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| ? about food storage | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 2 2011, 02:18 AM (386 Views) | |
| Bullmoose | Feb 2 2011, 02:18 AM Post #1 |
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The recomended food storage amounts vary significantly from site to site. Many say 1 year, some say 3 months but many more mention stocking your 72 hour BOB and nothing more. I will admit, it is more fun, for me at least, to stock up on guns and ammo. But a frugal shopper can buy a years supply of food for around 700.00. That is the price of your average firearm. And, as stated multiple times by multiple members of this site, chances are great that survival will depend much more on food and preps than on guns and tactics. A one year food supply need not be a one time purchase like the 700.00 gun would be. I have found that breaking it down into manageable pieces is quite easy and adds up quickly. As I said I was gonna do, I inventoried my stores around the first of the year. Since I am fairly new to the prepping game, I didn't need to rotate any stock, tho this would have been a conviniant time for doing so. Having it broken down into 5 catagories, (Food, Seeds, Hygiene/Medical, tools, ammo) and written down on paper, it is easy to determine where I am getting heavy and also my weakpoints. (I am very weak on dehydrated milk, and .40 S&W) I was not eager to begin buying "food" but once I started, it was and is very satisfying watching the pantry fill. But I notice with many members of the group it is tough to get them to begin the initial step. Any advice to help motivate group would be appreciated. |
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It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. Samuel Adams | |
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| Mommacat | Feb 2 2011, 09:42 AM Post #2 |
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You might consider asking them how they would feel about trying to live off from what they currently have in their cupboards for a month. See if they would do an exercise to test it. No trips to the grocery store allowed for one month. They have to live on just what's in their house at the very minute. That is the best eye-opener I can think of. I actually did that. Well, not entirely - my kids would have run away. But, I did do it to the extent that I tried to use what I had and improvise and I did end up going to the store, but it was for milk, fresh stuff, etc. So, maybe you could make it a training exercise? Good luck!
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| Bullmoose | Feb 2 2011, 09:52 AM Post #3 |
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Many of these guys are married to women who are already upset they disappear one night a week and come back reeking of cheap Canadian whiskey, I think if they proposed this idea to their spouse that it would be the final straw for the relationship. Then they would be free to spend their money as they see fit. Genius! But really, if an exercise like that worked to just get started, thats all it would take. Eventually like I said, it almost becomes fun. |
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It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. Samuel Adams | |
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| Mommacat | Feb 2 2011, 12:20 PM Post #4 |
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Being single and quite independent by nature, I pretty much do my own thing, so I can only imagine how hard it must be to do any kind of prepping if your "other half" just isn't into it. I do understand that its hard to justify spending money on stuff you may or may not have to use, particularly in these tough times and I don't know of any irrefutable argument in favor of it. So many people are complacent about life in the US and if they simply cannot imagine how it would be other than it is now, I don't know how you can open their eyes to the possibility that the horrible stuff that happens "over there" is knocking on our door here at home. |
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| Bullmoose | Feb 2 2011, 01:28 PM Post #5 |
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Well, I could absolutely envision tapping into my private food stores prior to the countries SHTF if I had my own private SHTF, IE unexpected job loss etc. Or if the countries food prices skyrocketed out of control. The nice thing about food stores is that it is unlike generators or other things that will only come into play when SHTF. Food stores is a good investment no matter what and will not go to waste. And it is doubtful that food is gonna go down anytime soon. My sig other is very motivated with storing food to the point of sometimes aggravating me with her storage expenditures. I wish she was as open towards my desire to stockpile firearms Just today I was trying to convince her of the need for me to purchase a few AK mags "You are going to feel foolish if we pay the power bill instead of letting me buy mags and the SHTF tomorrow" Even with that sound logic it was a no go.
