Crisis Shopping: Food Storage When You Haven't Been Storing Food
Sharon October 2nd, 2008
Several readers have asked me to do a piece on what to do if you have been procrastinating about food storage, but plan to stock up before the end of the world (I’ve heard that Paulson and Bernanke have scheduled that for this weekend, but it could potentially be moved due to a conflict with some other disaster 
.) So for all you procrastinators out there, here are my suggestions.
Now let’s note – my first suggestion is not to procrastinate. Because unless you are fairly well off, procrastinating and buying a lot of food probably means putting it on your credit card and paying it off. Not only is this extremely risky (I would not bet on any version of the apocalypse that doesn’t actually involve real zombies to get you off the hook with your credit card – and I’m pretty sure that they have zombie collection agents already, so maybe not even then.), it means that you will pay interest on the food, thus mitigating much of the benefit of even having it. But I do also know that sometimes one gets a big check, bonus, windfall, sells something or maybe the food is worth the price. So let’s assume that you all know better, and are doing it anyway.
Let us also assume that you are doing this shortly before everyone else starts their panic buying or shortly after (which makes it harder and makes the selection of stores more crucial), and that one or two stop shopping is the name of the game – you need to get as much that is useful as possible, as quickly as possible, perhaps not using much gas. So let’s start with where to shop.
My top few choices, in no particular order:
1. BJs/Sams Club/Costco: This is probably the most accessible (ie, lots of people have these reasonably nearby) and has most of the things you’ll really want. The downside is that often the bulk prices aren’t really very much or at all cheaper than smaller sizes, that the warehouses are huge and shopping there annoying and that they probably won’t have anything ethnic, or a large selection of nutritious things. Also will probably be mobbed if there’s a real or perceived immanent crisis. My tip for shopping here: if there isn’t an immanent apocalypse, you can probably get a free 1 shot membership to do a stockup even if you can’t/don’t want to pay the fee – they usually offer trials, and if you say you’d like to check it out, this can often be arranged.
2. An Asian grocery store of some sort. Best grain source for rice and often some kinds of noodles in quantity and quality, often have large quanties of spices and useful flavorings quite cheaply. The downside is that unless you cook asian food you will be confronted by many unfamiliar items, and you may find yourself with all the ingredients for Nasi Goreng, or Palak Paneer and no recipes, or idea whether you like it . Also, not common in areas without large Asian or Indian subcontinental populations, so it might not be available. Tip for shopping here: go when it is quiet (weekends are tough) and ask for help – there’s usually someone who can help you figure out what you are buying.
3. A feed store. If a panic has already begun, this might actually be your best bet for getting large quantities of edible grains and pet food (plus livestock feed if you’ve got this). If you buy organic, whole feed grains, they should be adequate for human eating – and they come in 50lb quantities. Pick up your emergency supply of dog or cat food, some seeds for spring, and cracked corn and whole oats for you (and your horses). The downside: feed grains may not be especially tasty, organic feed is pricey, feed mixes may have things you don’t want, unless you live in a reasonably rural area, there probably won’t be one. Tip for shopping here: human consumption grains would be a better choice – save this option for food for yourself for a true crisis.
4. A coop or bulk food store. Coops are great because they tend to be run by good people and have reasonable prices. Privately owned bulk food stores also have good stuff – the thing is, most of these won’t have large quantities of staples in large bags – you’ll have to empty out the bins or place an order in advance. Still, not a bad place to get unusual ingredients, seasonings, yeasts, salt, nutritional supplements and meet special dietary needs. Tip for shopping here – you might ask if they have any bulk grains they can sell in larger quantities lying around – instead of asking for “50lbs of wheat” you might come at it the other way, asking what they’ve got a lot of.
5. Odd lots store/dollar stores: These are unlikely to have large quantities of things, but if you’ve got a big enough vehicle, you might be able to buy a pallet load of weird cereal by a a manufacturer you’ve never heard of for $1 box. These are good places to get canned goods and to pick up bug out bag foods that are light, nutritionally dense and portable. Soap and shampoo are often cheap here as well, and you may be able to get a few needed household goods, a couple of extra flashlights and whatever. Tips for shopping here: if you see something you want, snag it then – inventory changes fast.
6. Supermarkets – this is the classic crisis food shopping space, and the one that tends to get ripped into pieces until all that is left is Preparation H. These are to be avoided if you can avoid them during an actual crisis. If not, get there as early as you can, avoid the bottled water aisle (store some water in empty bottles instead and save your money for food). If you must hit one of these, choose one with a health food section and bulk bins, and ideally, a supercenter sort of thing, where you can also pick up anything else you need. Tip: Even if the crisis is likely to be long term, most people see supermarkets as a place to get short term needs met – so you are likely to find that staple foods and things like vitamins sell worse than boxed chocolate chip cookies. This is good, since you want more staples than cookies.
7. Drugstores, hardware stores, etc…: I’ve included these because you may have to stop at one – you may need a refill of your medication, to fix up the family first aid kit, or to buy flashlights. If you do need to stop, and are doing them in a rush, take a couple of minutes and think about other needs you might meet in such a place – drugstores may have some food and cheap spices, hardware stores may have other useful things at reasonable prices, like seeds. I’m not saying you should buy everything in sight, just working under the assumption that you may be able to make a limited number of stops. Generally speaking, though, if you can, you might want to consolidate trips the other way, and get your meds at a place that also primarily sells food.
