Long-term food storage should be an IMPORTANT aspect of your disaster preparedness plan.
How does it all come together?
Long term food storage foods should built AFTER you have stored your 3-month food supply.
I wrote this article with the intention of helping a complete beginner how to get started with long-term food storage.
In this article, we will cover all the important concepts, ideas and popular products for long-term food storage.
Caloric requirement
Generally, the minimum amount of calories needed by a person varies.
To prevent your body from going into starvation, men generally needs around 1,500 calories per day, while women needs around 1,200 calories per day.
To sustain metabolism and normal brain function, men generally requires 2,400 calories while women needs 2,000 calories per day.
Of course, in an emergency setting, we may need to be more active than we normally are. Hence, it’s always better to make sure you have more than enough supplies for all your family members.
What can hunger do to you?
When we want to know about the effects of hunger on our body, one commonly cited scientific study is the Minnesota Starvation Experiment which was conducted by the University of Minnesota from 19 November 1944 to 20 December 1945.
This experiment was conducted on 36 young men who resided in the corridors and rooms of University of Minnesota football stadium for more than a year.
The aim of the experiment was to determine the psychological and physiological effects of starvation. The findings from the experiment was pretty astounding. The adverse impact from starvation includes:
1) Feeling of fatigue;
2) Being easily irritable;
3) Significant decrease in strength;
4) Significant decrease in stamina;
5) Decrease in heart rate; and
6) Psychologically, the men became obsessed with food.
Criteria for long-term food storage
Before we talk about which are the best food for long-term food storage, we will talk about our criteria for selecting the most suitable food for long-term food storage.
In this section, we will talk about what makes a food suitable for long-term storage.
1) Calories
You will need food that can provide your body with sufficient calories to function.
Usually, ‘affordable’ food which provides higher calories are staple food such as wheat and rice.
Calorie-rich foods more often than not involves food which are protein-rich or carbohydrate-rich. Protein-rich food would include chicken, eggs, beans or yogurt. Carbohydrate-rich food include potatoes, wheat or rice.
2) Nutrients
Minerals and nutrients are vital for us to maintain a healthy body.
In the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, the men did not only suffer from starvation, they suffered from nutrition-deficiency which caused various negative implications including bodily pain, heart failure and neurological disorders.
Plus, it is scientifically proven that optimal nutrients are needed for normal organ function which is necessary to maintain normal organ function.
Therefore, you will have to purchase nutritious food to keep your body healthy.
3) Shelf Life
Concerning shelf life, there are 2 aspects to it.
First, we need to look at the ‘shelf life’ of the food itself. This means how long the food can be stored naturally. For example, although canned Tuna can be kept for 3 to 5 years, food like raw honey or corn starch can be kept forever. Understanding the common shelf life of several food types and their nutritional value is crucial for you to pick the right food for long-term food storage.
Second, shelf life depends on how you store the food. If it costs too much to store the said food in a condition to keep it long-term, for example you’ll have to buy a freezer and leave it on for 10 years, you may want to consider buying another type of food. Buying food that can be stored long-term in room temperature (but inhospitable to bacteria) would be ideal.
Food for long-term food storage
By making sure that your food is properly packaged and stored in suitable conditions, your food will be able to remain edible much longer.
‘Suitable conditions’ usually means your food has to be stored at a room with 24°C/75°F or lower.
The most popular and safe options for long-term food storage includes sugar, salt or food items that are compacted in tablet form.
Instead of suggesting general categories of food for long-term food storage, I’ll be suggesting specific
Here’s a list of the best food item for long term storage and my thoughts about them.
| Image | Name | Check Price | Shelf-Life | Packaging | Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  | Amish Fully Cooked Bacon | Check BEST Price | 10 years | Vacuum seal | 4.6/5.0 | $$$ |
  | Survival Tabs | Check BEST Price | 25 years | Bottle | 4.7/5.0 | $$$$ |
  | S.O.S. Rations Emergency 3600 Calorie Food Bar | Check BEST Price | 5 years | Vacuum Mylar | 4.7/5.0 | $ |
  | Augason Farms Lunch and Dinner | Check BEST Price | 30 years | Watertight Pail | 4.9/5.0 | $$$ |
1) Amish Fully Cooked Bacon
Rationale – Bacon is a good choice for long-term food storage as it can be stored long-term and can provide sufficient nutrients.
If you want to consume gourmet and nutritious food during a pandemic, getting a bacon is ideal.