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It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. Samuel Adams | |
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| Raven | Feb 3 2011, 08:06 AM Post #6 |
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I have a friend that has a spouse that is also not on board. I suggested to him that when he goes shopping, add one or two extra of the main things to his list. Instead of getting one jar of spaghetti sauce, sardines etc to get one or two extras and put them in a closet. I suggested that he break his food stores into sections of must have, should have and nice to have... and in the must have list put the very basics, wheat/flour, baking supplies, milk, oil etc. The other lists should contain the stuff that you would imagine in those lists. It helps if you just note what you eat during the week and make a list of what you eat and the ingredients of what you use and make your list off of that journal. For your milk problem, the canned milk (evaporated milk) will last longer than the dried milk that you buy. It tastes cooked but you could also store some Nestle Quik to help with the taste otherwise just use it for puddings and other mixes. Dried milk in the store has most if not all of the natural vitamins and minerals are gone. I had ordered a 25# bag of dried milk from our local food coop and repackaged it all. 6 months later...I get a small post card that tells me to dump it all because it has been contaminated with e coli. 6 months is a long time and I had to go back through and get rid of it. The evaporated milk, being canned, has at least been heat treated. |
| The truth is not for all men, but only for those that seek it. Ayn Rand | |
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| Mommacat | Feb 5 2011, 10:17 AM Post #7 |
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I re-read your initial post about how much a person should stock up and how it varies from one "expert" to another. In my opinion, a years worth, plus some cushion would be a good idea. I have a couple reasons; the first being that we have winters that make wild gathering or planting quick food crops impossible. If the system went down, we could realistically be unable to feed ourselves ANYTHING until summer arrived. Also, since we are in such a remote area - even after things started to normalize after a SHTF situ, we would be one of the last areas to get supplies or any help from the gov't (God help us if we ever need THAT!) When I say a "years worth" I mean a years worth of EVERYTHING from sugar to vinegar. And, that would just be the start. We all know that if things really went south, it would take many years for the local hardware store to be back in business or the supply of medicine readily available. Ultimately, I think the smartest move would be to store a year's worth of food, five years worth of other stuff, and then, most importantly, adopt a whole different life-style that does not revolve around things you can buy in a store and things that need to be plugged into an outlet, but is based more on how early pioneers lived. |
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| Grizzly | Feb 5 2011, 11:00 PM Post #8 |
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Ultimately, I think the smartest move would be to store a year's worth of food, five years worth of other stuff, and then, most importantly, adopt a whole different life-style that does not revolve around things you can buy in a store and things that need to be plugged into an outlet, but is based more on how early pioneers lived. [/quote] I agree with you on this. Sometimes I think we are already starting that life style, little by little. It is not something one can just jump into one day so I hope there aren't many preppers out there thinking they will be ready for the change just cause they have some food and equipment laying around. It could happen overnight. Look what's going on in Egypt. Everything has come to a standstill and it could happen hear at any time only it will be much, much worse! Edited by Grizzly, Feb 5 2011, 11:22 PM.
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| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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| Mommacat | Feb 6 2011, 01:02 AM Post #9 |
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I believe the small, family farmer is going to be miles ahead of the rest of the population. They already are pretty self sufficient and with just a little extra planning and prepping, they'd be just fine in taking care of themselves. The only real threat to their survival would be either gov't or looters. I would like to clarify, when I said "a year's worth of food", that means for each member of your family or group. A year's worth for one person would last a family of 4 about 2-3 months is all. |
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| Raven | Feb 6 2011, 09:19 AM Post #10 |
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I might even go so far as to suggest a 2 year supply because, like you said, crop failure, bad weather etc might make it impossible to get enough of a crop to carry you over. A 2 year supply will give you wiggle room. Don't forget to include canning jars, and lids to your list |
| The truth is not for all men, but only for those that seek it. Ayn Rand | |
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Just today I was trying to convince her of the need for me to purchase a few AK mags "You are going to feel foolish if we pay the power bill instead of letting me buy mags and the SHTF tomorrow" Even with that sound logic it was a no go.

4:33 AM Jul 12