Ok, now what to get. This assumes you mostly eat a regular American style diet (which ideally you don’t), that we shouldn’t push you too hard, and that you will be shopping at the above sorts of stores. That is, if you normally eat a lot of dal or mung bean noodles, please do add them to your plan. This is meant to cover mainstream ground – it is not meant to imply optimalization.
Here’s what I’d concentrate on. I am not including quantities here, because I don’t know how much you can afford, how big your household is, etc… What you should do is get as much as you can afford/haul and *manage* without spoilage. That means, get only what you can find a safe, bug and rodent proof spot for.
I’m also assuming that you don’t have a lot of fancy equipment – ie, I think life would be better for you if you had a grain grinder, but I’m going to assume no.
1. Vitamins. Get enough for everyone in the household. Regular, generic mulivites are fine, and any special supplement you take (although if these are optional luxuries and money is tight, forego the vitamin E capsules for more food instead). Yes, it is better to get your nutrients from food, but this is important. Also make sure you pick up children’s or prenatal vitamins if anyone in your household has a special need for these. You might also want to pick up a couple of bottles of vitamin C tablets.
2. Rice – as much brown rice as you can eat (and remember, you may be eating a lot more of it than you have been) in 3 months, plus as much white rice as you can. Why rice? It is widely available – even supermarkets sell it in 10 or 20lb bags in many cases. It is comparatively cheap, it is hypo-allergenic (ie, nearly everyone can eat it including infants and the ill), and it is familiar to people in just about every culture in the world. Brown rice is dramatically more nutritious, but it is also prone to spoilage – maximum storage is about 1 year, and it often goes rancid before that. A not-insignificant percentage of the population can’t taste rancidity in grains at all, so won’t know if the rice is still good to eat. So it is safest to get a short time supply of brown rice, and then mostly use white rice (supplemented with more nutritous grains).
2. Flour – get as much whole wheat flour as you can use in 6 months, and then get unbleached white flour. Again, you’ll be using the less nutritious form of the grain, but at least you’ll have food.
3. Rolled or steel cut oats. Get as many packages as you can. These are fairly nutritious and will help balance out some of the white stuff in your diet. This is breakfast.
4. Legumes: These include beans, split peas, lentils, cowpeas, pigeon peas, etc… Buy 1/3 of the weight of your combined grains (flour, oats and rice) in dry form. Check out the ethnic foods section for large quantities. These will provide protein, fiber and a host of other goodies. Don’t be afraid to try unfamiliar things here – they have a fairly wide taste range, but if you can eat one, you can eat another.
5. Something that sprouts. If you get stuck eating off your stored food in the winter or a summer dry season, when not much is going on, sprouts can save you. Ideally, you’d have a variety, from broccoli to onion to mung bean… In reality, you may not have much of a choice. But a lot of things in the bulk bins at whole foods or your health store, or available other places will sprout. They include whole wheat, alfalfa sprouts (just make sure you aren’t getting seed that is treated, and only use organic), untreated sunflower seeds, and a host of designated sprouting seeds. Nutrionally, if I had a choice I’d get broccoli, alfalfa and sunflower, as well as wheat, but you’ll be fine with just one.
5. Some other protein food – unless you are quite odd, you probably will not enjoy rice and beans for dinner, bread and beans for lunch and oatmeal for breakfast every day. You will be fine eating this – maybe even healthier, but you would be happier if you had something with a bit more fat, flavor and protein density, particularly if you are shifting from an average American diet. You do not need a lot of this – you might prefer a lot, but it
Best choices:
1. Whole nuts, flaxseeds or sunflower seeds in the shell
2. Peanut butter. Not the natural stuff – you want it shelf stable and in large quantities.
3. Canned fish – don’t overdo this if you have kids, are pregnant or nursing. But canned fish does have important nutrients, is tasty and makes people happy. Canned wild salmon is lowest in mercury, but can have high levels of PCBs. Don’t forget sardines, mackerel and other unusual fishes. Don’t go crazy also because it isn’t good for what’s left of the oceans, but occasional fish is good.
4. Shelf stable tofu, dried tofu sticks (asian groceries) or other stable soy protein.
5. Canned meat – I’m not a big fan of this, generally speaking, because unless you have a ton of money, canned meat is always from horrible sources, often troublesome in environmental ways, and doesn’t taste good. But others love their spam, and I won’t try and turn you away from it. Again, though, you don’t need that much – think occasional treat, and enjoy the flavoring and fat.
6. Fat: Olive oil in metal tins keeps several years if kept cool – that’s what I’d get of the choices available, with a bit of coconut oil to provide a tasty, shelf stable fat for piecrusts and “butter.” If you have to go cheap, get what you can afford that’s not too awful.
7. Dried fruit – if you are at a Sam’s Club type-place, you can buy big sealed bags of dried raisins or cranberries or something. Otherwise, you can take what’s available at the dollar stores or go hunting in the bulk bins. You want this for nutritional reasons, and so that you don’t get so constipated you can’t breathe. Also good for kids, to help them transition, or picky adults who are kind of like kids.
8. Powdered milk, soy, or rice milk. This is for calcium, protein to enable you to bake, to add creaminess to things, etc…. It will never taste like real milk, but you can live with it. It lasts a long time, and you can use it baking if nothing happens, so you might as well get as much as you can.
9. Salt – get a bunch, iodized for eating (you only need a little of this – and if you don’t want to store iodized salt or want something better, you can also buy dulse or kelp supplements to meet this need, but the easiest, most stable source is iodized salt) and uniodized for preserving, livestock if you’ve got it, brushing teeth, etc… This is cheap, and necessary to life.
