this new overide would not add a dime to the deficit.
 
That one simple move could spur natural demand from real customers and start moving those subsidized solar panel, windmill, inverter and battery companies to true independence. 
 
It's a thought. 

Prepare: Long Term Food Storage Suppliers

There are several great vendors online for Long Term Storage (LTS) food. We know about Honeyville and Emergency Essentials, but there are more coming online every month. I can guess what that is happening; the economy is the driving factor as well as the possibility of disaster or war. Stocking up on food makes sense.

LTS food companies offer something better than the selection of canned goods at your local grocer - food which is packaged and designed to stay edible (key point) for 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years. (If the value of this concept is lost on you, read the book "The Road" and get back to me).

Long term storage food comes from vendors in different ways. Let's examine first what this means.

Freeze dried - food is freeze dried in its present state and packed into vacuum sealed bags or cans. The food is roughly the same size and shape it would be with water so it is a bit larger than dehydrated food. To prepare, hot water is added to the container or with the food in a pot.

Dehydrated food - moisture content is removed making the overall size of the food smaller and weighing less. Food can be rehydrated with room temperature or hot water.

Standard - Without having an official term, standard designates food which is stored and shipped in its standard format. For instance, sugar, powdered milk, honey, and cooking oils are packaged in sealed cans and shipped. No preparation is needed to bring standard food ready for use.

Long term storage food companies typical sell their wares in standard configurations:

Short term supply - a weekend or three day supply of food designed with backpackers or bug out bag use in mind. Cooking staples like sugar or wheat are not part of the configuration, but 3 meals, either freeze dried or dehydrated, consisting of soup, stew and snacks make up the order.

One month supply - Generally, this will be a combination of large cans called "number ten" cans containing dehydrated foods and a few staples like powdered milk and eggs. The order is shipped with a fixed number of meals in mind equaling 3 meals a day for 30 days plus some extra for snacks.

Six month - one year supply - these are heavy orders consisting of mulitple cans of pre-mixed meals (like soup, stew, etc) in their dehydrated or freeze dried format, along with buckets of wheat, powdered milk, honey, sugar, cooking oil, drink mixes and dried fruits and vegetables.

Remember! Most products advertised as one month/year supply are for ONE PERSON. If there are multiple people in the household, it is advised to order more than one of each product.

Also, many of the same supplies are designed for ONE ADULT. Some orders are enough for two children for instance.

Finally, watch some LTS suppliers as a multi month food supply will often contain an inordinate amount of sugar or wheat. If this is what you want, then great, but first time buyers will do best to examine what is being shipped carefully.

For awhile, I have been advertising Mountain House Food here on the blog. It is the "grand daddy" of stored food and is sold in popular retail outlets like Walmart, albeit it, in much smaller quantities.

Mountain House is great because it comes in courses and meals most people are familiar with; spaghetti, beef stew, etc. as well as sides like rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and tasty desserts. The One Year Ultimate Pak is enough food for ONE ADULT PERSON for one year or a FAMILY OF FOUR for three months.

eFoodsDirect is a brand new company I am excited about. They have a very well laid out and informative website and great prices on dehydrated foods.

Their Freedom and Liberty one year food supply lines are very affordable for a one year supply of food and offer a great selection of staples and meals for long term storage. The products are divided into staples such as wheat, fruit, protein and vegetables as well as quick meals like soups and stews. This provides a great selection to avoid appetite fatigue experts warn many may face with a constant diet of oil, wheat, powdered milk and honey.

Like Nitro Pak, eFoodsdirect has long term supplies are well as short term kits for a weekend or week - perfect for the bug out bag or vehicle.

I saw Wise Foods at a recent gun show and had the opportunity to sample some of their products - Yummo! Wise Foods are designed for a 25 year shelf life and their packaging is unique as well.

Most LTS foods come in number ten (5/6 gallon) sealed cans similar to the ones found in restaurants with salsa or cheese sauce. While this is an excellent way to store LTS foods, the drawback is when the big can of freeze dried beef stew is opened, it is best to keep preparing beef stew until the can is finished. That way there will be no waste.

Wise instead packs their food into four adult servings in vacuum packed bags. Further, they pack these meal portions into square buckets which they claim store easier and take less room that cardboard boxes of number ten cans.

Wise offers their foods in multiple month (one month, two and so on up to one year) and says that each order will be enough to feed a family of four adults OR two adults and two to four children depending upon the size ordered and age of children.

I recommend that anyone interested in these companies first order a three day sample and see if they work for you and your family before dropping a couple of grand on a one year supply.

There are other options out there as well. If on a budget, use an online food calculator and determine how much wheat, dairy, produce and protein your family will need and start obtaining it piecemeal. Store your purchases in five gallon buckets which can be obtained from a local source, sometimes for free.

For instance, I purchased at the beginning of this year, 400lbs of rice, 100lbs of dried beans and 100lbs of pasta. I put all of these in five gallon buckets and placed them in the pantry. Next, I purchased several cases of canned fruit, vegetables and meats like tuna, chicken and soups. It is a basic system, but it is better than nothing.

Again..

- there are many Long Term Storage food suppliers out there and more coming onling regularly.
- before ordering, understand how much food comes in a supply and how many people, adults AND/OR children it will feed.
- watch out for suppliers which overload an order with wheat, sugar and other staples which may lead to appetite fatigue and limited cooking options.

Missed something? Feel free to leave a comment!