# Cheaper Alternatives to Wise and Mountain House??



## ___

Do any of you have some suggestions for cheaper emergency food supply buckets? There is no way I can pay $1,400 for a 1 year supply of food, and that is Wise, Mountain House is pricier.


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## Kauboy

Well (blank), prepackaged meals are always going to be expensive. Profit is the goal, afterall.

What are you trying to accomplish with your storage plans?
Are you able to package your own food in buckets?
It can be worlds cheaper, and last a lot longer.

Bulk rice, beans, oats, wheat, these can all be packaged for long term storage at a fraction of the cost of Mountain House.
Most will last 20-30 years, if stored properly.


Side Note... what should we call you?
"Member 7921" isn't very catchy.


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## ___

Kauboy said:


> Well (blank), prepackaged meals are always going to be expensive. Profit is the goal, afterall.
> 
> What are you trying to accomplish with your storage plans?
> Are you able to package your own food in buckets?
> It can be worlds cheaper, and last a lot longer.
> 
> Bulk rice, beans, oats, wheat, these can all be packaged for long term storage at a fraction of the cost of Mountain House.
> Most will last 20-30 years, if stored properly.
> 
> Side Note... what should we call you?
> "Member 7921" isn't very catchy.


I don't know... I was thinking buying rations then buying long term milk and make drinks so it wouldn't taste as bad. A few members started calling me Junior because I am a teenager though, haha.


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## Dalarast

I think we should call him/her _____. It is what he/she has been named by their own hand. No one tries to change your name 

But to agree with cowbo...err Kauboy most prepackaged meals out there are expensive. Sometimes you can find the big brands cheap on sites like slickguns and amazon; but also some of the wholesellers (BJS, Sams) I think have some as well.... Make sure you always look up calorie per serving before you ever invest ANY money into meals... and if your looking at a years supply please tell me you will sample it before you buy it. Would suck to have a years worth of mac n cheese and realize you really hate mac n cheese.

Also to go with Kauboy... stock up on your bulk goods before you go toward buying a years worth of prepackaged meals. Fraction of the cost... percent of the cost... its cheaper - plain in simple. We personally do both dry goods and we have a few months of some Wise foods (plus a few boxes of MREs). We will not be buying anymore wise foods (or prepackaged meals) and will focus on dry goods for the future though as I mentioned in the reasoning above; but also for long term use. Just like no one wants to live off MREs, canned tuna, etc.. no one wants to live on a predetermined meal plan that comes in a package.


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## Jeep

Quit trying to buy a years worth. Buy a weeks worth. And Wise and Mountain House as well as Auguson Farms are well respected. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I can't purchase a year package either but some of these are well worth the money. Find my coupon thread and learn.


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## ___

Jeep said:


> Quit trying to buy a years worth. Buy a weeks worth. And Wise and Mountain House as well as Auguson Farms are well respected. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I can't purchase a year package either but some of these are well worth the money. Find my coupon thread and learn.


I got $500 to spend.


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## Old SF Guy

When you consider that the Wise meals are roughly $3.80 per meal it changes the whole over priced equation. That's way less than a single meal at any fast food place...Unless you just eat off the Dollar menu once a day.

Others will tell you about preparing your own and they will be correct. Buying in bulk will get you a better price break....Just like buying for a full year is less per meal than buying for 6 months or 2 months.

I think I would consider a reasonable approach. Buy a little to try it to see if you even like it and supplement it with things you can do yourself...Rice, beans, canned veggies.

Also I think a case of MRE's go for like 50-75 bucks and that's just 12 meals (price point= $4-$6 per meal) and you would have a miserable day just eating one MRE. They do have the calories for a whole day...but alot of the meal is wasted stuff.


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## Kauboy

___ said:


> I don't know... I was thinking buying rations then buying long term milk and make drinks so it wouldn't taste as bad. A few members started calling me Junior because I am a teenager though, haha.


As Jeep said, don't worry with getting a year's worth of anything.
Get an extra week's worth of canned food, then 2 weeks.
After a few months, you should have a month of food stashed away.

Then you can move on to storing dry goods, like the rice, beans, and oats I mentioned earlier.

As for "rations", these are used for short term use, like MREs and lifeboat bars.
The prepackaged meals from Wise/Moutain Houes/Auguson Farms are just that, meals.
They can be enjoyed for longer than simple rations.