10. Sweeteners – unless you have weaned yourself off of this entirely, you will want these. Sugar is probably cheapest, a lot of bulk honey is watered down or sugar syruped up. But you can use maple syrup, sugar, sorghum or whatever is most easily available. You may also need to stretch it – so work on reducing sugar now. We don’t need anywhere near as much as we eat.
11. Canned vitamin rich vegetables. Get a couple of flats each of pumpkin/squash/sweet potatoes, and some kind of canned green (mustard or turnip greens hold together better than spinach). If you are used to eating fresh, these will not taste as good as fresh – but can be mixed into things in the background to add nutrition. Make sure that you use the liquid from the greens as well. Some canned fruit is nice too, if you have room/can afford it. Canned pineapple is, to my mind, the best tasting commercially canned fruit.
Alternately (and better), you might be able to hit a farmstand and get sweet potatoes, cabbage and turnips, which would be much better for you, tastier and local, but the assumption of this discussion is that you aren’t doing that. Still, if there’s anyway to buy fresh food that can be root cellared, you’ll be a lot happier than relying on canned veggies.
12. Something(s) to flavor water/powdered milk. This depends on your preference, but if you are using non-traditional water sources, or drinking powdered milk for the first time, making it taste better will be worth a lot. Plus, if you are a tea or coffee person, you will be sad without them. So get vacuum packed cans of coffee, or lots of tea, cocoa. And if you have kids, or vitamin C worries, or the water tastes horrible, you might want to get some Tang or HiC powdered drink mix. The stuff is icky, but will add some sweetness, and also some nutrition, while covering the taste of bad water.
13. This is controversial, but you might want some alcohol. There are a couple of reasons. First, if things are bad enough and you have no major responsibilities, you might want to get drunk. Second, and more practically, a small amount of alcohol in your water will kill many bacteria, and is safer than inadequately filtered water. Oh, and you can probably use it like money to get other things.
14. Lots of seasonings. Varying your meals is key. Buy lots of spices, and you may also want ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, chili-garlic paste, fermented black beans, chutney, worcestershire…whatever. Depending on what you can afford and where you are, don’t forget this.
15. Get some treats. You will need them. So put some smoked oysters, a few bags of chocolate chips, some beef jerky, peanut brittle – whatever you or your family crave. I’d also suggest some kind of small candy that stores fairly well (we use those tiny dum-dum lollipops which come in bags of a zillion) to be doled out as rewards for children who are eating their new diet reasonably graciously and responding to their new reality - they are small and sweet and ease transitions. Adults might need other bribes. Also, don’t forget the ingredients for your special Easter bread, matza balls, or whatever other special occasions your family will still want to remember.
16. Some things that are dense and require minimal cooking in case you have to evacuate or if you are under stress - some ramen, some dried fruit, energy bars, instant bean soups, canned soup, etc…
Then add some extra batteries (if you aren’t already stocked), gas for the car and the can, a way to cook without power (sterno, camp stove, woodstove, more propane for the grill), and water purifiers (it will be easiest if you get this first). Ta da! You are ready for the zombies!
Sharon
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Has anyone done this with an unwilling partner. My husband thinks it is crazy, but I am really worried. I guess I can hide lentils under the bed
Thanks Sharon for all you do.
elle
I’ve been telling folks for the last week or so that they should get a 50 lb bag of potatoes to stick under their kitchen sink. Maine potatoes can go for 7.00 a bag this time of year and last a long time. Nutrient dense,multifaceted root. Potato pancakes,french fries, mashed potatoes
One person is sorta on board ( which is good because he is not the person I want on my couch). But a dear friend humors me. So I have a stash put aside for her if times get rough. We can find room for her and her daughter if she needs it.
Most of my neighbors are either busy canning their big gardens or aware of how current events could play out. There is a pretty good sense of community on this little back road thankfully.
BTW Sharon, I’m reading your book. It is great!
But no mention of guns? What is the matter with you woman? Don’t you understand that if something is worth having then it is worth defending? It appears to me that you are letting your sense of values keep you from doing what is right.
Michael
Great ideas, unless of course, your spouse has already been out of work 5 months and there is nothing left!
Michael, we’re talking last minute crisis preparedness here – my supermarket doesn’t sell guns. Neither does BJs, and I’ve never noticed them in the check out aisle at the dollar store. And even Walmart has those background check thingies. I think if you don’t have guns, you aren’t going to get them on your last stock up
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Robbie, I’m really sorry. I know that this sounds like a fantasy to millions of people, and I have to know that’s painful. I want to strike a balance between enabling those who can and being respectful of those who can’t. If you search this site for “cheap” and “food storage” I’ve got some suggestions, but mostly all I can offer is sympathy.
Sharon
[...] the rest here: Crisis Shopping: Food Storage When You Haven’t Been Storing Food Read [...]
Your zombie collection agency made me giggle!
I was weighing working at the community garden plot or going to the Asian market over lunch. I think the Asian Market wins.
Costco is my favorite reliable stock-up shopping spot, due to location (1 miles away) and my other options available. It seems that the price of rice and wheat flour may be dropping from the spring/summer highs – or maybe it’s now the new normal. I’m waiting for Thanksgiving grocey sales to build stock of sugar and flours.
I want to speak to water filtration. I’m a seasoned camper and I’ve always had an interest in the best ways to filter water. If we take hiking out of the picture and worry only about sustainable drinkable water then I think I’ve found just the thing.
