John Roman
Types of Food to Stockpile
When it comes to stockpiling and storing food for when SHTF, it’s tough to figure out where to start or what to actually pack. How do you ensure the items you’re storing will actually come in handy when you need them? How do you make sure they don’t go bad? We’ve put together the best types of food to include so you don’t have to think about these things.
Food with a long shelf life
Sure you can find some food with long shelf lives like 25 years, but you can easily get away with items with expiration dates of 1-3 years. Just make sure you’re checking in on your stockpile regularly. When that expiration date starts to approach, use those items in your everyday cooking and replace them immediately.
Food you actually enjoy
Don’t go to the store and stock up on any and all canned goods; make sure you’re getting things you’ll actually eat. If it’s really an emergency, you might be eating this food for days, weeks, or even months. Make sure you’re actually enjoying it. Have picky eaters in the family? Make sure you have things they like so you’re not adding more stress to an already stressful situation. Plus, having a comfort meal or something you really enjoy can help boost everyone’s morale.
Food that’s easy to cook
Have plenty of prep options: items that can easily be cooked with the appliances you own, items that can be cooked over a fire, and items that you can prepare without any heat or electricity in the event of a true emergency.
Food that will give you energy
You don’t know what your days will look like once SHTF. Will you need to forage, hunt, walk great distances, or even fight? You’ll undoubtedly need some energy to be valuable in your emergency situation, so make sure your food will give you that. Think of things such as dark chocolate, brown rice, freeze-dried meat, jerky, nuts, and oats.
The basics
Stock up on the things that can be used to create a multitude of meals: pasta, rice, beans, canned vegetables, etc. along with condiments like ketchup, sauces, and spices. These things will help change up your meals so you’re getting a little bit of variety.
Enough food
You know the size of your household and how much everyone eats, so you’re the best one to decide how much food you need. A single person can get away with stocking much less than a family of 4. Be realistic but don’t be afraid to over-prepare.
Prep items
You can spend years stocking up on food and preparing your bug-out or bug-in bag, but if you forget the essentials, you’re doomed. Make sure you have proper utensils like a can opener, plates, silverware, and a way to clean your utensils if you don’t have running water.
There’s a lot to think about and a lot that goes into stockpiling, but the best way to get started… is just by getting started. Start stocking up on these items and slowly build up your stockpile. You don’t need to go broke preparing, but make sure you’re prioritizing it if you’re really serious about this. Here are some more tips and other things to consider when it comes to stockpiling
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