The Best Emergency Food For Survival
Today it’s all about the best emergency food for survival. Everyone has different budgets, I get it. I have talked about this before, not all food storage fits everyone’s needs or wants. I want to make it easy for you to get started storing food, or adding to what you have right now. Please keep in mind, the government will not deliver food to your doorstep after a disaster for days, weeks, and possibly months.
If your community had an unforeseen emergency are you prepared to hydrate and feed your family? Please remember, you need a minimum of one gallon of water per person per day. I recommend four gallons of water per person per day. Let’s get started with the best emergency food. Oh, and make sure you have a good can opener.
The Best Emergency Food For Survival
I remember teaching one of my emergency preparedness classes and one lady said, “I don’t need a can opener.” Here’s the deal, we all need a can opener, please put one in your 72-hour kit and one in your kitchen. I realize some of the new cans at the grocery store have the pull tabs, but some do not.
We may be evacuated to a school or church, but trust me, we will all need a can opener unless you only pack Slim Jims, crackers, and juice boxes in your 72-hour kits. Enough said.
If we lose power we need a way to cook our food, a butane stove is perfect in most situations. The box on my butane stove states that it needs to be used outdoors, but I used one in almost every indoor class I taught. If you need to boil water, the butane stove is an excellent choice. Butane Stove and Extra Butane Fuel
The Best Emergency Food
Food In The Grocery Aisle
This is a really fun trip for the family when you head to your local grocery store and everyone gets to choose the food they will eat for their three days (minimum) food allotment. Please note seven days is better. Thirty days is the very best!
Now, keep in mind it may all be processed food. That’s okay, it will last a bit longer in your pantry. If you never need it you can donate the food to your local food bank at the end of the year before it expires. It’s a win-win for all.
Flour
Honey
Sugar
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Baking powder
Baking soda
Vanilla
Cereal, hot and cold
Canned beans
Dry beans
Canned vegetables
Canned fruit
Pancake mix
Syrup
Muffin Mixes
Chili
Rice
Salsa
Pasta
Spaghetti sauce
Snack Ramen
Canned tomatoes
Spices
Canned meats
Mayo
Crackers
Chocolate
Instant milk
Pros:
Watch for sales and buy case lots when available, they make it a lot more inexpensive. Remember, one can at a time, or a case if they are cheap enough. The average family can’t afford to buy a case of freeze-dried food every month, so these cans are a lot more affordable. You can eat from the can if you have a can opener.
Cons:
Typically canned food has a one to five-year shelf life. I always look at the bottom or sides of the cans to see the expiration date before I place them in my grocery basket. If the date is less than six months I will not purchase it because I may not use it within that time period.
Dehydrated Food
Dehydrated food is just food like fruit, vegetables, and meats with the moisture removed.
You can make so many meals if you have just these three dehydrated foods to add to the “canned food” section in your pantry or storage room. You can make soups, chili, and stews. Please note, all dehydrated food needs more water and must be cooked.
Potatoes
Onions
Celery
Pros:
Dehydrated food is cheaper than freeze-dried foods. The shelf-life is usually 5-10 years.
Cons:
You need more water to hydrate dehydrated food and you must cook the product as well.
Freeze-Dried Food
You may remember that you can eat freeze-dried food right from the can. It takes less water to hydrate and less fuel to cook it.
Freeze-dried cheese
Fruits like apples, cherries, grapes, pineapple, and strawberries are great to munch on.
Vegetables like corn, green beans, and peas are awesome! Yes, they taste great right from the can.
Meats are awesome to add to any soup, stew, or chili. Some are even good with a little mayo on crackers.
Pros:
You can buy fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses that are freeze-dried. They have a longer shelf-life compared to dehydrated food. Typically 15-25 years. You can eat them right out of the can.
Cons:
They are more expensive.
Buckets of Food
You may have seen these buckets online, at Costco, and Sam’s Club. They post how many calories, typically. You may want to look a little closer at these because the serving size is not for an adult, it seems more like a child portion to me. Just giving you the heads up here.
These work great for your 72-hour kit or stashed in your pantry for emergency meals. I like the quality of Valley Food Storage.
Pro:
You can buy a bucket with a variety of foods. The price is reasonable.