There are only three things required for this to work and the total cost is about $10. The first thing you need is access to a water source. Any water source will do in a pinch I think. The second thing you need is a large storage container, say at least 5 gallons because something smaller is too much work for too little reward. I would suggest finding a simple 5 gallon bottle that is currently used for things like water towers. The 3rd you thing is calcium hypochlorite. Sounds fancy I know, but it’s really only what is currently used to shock swimming pools. Wal Mart sells this stuff and a 1lb package is under $5 I think. The storage life is very long (10+ yrs or more, just a guess)compared to household bleach which degrades completely in a year or two. Follow this link for the specifics of what to do: http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/better-than-bleach-use-calcium-hypochlorite-to-disinfect-water/ . A 1lb package, at the cost of a few bucks, will treat over 10,000 gallons of water. That’s a lot of water. If you have sediment problems in the water source you have you can always filter the water thru a cotton t-shirt or other similar device.
I think the minimal investment is worth it when you compare it to the alternatives. Sure it might be nice to have a more portable version of water filtration, but when you think about the alternatives and their associated problems this makes tons of sense. A Katadyn Hiker water filter is about $60 and will only treat 200 gallons. A replacement filter is $35. That’s a lot of money to lay out and not a long term option. A SteriPen UV filter, probably the 2nd most common choice, is about $80 and requires batteries. These units are fraught with problems and you’re relying on technology. These things are about like Ipods in the sense that you never know if and when they will turn on and actually work. There is a solar charger option for the Steripen but it’s $150 and you still have the question of reliability.
My suggestion, go to Wal Mart or a more local pool supply choice and spend $5. It makes the most sense.
So maybe I’m missing somethiing but what exactly is spurring this “crisis mode” stock-up? I know the economy is toast but do you expect everything to just sorta collapse overnight?? I’m not trying to downplay what is happening but am not sure that much is different really from weeks ago-maybe I’m missing something though???
And Robbie- be creative- do you know a local small-scale farmer? Harvest help is often needed-especially if you want to be paid in food- if you were here and wanted to harvest potatoes…..
Also- look for apple trees, etc full of fruit not being harvested- ask to harvest them and can or dry them, etc. Don’t just think of having to go buy stuff at the store- unless you live in NYC or something in which case I have no clue…….
I picked 25 pounds of apples from a tree at my video store last week. Dried them on a couple furnace filters over a box fan, and now have some really excellent (and essentially free) dried apples. Once I started looking around, I realized the streets of this town are lined with food!
My DH is not at all supportive of preparing for hard times and does tease me about it, so I don’t talk about it in that way anymore.He is very supportive of saving money though so I joined a food coop “to save money” and so I wouldn’t have to drive to the store so often on bad roads in winter.Some things come in 25-50 lb bags so I “had” to collect some plastic buckets to protect it from bugs and moisture. As for all the canning I did this year for the very first time ever-”I wanted to learn something new” which i really did, but also I now pick new things to learn that have to do with safeguarding my family’s future whereas in the past I would have taken a doll making class or something:-) I don’t feel I’m decieving DH, because in fact we are spending less per week of food,I don’t have to shop as often and I am learning fun new skills. I do wish we could talk about the rest of it and do it together but here we compromise.
Lately I often think of a story from my mom’s childhoodin Maine.The day the US got into WWII her best friend’s mother (a pretty and poised French woman) went out and bought alot of large bags of flour, sugar and a few other things and put them “in a place she could keep an eye on tnem”. Mom noticed that her parents did not do this and that some people mumbled a few not very complimentary things. So, she already had a big garden and they ramped up the gathering of wild berries etc. Her husband, who owned the local vinegar “factory”, was not very helpful since he was much more interested in the alcohol stage of vinegar production than anything else in life. Nevertheless, the family ate well and had enough through those ration years to give to some lucky neighbors who hadn’t the means of foresight to prepare.
Warm Wishes
A question: When you buy white rice and white flour because it stores much longer, but whole grains are fundamental to your regular diet, how do you incorporate the “eat to rotate” principle of food storage?
Sharon – Thanks for the great blog & as always thanks for the reminders….I’m loving your book.
I stock up a few things at each trip to the store, its not so financially painful that way. Last night it was 3 boxes of table salt and 2 pounds of cornstartch (for cooking and hygine), white sugar, yeast packets(I know the jar is cheaper but I just started baking bread again) and baking soda.
Next trip its bread and all purpose flour and brown sugar, along with dental care, and fels naptha soap (if I can find it)
Wondering – do you know if baking powder can be stored in the freezer? I freeze all grain products for 72 hrs (to keep bugs away).
ctdaffodil, I would think moisture would be a problem for baking powder in the freezer, but I’ve never tried it.
However, we had persistent meal moth infestations (from the wheat-based cat litter, we finally figured out) and I never, ever had moths in my baking powder. Or in the sugar, for that matter – I think they prefer something lighter, and other bugs won’t bother it because there aren’t any calories in it.
My husband belittled my preps until Hurricane Ike. Boy, did that open his eyes! He elevated me from wacko-hoarder-packrat to genius when we had fans, lights, and terrific meals in the midst of outages, detours, shortages, and other assorted chaos. We didn’t have to fight traffic and crowds as the hurricane was approaching and we didn’t need to leave the house to wait in lines after. It was a fantastic trial run for me and I learned where the gaps were in my planning. We lacked for nothing critical and I now have the go-ahead to finish stocking up. DH didn’t even bat an eye when the UPS man delivered the powdered eggs.
Even if you’re prepping for a bigger emergency than something nature might throw at you, tell the skeptical spouse it’s for hurricanes/earthquakes/blizzards or whatever your local natural catastrophe is likely to be. It smooths the waters and you can always point to the TV news and say, “You don’t want to be like those people waiting three hours for a FEMA handout do you?”
