Part II of Using Proper Storage Technique As You Survive A Food Emergency

I know I’m kind of stating the obvious with some of my comments, but it still needs to be said and thought about. Plastic containers, as previously stated, are maybe the most obvious form of survival food storage, but certainly not the only choice.

Glass jars are also quite useful for storing your food items. That is very apparent just by walking down any aisle at the local grocery store and supermarket.

Food storage using glass jars is done in the way of what is called “canning”. If you have never been around this procedure while your mom or grandmother was canning, it is accomplished, in a simple explanation, by placing the food items in a glass jar with water and any seasoning desired, using a two piece lid with a rubber seal on it and heating the jar up with high heat in a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker is optional and you can do what is called cold packing. Either way, as the glass and contents of the jars begin to cool after the heating cycle, a vacuum is created inside the jar and the lid is literally sucked down onto the jar with a huge amount of pressure. I remember hearing the lids “pop” as they would seal and you knew another jar of food was safe from spoilage. If the lid didn't "pop", the contents were either eaten within the next day or discarded. As you consume the food inside the jar, the glass jar is washable and re-usable. The only thing needed is another lid assembly for the next canning process. Very old school form of survival food, long term storage technique, but also very effective. Homemade survival food kit.

Be prepared.

Grandma really did know her stuff about keeping her family ready to survive a food emergency. Thanks granny.. You can Too, Find Out How

Using Proper Storage Technique As You Survive A Food Emergency

Hey, OK. I've been away for a few weeks on vacation. Had a great time, but I'm back now and need to get caught up on reality and on my input here at surviveafoodemergency.

So I'm gonna jump back in kinda where I was before, with being prepared to survive a food emergency and doing it correctly with proper storage.

Actually, many of my previous essays here have been supported by or "inspired" by some current natural disaster that illustrated the real neccessity for some type of planning of food storage and survival kits. Hurricanes were a big story this year and thankfully that season is for all practical purposes, over. Tornadoes were a very real issue in my neighborhood and another first hand example of the need to be prepared to survive a food emergency.

I was beginning to think that the next event to relate to a disaster need was going to be major economic collapse and panic, with the markets going so freakin' crazy, losing a third of our savings in a couple of weeks, gas prices were still high, although thankfully they have dropped about $1.75/gal in that same time frame. So I guess it truly does point out that an economic crisis could believably be a cause for need of survival food storage and kits.

But, to get back on point, food spoilage can be caused by pests getting in to your food or from the growth of molds and bacteria. Proper storage of food can help slow down and or eliminate this problem. Food storage containers are not hard to aquire; plastic, glass or metallic cans are readily available and there are also substances used to prevent spoilage and to preserve food. Let's begin to look at some food storage survival options.

Plastic is of course the most obvious of choices that most of would make to store our survival food in. However, keep in mind that not all plastic containers are of food grade quality. There are three main types of material that make up food grade containers and those are polyester, polycarbonate or polyethylene materials. These types of materials greatly limit exposure to moisture and oxygen, which is what the mold and bacteria need to grow and ruin your food. This sheild from the elements is accomplished by using laminated layers of the above materials. Sometimes they include a metallic layer to increase protection from spoilage.

Packaging containers made of these materials can be used for five years and are an excellent source for long term food storage. Military food, for example, is packaged in plastic but with the added perk of metal-layered polyester that can last for a really long time, especially if it is kept under cool conditions. These would be super packages for use in tornado and hurricane preparedness survival kits.

Polyethylene material can also be found in the making of buckets that can hold up to five gallons of food. In fact these are used in most restaurants to store bulk food stores.

There is also the use of dry ice in these plastic containers to preserve dairy products, meat and some other spoilage prone foods. Dry ice is of course, frozen carbon dioxide. It removes the oxygen present within a container. Dry ice is available from many sources, for instance, I can buy it readily at the local MyMart fairly cheaply. It just doesn't last very long...a few days if stored tightly. So if you had a need to prepare for a short term food emergency and had a need for the help of dry ice in a good plastic container, then yes, it is a good combination.

