Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Letter Re: What Preparations Should I Undertake Next?

Jim, I just finished your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. Thanks so much for writing it! I just wish I had found it sooner. I’ve always had a survival bent; I guess it started when I was in the Navy going through aircrew training. However in retrospect I realize now that it was kind of how I was brought up. I feel that I’m pretty squared away on the firearms battery , stored ammunition and communications gear. I hunt, fish and camp with my family often and am an avid shooter. Other that these things my wife and I …


Letter Re: Pre-Assembling Charity Food Packets for Storage

Jim- As always I love your site (that’s why I’m a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber), I am so sorry to hear of your wife’s accident and hope and pray she returns to her normal routine quickly. Taking your inspiration (and some info from others) my wife and I have expanded upon a concept called “365 meals”. My original idea (after reading your info on “Dispensing charity from a safe distance” was to use our impulse sealer to make “quick meals” of some rice, bullion cubes and TVP to distribute in the event that we needed to dispense charitable food stuffs …


Letter Re: Pre-Assembling Charity Food Packets for Storage

JWR – I am putting together food stores, and collecting food grade buckets for bulk storage (local store lets them go for 60 cents each), but I had a question come across as I was planning this out. Based on my own sense of charity, as well as your comments, I thought about a self-contained package that could be handed out, some rice, wheat, dried veggies and more, all sealed with a gamma lid using your dry ice method. Not only would this be good to avoid having multiple bulk cans open at once, but also as I said if …


Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism

I think that the author of “Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism” [posted on July 18th] is a little mistaken about the deadliness of “even a single small whiff of Botulinum toxin.” The video in the link he provided is a discussion of the effects of weaponized botulism toxin. In the video, it’s stated that botulism doesn’t make a very good open-air weapon, although it may have potential as a weapon in enclosed areas or by infecting food. According to the Botulism Handbook for Epidemiologists, Clinicians, and Laboratory Workers: …botulism can be picked up by (a) eating contaminated …


Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism

Jim, Feel free to post the following if you think it would be of help and interest. Bulging cans with botulism are worse than most think. While bulging cans of food are relatively rare and most everybody knows that any bulging can should be discarded, few know just how seriously dangerous they can become if opened or accidentally ruptured. Botulism is so extremely deadly, it must be suspect in all bulging cans and they must not only be discarded, but put away from anyone else. Botulinum toxin is one of the most lethal substances known to man, as seen in …


Letter Re: Insect-Free Long Term Food Storage

Jim. I have been buying flour and corn meal in five pound bags and placing in the freezer for a couple of weeks to destroy any “nits” still in them, and after that putting them in plastic bins. I really have no idea if this works long term, but would appreciate any suggestions on whether or not there is any method to preserve these items other than this. I have a Porkett hand grinder, but to grind wheat fine enough for bread flour is difficult. Thanks, – Charlie P. JWR Replies: Just freezing the grain doesn’t kill all the insect …


Letter Re: Stocking Level Advice for a Preparedness Newbie

Hi James, My name is Heather. My husband and a couple of friends started discussing your novel “Patriots” and that they wanted to be prepared. I began reading the book to get an idea what my husband was talking about. I found it very interesting and informative, however, being the more logistical minded of us I am at a loss as to where to start. We have four children under the age of 11 and live in downtown Salem, Oregon. We both work so we have some money to begin preparing with, but what do we start with? And if …


Letter Re: Has Family Preparedness in the U.S. Declined Since 9/11/01?

Dear Mr. Rawles, I first learned of your blog site through a New York Times article that ran back in April. Since then, I have spent a lot of time on your excellent site, and have followed many of your suggestions. I think the best you’ve made so far is that people read the book “Boston’s Gun Bible“. Mine is now a well thumbed rag doll, but the amount of knowledge contained within is impressive. My larder and defensive cache are coming along nicely. I want to point out another New York Times article to you: Are You Ready for …


Letter Re: Learning from the Price of Canned Tuna

Hi Jim, A while back on the blog you had a letter from a reader regarding the price increases that are coming down the pike (pun intended) for tuna. I was in a Wal-Mart the other day, and it looks like those increases are coming sooner rather than later. Two weeks ago, I purchased a bunch of Wal-Mart house brand tuna packed in oil, 6 ounce cans, for $0.53 per can. Yesterday, I was in Wal-Mart again, and the same product is now $0.74 per can. That is a price increase of 39% in a fortnight! I’m happy to say …


Letter Re: Biofuel Problems and Sustainability

Hi Jim, A recent article in Der Spiegel gives us some real insight into food prices. My guess is that if we continue down this path we will see some important events start taking place in Third World nations that cannot afford high food prices. Here is how this can effect us here. It takes 400 pounds of corn to make 25 gallons of ethanol. This might be a weeks worth of fuel for a person commuting to work. It could be many months worth of food for that same person. You may say that you don’t eat that much …


Checking Your Preparedness with the PACE System, by Wolverine

I had been using the PACE system for years, I just didn’t know that is what it was called, or that it even had a formal name. I first read about the PACE acronym over on the Viking Preparedness site, in a post by Joe. Growing up we joked that the system was called one’s good, two’s better, and three is about right. It is the same spirit of “two is one and one is none” that the PACE system stresses. PACE stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency. It is a good solid way to break down your preps …


Buying Storage Food Locally–Prepare While Keeping a Low Profile

Food storage is perhaps the single most important preparedness measure that every family should take. It is insurance against any number of perils, ranging from natural disasters and disruption of transportation to something as mundane as simply being laid off from work. In part because of galloping food and fuel prices and some spot shortages at the wholesale level, demand has recently far exceeded supply for most long term food storage vendors. Many vendors now have orders backed up for as much as three months. I most strongly recommend that you get your family’s food storage squared away soon, before …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Sterno-Type Canned Fuel

Dear Jim, Does Sterno style fuel have a shelf life? I have come across two cases (48 cans) of Don brand Heat Wick (WX-6) six hour fuel – the type used in catering. The price for the lot is $5. Seems like it’s too good to be true. Is it worth it? Are there special storage issues involved with this type of fuel? Thanks for all the info you put on your site every day. I am using it to get my family ready! Thanks again, – Beth F. JWR Replies: That is a great price! The cans should last …


Letter Re: Salt Intake

JWR: A friend and I went to a Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) match last weekend. It was a good clinic to learn how to hit a long distance static target. (Cough.) Say what you will about how useful that it, I think that learning many different techniques for doing a thing gives you a better understanding of the thing. In this case marksmanship. On to the point. We both ended up drinking three liters of water over the course of the day. The next day I could barely balance, couldn’t eat, was mostly incoherent (felt stupid). I drank water for …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Bulk Grain at Above Optimum Temperatures

Mr. Rawles, First, I’d like to thank you for your blog. It’s well worth the 10 Cent Challenge [voluntary subscription]! My question is about grain storage. We live on the outskirts of a big city and recently bought an old trailer on 25 acres in the country. It’s a three hour drive from where we are now and we can’t live there full time because of my husband’s job. I moved half of my bulk storage buckets (about 10) up there and during the winter it was fine but now it’s hot (in the 90’s) and humid during the day. …