Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Save Money, Get Prepared, and Eat Healthier with Intermediate Term Food Storage, by Travis A.

In any emergency or survival situation food is a primary necessity. So naturally there are many discussions and advice here and on other forums concerning food and food storage. There is a lot of great information and products available for long term (10-15 year) food storage. I have read many articles comparing the various MREs available, poured over blog posts about the best freeze dried foods, and watched Google videos on the proper storage of whole wheat grains. Popular vendors such as CampingSurvival.com and other SurvivalBlog sponsors offer freeze dried meals and canned food with extended shelf lives such as …


Letter Re: Transmission of Odors to Bulk-Packed Storage Foods

Dear Mr. Rawles, I made a food storage mistake that I would like to share with other SurvivalBlog readers. Last summer I purchased a plastic food grade bucket, filled it with pasta, lentils, beans and candy mints, and sealed it up. I opened the bucket last week and discovered that I now have mint-flavored pasta, lentils, and beans. Even though the mints were individually-wrapped and packaged in a plastic bag their odor was so strong that it permeated just about everything. I’m sure the pasta, lentils, and beans are safe to eat, but they’ll just taste a bit strange. Lesson: …


Cooper’s Color Codes and Bugging Out Before the SHTF, by H.I.C.

Colonel Jeff Cooper once wrote that he was born in another country. Born and raised in the US before the Great Depression, the country of his youth was no longer. It had been hijacked by pointy headed socialists with academic degrees and not a trace of common sense. At 50 years of age I not only agree, but maintain that the “New America” based upon a globalized economy, Federalized powers, and an Urban-centered society is dying. Our great country is dying and our great cities will burn in the funeral pyre. Most Americans know that survival in our great cities, …


Three Letters Re: Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food

Mr. Rawles, Yesterday, you posted Chad L.’s submission concerning buying “organic” and/or locally produced food. In it, Chad made a few statements that are simply wrong. This is an example: “…factory farming requires the use of fertilizer made from oil, largely derived from the Middle East. ” This is a wholly ignorant statement, ignorant because if the author had bothered to check, he would have found that the USA produces nearly all of it’s nitrogen fertilizer from natural gas. Even if we did use oil as the source for ammonium nitrate, OPEC only accounts for about half of the oil …


Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food, by Chad L.

I know the name of the woman who raises the chickens that lay the eggs that I eat. Do you? I know about her daughter’s college plans and her vacations and how she got into the business of raising chickens. This might not seem so important from a survivalist perspective, but I think it is and I’ll explain why in the following paragraphs. Now think about where you get your eggs. Chances are they come from a big chain grocery store. That means they are raised in a huge factory farm, staffed by underpaid workers of questionable legality, and overwhelmingly …


Two Letters Re: Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag

Hello Mr. Rawles, Thanks again for this blog; it’s my nightly reading before bedtime. Regarding the letter from John the Midwestern Hiker, here are some other possibilities/opinions about bug-out bags. Naturally, edit as you see fit, should any of this merit mentioning…. Because I live in a large metropolitan area in the eastern US, I try to remain prepared for just such a bug-out event. I know approximately how much time I would need and how much fuel I would need in order to arrive in “Free America”–my fuel tank is never less than 3/4ths full. I have at least …


Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag, by John the Midwestern Hiker

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to get out of Dodge, a decent respect for the integrity of one’s spine demands that every item in your bug-out bag be submitted to a candid evaluation. Forgive me for cheekily paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence, but it does make a point that every preparedness minded individual needs to consider: if and when you need to get out fast with only the items you can carry on your back, what are you going to take, and what are you going to carry it in? The first major consideration that …