How cool does olive oil in a metal can need to be kept? I’ve been wondering how to store oil without it going rancid, and I live in Texas, where our “cool” is usually much warmer than most everyone else’s. What’s the optimal temperature range for it, and how high a temp can I get away with? There are only two of us, and while I use olive oil (and butter) far more than other oils, it would still take us quite some time to go through a big can of it.
[...] Casaubon’s Book » Blog Archive » Crisis Shopping: Food Storage When You Haven’t Been Storing F… Several readers have asked me to do a piece on what to do if you have been procrastinating about food storage, but plan to stock up before the end of the world (I’ve heard that Paulson and Bernanke have scheduled that for this weekend, but it could potentially be moved due to a conflict with some other disaster
.) So for all you procrastinators out there, here are my suggestions. [...]
Sharon, may I add a few none-food things, which I expect you were going to cover later, but I like to be a buttinski?
Thanks. I’ll go ahead.
Assuming I had an income and an infant who wasn’t on the breast, I’d make sure I had several weeks or months supply for formula. And I make sure I had a supply of cloth diapers, in case I could suddenly no long find or afford the plastic ones. I do the same if I was expecting one, even if I planned to breast feed — you can alway give it away. (I know people say that if you have formula in the house you’ll end up using it, but I know several cases where that wasn’t true, so I don’t think that this sort of forsight will doon your good intentions.)
Sam and the grocergy stores down here sell some clothing. You might be able to grab extra hats and gloves at least, and try to fill in the gaps in “‘enough warm clothing for everyone to wear layers in case the heat goes out, or gets too expensive”. One winter, when I didn’t have a jacket for my daughter, she made do with a sweater or two, a fleece and windbreaker, on one top of the other.
If you are short of blankets, you might be able to get picnic throws or even beach towels at the end of season sale, though it’s a bit late for that.
Think about extra socks, which are also sold in our local grocery, most dollar stores, and Sams. Two thin socks are are warmer than one heavy one. And if you don’t want to have your feet rot, you get to get out of damp socks and into dry ones (even if they are dirty dry ones) before you sleep. Socks get damp, even if you can’t feel it, just from being worn, even if you feet are cold.
Last week at the dollar store, you could get heavy cloth floor mats — and if you had leaky and nother else on hand to use as draft dogders, these rolled up would have done very nicely.
You can get basic sewing supplies at most of the places mentioned. When you can’t afford or find a new shirt, sewing on a button becomes a necessity.
And if you only had electric can openers, get a good manual one a the grocery story if you had any canned goods in your cache.
And if you think your future might include young children sleeping on the couch and you are currently a childless house hold with nothing to keep little ones occupied, you can buy a packet of crayons or colored pencils, a pair of children’s safety sissors (get the kind that both lefties and righties can use) and maybe a some glue. One of the best dollars I ever spent was on a set of pick up sticks. Do not, repeat do not, unless you have a hankering to lose your sainity quickly buy giltter, glitter glue or anything else with the word glitter in it.
MEA
Uh-oh! I don’t have all these things yet–went for fresh produce to Safeway (1.5 mies away) and forgot the ketchup and salt. But I did get two bags of chocolate chips thinking I’ll bake some cookies in the next few days.
I love the comment by the lady whose husband didn’t bat an eyelash when the powdered eggs arrived–LOL; I’ve been thinking about getting those myself.
The only person likely to move in with me if something went really zombiesh in the US was my 87 year old mother. She got pneumonia that would not respond to any antibiotics. the next step would have been a biopsy from her lung tissues and a respirator. She was going gressively downhill and has Alzheimer’s dementia and had lost 12 pounds from her 115 pound frame in the past few months. Her living will and I said no respirators and she was on hospice for a few days. She knew me until 24 hours before the end and she had a peaceful end. I will miss her a lot but she had a good life.
I wasn’t going to get into that here but it only happened in the past week and she passed on Tuesday. I believe in an afterlife and I’ll see her again. She could remember living through the depression as a youngs adult and teenager and didn’t want to see living in one again in her lifetime.
Anyway, thanks for listening to that and as always, Sharon and commentators, this blog is an informative and very helpful place these days.
peace to you all,
Shamba
Dang, woman, you are brilliant! Another well-written artical (though I did have to use spell check alot, lol). I will be emailing this to my friends and family with links to various sites and news as a introduction to peak oil/resource depletion/climate chaos/financial meltdown disaster planning. My family is clueless, hopefully this will give them something to think about and actions that they can DO if they are so inclined. They live in a cold weather place, so maybe even having reasonable preps for electrical outages would make sense to them. Thank you!!!
A local farm stand or produce station will often be willing to sell bulk quantities at a slight markup from their wholesale price — as long as you’re willing to take it in the quantity they get it in. This could be a good option for stocking a root cellar — “hey, those hard squashes — what do you get those in? Bushels? How much if I just take one of your bushels from the back?”
This can offer a substantial discount to buying by-the-pound.
Also, if they don’t have it, ask if they can order it. You may be able to get it on their next delivery.
Obviously, this is only a “before the panic” strategy, but it may be helpful for some.
peace,
Consider getting the mylar bags for food storage inside of bins. Keeps things fresher longer and they are cheap. You can find them online.
Gamma lids for 5-gallon bins are another lifesaver – you can seal and reseal easily.
WalMart has 60-hour emergency candles for $2.97 – might make a nice trade item, plus a good source of light for evenings without electricity.
Matches are another thing to have on hand. Buy the big boxes and save. Also another good trade item, helps make friends
Hard to cook over an open fire without… fire!