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## ___

Old SF Guy said:


> When you consider that the Wise meals are roughly $3.80 per meal it changes the whole over priced equation. That's way less than a single meal at any fast food place...Unless you just eat off the Dollar menu once a day.
> 
> Others will tell you about preparing your own and they will be correct. Buying in bulk will get you a better price break....Just like buying for a full year is less per meal than buying for 6 months or 2 months.
> 
> I think I would consider a reasonable approach. Buy a little to try it to see if you even like it and supplement it with things you can do yourself...Rice, beans, canned veggies.
> 
> Also I think a case of MRE's go for like 50-75 bucks and that's just 12 meals (price point= $4-$6 per meal) and you would have a miserable day just eating one MRE. They do have the calories for a whole day...but alot of the meal is wasted stuff.


I do eat off the dollar menu, haha. I thought about making ration shakes.


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## ___

Kauboy said:


> As Jeep said, don't worry with getting a year's worth of anything.
> Get an extra week's worth of canned food, then 2 weeks.
> After a few months, you should have a month of food stashed away.
> 
> Then you can move on to storing dry goods, like the rice, beans, and oats I mentioned earlier.
> 
> As for "rations", these are used for short term use, like MREs and lifeboat bars.
> The prepackaged meals from Wise/Moutain Houes/Auguson Farms are just that, meals.
> They can be enjoyed for longer than simple rations.


Is it safe to eat rations after expiration? And, what did ya' think about the whole ration drink idea?


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## PrepperDogs

Your first prep is water...then food.

As other have said, start small, a week at a time. Invest in some food-safe buckets and lids. Progress to mylar bags and absorbers. There's ton of info out there in the interwebs and on here in our own little corner.


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## PrepperDogs

___ said:


> Is it safe to eat rations after expiration? And, what did ya' think about the whole ration drink idea?


Do you mean like Ensure and drinks like that?

p.s. your name does need to change. if you can't come up with anything i'm sure we can.


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## Salt-N-Pepper

I officially name thee "Blank"


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## ___

PrepperDogs said:


> Do you mean like Ensure and drinks like that?
> 
> p.s. your name does need to change. if you can't come up with anything i'm sure we can.


Never heard of insure. I thought about grinding it up, blending it with milk and some tasting plants I find in the wild. How about tree for a name?


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## Jeep

Ok tree, your going to have hunger problems if you try to drink your way to satisfaction. Solid foods you will need for long term.


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## paraquack

Most things come out the way they go in. No solids in, few solids out, but lots of odor. I know it's not completely accurate, but have you ever changed a new born's diaper.


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## Kauboy

I'm not familiar with a "ration drink".
Kindly define your version of what a "ration" is.


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## BagLady

Grow your own, hunt, and learn to can food.


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## ___

Jeep said:


> Ok tree, your going to have hunger problems if you try to drink your way to satisfaction. Solid foods you will need for long term.


Solid?


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## ___

paraquack said:


> Most things come out the way they go in. No solids in, few solids out, but lots of odor. I know it's not completely accurate, but have you ever changed a new born's diaper.


Nope, and I don't look forward to either!


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## ___

Kauboy said:


> I'm not familiar with a "ration drink".
> Kindly define your version of what a "ration" is.


Get the bars, powdered milk, and some wild tasties and blend it into a drink.


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## ___

BagLady said:


> Grow your own, hunt, and learn to can food.


My biggest thing I wanted to do is restore this dead swamp and fill it up with fish


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## Jeep

Then do that. It may be a source of info for us all. This is a bigger picture JR. Learn from here and teach as well


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## Auntie

Water, peanut butter, cans of soup (on sale if possible), and something you know how to cook like rice or pasta. You can cook the rice or pasta and pour the soup over it. If you like sardines those are another great thing to have on hand. They usually have a long shelf life and provide a lot of essential nutrients. Oatmeal is always good for breakfast or lunch. You should be able to buy some of these things over a period of time and build up a reserve.


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## 1skrewsloose

Not sure what your usual diet is, but I get looks all the time at the local market when I buy 20 lbs. of rice in one bag. Do some searches. I use allrecipes.com , cooks.com. , there's many others. pick what you like to eat, and stock for that. Most long term commercial food is just a sample of what you can buy and store yourself. The only gimme is the sites that offer canned meats, bacon and the likes, really spendy though. How will I survive without bacon!!! Just a P.S., most of that stuff is pasta or rice, which is cheaper than dirt.


