Isn’t it true that most of us LOVE to eat. Our favorite foods are soothing, comforting and happy experiences for us. Even if we don’t love the food, aren’t we glad we have nourishment in times of hunger? I wonder what the Covid pandemic would have been like if we couldn’t get the food we needed. It makes me KNOW I want to have plenty of food on hand, stored in various places in my home and yard.
Everyone should have some sort of garden for fresh food or should store beans and grains to sprout (I will give more information on how to later).
I have given 3 methods which all compliment each other: 1. Store basic grains, rice, beans, legumes etc. 2. Store canned and packaged goods 3. Store freeze-dried foods. I believe we should have some of each.
The important thing is to have a plan. Establish what meals you like and make sure you have the food and equipment needed to make the meals. Can you buy a large quantity all at once? If not, start a little at a time. Maybe start at 3 months and continue to add to it so you can build up a good storage. Remember you don’t have to always buy top price at grocery stores. Wait for sale items and buy cases. Talk to store managers to see if you buy in quantity, you can have a discount. Call wholesale producers to see if you can buy directly from them. Dented cans are safe unless the seal is broken. Some countries are eliminating the expiration dates on cans because so much food is needlessly thrown away. Our family has eaten many outdated cans of food and enjoyed them.
The most ideal place to store food is in a cool, dry place. Don’t store directly on concrete floors. Have wood or a pallet of some kind to keep them off the concrete. Store under beds, under sofas, in closets, in the pantry or if you are lucky you might have a special room with rotating and regular shelves containing plastic containers with your food safely stored in them. Be creative. We had 55 gallon cardboard drums at one point, put bags of food in them and covered them with wallpaper, cloth or mylar and used them as end tables for beds and furniture.
You can purchase new food grade plastic containers at markets or get used ones from bakeries, wholesale food suppliers and other places. Wash and dry them well. Don’t ever use plastic containers that have contained NON FOOD GRADE chemicals etc.
Wheat needs to be treated for Indian Meal Moths which lay their eggs on the kernels in the fields. You bring them home from the place where you purchased the grain. You can kill them and never know they are present by putting a food grade plastic bag in your plastic container, fill the bottom with a few cups of wheat, drop in some dry ice and fill the container with wheat to the top. Then almost close the top of the bag and let it sit for an hour. The dry ice dissipates replacing oxygen with carbon dioxide which is fatal to the moths when they hatch. You don’t even know they have been there. Tightly close off the plastic bag (tie it off with string or wire), place the lid tightly on the plastic container and put duct tape around the rim where the container and lid meet. Do this with all dried fruit – especially raisins which meal moths love. Beans, legumes etc have hard enough exteriors, the moths don’t bother them. If you suspect other critters, you can put beans etc in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the oven and bake them at a low temperature for a few minutes. Cool them and store in a food grade plastic container. These will likely not sprout due to the heat.