Long Term Food Storage

Why Long Term?

We can all have our different reasons; some live in regions that are prone to wars breaking out, others live on remote islands, others live right smack on the ring of fire (Tectonic plate in the Pacific ocean which is very active, the ring goes along the west coast of North America, down to Australia, New Zealand, and up through Japan, and China's east coast, and up along the coast of Alaska). But for the most part the purposes to store food are many, primarily for personal security. Maslow's hierachy of basic needs dictate that before your physiological needs are covered, you cannot concentrate on further needs, such as safety, social life, esteem, etc. The Physiological needs include food, water, heat, and sleep. It makes sense, doesn't it? Whether you live in remote regions or in urban settings, in the desert or in the arctics, on Hawaii or in Nebraska, accidents can always happen. Delivery of foods can be hindered for short or long durations, an energy crisis can happen which would hinder frequent transports of goods, a natural disaster can strike, that being draught, avalanches, storms and hurricanes, flood, earthquakes, the possibilities are many.

How Much to Store

There is no easy answer to this question, as the situation varies a lot from location to location, and people have different needs. The term 'Long Term Food Storage' does not include, or consider, the 72-hour kits everybody must have, regardless. I will post an article shortly about the 72-hour kit, which is a whole different matter, and complex too. When talking about long term storage, it does not necessarily refer to large quantities, but rather foods (and water) that can be stored for long periods of time, under optimal conditions, usually 1-2 years, and some foods have shelf lives of 10-20 years, and finally there are things that can be stored indefinitely if stored and prepared properly. Some people focus on always having 30 days worth of food in their stores, while others, perhaps more radical survivalists, insists on years worth of supplies. It all comes down to your personal beliefs and what you expect to happen. Personally I would say that 3 months of food is a good start, and probably the most you will ever need. Should something happen that would cut you off from all food deliveries for 3 months or longer, you would be in a stage where relocation is a priority. That could be if a war breaks out in your location, you would wanna move out of the way! If a natural disaster strikes that leave you and your family isolated for long durations, you would need to be 'rescued' and moved to a safer place. Just remember that when planning for food storages, you need to calculate with a minimum of 2,000 calories worth of food per person per day. You might be consuming less now, or on a diet, but if something happens, you need to be strong to cope with the extra work it takes to set up emergency facilities, you need to make sure your body stops it's starvation/perservation mode, and you need to prevent that your body starts breaking down muscle mass for energy - that will leave you weaker and unable to do what you need to in order to survive. Besides, more is better as you will be able to stretch it, should you reach the end of your supplies.

Balance and Variety

It is important to plan for a number of things, when deciding on your food storage needs. How many ways can you cook 90 meals of canned peas and tuna? You need to make sure you have a variety of foods that give you options in terms of recipes; you need to make sure you would want to eat every day during a disaster of any kind. If you get sick of eating the same, you might start to skip meals, and that will drain you of energy and strength and that's the last thing you want to happen to you when your strength is needed the most. Make sure you have plenty or proteins, complete proteins, i.e. meat, fish, eggs, and beans. I am not a vegetarian, and I would be prone to say that in a situation of emergency there would be more important things to worry about that what you like or whatever you are rebelling against, but for some it is a big deal, and they need to consult nutrition experts for advice. Just remember that for example beans along is not a complete protein, it is missing some groups of amino acids, which are covered by for example rice, which is why 'Rice and beans' is the most frequently served food in most of the world's remote regions, islands, and areas with poor transportation systems. It is cheap, it stores well, and it does cover a good deal of your basic nutrition needs. The best trick to balanced and varied long term food storage is to store foods you do use on a daily basis, and keep rotating it. And keep an eye on your storage and note if some things are left on the same shelf for a long time, unused, and you will quickly find which things you are most likely to eat. Make sure to always store vitamins and other diet additions you need, for at least as long as your food storage stretches, and do make sure that in case of whatever happens, you do take vitamins daily, as many things you eat daily and don't think much about will not be available. (For example, at work you may take a banana or an apple every day and eat as a snack, but it provides you with important vitamins and minerals that you would lack, should you not be able to get to work for long periods of time, like in a disaster or war)

How to Store Best?

Now, this is the trick to long term food storage! I plan to bring a whole series of articles and video clips of us dehydrating foods, which along with proper vacuum sealing, and oxygen absorbers, will last from 2 to 5 or even 10 years, depending on the food. Other things will be canned in mason jars, with a vacuum sealable lid, that way even meats can be stored for over 2 years. Some foods store indefinitely, such as sugar. But the bottom line is, all foods need to be prepared totally air tight, well prepared, and then stored in a dry, cool, and dark place, for example a basement or in a room with the heaters off (or on low) and out of direct sunlight. Hygiene is essential when preparing foods for storage (well, it actually always is!) and you will be fine. One of my home improvement projects are going to be an underground storage facility built out of a short (20') container, which will be perfect since we have no basement in this house. But there are many possibilities, depending on your willingness to think out of the box - or read some of the ideas and suggestions on this site :)

Equipment Needed

For a normal household and with limited means, many standard appliances will do just fine. A convection oven can be used for dehydrating food, if the temperature setting can be set sufficiently low, 120-140°F (48-60°C), or food dehydrators are the alternatives. They can be cheap or very expensive, and some are not as good as others - I'll get back with a discussion on that topic, as it's almost a whole science in itself to determine. For canning you can use your marmelate/veggie/soup/other glass jars that you buy, and probably throw away anyways, or you can get real mason jars, with vacuum sealable lids, and use those with a vacuum sealer (with a suction port to attach to a jar lid sealer) then you get all the stuff you need. You will need some small items, such as oxygen absorber packs (They will drain the oxygen from your products, and thus prevent the development of  and Atamon (http://www.webcitation.org/5b99uT7j9) or whichever preservatives you can find in your region. It's just important they have properties that kill/stop development of fungi and bacterial growth. Atamon is good, because it is also good for cleaning your jars and lids before use, to ensure they are totally clean and sterile, and is totally taste, smell, and texture free.

Later Discussions

So, I have made a lot of promises in this article about future projects, and if it was up to me, I would do them all now, and show you, but I can't. I will, however, be doing them all, one thing at a time at the mercy of the weather, finances, time, and heath. Bear with me :)

I invite you all to share your experience or comments on all these ideas, and if you have already done these, feel free to share or post in the forums. Also, if you have any questions about any of these things, feel free to post on the forum and hopefully I or one of the others here will help you out.