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## ___

1skrewsloose said:


> Not sure what your usual diet is, but I get looks all the time at the local market when I buy 20 lbs. of rice in one bag. Do some searches. I use allrecipes.com , cooks.com. , there's many others. pick what you like to eat, and stock for that. Most long term commercial food is just a sample of what you can buy and store yourself. The only gimme is the sites that offer canned meats, bacon and the likes, really spendy though. How will I survive without bacon!!! Just a P.S., most of that stuff is pasta or rice, which is cheaper than dirt.


Haha, as much as I love bacon, I eat it 2 or 3 times a year.


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## Ripon

$1400 is a bunch,

How about $300. Get a Costco package of veggie stew, rice and lentil beans (the three run you about $200). Then with $100 score about 110 cans of veggie beef or chicken soup / concentrate. Each of those cans combined with a dose of the stew, rice or beans (or all three) will likely get you through 3 days - not in the best fashion mind you - but alive. If you can swing $100 more add some oatmeal for breakfast and (kind that adds water) and the same for pancake mix.



___ said:


> Do any of you have some suggestions for cheaper emergency food supply buckets? There is no way I can pay $1,400 for a 1 year supply of food, and that is Wise, Mountain House is pricier.


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## 1skrewsloose

1skrewsloose said:


> Not sure what your usual diet is, but I get looks all the time at the local market when I buy 20 lbs. of rice in one bag. Do some searches. I use allrecipes.com , cooks.com. , there's many others. pick what you like to eat, and stock for that. Most long term commercial food is just a sample of what you can buy and store yourself. The only gimme is the sites that offer canned meats, bacon and the likes, really spendy though. How will I survive without bacon!!! Just a P.S., most of that stuff is pasta or rice, which is cheaper than dirt.


Yea, I shouldn't eat it either, high cholesterol, (sp), but so what, I eat what I want when I want, and when I can afford it! God put us here to enjoy this world! We all have to go sometime, why go with regrets of not having bacon or whatever your fancy is!!


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## Zed

In 500$..i would be able to buy 3 years food for my whole family in India!!

First start with water..Make sure you got good amount of it..
then stack, rice, beans, condiments, oats, and any protein you like for atleast a year, then think what can you grow..for sustainable living after SHTF..
like chickens, rabbits, goats, fish ponds, aquaponics etc..


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## Maine-Marine

If I mwas going to spend $500 prepping...

I would go to the LDS online store and buy cases of rice, beans, wheat, oatmeal, etc
some canned chicken from aldi's


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## Dalarast

We should all just start a international business where we (at our own locations) store and seal food in buckets and distribute for a 50% markup of all goods. With the international aspect it would result in higher marketing sense and would be able to offer cheaper shipping....

Hmmmm $500 spend.. give $250 worth of dried goods would still result in more than a WISE order for $500 would give you 

Prepperforums.net - Prepping Food made by Preppers. Order now and spend over $500 dollar and receive a promo code to receive "Living Off the Grid" from Amazon for .99


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## 2000ShadowACE

Last x-mas i received a vacuum sealer from my kids. since then we have put away almost a years worth of food ranging from rice and beans to flour and powdered milk. Instead of a bucket. we have been putting ours in rubbermaid totes which are easier to stack. I also use the sealer to seal meat before it goes in the freezer. this extends the time it can be frozen without getting freezer burnt. I know some people who even vacuum seal ammunition and bury it in caches along the route to their BOL. A good vacuum sealer is expensive to start out, but the money you save in the long run will pay for itself over time.


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## ___

Dalarast said:


> We should all just start a international business where we (at our own locations) store and seal food in buckets and distribute for a 50% markup of all goods. With the international aspect it would result in higher marketing sense and would be able to offer cheaper shipping....
> 
> Hmmmm $500 spend.. give $250 worth of dried goods would still result in more than a WISE order for $500 would give you
> 
> Prepperforums.net - Prepping Food made by Preppers. Order now and spend over $500 dollar and receive a promo code to receive "Living Off the Grid" from Amazon for .99


If I spend $500 I still have to pay for the book?!?!


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## Will2

1400 is relatively cheap for a year if it really lasted that long.

Only about 20$ per weerk or 3$ per day or 1$ per snack/meal
Its cheap.

