Preppers View - The Food Stash

Your food supply is perhaps the most important part of your prepper plan. Around my house we call it "The Stash". Frozen food is a poor option because when the power goes out - it spoils. Fast. In my opinion, canned goods and dried goods are the best choices.

Dried goods generally require water to use. An example would be oatmeal or powdered eggs. There are also dried foods in a foil/plastic sack by a company called Mountain House that offers lasagna, eggs, soups, and a wealth of other things - all of which are nutritionally valuable. There are MRE's available on line and at military surplus stores. These dried foods are most valuable for emergency evacuation kits or "bug out bags". We'll talk more about bug out bags in a future article. We also store dried pinto beans, rice, and flower in large plastic bags then placed in 5 gallon food grade plastic buckets. The orange 5 gal. plastic buckets and lids from Home Depot are food grade. We put moisture absorber in the bucket outside of the plastic bags. These are effective at keeping things dry and keeping mice out.

Canned goods are my favorite choice for an extended supply - or Stash. When considering your canned foods, think about nitrutional value. Canned goods with no nutritional value aren't worth the space they take up on your shelf. We store canned vegetables and fruits.(We don't store canned meat. But I am having second thoughts on that philosophy.) We store foods that are rich in vitamins and iron. Each can has an expiration date. I've been told that these dates are for reference and that the food inside can last much longer. I prefer to use the dates.

Now all we have left to do is find a place to put our stockpile. We are fortunate to have an unfinished room where we put shelves. You can use a basement, a large closet, a wall in your mud room or laundry room, or any spare room you may have. The shelving can be as simple as cinder blocks and 2x12's or as complex as modular pantry organizers. I use whatever I have. Thanks to a local lady who was a prepper when preppers weren't cool, I've learned the importance of recycling virtually everything. And she'll know exactly who I'm talking about when she reads this. It's important to remember to put the things with the closer expiration date closer to the front and the cans with the expiration dates further away toward the back. Then once you have 3 - 6 months worth of provisions saved, you just take from the stockpile and use it, then replace it when you shop - putting the new stuff in the rear. You are now using what is known as the FIFO (First In First Out) method of cycling your food in and out.

Oh....I almost forgot...there are some things you may want to include in your stash that don't jump out at you right away. Examples:

toothe paste
toilet paper
multi-vitamins
tylenol
extra supply of necessary medications that have a long shelf life
COFFEE!!!
soap
feminine hygiene products

you get the point.

When you first start accumulating your stockpile, it may be best to go to a "Save-a-Lot" or similar to get your goods at a low price as you will need to build up your supply if you haven't started already.

I was going to put this post up tomorrow but I thought that if it provoked any ideas, there may be some people who wish to use tomorrow to get started.

Now that we know that there are a lot of preppers out there....what do YOU want to add. What suggestions would you make?