Amazon.com also sells bulk groceries. I’ve gotten my organic lentils from them, blue cornmeal, olive oil in bulk metal cans, vinegar, and bulk nuts. They sell in case lots and frequently have specials. Make sure it’s from Amazon not a vendor and the shipping is free if it’s over $25.
I’ve also found some unusual things there like powdered whole milk, powdered buttermilk and powdered goat milk.
It pays to “shop around” there but I’ve found them a reasonable source for stocking up.
Couple of more thoughts…buy canning jar lids now as a hedge against inflation next year. Just a couple of boxes every week.
Second if you have chickens you can buy birdseed to supplement the layer feed. It is usually cheaper than feed and for the winter when they do not lay that many eggs it can stretch the budget a bit.
Excellent article, and it points toward a few areas where I might want to increase my supplies.
Fortunately, when I suggested to my wife 5 months ago that I wanted at least 3 months of food in the house, and the ability to cook it without power, she jumped enthusiastically on board.
Given that, we don’t face, now, the potential of having to stock up on an emergency basis.
It seems to me that one of the major problems in trying to build, quickly, an emergency food store is the need to also figure out how to prepare that food if there is no power. It will probably be a lot harder to get a camp stove and fuel, or charcoal, then it will be to get food (difficult as that may be) if the distribution networks start to break down.
Michael
This is a fantastic post, and I wanted to also mention another use for alcohol, making medicinal tinctures. I’ve been studying and using herbs years and made a few simple tinctures myself and they really work! Yes, they taste a little odd/bad/horrifying the first time you try one, but I’m at the point now where I really love the taste of them. One of my favorite herbal blogs is
The Medicine Woman’s Roots, written by Kiva Rose. She recently had a beautiful post about Elerberries, her blog is incredibly informative and she’s a gifted writer.
I’ve been buying a little bit at a time, $10 here, $15 there, and I’m saving up a bit right now to buy some good quality miso.
My local feed store has been going to the auction/sales and bringing in local produce on a weekly basis. Last week they had beautiful green, yellow, and red peppers for $4 a bushel. Check it out!
I am a proud new owner of a grain mill but have no idea how much/type of grain to get. Would someone comment on that please? (I’m also glad to see I’m not alone in my ‘paranoia’!)
Thanks
~ Liz
Water Purification with sunlight
Water Purification can be done with sunlight in a clear plastic or glass container. For a whole document about it go to: http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/conferences/pdfs/25/310.pdf The United Nations came up with this method. The document even shows how to get sediment out of the water.
Thanks for the tip on the baking powder.
Tara – only because we have an extra refridgerator that is always on and full (growing boys) When I’ve bought olive oil I put it into clean quart canning jars and put them in that fridge – it gets a little solid but I usually know when I’m running low so I can let it come up to room temperature slowly. Or if I slipup and forget take a clean spoon and scoop out what I need.
If you are totally new to this, don’t forget recipe books, or even books on basic cooking techniques. I recommend vegetarian cookery books because even if you want to add meat or fish, they have lots of different recipes for all your staples and beans, which many people have no idea what to do with.
[...] Sharon has a great article on what to get if your food stores are sparse. Rumors are flying and now is a good time to get money out of the bank and stuff laid in. [...]
Recipe for flavoring your water:
Ginger Water
1 cup maple syrup/honey
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 tsp. ginger
enough water to make a gallon
You can use dry sweetener instead of the syrup or honey but I don’t know what the amount would be — in any case the recipe usually needs adjustment to individual taste. But the cider vinegar and the ginger are important not just for taste but because they’re actually good for you.
This is a sort of tonic, excellent in the summer especially but also in general for folks exercising or feeling under the weather (esp. stomach ailments, circulatory issues, overheating). We also find it to be tasty
I second the Tang recommendation, specifically.
Ages ago I was on a group camping trip where those in charge ran out of water and we ended up drinking river water with bleach. Half us kids were given Hawaiian Punch packets for our canteens, and half were given Tang. The Hawaiian Punch water still tasted like bleachy Hawaiian Punch, but the Tang water just tasted like Tang.
I needed that “push”. Just back from Costco with another $286 worth of stuff. I’m still so far behind. But thanks for the extra.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, and found it to be extremely useful as I typically buy in bulk anyway. But I would like to play the devil’s advocate here simply because I found this to be a little problematic.
The end is not near. No, it’s not. At all. Yes, the economy is tanking, things will be more expensive and potentially harder to come by, gas will become more and more of a luxury. But this is not, I repeat, is not the end of the world. I seriously doubt that society will collapse and that we will all be living in bunkers under our houses eating trail mix and water with bleach in it.
Yes, it is good to be prepared, and buying in bulk is wise economically speaking, but let’s not lose our good sense just because the economy is going downhill. I do agree that learning how to grow your own food and preserve it is a wonderful idea. That having chickens, pigs, cows, goats, and all manner of animals is a great investment and one that will pay off in addition to being healthier than conventional meat, eggs, milk, and cheese products. That living frugally is best. But we are going to be okay. Really. I sincerely feel that way.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing what they feel is best for themselves and their families, but I just wanted to assert that you should not stockpile out of sheer passion and fear. Just sit down, think a little, and then decide if this is still what you want to do.
Dang, and I just put the prettiest wallpaper on the walls of the bunker….
I am not stockpiling so much because I think the sky is falling but because of rising food costs and economic instability. My husband’s job that we thought was so secure has proven not to be. Our income has been drastically cut and we are having a really hard time making ends meet. My $20 DSL bill is a big splurge. With the way food is going up and up in price I want to buy now with a little money I have stashed to cut the bill over the long haul.