Letter: Re: Storing Emergency Supplies in Plastic Tote Bins for Rapid Evacuation

Dear Mr. Rawles, R.D. of Wyoming mentioned a very practical way of storing supplies – in 22 gallon plastic tote bins, each with a good variety of items to last about one month. Perhaps this is a basic system for many, but I hadn’t thought of it myself and plan to rearrange our storage items in a similar manner as soon as I can. Presently, I am laid up with a broken leg so am ‘dead in the water’ for working on our storage program. My darling husband is tolerant of my ‘hobby’ but is definitely not one to work …


Old Frontier Forts as Alternative Bug Out Locations?, by R.D. in Wyoming

I wish to present an alternative prep situation that I have not really seen talked about on your blog and at other other sites. First a small bit of biographical background and anecdotes to explain my reasons for what I (now recently we) are doing. Ten years ago, I retired from the military (26+ years, Life Scout (in a younger form) and an ex-scout leader (both Boy and Girl Scouts), fixed income with a part time job, never lived at one address longer than three years (requirement of military lifestyle), hobbies oriented to colonial/fur trade eras (see anecdote), recent earnest …


Letter Re: The Challenges of Prepping While on Active Duty Military Service

Hi, I just finished reading the Profile on Mr. & Mrs. India. I had planned to write earlier and this truly motivated me. I am in the military with 24 years in. I discovered your web site last spring and have been a dedicated reader. I have learned so much. Unfortunately right after I discovered your site I was transferred overseas. I am almost midway my tour but have been very frustrated in that so much of what I could do in terms of preparation is hampered by being overseas. Ordering staples for the pantry is the easiest thing I …


Is it Enough?, by Axman

I remember the Great Gas Crises of the 1950s. I filled several metal five-gallon cans with gas and put them behind the seat of my 1941 Plymouth 6-cylinder Business Coupe. I got 21 miles per gallon with that peppy little car! When Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crises came about I dug a foxhole in my Mother’s back yard — which she later filled in and used as a flower bed. Then the Cold War with Russia, where we rattled ballistic missiles at each other. I actually built an above-ground fallout shelter out of a retired metal dumpster and a piece of …


Disaster Preparedness–Of Lists and Preparation in Depth, by Ed C.

I would like to offer my own experiences in the hopes that they may provide some small amount of practical advice to others. Here in Oklahoma, of course, we face tornadoes, but many do not realize we have also suffered from paralyzing ice storms – three within the past ten years. Lessons gleaned from practical experience are: Have inventory lists; Have ‘Oh-Schumer Lists’ of items and chores for each type of contingency situation (tornado, flood, ice storm, etc.) Prepare ‘in depth’ for each major need, such as heat and light, food, water, shelter, and protection Calmly think through scenarios on …


Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse by Campcritter

As determined men and women of yesteryear made their way west to make for a better life, pioneer women often kept journals of their life on the great prairies or sent letters home to their sisters back East. In those letters they described the silence as the most unwelcome guest. These brave women wrote about being left for weeks on end alone, lost in an endless sea of grass with only the wind for company while the men hunted or went for supplies. In some cases the quiet was so severe that it became unbearable and the women developed mental …


Letter Re: Storing Peanut Butter

Morning Sir. I just wanted to add a quick note to the letter about peanut butter. As people purchase peanut butter, they should make sure it’s the “nothing but peanuts” variety. Most store brands and name brands are full of sugar and miscellaneous garbage. A good natural peanut butter will have a layer of oil on top. I’ve always found it quite useful to pour off the oil and save it…how much of a premium people pay for peanut oil all on its own! The rest of the jar of peanut butter doesn’t suffer for the lack of the oil. …


Letter Re: Storing Peanut Butter

James, Thanks for the extensive resource that is your web site. I am fairly new to prepping but was raised in the deep south so I have a lot of related experience. One thing I’ve noticed in most lists regarding food storage, is the bulk of the food is grains, rice and beans. I completely understand the importance of these 3, but also think another option is often overlooked – Peanut Butter. First of all, I’m biased, since I love the stuff (Store what you eat!). We eat the reduced fat variety, and in a 40 ounce jar (typical large …