Not to go too TDD here, but I think all of the 2012 hype has got to me. I have been reading about how fragile our food supply chain is. It seems like a good idea to have some kind of emergency food stock on hand. Even FEMA says have 2 weeks of food and water on hand.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf
I have a family of 4, so we keep a pretty good stock all of the time. At least a weeks worth in the pantry normally. But I have been thinking of stocking up some long term food. This stuff has a 25 year shelf life and you can get a weeks worth for 4 people for a couple of hundred bucks.
I have tried some of this type freeze dried stuff on camping/hunting trips and it is not too bad. Definitely not the best but it will keep you alive and going. I like the idea of buying once and not have to worry about it for a long time.
Anybody else stocking up? My wife thinks I have lost it. She says the thousands of rounds of ammo I have accumulated is nuts but that is my 'hobby' so she lets it slide. She thinks I am buying into the TDD doomsday stuff too much with the food storage.
I dunno Snoop...
I keep a couple of months (easily) of food on hand at all times, but it is the same food that I generally eat anyway. I just put the new stuff in the back, and rotate the “older” stuff forward (canned goods, bottled sauces, dried beans, pasta, etc.). There is probably a month of meat in the freezer, but that would have to be dealt with fast if the power grid went down (I guess that I could run it off my generator though).
I don't have as much water on hand as I probably should have, but that is an old habit, because the place I lived for 25 years before this one, had an artesian well!
I also ASSUME that if things don't "come back on line" within a couple of months, I'll be living off the land anyway, so ammo and fishing gear makes more sense to pack, than a lot MREs.
I have always felt that it is BETTER to be prepared, than to be caught flat-footed (goes for about EVERYTHING in life). You can carry a spare tire around for decades, but as soon as you leave it home (or it goes flat), you can't get around the block without a flat tire!
I believe that the best way NOT to NEED something, is to have it handy!
Loyal
Edit...WOW...what is that? Six paragraphs all starting with "I"...me bad!
Nothing wrong with being prepared.
I suggest that your spiritual preparedness can be the most important.
The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked, and no amount of ammo, or food would have helped him. He said an angel stood by him, and that there would be no loss of life, but of the boat.
Being spiritually ready, is at least 1/2 the game.
And, having some cow food, and salt would not hurt!
N
You might want to look at the advice here.
Preparedness manual
Whether or not you agree with their other philosophies, this is some of the best advice on long term food storage you will find.
That's o.k. Loyal. It's all about you anyway:-)
Don
AGREE WITH NATE
Except that being spiritually ready is100% of the game, I think.
Don
> Being spiritually ready, is at least 1/2 the game.
Snoop CTFO (Come the ______ on...... Use your imagination) If you are religious OR have been watching DEXTER on Showtime you would know that there will be several tall tale signs before The End... None of which included a prediction from a south American savage calender.
Buy a case of your favorite soup if it makes you feel better 🙂
dad burn it, Little Luke, i was just thinking of a series of "polls" regarding semi-such things. to answer your questions first... no, i'm not prepared other than i have a lot of traps (live and dead) to provide meat and plenty of small critters to fill the traps for a couple of weeks ((makes our miniture schnauzer(sp) look good at times)). i have nothing stored up that would last longer than a couple of days or so in the freezer and not much more in the cans. i do have water for as long as i can think of with a spring fed branch on my south line and a spring inside of my property on the east side.
a little more surveying related...
do you have or have access to surveying supplies that do not rely on electricity/batteries in order to perform your services if there is not electricty? this would include everything from instruments to drawing supplies.
IMHO i don't pass the livable/edible items, but at least i can perform the surveying related acts...assuming anyone would care at the stage that we are discussing.
DANG RIGHT IM STOCKING UP ON FOOD AND WARTER, NOT ONLY FOOD BUT AMMO, AMMO WILL BE THE CURANCY IN THE TIMES NOT TO FAR OFF IO THE FUTURE IVE PAID THE BANK OFF AND DOING SUM SURVYIN AND USING ALL CASH -- NO TAXES -- TO BY GOLD. GOLD WILL BE 3K IF YOBAMA GET RELECTED
Request for ban accepted and approved.