A cheaper alternative. 24 8kg bags of rice say 7$ each. You only want 12 though. Get 12 to 24 buckets with an airtight seal price will vary. Get 24 8kg bags of atta flour. and another 24 buckets. The flour will cost about 150

Buy some rice. Pick some oils vegetable oips arebcheapest. 24 liters may run 100

12 bottles of multivitamins, caffeine pills etc. May run 75$

Get protein powder 24 5lb bottles of whey isolate will run About $500. Powdered milk will be less

Anither 20$ for salts get a variety that will treat radioactive exposures

Grab a box or two of baking soda etc.. to not just for baking but decontamination too

Same goes for wood ash charcoal. Having wood that produces good charcoal and ash and sawdust can be highly beneficial for dietary fibre. You can even harvest from nature. Birch and maple syrup and cambiuwmm or trees etc.. if the fall in a windfall

The mormons have this down. Contact one of their storage centers on the lowdown. They have good info on this.


You are going to want a well or water




you could also try to buy by the ton which is the cheapest way to get food 

by importlogistics can increase those cost no toledo depending on how close you are to the port of entrylikewise buying from your own local farmers will be your hopefully cheapest way of getting access to bulk purchases note though that's a lot of commercial farmers crops to other parties so they're already spoken for

consider also a bulk buy of blackstrap molasses if you can get a good source for it


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## TacticalCanuck

Flour wheat beans oats powdered milk sugar salt baking powder and soda, get lots of it and store in original packagimg in storage buckets in cool dry place out of sun light. Use it to cook now and eat it regularily replacimg the oldest with newest. Read up on bannock it will be a staple in post shtf. As mentioned however water is first and formost. Without clean freshly filtered water your not gonna need food. Your not gonna need anything except an undertaker. However learn how to make and cook bannock. Learn about edibke plants in your area and what is in bloom when. Have a few water purification and filterimg methods and dont forget boiling filtered water as an extra precaution. Depending on the scenario and where you live the water could have chemicals in it that at best will make you very ill amd long term make you very sick.


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## jro1

___ said:


> Do any of you have some suggestions for cheaper emergency food supply buckets? There is no way I can pay $1,400 for a 1 year supply of food, and that is Wise, Mountain House is pricier.


Chef's banquet @ Costco, google it!


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## bigdogbuc

Patriot Pantry Emergency Food Storage | Lowest Price & Free Shipping!

Try here







, the prices seem reasonable. But for emergency food stores, you're going to pay a lot. It definitely tastes better than the bulk goods I would recommend, such as stuff Kauboy talked about, but you pay for it. It might be nice to have a little of the pre-packaged stuff on hand to break up the monotony of "bland" and "boring". Just cause SHTF doesn't mean you can't eat well and have some flavor...


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## Awakened_Warrior

___ said:


> I got $500 to spend.


http://www.amazon.com/Food-Storage-...PCJWK/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A1323MU065AQU
1 month kit for under $300 with shipping. 
These guys used to be on Ebay, IDK what happened, but now the only place I can find them is on Amazon. I like the food they have, its a good variety and it tastes good without all the bad ingredients, like hydrogenated oils and MSG. It's Non GMO food, that's what I liked most. It's less money, but still good food. Makes it easier to include some of these prepackaged meals, but canning your own food and prepping slowly over time as a lifestyle is still the best option. 
Just get something going, make a plan for building it out over the next year and go for it. Post a thread keeping us updated as you go!


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## K2CPO

Beans and rice a cheap. So are food-grade buckets with lids at Walmart. Buy extra buckets/lids... one for spices, one for oils (olive oil, vegetable oil, etc.)... one for a few bottles of decent scotch whiskey (multiple uses)...

Beans... get a variety. Beans + rice = complete protein. Variety can make this quite palatable.

Flour and sugar.

Powdered milk... not too bad. Stores well.

Method of purifying/filtering water.

$500.00 would easily put you into a six month food supply for two.

Don't forget the dog and the cat!

And don't forget paper plates, plastic utensils, and garbage bags. Don't waste water washing things!


