What will help me store food?
Step 1
Think duration and who you have to feed. Food storage ranges from a very short term to a long term outlook. A helpful way of thinking is:
- Very Short term = 3 days to 3 weeks
- Short term = 3 weeks to 3 months
- Mid- term = 3months to 6 months
- Long term = 6 months to 1 year+
Tip: One approach is aim for a long term plan by building 3 months at a time over the next 4 months. Starting a short term food supply is easy to do using off-the-shelf cans from grocery stores. Your only limit is your present budget. Supplying food for 3 months and beyond requires thinking about storing whole foods that are dried. Think beans, lentils, wheat in its berry form, dried fruits, nuts, and necessities for cooking like oils, sweeteners, and spices.
Step 2
Map out what you eat and compare it against our food guide to ensure the best nutrition.
Step 3
Buy your food and necessary containers at the same time. Start placing it in the right location. See our blog for food storage rules. We recommend a 12 Week Strategy to 1 Year’s Worth of Food.
Week 1: Pre-food step, concentrate on storing up a starter amount of 50 gallons of water. The easiest is to buy the two gallons containers offered at grocery stores. A more forward thinking approach is to buy a water barrel and prepare your water for up to 5 years in storage.
Week 2: Grab your food storage shopping checklist and concentrate on buying a quarter of what you’ll need in the first staple block, grains.
Week 3: Concentrate on buying Grab buying a quarter of what you’ll need in the second through fourth block of staples, including rice, pasta, and beans.
Continue on to our blog for more.
Step 4
Practice cooking and eating your stored foods. Set a reminder in your calendar every week to try a meal from your storage. Also set a quarterly reminder in your calendar to check expiration dates.
