# Store bought bulk items instead of freeze dried survival food



## mng262003 (Jan 6, 2016)

Hi, I am VERY new to the prepper lifestyle, and I am curious...when buying food to store, what are the benefits of buying freeze-dried ready made meals as opposed to buying bulk foods that would probably last almost as long? Is it cheaper, easier, or do some people just choose to do one or the other? I apologize for my simple questions, as I said, I am very new to this and there aren't many people in my community or anybody I know that feel prepping is important. I don't have anybody else to ask. Thank you


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

What we do, is buy our canned goods when they are on sale. 
Say, this week green beans, lima beans, and corn are on sale. We will buy 12 (one flat carton) of each and put them in the pantry.
I have been known to buy 50 or more cans of veggies at a time. Around here that does not raise any eyebrows.
Canned soups are good to stock pile also.
The same with glass jars of spaghetti sauce, like Ragu.

Each payday we stock up, buying only what is on sale. Sales go in cycles at the store, usually 8 weeks for canned goods. If you miss a sale on canned beans, just wait, it will come back around.

We also buy a 12 pack of tuna once a month, it builds up fast.
Boxed spaghetti, rice, dried beans are good to keep.
In the near by city is a Vietnamese grocery that sells 50 pound bags of rice. I bought 2, and the wife divided them up in a number of 5 gallon food buckets. You could do the same thing with 10 or 20 pound bags.

We try to keep a minimum of one years worth of food on hand.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Good advice from RPD.

If you have a garden/orchard get a pressure canner and make your own.


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

I added a 6 months of balk food from Wise Food . com to my supply .


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I do not own any freeze dried meals...

Rice, beans, wheat - I buy and myler myself or buy through the LDS.Store
powdered milk I mylar

I buy soup and veggies on sale WITH COUPONS . I paid 25¢ a can for libbys veggies and have several hundred cans (green beans, peas, carrots, and corn)
Soup campbells i have several hundred cans at 24¢ a can

canned ham and spam I need more. 
I have canned chicken also along with canned ground beef 
spaghetti noodles I get from LDS or local store on sale

AS ALWAYS - IMHO best by dates are not really important for can goods that are kept cool and dry so they do not freeze or rust

I think that freeze dried meals are too expensive


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Let me make a few other points


calories = compare a can of Old El paso refried beans, about 20¢ after coupon to a similar freeze dried item.... 
Cost, calories, Shelf life -I think the canned food will win.... only advantage for freeze dried is weight

Shelf life - unless a can is damaged it will be good for YEARS after its best by date... 

many freeze dried foods are in large cans and once opened you have to use them sooner then late

freeze dried meals in mylar run the risk of being punctured cut or damaged

AND... many times when they say 1 month - they are talking meals not calories

AND LAST - you need water... If I open a can of corn, peas, carrots...i have water


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## OctopusPrime (Dec 2, 2014)

I only buy a few freeze dried meals and use them for camping and hiking. My main food stores consist of dried pasta, dried fruit, dried meat, nuts, quinoa, brown rice, white rice, canned food, sugar, spices, salt, flour, masa, dried yeast, chocolate, molasses, and honey as some major examples.

It is much cheaper to buy bulk food and it is also much more healthy for your body. If you ate freeze dried food as your main diet I'm pretty sure you would be constipated with high blood pressure.


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## CTHorner (Aug 6, 2013)

For me I buy in bulk and in batches. When I get them home and write the date on the top of each can, box etc, with a sharpie. Then I face and front, with the first in first out system. I eat what I cache, trying to keep a year ahead.

Then I have my long term storage, which I rotate through annually. Pulling some of it forward and replacing it with new.

This recently came in handy when I was sick and had to take a year off without any real income. I never missed a meal.

CT.


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## reartinetiller (Feb 26, 2015)

Don't buy the freeze dried stuff. You can get anything from the grocery store, beans, rice, noodles to keep in storage. I also can a bunch of stuff from the garden. When meat comes on sale, can that and make the broath too. You will be suprised on how much stuff you can save up in a year. Roy


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

All good advice. But we take it one step further and that is summed up in one word; Diversify!

We break down our food stores into 3 Category's

Short Term Up to 4/5 years: Canned and packaged foods that we Eat/Store based on their "Best Used Date". We use a set of Bins in our stock room/basement and rotate accordingly. This includes both store bought and self canned foods. Also fresh foods that we buy and that we grow. 

Medium Term up to 7 years; Dried foods (beans, rice, pasta, flours, etc) that you can store in mylar bags with Oxygen Absorbers. 

Long Term up to 25 years; Prepackaged long term products from Augason Farms, Wise Foods and Mountain House etc.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I have some Freeze Dried from Augason, maybe 24 meals for on the go.
Otherwise I buy bulk from the Amish/Mennonites, and sales at retail grocery stores


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Slippy said:


> All good advice. But we take it one step further and that is summed up in one word; Diversify!
> 
> We break down our food stores into 3 Category's
> 
> ...


My methodology has already been posted, so I will simply say ^^^^^^^^^^


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Like Slippy I buy both. I also keep MRE's on hand. They are nice for on the go, for bug outs and for patrols. Once they get some age on them then I use them for camping and other outdoors events.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Slippy said:


> All good advice. But we take it one step further and that is summed up in one word; Diversify!
> 
> We break down our food stores into 3 Category's
> 
> ...


I second this approach.


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## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

Long term storage of natural food products is the way to go. Rice beans wheat flour sugar tea coffee lots and lots of salt stored in mylar air tight with a few oxygen absobers. 

Oats groats i mean the list goes on. Canned good that are rotated. 

Freeze dried meals are great when your on the run and need a quick fix. Taste is not bad and usually high calorie. Costly though. Having some is fine but the natural way is the way i would do bulk storage.


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## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

Dry beans and rice is a good place to start, I have vacuum sealed quite a bit of them. I figure if push comes to shove, they are good foods that other stuff can be added to, so a person, at least isn't gonna starve. Like already mentioned, can goods when on sale is a good buy, but don't forget to rotate stock, use the old, and replace it with the new. I'm not gonna bad-mouth the prepackaged meals, I have never bought any yet.
It's not really rocket science, just have enough food (and water) on hand to last some time IF for some reason a person cannot be supplied from a store.


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