[skyemoor]

I believe you are overly constraining your challenge, as living off food storage for a year in a city with no food supply is a highly unlikely modus operandi for sustainment. Also, being able to only choose from pre-packaged items on a store shelf further reduces the number of perfectly suitable inexpensive food items. There are a number of approaches to storing food in anticipation of the possibility of reduced or non-existent availability. The LDS Church has perfected this to an art.

As I mentioned before, eating stored food for the span of a year requires that (at least for people raised on a Western diet, and especially their children) there is sufficient variety in order to avoid appetite fatigue.

We've been rotating our stored food stock for over 2 years now, as you can see here. Stockpiling food to eat is not as simple a matter as buying a large amount of items in bulk. There's nutrition to think about, as well as the shelf life, the preparation requirements (will you always have sufficient natural gas to cook with?), and so forth. We have children, so our needs may be slightly different from those without.

We buy bulk grains, beans, premixed cereals, different flavors of bullion (inexpensive taste variations), dehydrated milk, dehydrated eggs, dried fruits, and even some dehydrated desserts to keep the doldrums away. We make applesauce, elderberry and mulberry preserves from the bounty of a local orchard (and our yard). We have a grain mill and two solar cookers.

Some of the grains and beans we purchase from a local farmer; wheat at $9/bushel, soybeans at $11/bushel. Some items we purchase from Waltonfeed.com. We also purchase some 'typical' items from Costco, like tunafish, chili, stews, so that we can have these types of food at least twice a week. We also have a case of Coast Guard food ration bars, which are highly portable in case we need to bugout ($95 for a 60 day supply).

There are a number of books out on this topic;
- Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Peggy Layton
- Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival: Jack Spigarelli
- Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook: James Stevens

And there are even food storage cookbooks, which help to liven up one's stored food, as well as how to prepare it in situations out of the norm;
- Food Storage 101 Where do I begin? (Cookin' With Home Storage): Peggy Layton
- Simple Recipes Using Food Storage- Nonfiction, Emergency, Preparation, Cookbook: Cedar Fort
- Food Storage Guide and Cookbook: Ben Sampson

One's food storage needs to be rotated, and this gives the opportunity to polish their culinary skills, which will be put to the test if the situation arose. Eating from one's food storage should be done at least once a week; this will also enable the testing of any food item or recipe to ensure there are no food allergies or intolerances. It also removes any 'shock' the family might have if they had been suddenly exposed to a diet unfamiliar to their systems. The food storage is restocked on a regular basis.

There are excellent food storage spreadsheets available; see the bottom of this page, which is a condensed excerpt from my book.

Consider this a brainstorming exercise; there are no wrong answers per se, but we are trying to elicit a number of ideas, so that all can benefit collectively from the ideas and experiences of each other.

[JJ]

not sure how long vegatable oil keeps before it goes rancid.

[DomusAlbion]

Skyemoor, your's is the approach we've taken, and we we inspired by the Mormons. We have about an 18 month supply of bulk foods plus some dried "comfort" items in sealed #10 cans and 6 gallon buckets. These are not extravagently priced, not freeze-dried foods just good, stable dry items that are packed in an oxygen free container. Kept in our cool, dry basement they will last years.

Buying in bulk is actually cheaper than buying the same quantity from a retail store, so some smart buying can get people more food for the dollar.

We've planned and are ready. In addition to the bulk items we have two freezers; one filled with beef bought from a neighbor, the other has 300 lbs of pork we raised and slaughtered ourselves.

On top of this we have a flock of 40 chickens, an orchard, a large garden and for the winter we have a green house.

All we now need is a milk cow, which is coming next spring. We'll buy a cow with calf; milk the mother and slaughter the calf when it is big enough to supply our next years beef needs.

When we get the cow I will consider us self sufficient for food.

[skyemoor]

JJ, vegetable oils do go rancid (forming peroxide); polyunsaturated oils go rancid the quickest, followed by monosaturated, then by hydrogenated. We tend to stick with a blend of the first two, so we rotate our stock frequently. After any event where TSHTF, we would rely on our nut trees for this particular nutrient.

Olive oil keeps well, as it is monosaturated. Flaxseed oil and safflower oil oxidize very rapidly.

Here's a good overview.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', '
')All we now need is a milk cow, which is coming next spring. We'll buy a cow with calf; milk the mother and slaughter the calf when it is big enough to supply our next years beef needs.

When we get the cow I will consider us self sufficient for food.

[seahorse]

Skeymore, is in incorrect that Crisco has an indefinite shelf life?

Ayood, VTS, I like your $500 plans.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', '9') 50# sacks of rice would provide 2000 calories per day for one person for a year. The price is $191. You would die of malnutrition anyway, but that's your calories for a year.

Multivitamins -- $30 gets you a year's supply of Centrum multivitamins.

50# of black eyed peas are about $55
Same with small red beans or black beans

At about $300, you've got your carbohydrates covered for a year plus a little protein. Protein's expensive, though. That's tough to get around on a very low budget.

A can of chunk light tuna is about $1.10, but I've seen it on sale recently for 0.69. I would blow the last 200 on tuna and that's about it.

You could drop a bag or two of rice out of the calculation and save yourself $40, but I wouldn't. You'd have extra to trade or sell.

ETA: Are any of you guys actually buying this stuff and storing it? I got started a couple years ago in a small way, but kicked it into high gear this fall. Plus TP, razor blades, soap, propane, etc.

