Tons of long term food storage information including food calculators, food preservation, food safety, bulk foods, alternative cooking, recipes, and more…
DISCLAIMER: Some of this information can potentially be dangerous, even deadly… attempt at your own risk! As such, you should always seek appropriate medical/legal/professional/expert advice whenever possible. Therefore, I accept NO liability whatsoever for your use or misuse of this information.
FOOD STORAGE
Looking for the best survival foods and equipment for bug out and at-home preparedness? Check out my recommended food storage equipment.
Long Term Food Storage Information
7 Mistakes of Food Storage– Briefly outlines common mistakes we all make.
The Survival Food Pyramid– A brief article detailing what foods to store given the circ*mstances including immediate needs, extended needs, and long term needs.
The Ultimate Survival Food List For a Family of 4 – Here’s what to stock up on for less than a few hundred dollars.
Food Storage Calculators
Food Storage Calculatorfrom theTheFoodGuys.comor if you’d prefer anExcel spreadsheetgenerously designed byFoodStorageMadeEasy.netandhere’s one last optionif you’re really into tracking your supplies.
Ultimate Long Term Food Storage Worksheet (version 1.1)[Excel download; filecreated by Heidi & Dan Bartholomeusz] – A popular file for determininglong-term food storagerequirements for an entire family. This file is fairly robust and easy to understand. (Note: this file was not created by me but I found it useful and thought I would share.) I have tried other files and found this to be the most useful.Please Note: this file requires macros to fully function properly. You must allow Excel to enable macros to run.
How Much Food Fits in a Container? – Use this as a guide to determine how many pounds of dried food will fit in a given container, from one to six pounds.
Food Preservation Techniques and Information
National Center for Home Food Preservation – Learn a ton of information on food preservation techniques, including canning, freezing, drying, smoking, fermenting, and pickling. Follow the links on the left under “How do I?” for the details. Good introductory information is included as well as many recipes.
Reusable canning lids might come in handy for long term scenario planning.
Simply Canning – Describes nearly everythingone could wantto know aboutcanning.Includes a variety of safety info as well as “how to” information, including recipes andstep-by-step instructions for a variety of fruits, vegetables and even meats.
Dehydrate 2 Store – Another neat site with plenty of dehydrating information, including loads of recipes, a variety oftips, dozens of videos and more. If you want to know about dehydrating then this is a good place to start.
Still Tasty– A neat website that tells you how long food is expected to be good in various locations (refrigerator, freezer, pantry). Search by category (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meats, sweets, etc.) or type in a name (e.g., broccoli)to easily find what you’re looking for. Often include tips on how to prepare and store a specific food for better storage. Check it out…you’ll keep coming back for more.
Freezing Fruits and Vegetables – Outlines the basics of freezing foods and briefly describe how to do so.
LDS Cannery Book [PDF File] – Another useful resource from the LDS church. Also includes some recipes.
Food Safety
Food Storage Times (Cupboard) [PDF File] – Briefly outlines expected food storage times for common household cupboard foods as well as how best to store them (developed by Kansas State University).
Food Storage Times (Fridge or Freezer) [PDF File] – Briefly outlines expected food storage times for common household refrigerator and freezer foods as well as how best to store them (developed by Kansas State University). You might also be interested in this Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency [PDF File], which offers an easy “keep/discard” decision making process regarding fridge and freezer food safety after a power outage.
Botulism Poisoning – A brief article regarding botulism poisoning. You should understand a bit about botulism before attempting any home canning.
Food Safety and Inspection Service Fact Sheets – A variety of online documents (also available as PDF files) regarding food safety during and after an emergency. Specific recommendations are givenfor power outages, fire, and flood emergencies.
Food Molds-FAQ on when food molds are considered bad.
BULK FOODS
Purchasing Bulk Foods
Sams Club or Costco – Both warehouse clubs aregood places to start your bulk food purchases as you will find a variety of foods you already eat, often at better prices than the local grocery store or Walmart. I would strongly urge you to actually begin your “bulk” food purchases here rather than any of the places listed below BECAUSE the foods you’ll find here are those you’re already accustom to eating. As budget, space, and time permit, begin using the resources below to bolster your current pantry supplies.
Bulk Food Storage fromTheReadyStore.One of the biggest online bulk food storage site out there. They have nearly everything you could want and then some. I’ve always been satisfied with what I’ve purchased and highly recommend them. In fact, this is a great place to get some of those hard-to-find essentials such as powdered cheese and powdered eggs.
Freeze-dried Foods by Nitro-Pak. A major resource in the freeze-dried food industry. You’ll find plenty of foods as well as many other preparedness items. In particular, I would also encourage you to look for their Super Spectrim vitamins, which are specially packed for lengthy storage (up to 10 years).