I would recommend getting the Amish Fully Cooked Bacon for long-term food storage because you will be getting ready-to-eat slices of bacon. You don’t need to waste electricity or your heat source to get this cooked.
Plus, it’s extremely convenient to store bacon. You can store it easily and take it anywhere. This means that you’ll be able to store and consume bacon during backpacking trips.
Shelf Life – The Amish Fully Cooked Bacon has a 10-year shelf life.
Contents – You will be getting 80 slices of fully cooked, center-cut, smoked and genuine bacon.
You will be getting 2 pounds of fully cooked bacon.
There’s even a 100% guarantee that the bacon is made in the United States of America,
Also, you will be getting more bang for your buck if you purchase this Amish Fully Cooked Bacon. The company prides itself of providing more bacon and less packaging.
Packaging – The bacon is vacuum packed in a material that is used to package military-grade MREs. With the tight vacuum seal, you will be able to keep the bacon for a longer-term especially if you don’t open it.
Thoughts – Notably, 2 pounds of cooked bacon is equivalent to 11 pounds of uncooked bacon. If you compare the Amish Fully Cooked Bacon with other available bacons in the market, this is one of the highest value-for-money bacon you can get in the market.
To give a bit of context on why this is the best bang for your buck, an uncooked 20 slice pack of bacon is usually costlier because they usually use more packaging materials and include uncooked fats in the pricing. In essence, this denotes that you are paying for the uncooked portion by volume, additional packaging, and receive inherently higher cost in lower quantity packs.
The aroma of the bacon is great, the bacon needs no refrigeration, and you won’t be wasting water and electricity to prepare the bacon.
Even if you don’t consume the bacon due to a SHTF event, you can still eat it during Thanksgiving Day and be fully satisfied with it.
2) Survival Tabs
Rationale – First, you can easily store many bottles of survival tabs in a small space. This means that you don’t need to prepare a huge storeroom space just to store your long-term food storage items.
Second, survival tabs can easily be kept in room temperature. You don’t have to build a store room or put in any effort to make sure that the storage conditions are suitable for this item.
Shelf Life – The Survival Tabs has a shelf life of 25 years.
It has been tried and tested to be capable of being stored since 1974 – 75, where it was tested that there were little deterioration or loss of vitamin or food value.
However, the company suggests rotating the Survival Tabs every 2 to 3 years to ensure that the maximum food value is retained.
Contents – For each purchase, you will be getting 4 containers, where each container has 180 tablets.
In total, you will be getting 720 tablets for every purchase.
Each tablet weighs around 3.9 grams and contains at least 20 calories.
It is proposed that for every serving you consume 12 chewable tablets.
In terms of nutrition, the specifics given is that twelve 3.9 grams of The Survival Tabs contains:
– 25% Fact
– 9%, Carbohydrates
– 58%, Iron 18 mg. (as Ferrous Fumarate)
– other minerals, 2% (from milk solids)
Packaging – The Survival Tabs are really easy to store because they come in a bottle. They usually come neatly packed. Plus, they are easily portable too, so you can bring them around with ease. Storing a large bulk of the Survival Tabs would be really easy unlike most long-term food storage items.
Thoughts – I think it would be wise to consume Survival Tabs while complementing it with other food items.
Although each tab is jam-packed with a variety of vitamins/minerals, you will need to consume other long-term food storage items like food bars or MREs to get sufficient calorie-intake.
But, without a doubt, the Survival Tabs would be an excellent back-up for various emergencies including natural disasters. When shit hit the fan, this is a great back-up to help act as a substitute for various important minerals which you won’t be able to get when food supply is scarce.
During a SHTF situation, you’ll have to use what you have on your hands, while owning The Survival Tabs reassures you that you’ll be ready for the worst.
3) S.O.S. Rations Emergency 3600 Calorie Food Bar
Rationale – Getting calorie food bar would be IDEAL for survival situations because these food bars ARE MADE to provide your body sufficient calories for a SHTF situation.
Shelf Life – The SOS Food Labs Emergency Rations 3600 Calorie food bar has been approved to have a 5-year shelf life under various climate conditions. This shelf life is determined and approved by the US Coast Guard.
Contents – For each purchase, you will be getting 9 fortified food bars which provides 3682 Kcal (Kilo calories) (15, 460 KJ).
For each packet, you will be getting two types of food bars: a Cinnamon Food Bar and a Coconut Food Bar.
The food bars are made using a non-thirst provoking formula, which is helpful in a SHTF situation where water is scarce.
Packaging – You have the choice of purchasing the Emergency Food Bar packed in Mylar.