[StormBringer]

Sorry just a question...I think this is an approp site

HOW LONG DOES SMOKED CURED HAMS LAST WITHOUT REFRIGERATION.

[strider3700]

I was stuck at walmart for an hour today waiting for tire installs so I took a wander through their food aisles. Our walmart doesn't come close to a real grocery store when it comes to food so there was no way to put together a complete years food supply there. What I did notice however was canned pork and beans had roughly twice the calories, twice the protein and was half the cost of tuna fish. Sodium was higher as well though.... They seemed like a reasonable addition.

[duke]

Speaking only for us...we require food stores for all here that supply between 2,500to 3,000 calories a day. Variety and good balance across the food chart. Going hungry is sure no moral booster. A once famous General said an army preforms much better on a full stomach....

Why? Because unless you expect to sit all day in a wheelchair and be pushed around you will need it.

Starts with daily chores, no power or limited power via generator makes for much increased labor. Watching in the cold consumes calories for heat. The plain stress of living under such conditions consumes even high levels.

These and other true factors have been gone over with military personal and the such as to what real time crisis/stressful and survival conditions require.

A poor mans option to just go with a thousand a day is just that. Garbage in ...garbage out on preformance and health..simple truths.

Your body is your temple and you had better take top care of it all your life....

[patience]

StormBringer,

Salt/smoked hams we did in late November were good in the smokehouse until warm weather in May or June, longer if you debone the meat to get thorough salt penetration. With the bone left in, they will spoil next to the bone first, since the salt doesn't penetrate the bone, and sometimes not all the way to it. 11/2" thick slabs of bacon kept all the next summer, however. It's all about the thickness of the piece.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', 'S')tormBringer,

Salt/smoked hams we did in late November were good in the smokehouse until warm weather in May or June, longer if you debone the meat to get thorough salt penetration. With the bone left in, they will spoil next to the bone first, since the salt doesn't penetrate the bone, and sometimes not all the way to it. 11/2" thick slabs of bacon kept all the next summer, however. It's all about the thickness of the piece.

[skyemoor]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse', 'S')keymore, is in incorrect that Crisco has an indefinite shelf life?

[leal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse', '
')1. Peanut butter - Jar of peanut butter, (30 servings), $3 per month x 12 months total of $36;
*peanut butter has 2 year shelf life
2. Honey - 5 lb bottle, $9 per bottle, 108 servings per bottle, 4 bottles per year for total of $36;
*honey has indefinite shelf life
3. Bread - 3 loaves per month x $2 per loaf = $6 per month x 12 months = $72.
*I recommend buying bread as you need it, set the money aside to buy as needed
4. Ramen noodles - 12 packs per case, one pack is 380 calories at less than .20 per pack. One pack per day = $4 per month x 12 months = $36 per year. Ramen noodles have at least 2 year shelf life.
5. 300 pack daily vitamin, $15
6. 50lb bag of rice ($30);
7. $50lb bag beans ($30);

Total costs $295.


With the remaining $200, Throw in some spam, and some type of canned fish. It is cheap and last indefinitely.

[foodstr2]

What "storable food companies" won't tell you (and this loses *us* thousands of dollars of business each year. It's OK. We want YOU to be prepared!) is that ordinary canned foods from the grocery store will store for 50-100 years.

For evidence, please see http://www.internet-grocer.net/how-long.htm

There's also a good food planner to determine how much food to set back at http://www.internet-grocer.net/planner.htm

All you have to do is enter the number of kids under 7 and number of family members over 7 and it automatically calculates food needs.

Our canned meats, cheese and butter are kinda unique. You might wanna look into them. (Others selling them are imitators, and the current Yoders products they're selling contain 25% fat. We're the ones who introduced these products to this market.)

Best regards,

Bruce

[Dawn]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('foodstr2', 'O')ur canned meats, cheese and butter are kinda unique. You might wanna look into them. (Others selling them are imitators, and the current Yoders products they're selling contain 25% fat. We're the ones who introduced these products to this market.)

Best regards,

Bruce

[Koyaanisqatsi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Koyaanisqatsi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '(')bleach goes bad in six months)

[ReverseEngineer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('foodstr2', 'W')hat "storable food companies" won't tell you (and this loses *us* thousands of dollars of business each year. It's OK. We want YOU to be prepared!) is that ordinary canned foods from the grocery store will store for 50-100 years.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '
')Cottonseed oil also has its own problems independent of hydrogenation. I urge people to research this before purchasing it for their food storage.

[IslandCrow]

Some time in 2006, when I was working on lists of food I might need to stock, I found the following on the Survial Acres site:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ne person for one year Basic Staples (buckets)
Basic Food Storage Unit For One
2350 Calories, 104 gm protein per day
Item #U025 597 lbs. Shipping
Only $319.00

3 SP Hard Red Wheat
2 SP Hard White Wheat
1 SP Pinto Beans
1 SP Small White Beans
1 SP White Rice
1 SP Instant Milk
1 SP Quick Rolled Oats
1 SP Soybeans
1 SP Whole Corn
1 SP White Sugar
2 17.5 oz package Saf-Instant Yeast
2 #10 Cans Iodized Salt

[Quinny]

Thanks Seahorse and Patience for good advice. Tinned Pilchards are cheap as chips, I'd also add vinegar, as it can help flavour, as well as store/preserve. Large catering packs of Soya Sauce are fairly cheap and it's useful for giving flavour to bland food. Brewers yeast is also v. important.