Cons:
You can’t choose the foods you want. Each package may have a different expiration date. Small food portions.
Prepackaged Meals
When I mention prepackaged meals I think of Mountain House. I have tried a few and they really do taste pretty good. You just add water, simple and easy. Mountain House Meals
Pros:
The bucket comes with a variety of foods. Typically very reasonable for what you get.
Cons:
You can’t choose the foods you may want. The portions may not be what you think you need for your family.
Pallets of Food
I know a few people who had a pallet or two of food storage delivered to their homes. I won’t mention this company because I think they are too expensive. This choice may work for you if you would like a company to deliver the goods all at once.
Pros:
It comes on a pallet with a variety of foods.
Cons:
Very expensive and the food has ingredients I can’t pronounce.
Please let me know the food storage you have purchased and why you like it. It’s all about the best emergency food today! Thanks again for being prepared for the unexpected.
Copyright Pictures:
Food: AdobeStock_109404711 by Anjelagr
Flooding: AdobeStock_124814557 by Jsnewtonian
Linda’s Book: “Prepare Your Family For Survival”
Linda, I just love reading all your blogs and your recipes! I’ve printed several off and keep them in my binders and in my kitchen bookshelf for referrals. I find your stuff to be extremely practical and easy and there should be no excuse (except for maybe lack of funds) to get one’s food storage going. That being said, being LDS, too, I’ve got my basement set up like a grocery store.
I know you’ve addressed this often in the past, but I always look for the “other stuff” families will need in emergencies. And what got me started on this? For some crazy reason I ran across a movie last night, “The Day After,” with Jason Robards from 1983 and watched it. It was a long, made-for-tv movie about nuclear war and in it’s time, it was scary! Actually, it still is. There was alot to glean from that movie. Having a basement, like the farm family did, I hadn’t thought that in the event of a nuclear attack, we would need to fill our window-well with dirt to keep the radiation from coming in. But it could still come in from the door! The family in the movie had time to get stuff down to their basement but that may not always be the case. We live 60 miles west of the Fallon Naval Air Station so there is a good chance, we’d get an almost direct hit. Problem solved-won’t survive that! But if we did have time, there are items that will need to be brought to our basement to survive, i.e., mattresses, portapotty, etc. which would have to be last-minute. Anyhow, that gets to me to one thing that I don’t believe I’ve seen listed in emergency packs…IOSAT – Potassium Iodide tablets. If there is ever any threat of a nuclear attack (or like the threat of the RADS coming over air currents from that car plant after the tsunami in Japan a couple years back), one will need this. A pack of 14 pills is about $13.99. They’re readily available in pharmacies w/o an Rx or even through places like Cabela’s and emergency supply stores and online. We have a package for everyone we think would be in our care during an emergency. I know it all sounds weird, but I’ve watched too many disaster movies! LOL. Now, bear in mind, a direct or near-direct hit and those pills probably wouldn’t keep you from dying with major exposure but it’s worth keeping in your emergency supplies. I have too much time on my hands! :o)
Thanks for all you do to keep up this site…it’s amazing!!!
Hi Robbie, I love getting your comments, they make my day!! Thank you so much for your kind words! I have some of those IOSAT – Potassium Iodide tablets, I hope we never have to use them. But I’d rather be safe and know that I have them. I will have to watch that movie, I’m not sure I have seen it. Thanks for telling me about it. Be safe, Linda
I went looking for our IOSAT, and I COULDN’T FIND IT!! I have no idea where it is. So where is a good place to store that? I have to order more because I have no idea where ours is, and I think they have an expiration date and mine are so old, they might even be expired. So glad I saw that. I will order some asap.
Hi Debbie, you can buy some on Amazon. I live in a small town so I have to order most everything online. Be safe, Linda
Oh, this is the explanation for the IOSAT pills…
“KI (potassium iodide) is a salt of stable (not radioactive) iodine that can help block radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland, thus protecting this gland from radiation injury. The thyroid gland is the part of the body that is most sensitive to radioactive iodine.”
I’m sure one could still get radiation sickness but anything that can help any part of the body would/could be beneficial!
I have food stored but really am perplexed. I live in the Houston area and so many were devastated by the flooding. Food storage wouldn’t have been usefully if it was flooded in the house. Am I correct in thinking this? I prepare on the side of caution and can feed a small army on any given day. What should we do if our place is flooded?
