If you are new to prepping for survival purposes, you need to have a strategic plan in place for the food supplies you will be stocking up on. Many people fill their refrigerator and freezer to the brim, but if the grid goes down, those supplies will not last.
You have to have a variety of supplies that will work in any type of survival situation, whether your electricity is working or not. That includes some supplies for your home as well as some that you can take on the go in a bug out bag.
Selecting the foods that you choose for survival purposes is a task that has many different considerations. It’s not just about what’s on sale that you can buy in bulk or what will keep the longest.
In a harsh survival event, you even need to take the personal preferences of each individual into consideration for a few things so that morale does not sink. And, you have to consider the caloric needs of each person to ensure their physical health stays strong.
Survival Food Supplies Serve Different Purposes
There is no one-size-fits-all plan for survival food storage. But there are a few considerations to make whenever you are selecting what you’re going to stock up on. The primary reason you are taking care of this task is because each individual in your family, including your pets, needs a certain amount of calories each day to function and stay healthy.
So this should be one of your top concerns. You don’t want to invest in low calorie foods that will not support the caloric needs of each person. There are some things you can buy that will be more calorie dense, including things like nut butters such as peanut butter or almond butter.
There are even survival bars that act as energy bars that will give you a quick burst of all of the calories you need. However, these are not enjoyable, they are strictly meant for ensuring the basic needs of your body.
You also want to take into consideration the shelf life (which we will discuss shortly) and the mental pleasure or comfort that people get from the food they eat, which is even more important in a survival situation than in your everyday life.
Make sure you pay attention to the taste of the foods – buy some of your family’s favorites, and have a variety of food on hand, too. You don’t want to serve the same beans and rice meal every day for a month straight.
When stocking up on food, consider spices you need to stock up on as well. These will give you the ability to make something taste completely different and lift up the mood of those in the survival situation.
You might also consider foods that make people feel physically comfortable. Something refreshing in the heat or warm (like soup) in a cold weather survival event can help people get through tough times.
Picking Foods That Have a Long Shelf Life
Shelf life is also very important. If your food doesn’t last, it won’t do you any good, even if it meets the caloric needs or comfort needs of your family. Many people start their survival food supplies with canned goods.
These are a great investment because they are small and affordable. However, keep in mind that they only last a couple of years, which is far less than some of the specific survival foods on the market.
You can get a variety of foods, though. These range from canned pastas to vegetables, canned meat to fruits and more. It gives your body a mix of nutrients and your tastebuds some variety, too.
In addition to canned goods, you also want to make sure you have plenty of dry or dehydrated foods on hand. This can be staple foods like beans, rice and pasta. Or, you can get dehydrated fruits and vegetables – or even meat to snack on.
There are plenty of survival foods that come ready to store and meet your caloric needs, too. Many preppers buy MREs (meals ready to eat). This is what the military gives soldiers.
These are individual meals that come in a variety of flavors, and they often include some sort of main meal as well as a small side item or dessert with a flavored drink pack.
It even includes a heating element when necessary. With MREs, you’re getting a longer shelf life that can last ten years or more. Be sure that you check the expiration dates before purchasing any for your family.
There are also many survival food supply manufacturers that will ship containers of food to your home that will last you 25 to 30 years. These will usually be buckets of food supplies that have dehydrated foods in them, such as eggs, vegetables, beef, and more.
You can purchase these in containers that will last one person an entire month or in packages that will serve one person’s needs for as little as 72 hours. You can also buy them for different purposes, such as breakfast meals, lunches or dinners.
Storing Your Survival Food Safely
Food storage is a very important consideration of what you will be purchasing. You want things that are easy to store and that take up less space, but the packaging has to be Immaculate so that no pests or spoilage can occur.
Many of the readymade survival foods come in packaging that is already in airtight containers. For example, the food buckets are sealed to prevent any type of mishap, as are the MREs.
If you are purchasing your own products, you want to make sure that you’re not just putting items in a container with others. Oftentimes, people will bring home something from the store that is already contaminated with weevils, and it will ruin the rest of your supplies.
Make sure you invest in some vacuum sealed bags or mylar bags so that you can store things in an airtight container that is resistant to moisture and pests. Then, store your food in a cool and dry location that is not subject to harsh sunlight.
Shopping Smart for Survival Food
When shopping for your survival foods, you have to check your current supplies so that you can rotate out anything that is set to expire. This is why it’s important to purchase foods that your family already enjoys so that you can use them up instead of wasting money on things you would only eat in a survival situation.
Many people like to invest in the ready made survival foods, and those can be more expensive than what you find in the store. If you are shopping locally, you want to shop smart whenever there are bulk deals or sales happening so that you can get more for your money.
You may also want to shop for items that are not brand name. Purchasing a store brand item is going to save you money and allow you to buy more survival food supplies or other supplies that you need so that you’re not wasting money on a label.
Stocking up on food is something that brings peace of mind to survival preppers. Even during the pandemic, many store shelves were stripped as people hunkered in at home, and that was a mild event compared to other things that could happen.
Check out Part 4 Here:
By the way – if you missed part 2, you can have a read of it here: Why You Need A Water Strategy