> Request for ban accepted and approved.
Wendell, the power to ban is going to your head! Don't ban me man!!
Well, he did ask for it and I gave him the opportunity to finalize it, so it was granted.
Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled thread. 🙂
good read
Those of you who need encouragement in the food stockpile / end of the world myth I recommend this NYT best seller One Second After
It is a really good read even if you do not need to get all jacked up on The End.
Never hurts to be prepared.
Here are some other options:
http://beprepared.com/default.asp
As an example, the Auguson Farms 1 Year kit has a bunch of items that you could use throughout the year and just re-stock as you use it up. In this way you are rotating the stock and still keeping an emergency supply on hand. This is part of what I have on hand.
Learning to use these type of products throughout the year can actually be a savings:
http://www.homegrownharvest.com/
nothing tastes better than freshly grinding some wheat and making bread all in the same afternoon. With the added benefit of having it on hand in an emergency situation. A lot of people who think they don't like wheat bread are surprised to find out how good it is when not the squishy stuff from the grocery store.
A good non-doomsday way to look at it is that you can
1. save money on some things by buying bulk and making food instead of buying pre-made (bread as an example)
2. have some easy to assemble meal options on hand
3. have supplies on hand for even minor emergencies (a month long ice storm for example)
Another concern to keep in mind for these type of things is a heating source. Keep propane and charcoal on hand for the grills. Maybe get a small camping style grill for emergency use. Most of these items need water - make plans for a longterm water storage. This is a little trickier, but there is plenty of information on line to explain how to go about it.
What some consider to be "survivalism" or kooky is what our grandparents considerd normal. This idea that one should not stock up on food and other essentials is a very recent development. The fact that industry (and grocery outlets) have bought into this "JUST IN TIME" supply meme to gain a little bit more profit doesn't mean that it is a good thing for society or something that individual families should adopt. Our food supply network has never been more fragile or vulnerable to unforseen events.
That being said, everyone has to make their own decisions on this topic. I would offer the following in the way of friendly advice:
1. Avoid most of these prepackaged "emergency foods" for the most part. It's okay to stock a minimal amount of them, but the costs are prohibitive for more than that IMO.
2. As others have mentioned, I would look to the Mormons both for information and for long term food supplies. They have some staple goods like Flour, Wheat, Rice, Pinto Beans and Oatmeal already prepackaged in #10 cans usually for less than half what the online "emergency food" outlets have them. They also have many more items in bulk that you can come down to their cannery and can yourself. All of the above items as well as milk, hot chocolate, instant taters, sugar, black beans, refried beans, orange drink and other items. You can also buy any of these items in bulk packaging if you like. They also have portable "sealers" which tey will loan to you free of charge that you can take home and can whatever you wish (they also sell you the #10 cans, lids, boxes, oxygen absorbers that you need to do this). The Mormons are great folks and they won't put you in a corner and force feed their beliefs to you (although they will certainly invite you to come to their church).
3. I would agree with Loyal that the first step is to stock a deep pantry with the foods you normally buy and use. Instead of having a weeks worth, why not enough for a month or two? Except for perishables, there really isn't any advantage to not stocking more of these items. There really is no excuse for not doing this. It costs no more money to live with a two or three month supply in your pantry than it does to live with a weeks supply. Just do it.
4. You don't have to go out and buy a years worth of food at once. If you just begin setting aside so much each month toward your long term food storage and making a trip to the cannery every so often you will quickly build up a reasonable supply.
5. How much is enough? I don't know. The church recommends a two year supply of staples. That sounds like a lot of food, but if you really think about it, how many people in your family will NOT have food if something happens and be looking to you to feed them? That 2 years supply quickly becomes a 3 month supply for many of us. The great thing about long term food storage is that it is scalable. You can start out as small as you like and make it as big as you like (well, for most of us we have a limited amount of space that places a limit on this).
6. The truth is that you can never have "enough" to meet all of the possible scenarios tha could come to pass. More is better is the only thing I can tell you. That being said, you have to keep things in perspective. What good is a couple years supply of beans and rice if you don't have access to water (in scenario like "one second after" or something similar)? If you have the means, then setting aside a small amount for long term food storage is a rational and cost-effective way to ensure your food security.