They are all packaged together as shown in the picture above, and the main pack is vacuum sealed. The package is very air tight and water tight, which is ideal for
But, there is no inner bag at all. Therefore, if you open it, you will have to find another bag to pack the Emergency Food Bar, if you can’t finish them all at once.
Alternatively, you can add a ziplock to the Mylar bag to keep your Emergency Food Bars packed in the Mylar bag.
They should be fine for a few weeks or more once opened.
Thoughts – Getting emergency food bar in your long-term food storage supply is essential because they can provide you the calories you need to get through the day.
These bars ARE made with high calories because it is made for survival situations. They are not health bars, so you can’t expect them to be ‘healthy’. They are made with a high calorie to weight ratio intentionally. In an SHTF situation, you need high calories to keep you moving.
Of course, if you want sufficient nutrients, I would recommend including some survival tabs in your long term food storage plan.
4) Augason Farms Lunch and Dinner Variety Pail Emergency Food Supply 4-Gallon Pail
Rationale – The Augason Farms’ Lunch and Dinner Variety Pail contains various kinds of food and beverage which contains sufficient nutrients and calories for a longer-term survival situation. Buying pre-planned emergency food supply is great for people who want to save time, and for people who want a quick survival solution.
Shelf Life – The shelf life of this emergency food ranges from 10 to 30 years.
Contents – For every Augason Farms Lunch and Dinner Variety Pail, you will be getting 11 different kinds of entrées.
In total, there will be 92 servings of food, 21,170 calories, and 557 grams of protein.
The 11 different entrees are:
1. Cheesy Broccoli Rice
The Cheesy Broccoli Rice is a meal which is rich with calories and convenient to prepare.
All you need to do is add the required amount of water and simmer, and then you will be able to enjoy a warm hearty meal.
2. Creamy Chicken Flavored Rice
The Creamy Chicken Flavored Rice is an entrée which is rich in flavour and easy to prepare as well.
3. Vegetable Chicken Soup
The healthy blend of freeze dried vegetables and chicken broth means it’s extremely nutritious meal option especially during an emergency situation.
4. Chicken Noodle Soup
The Chicken Noodle Soup has a healthy blend of noodles and freeze dried vegetables, which makes it a nourishing meal when shit hits the fan.
5. Corn Chowder Soup
The Corn Chowder Soup has a thick and creamy texture.
The Corn Chowder Soup is one of the best energy food you can find, suitable to be enjoyed as an everyday meal.
6. Creamy Potato Soup
This is a meal that similarly is extremely easy to prepare. All you have to do is add hot water and simmer for a few minutes to get this hearty soup prepared.
The creamy potato soup should be able to satisfy your cravings be it when you’re out in a camping trip or during an emergency situation.
7. Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese is a well-known comfort food that can be easily prepared with little time.
You will need to cook the macaroni to your liking (which usually requires boiling) and stire it into the cheese sauce which is also given in the bucket.
8. Fettuccine Alfredo
This Italian meal is usually a popular meal for the dinner table.
You can expect to get the perfect blend of seasoning and sauce to fill your cravings even in an emergency situation.
9. Italiano Marinara
The Italiano Marinara is a hearty meal that is easy to prepare. You can simply cook it by mixing the pasta into boiling water and by letting it simmer in the hot water just for a few minutes.
10. Creamy Stroganoff
The Creamy Stroganoff is a classic long-term food storage meal that is able to fill your stomach in an SHTF situation. You simply have to cook it in the stove for a few minutes for the meal to be ready.
11. Chocolate Pudding
Chocolate pudding is an excellent comfort food that will be able to satisfy your cravings for sweets during an emergency situation. Who says you can’t have desert even when Shit Hits the Fan?
Packaging – The Emergency Food Supply is stored in a 4-gallon watertight pail.
This packaging makes it easy for you to store this emergency food supply, and this makes it really easy for moving this pail from one place to another.
Thoughts – This emergency food pail would be suitable for emergency situations and even situations when you need sometimes to eat but don’t want to cook.
Although this emergency pail has a shelf life of 10 to 30 years, there is a high likelihood that you will consume it within a 10-year period. It will be pretty tempting to open up the pail and consume them.
Conclusion
I hope this guide gave you a head start on how you should prepare your long-term food storage plan. With the important concepts in mind, such as calorie requirement and nutrition, you should be able to purchase suitable food storage items. Of course, shelf life is an important factor that you have to consider as well. ‘
What’s your best tip for long-term food storage? Share your ideas in the comments below!