20 Items to Kick Start Your Food Storage Plan

Gaye Levy

No matter how many times I write about food, there is always something new to consider or a new and different way to present the same old information in a more useful manner. With that in mind, today I would like to share a method for getting started with your food storage program in an easy, step by step, and cost effective manner.

To be truthful, my initial goal with this article was to respond to readers who were just getting started and wanted a shopping list of things to buy for their food storage pantry. I also wanted to compile a checklist that more experienced preppers could use to compare what they had to what they needed. My goal can pretty much be summed up by saying that I wanted to write about getting started with food storage the easy way. No frills, no fluff – just a common sense list of food items to get you started.

With that goal in mind, let me say this: this is not a list of items intended for deep storage. Nor is it a list of items packaged so that they have a 25 year shelf life. (And in reality, do you really need your stored food to last that long?) I am also not going to list items that might be foreign to your palate, difficult to find, or too costly to absorb into your weekly shopping budget.

Comprehensive Survival Food List & Storage Guide

Rady Ananda 

Survival food storage practice doesn’t require Mormon membership, but the tradition, wrought from their first Utah winter, is worth emulating should disaster strike ortechnology fail, two survival books by Mat Stein. This guide, Part 2 of my survival series, relies on Stein’s books, and websites dedicated to survival preparedness. 

At its most basic, food storage wisdom demands that you buy what you eat, and organize and label the boxes or bins with contents and date. Stocks should be rotated based on shelf-life longevity. Using Stein’s general guide, when properly packaged and stored, various foods last several months, years or decades, as follows: 

10 years or longer: Honey, sugar, salt, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and wheat berries (WTF?). 

5-10 years: Most dried legumes and whole grains, dehydrated cheese, instant or vacuum-packed coffee, baking powder, powdered eggs and frozen butter. 

FEMA requests even more emergency food

James Smith, Contributor

On the 31st of August, 2012,  FEMA requested 1.1 Million low sodium MRE’s to help with the demands from Hurricane Isaac. They needed to be shipped on September 1st.

On September 1st, at 10:18 PM ET, FEMA transmitted another solicitation for MRE’s. This time, the standard “Commercial Meal” MRE for those not on a restricted diet.

This Request for Quote is for a commercial Meals Buy and does not include reduced-sodium meals. The purpose of this RFQ is to request for unit prices of commercial meals only, and all other related costs like frieght (sic) costs will be determined at the time of order.

The response deadline on this RFQ is 2 September 2012, no later than 4.00 PM ET, less than 18 hours after the request was made.

What are commercial meals? According to associated document, they are meals that fall under the following guidelines:

40 Items to Barter in a Post-Collapse World

Gaye Levy, Contributor


Do you know how to barter? In preparedness circles, the term barter is used lot when describing a post SHTF situation when goods and services may no longer be available through normal channels. According to Wikipedia, "barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money".

A lot of people think of bartering as something to do when they are down and out, perhaps unemployed, or low on cash. But nothing could be further from the truth. Bartering has been around for eons and is simply a smart way to acquire goods and services under the radar screen.

Today I would like to share some very simple tips for bartering as well as my own suggested list of items and skills that may be useful for barter in a post-collapse economy.

How does simple barter work?

In a simple barter, you look for someone who is looking for a particular kinds of goods or services in exchange for goods or services that you may want. For example, let’s say you do plumbing work but you need a some gardening equipment. A simple barter would be exchanging some plumbing repairs for a used plow or rototiller.

The Best Items to Use For Barter in a Post-Collapse World...

Food Prices to Skyrocket in Coming Food Crisis

Activist Post

You don't have to be survivalist or a doomsdayer to recognize the practicality in having some food stored away for a rainy day. In fact, it's simply becoming common sense to have a certain amount of bulk food storage in your house.

But these days, with record droughts ravaging the bread basket of America coupled with runaway money printing by the Fed, food inflation is creating a dangerous scenario but also a fantastic investment opportunity for average folks.

During times of economic uncertainty it can be especially difficult to determine a safe place to protect your savings. Countless financial advisers offer advice on asset protection and other ways to keep your nest egg performing slightly above inflation. However, many of these strategies involve paper investments that come with risks.

How Bulk Food Storage Can Make You an 80% Return in the Coming Food Crisis

Activist Post

You don't have to be survivalist or a doomsdayer to recognize the practicality in having some food stored away for a rainy day. In fact, it's simply becoming common sense to have a certain amount of bulk food storage in your house.

But these days, with record droughts ravaging the bread basket of America coupled with runaway money printing by the Fed, food inflation is creating a fantastic investment opportunity for average folks.

During times of economic uncertainty it can be especially difficult to determine a safe place to protect your savings. Countless financial advisers offer advice on asset protection and other ways to keep your nest egg performing slightly above inflation. However, many of these strategies involve paper investments that come with risks.