So what have people suggested that you think is incompatible or over the top if you think the economy is indeed tanking like you said? I have spent the last 2 weeks at home because we couldn’t get gas where we live without hunting it down and waiting hours for it. I remember Y2K…there was nothing tangible to be afraid of except for a theory of what could happen. However the past year I have seen more and more people lose their jobs and find it extremely hard to get others. Everything has gone up in price a LOT and the government is trying to figure out how to bail us all out of this. So I guess I’d need you to define “we are going to be ok” and tell us what you base it on.
While I am not taking it to the level most of you are, I am amassing an emergency food pantry for the winter. Several weeks worth of canned goods, some rice, instant potato flakes, some cereal, foil boxed soy milk, 10 gallons of bottled water and such. Also have a Max Burton portable gas stove with 10 butane cartridges, and as a backup, a portable Sterno stove with 10 cans.
I figure that my family and I could weather a short term crisis, maybe a month at most. Alternatively, if we had to evacuate, we could take the stuff with us and it should last us until we get where we’re going.
As a precaution, as well as to minimize price shocks if the price of gasoline spikes again, I don’t let my tank get below 3/4 of a tank. That way if I had to take my family with me and leave in a pinch, at least we wouldn’t be running on empty.
So the past few days I’ve been looking at the economic crisis and feeling this deep, satisfying feeling of I-told-you-so. And believe me, the only deeper feeling I have right now is the guilty feeling about thinking that. Admit it, folks, it feels good to be right, as long as the predicted fallout isn’t making your kids hungry.
I feel right, and I feel bad. I feel like events right now are going the way we’ve all predicted, and about to get worse, and this is our only i-told-you-so moment. I have friends saying, ok, you were right, so now what’s next. I hate to say “take a few hundred dollars out of your bank account, just for spending money”. But I think that’s probably just about right. I feel bad saying “have some mac and cheese on hand, just in case”, even if I think that’s probably just about right.
In true liberal, self-flagellating style, though, is there a point where we would admit we were wrong? If we get through the next month(s) without any kind of food availability crisis, would we apologize to people for making them panic about buying bulk corn flakes? I mean, in the grand scheme of things, encouraging people to buy pasta and alfalfa sprouts is unimpeachable, pretty much. At very least, as an investment policy at this point, it just is.
But in terms of fear-mongering and truth? I think it’s a hard line to walk. We see the dangers, and the total lack of people warning about them, and we want to warn everyone. So we’re trying our best.
But at what point do we admit that we overreacted? Do we have a rule that we adhere to where we say, if so-and-so doesn’t happen, we should admit we were wrong to warn people about so-and-so? I feel like in order to continue being a reliable witness, I need to have some kind of real limits on my predictive ability. If I just say, hey, things are going to get worse, and then, unrelated “things” get much worse, really, I don’t think I should claim credit for that.
No?
I agree with several people in that stocking up isn’t so much about TEOTWAWKI, but more about “If my job goes, I’m gonna need a buffer”. And food in the pantry is my buffer. Although I’ve always been a bit of a freak that way, probably from growing up on the ranch.
And worst case scenario… I’ll make peanut butter cookies
Jerah, I’m not worried about overreacting.
It’s a good idea to have food stores, and extras of basic stuff, and to learn to use fewer resources on a day to day basis. All of the changes I’ve made this year have been things that are worth doing, whether things continue to get worse or not.
I’m not planning for TEOTWAWKI to hit this winter. I am planning for the day a friend runs out of unemployment payments or the little girls from next door to come over one night and say “our mom’s at work and the heat turned off, can we have dinner at your house”. That happened to me once with different neighbors, at the height of the “good” economy of the ’90s.
If things get really bad, the preparations we’re doing will help. But if they don’t, they’re helping anyway. Even if oil doesn’t peak, and the climate isn’t really changing, and the economy is going to bounce right back before Christmas, I still need to cut my resource useage so I have more of my earning power to give to the hungry, to fight for political change, to have the freedom to say “I hate this job, I quit.”
On the other hand, my friends don’t know about the cloth buttwipes yet, so maybe I’m not worried about looking stupid because I’m in the closet on these issues.
My point-way up towards the top of the posts- was to wonder why all of a sudden we should panic and make Costco runs or something(actually I’ve only been to a Costco once- in another state). I don’t think what is happening now is any different really than what has been going on for awhile- it is just progressing as we figured it would.
While I see the value of growing one’s own food, canning, drying, and stocking up a reasonable quantity of food- and I do this myself- whatIi don’t advocate is panic and fear driven shopping. The vision of people dashing to the store, throwing whatever into their carts and running up the credit card bill and all……
So I guess I would caution people to not be driven by fear but to think about what works for them and their family and what they would need to have on hand to feel more secure-and it depends a lot on locale, job security, etc I’d say.
I’d just hate for people to be stocking up on stuff they won’t ever use out of a fear that TEOTWAWKI is coming this weekend or something. Now I could be wrong and we’ll be looking at a Zimbabwe style currency deval or something but I guess I’d figure that what will happen is more along the lines of Michael Greer’s Long Descent and plan accordingly…
Taking into consideration that your premise is last minute id suggest adding one maybe two things, bulk soup stock, its cheap, has so many uses, and is easy to store. Dried veggies and or pasta to be used with the stock, filling and simple.
Even if your preparation is last minute, it is not too late. Just start now and do a little at a time. A great resource for not only purchasing food, but also how much and other basic information on food storage is http://www.shelfreliance.com
I found a coupon code to help us all save money Save10
Thanks for the great info!
