Tips for Emergency Food Storage

In today’s world, natural calamities are common. When droughts, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes strike; one of the commonest problems people deal with is access to clean and nutritional foods. This is particularly true for those who do not prepare adequately for such unplanned events. If you live in a disaster prone area, one of the best decisions you can make to guarantee the safety of your family and or you is to invest in emergency food storage. Dried foods, as many people know them, have a long shelf life. They are also light, easy to store, and retain their nutritional value for many months, at times years, depending on the type of food and method of storage. This article highlights two strategies for planning for such emergencies in detail: 1) preparing your own survival foods and 2) buying ready-made food packs, to help you make the best decision.

Preparing Your Own Survival Foods

If you live in a disaster probe area and have a lot of free time at your disposal, a promising strategy for preparing for food emergencies is to prepare your own survival foods at home. This method is beneficial in that you can prepare and store favourite foods. You can also create customized meal plans that are easy to prepare once the need arises. To prepare your own survival foods for emergency food storage, you must do three things: First, choose the types of food that you want to preserve. High-calorie carbohydrate rich foods such as rice, proteins such as beans, and fruits are a must-have on your list. You should also store gallons of water, non-preparation foods with a long shelf life and any other food you like.

Once you have assembled your foods, the next thing you should do is to prepare them for drying. First, wash then thoroughly with clean water to remove soil and other contaminants that can lower their value during preservation. If your survival kit will contain foods such as meat, you are at liberty to cook them first, before you start the drying process. This way, it will take you a shorter time to prepare a good meal when a disaster strikes. Slice the foods into small slices to hasten drying and arrange then on a single file on a clean aluminium tray. At this point, the only thing left to do is to start the food-drying process.

Preparing foods for emergency storage is not as hard as many think. If you are aware of a looming food crisis and want a survival kit that only last a few weeks or months, you can use the power of the sun. Place your sliced foods under direct sunlight and let them dry for hours or days. If, however, you do not know when a drought or any other natural disaster can strike, use an oven or a dehydrator. They remove up to 98 percent of water in food, prolonging their shelf life significantly. After preparing survival foods, make sure that you store them well. Buy a pressure canner if you are planning for long-term emergency food storage. For short term storage, a high quality zip lock bag or plastic bag will work well.

Buying Survival Food Packs

If you do not have time or dehydrating foods at home is not an option, many companies nowadays sells survival food packs with a shelf life of up to 25 years online, and in brick and mortar outlets. Before purchasing in bulk, however, buy sample packs from several companies and check their taste, longevity, and overall quality. Compare the available options and choose a package your family will like enjoy eating. Buy and stock it on a shelf for emergency food storage.