Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage
In addition to having enough food for your family, you will want to make sure that they have what they need to survive while eating no food. This includes things such as toothbrushes, plates, cups, utensils, water containers, and the like.
You do not want to forget these essentials when buying new supplies or recycling old ones. Luckily, there are many ways to keep track of all of this!
There is an app called My Pantry, which allows you to create special categories and organize them by location (mobile device only). This can be very helpful in keeping tabs on all of your food storage items as well as other important goods.
General tips: remember that even though it seems expensive now, the cost per person may go up as time goes on. Buying less food at one time can help save money in the long run!
Prepper Food! Pantry and Kitchen:
As mentioned earlier, even though it may feel like there’s never enough food, we as humans need to eat. We cannot survive without nutrition that our bodies process into cells and tissues.
So, how do you ensure you have adequate nutritional intake when resources are limited? You stock up on nutritious foods!
These foods can be either long-term supplies or short term fixes. Some of these foods will help you get back onto your feet after an emergency event, while others will aid in your recovery (or re-start) of health.
Some examples of healthy eating are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and/or seeds, low fat milk, and lean meats. These foods all contribute to good health, which is another important factor for surviving during and after an emergency.
There are several ways to organize your prepping ikea food storage. One way is by culinary area or category such as snacks, drinks, oils, and broths. Another way is by nutrient groups such as carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
A third way is by individual items such as oranges, tomatoes, and sugar. All three of those could go into any one container depending on what you have left in inventory at the time.
How to use this information:
As with anything related to preparedness, understanding the importance of nutritional diversity is the first step to stocking your own personal supply.
Each person has their own needs and preferences in terms
Step One: Get enough water
Having enough water is one of the most important things you can have as an unprepared person. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to know how much water you need for daily life. The easiest way is to measure your body weight and then add half a cup for every pound over that number.
This method assumes you drink two glasses per day! If you eat more than two meals a day or exercise more frequently, use just under two cups per person.
Drinking eight 8-ounce (240 ml) glasses of water a day is ideal, but even having only three large glassfuls per day will help keep you healthy.
Step Two: Make sure your home store of water is adequate
Paragraph: Even if you don’t feel like you’re drinking enough water, you probably aren’t. Most people aren’t, which is why so many health problems occur later when you start buying bottles and jars of water to top off what you’re already using.
A good rule of thumb is to buy at least a case (52 oz/1 kg) of bottled water for each person in your house. Or, if you’d rather get filtered tap water, buy a gallon (3 L) of distilled liquid for every member of your family. You would also want to make certain to rotate bottle types – some contain chemicals that could potentially lead to poisoning.
Don’t forget about the
Step Two: Buy shelf stable foods your family enjoys today
The next step is to determine what food items you will need to have on hand for a short term or long term situation. Food that does not require refrigeration are our best bet since you do not need to worry about keeping it safe from hungry thieves until you can get back home where you can store it properly.
Shelf-stable foods are quite popular these days as a lot of people agree they taste better than less well-seasoned foods that may go bad due to poor seasoning or salty ingredients.
These types of foods also last a longer time because they do not spoil easily. Many people drop an item and then just buy another one without thinking too much about the first one. This is totally fine! We all know how expensive grocery shopping can be, so buying second pieces only makes sense if you plan to use those snacks up soon.
Some examples of shelf-stable foods include dried fruits and vegetables, pasta dishes, rice, peanut butter, sugary things (dried out sugar junkie!), and canned goods such as tuna, soup, and salad toppings.
Step Three: Clear a closet and set up a stock rotation system for your food.
In the next step, we will discuss how to organize and maintain your food storage. But before you start organizing and stocking, it is important to make sure you have enough of each item!
Many times people get into the prepping habit and then run out of an ingredient or two. It is very common to run out of some items during a crisis. To prevent this from happening, be aware of what products you use and how much of them you should have stored.
Make sure to check out our article here about why it is important to know where to buy foods that are healthy for you.
This way you are not wasting money by buying too little product, and you will not run out of something because you ran out last time. Make sure to keep track of how many units you do have so you can go shopping once the crisis is over!
Step Four: Set up your prepper’s kitchen (manual tools).
Now that you have determined how many people will be eating during an emergency, next is to determine what foods can be sourced locally, what food stores are well-stocked, and what foods should be gathered or created before the crisis!
Finding local sources of food may prove to be difficult at first, but do not give up hope just because it takes time to source these resources. Many cities across America are growing their culinary diversity by offering community supported agriculture (CSA) programs or farm markets where individuals can shop directly from the producer.
A CSA program differs from normal grocery shopping in two key ways: First, CSAs offer weekly deliveries of fresh produce and/or meat that are typically picked up at a specific location. Second, the members pay a monthly fee per person to access the supply, making it more cost effective than buying individual items at regular price.
Some farms even allow participants to pick out certain vegetables or fruits for home use, which helps offset shipping costs. This also gives you the opportunity to try new crops that would likely go bad if left lying around under a cabinet.
There are several benefits to having a CSA membership, not only for the nutrition and health benefits of the products, but also for the environmental impact. By supporting nearby farmers and vendors, CSAs reduce our dependence on large corporations with big business strategies and economies of scale.
By supporting your local agricultural industry, they can invest in better equipment and facilities to keep production efficient
Step Five: Consider adding freeze dried foods to your pantry.
Freezdried food comes in many forms- vegetables, meats, and even dishes like pasta or rice that have been made into a powder and then dehydrated.
This is done to preserve all of the nutrients and flavor that would be lost when drying raw materials. Because these foods have gone through the process of freezing and then dehydration, they are already packaged up and ready to eat!
Some people prefer dry foods because they feel this helps keep the nutrition more balanced. It may also make it easier to take some time later to prepare them since you don’t need to add water first.
A small amount of dried goods can help get you started with the basics, but being able to access some basic supplies is important. If possible, we recommend buying a few boxes at a time so you can easily spread out your resources.
Step Six: Buy in bulk.
The next area of the prepper pantry you will want to work on improving is your supply chain or what we call buying supplies online, offline, and from other sources.
There are many great resources available that can help you build up a strong stock pile. You can source things directly from Amazon, Walmart, Costco, etc., or you can find third party sellers on sites like eBay and Etsy.
But before you start spending money, make sure your supplies are properly organized first!
You do not need to have every item listed above in this category, but it is good to know about them so you can decide which ones matter most to you.
Reminder: As mentioned earlier, don’t buy too much of anything at one time. This could include food items, ammunition, and tool cases. Buying in large quantities might seem tempting, but it only creates waste.
That wasted space takes up room at a cost later when you try to store it. Also, some goods may deteriorate or run out if you have too much of them.
Step Seven: Canning and dehydrating.
Another way to preserve food is by canning or processing it into dry foods that you then use as shelf stable snacks or meals. This is done through equipment such as pressure cookers, hot jars, water baths, etc.
Pressure-canning is one of the most efficient ways to preserve the nutritional value of your food while still preserving some of their flavor. Pressure canners come with instructions for how to do this, so research ones correctly!
Another option is to process fruits and vegetables into dried pieces or “jellies”. These are sometimes referred to as dried fruit and vegetable trays or purées. You can then mix these together and store them in a large container until needed.
You can also dry individual ingredients like onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Having these on hand will give you lots of options in the winter time when fresh produce may be limited or expensive.