Next I will move on to some more options like jars and absorbers.

Meanwhile, as always, prepare and thoroughly plan out your needs to survive a food emergency, gather the food kits or containers needed for that plan and then relax knowing you are ready as can be for crisis. You will rest better knowing you are prepared rather than worrying about how to get prepared after the fact.

So good to be back.

See how to get prepared with your own survival food and storage needs. CLICK HERE

Survive a Food Emergency With Properly Stored Supplies

Let’s think about what you may want to store in your “pantry” as you prepare to survive a food emergency. Think about what it is that you and your family like to eat under normal circumstances. Try to match that as best you can with some sort of freeze dried counter-part, or consider making your own. But, there are several types of foods that can be quite important in crisis times. Grains and legumes for fiber and proteins, dry milk products, canned items, oils and seasonings for cooking to name a few.

You’ll want sweeteners around also so try cane syrup or maybe maple syrup. Plain old sugar can be stored if in proper containers. Don’t forget honey.

Cooking spices and condiments like baking soda and baking powder, salt, pepper and vinegar, all common ingredients that add taste to your food. You’ve probably got a list of things you like to use when you cook.

During your time of using your survival food, you can expect that your “favorite meal” will not taste the same as when done during ideal conditions, but you will still enjoy having some similarity from your stored survival food.

Food spoilage can be a real issue, and should also be planned for, or maybe more accurately, against. Three main causes are from insect infestation, growing molds and bacterial action on some food items. Proper control needs to be established to ward off these three causes, and to keep them away from your food storage items.

Some Techniques of Food Storage

The correct kind of effective food storage container is vital to protecting your investment in survival food and food kits. Pickle buckets, metal cans, and glass jars to store food may be OK from a nostalgic point of view—my Grandma used them so it’s good enough for me—but from a practical angle, maybe not so good.

Today, of course, most storage containers will be plastic. These are ideal for your long term food storage because these are very tough materials that can easily withstand some harsh conditions and can have a lifespan of many years with no apparent deterioration.

You can also find vacuum-packed or freeze-dried food, wholesale, or in the supermarket, grocery stores and by shopping online.

Which ever way you go or what materials you use, always be aware of and check the actual shelf life of the food that you are storing to survive a food emergency. Some items with a short shelf life cannot be made to last even when using airtight plastic.

Food storage survival, can be enhanced by your choices of what is stored and how it is stored. Be aware and be prepared.

CLICK HERE , become aware and get prepared with your own survival food and storage needs

Understanding and Managing a Food Emergency

It is important to understand proper emergency food storage, from types of food and ways to store the different food types, to keep the stored food from going to waste.

Some Reasons for Food Storage

Probably the most common reason for food storage, long term or short, is to prepare for those “rainy” days. Natural disasters, from either weather or geological events, economic disaster, or political/terrorist activity. Any of these can and do set off panic buying at the outset of the event. Panic-buying happens when people suddenly rush out and buy food commodities in quantity because of limited supply or because of shrinking supply or due to an expected price increase over the next few days. Of course all this does is make fewer supplies available but with still larger demands.

Here in the mid-West, this is most evident, if even on a small scale, anytime a winter storm is approaching with significant accumulation of snow or ice expected. Going into a “My”Mart or any grocery store the day or evening before to buy essentials, only makes me a part of the large crowd stocking up on a few days worth of supplies. . .small scale panic buying.

And of course, the large events like major destructive storms that are not so predictable, do not allow this fore-warned buying, so the larger scale panic buying happens after the event.

The very issue of preparing to survive a food emergency, creates amother issue and that is the management and storage of long term food storage. People are concerned that the stored food will become stale or start to show signs of deterioration. This is because not all types of food last long enough, even when stored frozen.