Hi Karen, your question is a very good one. I have talked about that very thing because I am the most prepared in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, we cannot control Mother Nature. Disasters happen, unforeseen emergencies occur without any notice. I view it like this, I will be more prepared in case I can share with those that are flooded. It’s what we must do. My house was so close to being flooded (nothing like Texas) a few weeks ago, and it did enter my mind about all the food I have stored. It’s life, I will still be prepared. Great comment, Linda
I have to retype do to a computer glitch…. Anyway, I would highly recommend a 1962 movie, “Panic in The Year Zero” directed by Ray Milland who also plays a father who is going camping with his family (Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel and Joan Freeman) when a nuclear attack is expected and it turns into a bug out situation.
Movies like this, “The Day After”, “The Refuge”, “The Postman” with Kevin Costner, “The Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington or even the Mad Max series or “Waterworld” and a few other “B” movies help us to visualize possible emergency situations and demonstrate how much better it is to be prepared than to be caught unprepared and without the skills, supplies, gear and knowledge needed for the crisis. I love “The Walking Dead”, but they don’t explore survival aspects too much.
In regards to flooding, you have to buy waterproof or specifically watertight containers or with silicone sealants, duck tape, and large trash bags, we can protect everything from the ravages of water and moisture. The stuff inside the containers can be packed into “ziplock” type bags or one large trash bag which is then tied tightly and you have protected everything. You could use small plastic boxes, coffee cans, etc., and seal those re-purposed containers with sealant or tape. This a budget approach and measures that can be implemented cheaply and at anytime.
Where I live, flooding is not a big issue, but rain, moisture and humidity are a problem causing mold, mildew and rust, so I use plastic baggies to protect metal objects and to keep things clean (Like extra clothing, towels, pocket knives, kitchen tools) as well as dry so they don’t absorb moisture or get rusty.
I liked the article as it shows people we have choices and options and it’s not hard to have a survival plan and to be prepared. Just get started and it becomes easier and as you said Linda, it’s even fun. September means the start of Hurricane season, so we need to begin prepping in Florida.
Hi Frank, great comment as always!!! We really do need to think outside the box and be prepared for every scenario that might occur in our community. Be safe when the Hurricanes come, my friend. Linda
I just went through a fire evac situation. We had 3 days notice but, unfortunately, did not have the capacity to remove our preps. We had our go bags, clothing, pictures and important papers. Oh and electronics. If the wildfire had taken the house, years of prepping/dollars spent would have been useless. Of course, insurance would have covered some of the expense but…
The Western US is burning up! Please pray.
We are back at home and on level 2 evac ~ be prepped to leave at a moment’s notice. Vehicles are still loaded and won’t be unloaded fully until there is no longer any danger from the fire. There still is a chance of a 2nd level 3 evac ~ get outta dodge!
Oh, my gosh, Leanne, the fires are crazy this year!!! I pray every day for the areas that are burning whether somewhat contained or out of control. I pray for the families such as yours and the fire control staff. Wow, I do not remember a year that I have seen so many fires. I’m glad you have your cars packed with the important items you need and must have with you. Hugs, Linda
Linda – I also cannot remember a time with so many fires burning! Seems that the whole western part of the country is on fire. My sister and her family were put back on level 3 evac on Monday the 6th after I left them and they went home (I no longer live in the area of the fire). So, they had to leave again. My brother-in-law and nephew (2 separate homes) go back each day to move sprinklers to try to keep things wet down. My nephew said there was a lot of ash and debris coming down near/on their property. I also keep track of things on the internet. When I left on the 6th, the fire was 7-8 miles from their homes and about 4,000 acres. Now it is 3-4 miles from their home and almost 11,000 acres. The terrain is very steep and inaccessible so a lot of the work is done by air. I also heard that there are firefighters from Australia. Not sure how true that is!!
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh the fires are crazy! I did read that firefighters from Australia have come to help. I can’t imagine knowing a fire is that close to your brother-in-law and nephews house. I sure hope the fires slow down. I’m not sure how much longer the firefighters can handle this many fires and for days, weeks or longer. I will pray for your family. Hugs, Linda