I grew up in Massachusettes when the Blizzard of 78 hit. My mom was on welfare at the time. We lost our power for a couple of days and it took a while for it to come back on. There was a state of emergency so only essential personnel were allowed to drive. And of course there was not much food in the house and what we had was going bad in the fridge because my mom thought food could only be chilled by the fridge. We had no heat while the power was out. I remember my mom bundling us up and beginning our trek around town to all the convenience stores ( because there was no grocer downtown) to look for bread, milk and boxed mac and cheese. We stopped at 3 stores before we found anything to fill the larder and that store was several miles across town. I think it was the smallest I ever felt looking at those giant snow banks.
In 1993 my older son was born. I was a single mother on welfare when the storm of the century was to hit. Not wanting to be stuck like my mother was during that storm in the 70′s; I went to the grocery store to purchase food stuffs that would not need to be cooked if the power went out. So off I trudge off the grocery store with my 5 week old baby. I was able to find most of what I thought I needed. I waited in a line that wound all the way to the dairy section. Thankfully my son slept through the whole ordeal. I waited an hour for a taxi until some kind souls shared their taxi with me.
I think the point of Sharon’s post is simply to think about what could happen. Because we really don’t know. There could be regional shortages such as what is happening in the southeast with gas shortages. There could be a storm. And yes, I think that there is enough fear regarding this financial crisis that one more shock could tip folks into a panic. Temporary shocks could provide stepping stones to the Long Descent.
I think the end of the world is going to come to us one by one (or thousands by thousands, but it will seem one by one) and for many of us, in steps. We might all wake up tomorrow morning and find all credit frozen, no bank withdrawls allowed, no checks, including pay checks honored — and that would bring a lot of us to a grinding hault pretty quickly, including me.
But it’s more likely that’s its going to be bit by bit for a lot of us. Last week, for example, for the very first time I looked at the cost of one aspect of treatment for one of my daughters, and thought, is that necessary? Now, I’ve often asked if something is necessary for considerations other than cost, but the nasty feeling that perhaps I couldn’t afford this $900 was a real shock.
For some people, who can’t afford treatment for their children, the end of the world as come. The thing about the end of the world is that is doesn’t always kill you; sometimes you have to keep going.
I’m not, thank godness, at the end of my world, but I don’t take not being there for granted.
That’s why I think preparing and helping others prepare is a good thing.’
After all, as another poster stated or implied, there are worse things to have to apologize for than suggesting someone buy food.
MEA
My apologies if I wasn’t clear – some people seem to have felt that I was saying “Now’s the time to do this.” In fact, what I was trying to do, perhaps badly, was to talk about what you should do if an immanent crisis (and remember, an immanent crisis can be “I know I’m going to lose my job shortly” as well as “Ooops, here come the zombies
”) is something you are facing, and you haven’t done anything.
This in no way is meant to override the idea that it is much better to gradually, sustainably stock up on food. The food choices on this list aren’t necessarily the ones that I think are best for you, or the ideal choices to store – but they are widely available. I would much prefer everyone go at this gradually, and more wisely than taking the van and the credit card to do a big stock up – but if you are going to do it, it helps to think about how to do it. The readers who asked me to do this often had reasons – either they don’t get paid often, but do get larger checks at various times of the year and want to do it when they are flush, or they have a spouse that won’t countenence this for anything other than a seemingly proximate emergency, or they’ve been lazy and don’t see that changing soon
. My goal is to cover the subject of food storage from as many perspectives as I can, because I don’t want people to say “Oh, I should have been doing this all along, and now it is too late.”
Connie, in answer to your question about integrating white foods into a whole grain diet, you have a couple of choices. The first is to add small amounts of white grains into your whole grains – a half cup of white flour to your white bread, a bit of white rice in your soup, whatever. The other, if you can afford it, is to store some and then donate what you don’t use to a food pantry, which will probably be quite grateful.
But for most people, if you can, I would suggest going at food storage the more consistent way, and maybe picking up a grain grinder so that you don’t have to go rush out and buy so much white stuff – because it is much healthier.
Sharon
Great article and great responses. For those who are new to stockpile storage there are several sites on line for how to buy on $5, $10, $20 per week. And the lists are of the supplies you suggest. I also believe in the ‘scrape the jar clean’ mentality. I rinse all jars/cans to get everything – including the Parmesean cheese container – and use in soups or casseroles.
We,in the past, have always had extras because of distance to store and a large garden and 3 hungry boys. Now in retirement and because of storms, economic upheaval,etc, we restocked and have enough to live on for about 6 months. It includes dried eggs, dried milk, whole grains that we grind, dehydrated fruit and veggies, some freeze dried meats and cheese, peanut butter, baking needs like cocoa, choc chips, baking powder, baking soda, oil – all in large quantities or #10 cans. We grow what we can in containers (no gardens allowed in our 55+ community), grow sprouts, make yoghurt. I cook from scratch everything but a few condiments and items that would cost more to make from scratch than buying already made. Most of my bulk purchases are made thru Amazon and one ‘preparedness’ site – all with free shipping.
Our meal plan is varied and suits our needs – toast with PB or yoghurt or oatmeal for breakfast. Leftovers or ‘breakfast’ for lunch and typical dinner of meat, starch and veggie, soup & muffins, casserole or pasta. We do not eat out – too expensive (I can’t help but compare $50 dinner for two with $50 worth of groceries) and too unhealthy.
The most important piece of advice I can give is – only stockpile what your family will eat and practice, practice, practice cooking from scratch.