7. You don't need a natural disaster or an "end of the world scenario" for your food storage to be useful in a practical way. Imagine losing your job or being unable to work for an extended period of time...having your food storage allows you and your family to continue to eat whether you have money or not. It frees up what money you do have to pay the rent/mortgage or keep the utilities on.
Providing for your own food security is an inherent part of being a self-sufficient and responsible person. Good luck.
Using Grills Indoors....
> Another concern to keep in mind for these type of things is a heating source. Keep propane and charcoal on hand for the grills. Maybe get a small camping style grill for emergency use. Most of these items need water - make plans for a longterm water storage. This is a little trickier, but there is plenty of information on line to explain how to go about it.
I do want to add...never EVER use a grill indoors. Wendells 18 year old cousin did not know this and put his grill inside his van for him and his girlfriend to keep warm while out camping in the middle of nowhere...in December. They were both found dead from CO2 poisoning. 🙁
An attack on the internet which could shut it down would have an impact on everything people use. As noted above the food supply has never been so vulnerable, in fact almost everyone in the nation is dependent on the continuing delivery of food and goods to live, that dependance on something you have no control over, puts you and those who depend on your judgement at risk. The internet controls almost everything consumed by people, not only in the population centers, but is also true in rural areas because of a imbedded dependency on a single vulnerable system. Never in the history of man, have so many been so dependent, on one vulnerable communication system for their existence, a bit of "Churchill type speak". The next time you see a food vendor going around a grocery store using his data collector or look at a modern cash register both collecting data that keeps the supply train full, think about what you are really looking at and what is required for that data being collected to become useful in delivering the goods, that keeps you fed.
jud
I've been off line a while but thought this an interesting post. January is the time I think through our emergency preparedness. No, I don't believe the world will come to an end anytime soon. I was just raised by parents who grew up during the great depression. I grew up in a very remote small town. Everyone I knew always had 6 months to a years worth of food. Of course everyone was cash poor and never knew when they would be out of work or when the only paved road into town would be closed by flood, washout, etc. One winter the town was without power for two weeks. I currently live 30 miles out of town, so if bare space shows up in the pantry or freezer, I get a little nervous. So here's my three prong food storage plan. After, the fresh produce I go to the . . .
1. The freezer. We haven't hunted in awhile because we're always busy finishing a survey project, so I buy meat on sale double wrap it and date it. I prefer frozen vegetables to canned, and I stock up on bread on sale and freeze it. Any extra space in the freezer gets filled with empty milk jugs filled with water. A full freezer will last longer in a power outage, and besides that's what the generator is for.
2. The pantry. I stock up during the case lot sales and other sales. I rotate these items and if something starts getting old I use it. I don't buy things I don't have recipes for. Besides canned food I'm started to dehydrate some food. I try to make a pot of soup each week that comes from the pantry. Whole grain items get stored in the refrigerator or freezer, they last longer that way. White flour goes in the freezer for a few days to kill any little bugs.
3. Freeze dried food. I ordered two buckets that provide 30 days of meals (they were on sale). I figure, if we have to leave the house because of wild fire we can grab these buckets and some water. Freeze dried food is expensive, and I wouldn't eat it except for camping and emergencies.
We have 5 gallon storage containers of water we use for camping and that we keep full the remainder of the year. We keep a list of phone numbers of relatives, and a check list of items that need to be taken if we have to leave. I know I would never remember medications or cat food. Included on that list are irreplaceable items such as photos and family heirlooms.
There is lots of good information on the web along with bad info. You have to read everything with a grain of salt, and decide what is best for you. Well I'm off to have some homemade beef barley soup and bread.
It's a lot easier to...
stock up on guns & ammo and take your neighbor's food.
It's a lot easier to...
> stock up on guns & ammo and take your neighbor's food.
I've been working on my arm wrestling and knife fighting skills. Same result, but on a personal level. Then again, since the local chinese restaurant went belly up, there is an increase in neighborhood cats.