To survive a food emergency, it is a matter of importance for your survival to understand the “how to” in times of natural disasters like an earthquake or storm, a full national pandemic like a terrorist attack, or an economic-emergency--say a stock market crash. It is equally important to know that options for storage like canning and freeze dried food can solve the issues of management and storage. Understanding and preparing for the need as well as the means, the storage means, are both important survival skills that anyone can and should aquire to survive a food emergency for a few days or weeks.

Next I want to discuss some types of foods for storage and also some proper ways to store the food for safety.

CLICK HERE for your survival food and storage needs

The Food Emergency Line Up

Being prepared to survive a food emergency isn't the easiest thing to comprehend and get your brain wrapped around.


But a picture truly is sometimes worth a thousand words.


These innocent people in South Texas are shown lining up to deal with their own test for surviving a food emergency, in the only way that is available to them at this point, after hurricane Ike came ashore in their neighborhood...by waiting for disaster relief supplies from outside sources.

Natural disasters of some kind affect all of us, no matter where we live. Your own preparations with food storage kits, water, and any other needed supplies like medications, flashlight and batteries, baby food, dog food, whatever potential need you come up with, just do it.

CLICK HERE and begin to prepare for the natural disasters that affect your area?

Hunkering Down During A Food Emergency

Another week and another hurricane in the US. This time Ike is bearing down on us from the Gulf. Do you think about surviving a food emergency more and more? Perhaps you should.

Although there are some older technologies still around that make survival food storage easy, there are also many advances in technology that help the cause as well. Not long ago, if you wanted to insure your family’s well being during a disaster, you had to go to the trouble of doing all the preparations yourself. You had to buy the food, buy the de-hydrator, dry the food, or freeze-dry the items if you could find and afford the equipment, smoke the meat and go through all the hassles of being prepared to survive a food emergency. But even that time consuming commitment was worth it because you knew were protecting the ones you love.

Not that that is a bad way to prepare, but so many of us cannot afford the time in these busy modern days. Today, you have the option to buy all of the survival food that you need, and remove the risk of being hungry during any kind of event that could require you and your family to “hunker down” for a few days. Hunker down is an official term here in the Ozarks for take cover immediately :). And if you have to hunker down, you need a few food survival kits and/or freeze dried items. Prepare yourself to survive a food emergency.

CLICK HERE and have your food survival kits in place when it comes time to HUNKER DOWN

Food Emergency Brought To You By Your Local Disaster

Do you think there were a ton more people this last week along the Gulf coast that understood the crisis and stress of surviving a food emergency, among all the other needs during a disaster, better than they did three years go with another named storm? You know there was.

Hurricane Gustav. Here in the mid-west, Gustav came through as nothing more than a low pressure system with a ton of rain. We got about 6” of rainfall in the two day visit from Gustav. No big deal. The folks along the Gulf coast were not so lucky, and let me say up front, if you are from the damaged region there, that my prayers are with you for speedy recovery and healing from your losses.

Another bit that annoys me a little is the fact that the news media doesn’t seem to think it much of big deal apparently, since the Big Easy was spared this time, there hasn’t been near the coverage on the storm and it’s aftermath. I’m quite certain though that there is every bit as much damage and loss as with Katrina, just no major metro flooding and no story line.

I also noticed that with approach of this storm, the memory of Katrina was still very real and people, including local and state leadership took the necessary precautions as did the general public, and they all had a much better plan in place. They were prepared.

Watching the new weather reports, all attention now seems to be focused on the next named storm, Hanna. Right now, there are millions of folks in the Southeast U.S. gathering survival supplies and preparing to move inland if needed. Protections are being placed to protect property and businesses. Again, they are preparing.

As usual, that is pretty much my only message. People need to be prepared for all manner of disaster, natural or otherwise. All disasters bring immediate crisis and a need to be able to survive a food emergency, and survival food storage is vital to the preparedness. Don’t wait and try to figure it all out during the crisis. Have the plan in place and know you and the family is protected.

CLICK HERE if you think you are ready to deal with the natural disasters that affect your area?