Provident Living Buk Food Storage PURCHASING Worksheet by the LDS Church. If you live near a LDS Church cannery I would strongly urge you contact them (use this map forLDScannery locations)and–even if you’re not a member–ask if you may participate in a weekend canning session. To my knowledge, this is far and away your BEST option for getting the basic bulk foods (rice, beans, wheat) as cheaply as possible. While I’ve heard that some canneries may not let you participate if you’re not a member, it can’t hurt to ask. Be honest with them and state that you’re not a member. While they will probably limit your purchase you’ll still come away with a lot of food. If your local cannery works anything like the one near me, you’ll work for a few hours Saturday morning and be done for lunch. Pay for your foods with a check and you’re one step closer to your goals.
Purchasing Heirloom Seeds
[Note: While there are many other sites where you can purchase heirloom/non-hybrid seeds, I would urge serious caution before purchasing seeds from just anybody for three major reasons: (1) the quantity of seeds in many of the “survival seed kits” found elsewhere may not be nearly enough, (2) you cannot expect that the seeds you buy are of good quality just because they say heirloom on the package, and (3) seed varieties are often tailored to climate regions to maximize growth and ability to thrive.]
- RareSeeds.com– West Coast
- TerritorialSeed.com – West Coast
- EldoradoHeirloomSeeds.com– Midwest
- JohnnySeeds.com– East Coast
COOKING
Basic Recipes and More
101+ Canning Recipes for Food Storage – direct links to canning recipes by type of food.
101+ Dehydrating Recipes for Food Storage, Hiking and Paleo Diets – same as above link but for dehydrating foods.
Basic Recipes from LDS Church– Many recipes created by the LDS Church.
Bean and Lentil Recipes – More than 66 Recipes from Soups to Dessert.
You might also want this powdered milk and powdered egg conversion chart [PDF file].
More Food Storage Recipes[PDF File] – Several food storage recipes from AllAboutFoodStorage.com.
Recipes of Our Ancestors [PDF File] – Loads of recipes for breads, corn, soups, main dishes, etc.
Dehydrator Cookbook [PDF File] – Created by American Harvest. Discusses the basics of dehydration and provides many recipes for use in a dehydrator.
Cooking with Dried Beans [PDF File] – Includes a few dozen recipes that use dried beans as their bases.
Shelf-Stable Recipes [PDF File] – Huge variety of useful recipes from contributing readers to FoodStorageMadeEasy.net.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Solar Cooking – Learn how to harness the sun’s power to cook your food. In particular, use a variety ofsolar cooker plans to build your own solar cooker inexpensively. I would also recommend these sun oven recipes you can use to get started ASAP.
Solar Cooker Plans – An wide assortment of plans, including panel cookers, box cooker, parabolic cookers, and more.
Dutch Oven and Other Cooking Ideas – How to use a Dutch oven including MANY recipes. Look to the handful of links regarding dutch oven cooking. FYI, I recommend you purchase a Dutch oven and practice using it over a campfire. Reference this Dutch Oven Cooking Chart to know how many briquettes to use with a dutch oven.
Zen Backpacking Stoves – An awesome resource for everything you want to know about backpacking stoves. It’s the best I’ve found yet.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Greenhouses and Lighting
Builda Greenhouse – Complete instructions for an 8×10 greenhouse including diagrams and parts list.
Build a Passive Solar Greenhouse – Lots of info on a passive greenhouse idea. They will sell you plans on how to do it.
Epic Gardening: All About Grow Lights – “Grow lights are one of the most important elements of an indoor garden. Whether you’re a seasoned hydroponic grower or just looking to extend the growing season, buying the right indoor grow light is essential. In this article, we’ll dig into everything you need to know when it comes to choosing and using indoor grow lights.”
Indoor Plant Grow Lights – Fluorescent lights for growing plants if you need them.
Everything You Need to Know About Growing Plants Under Lights – Learn about how colors affect lights, myths about growing plants under lights, light intensity, and how to choose and size a grow light.
Preparing Your Garden for Winter – 8 steps to winterizing your garden the right way.
Even More
Aquaponics – Ever wonder how to grow food in a fish tank? No!? Me neither until I found this neat site on the subject.
A Complete Guide to Aquaponic Gardening –You will learn about the basics of aquaponics practice – what is aquaponics, how it works and why it is so special, how had aquaponics developed through time, what are the biological and chemical mechanisms behind it, and how can an aquaponic system look like.
9 Common Spices to Stock (and 5 Uncommon Ones)– Briefly lists the author’s recommendations for spices to keep on hand.
Interactive Gardening and Plant Hardiness Zone Maps – Search by plant or by state to see what plants and trees are best suited for your area.
Fruits/Vegetables/Herbs When Are They In Season? – Infographic showing when fruits and vegetables should be in season (rather than always available at the grocery store).
Hydroponic Gardening For Beginners – If you’re interested in how to start with hydroponics, start here. The article discusses setups, planting and seed starting, and more.
Best Survival Fishing Kits: How to Stay Safe During a Disaster – Surviving isn’t just about stockpiling foods, but also about your skills to continue putting food on the table day-in and day-out, and knowing how to fish–along with a quality survival fishing kit–is a great way to do just that!