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## Awakened_Warrior

Awakened_Warrior said:


> http://www.amazon.com/Food-Storage-...PCJWK/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A1323MU065AQU
> 1 month kit for under $300 with shipping.
> These guys used to be on Ebay, IDK what happened, but now the only place I can find them is on Amazon. I like the food they have, its a good variety and it tastes good without all the bad ingredients, like hydrogenated oils and MSG. It's Non GMO food, that's what I liked most. It's less money, but still good food. Makes it easier to include some of these prepackaged meals, but canning your own food and prepping slowly over time as a lifestyle is still the best option.
> Just get something going, make a plan for building it out over the next year and go for it. Post a thread keeping us updated as you go!


What did you decide?


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## trips-man

I would say to be diverse and have multiple sources and types of food stored (wise/mountain house, rice, canned goods, mason jars). Also consider storing seeds for gardening after SHTF.


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## Auntie

Buy a vac sealer and make your own!


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## Will2

Personally, I look at the prepaid meals in line with TV diners of the cold war. It makes things easier. I think the best simple guide is the LDS morman prepping regimine to stockpile "staples" which you can then suppliment. If you have the money to buy more than buy more. 

I actually bought bulk powdered milk for the first time this month. I had sugar, flour and salt previously. I try to get a months supply or more of protien powder. I usually try to have 16-20 KG of rice. (a month supply)

I am not big on bugin prepping though, as I expect the situation to change a lot if a month of being unable to restock. 

Ideally I would go for a four month supply as I likely would not be up here in Winter in a global crisis situation of prolonged duration. I would hope that there would be some public need for me at that point that would make it unlikely I would be a remote location bunkered in.

I can vouch that in dry conditions rice can last more than a year in open air or in its bag. Flour the same. It is all about storage conditions.

I would insure multivitamins too. If you wont be getting sunlight consider vitamin D. If you won't have access to meat consider b12 -- and mineral supliments such as iron and zink. For men calcium, magnesium zinc. Cook with cast iron.

Make sure you have water stockpiled. Lighters and fuel available such as wood.

Other than this stock what you want. 

If you want long term survival food it is a one off purchase for a few years. (3-5 years expect to replace and use)

Some foods have long shelf lives others don't. 

And always bear in mind, even if it ain't considered safe or is expired, it is likely safe to eat but save it for last.

Here are some other tips on suprising other items for long term storage I have noticed

Tea - if you arnt a regular tea drinker realize that it lasts a long time but may reduce in potency. I have tea that is over 7 years old that I brought up with me when I moved to northern Ontario.
Coffee - It does turn into a giant solid block but it still works.
Baking soda - this is a wonder substance including for chemical accident and nuclear aid.
Sugar - will turn into a solid rock but you can scrape off grains.
Salt - easily accumulates and keeps moisture in it but still keeps and is safe to use even if wet, it will dry out into a white paste.

Flour and Rice are major staples and keep for months without real prep. Even longer if stored safely.
Milk powder, way less volume that real milk you can get 25 litres in a relatively light bag.


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Other considerations 
Tang - comes in multiple flavours not just orange anymore - mostly sugar.
Mac and Cheese good for months as a dry food - cooks fast (wheat product)
Plastic pack noodles - very cheap to buy. (wheat product
Haldiram's Bhel Puri - my favorite high cal food very cheap for calcount Less than $1 for 800+ calories.(Wheat product with spices)

Whole Oats (these thing grow easily)
Lentils (these things grow easily and the green lentils store well)

This is sort of where I am at with cheap prepping.


Also note that - knowing what local foods are edible is useful. tons of trees have edible parts, and a lot of areas have trees. These will disapear by the first disaster winter or year most likely though if you are in a city with limited supply. Also not just fruit of trees, but leaves, inner bark, buds and others. Bears are a great source to know what is edible.

Here is a page that introduces bear diet, I suggest you learn more about animals that eat food humans can also eat, those animals are awsome sources of not only food to eat in a survival situation but foods that are likely free to prep if they are freely available in nature.
http://www.bearsmart.com/about-bears/food-diet/


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## SOCOM42

I have put away Mountain House and Wise which I get wholesale from the LGS.
Have many cases and buckets of both.
They are to supplement the bulk stores I have put up, which are the primary food source.
To be used to prevent food burnout.
Primary stores are, beans, rice, corn and wheat. They are all prepped for long term storage.
These items are the cheapest and most durable.
They are not for five star dining, they are to survive off of.
Have plenty of spices and condiments to help vary the meals.
I can't drink coffee, but I do have a couple cases of #10 cans of Maxwell House for others.
I have two years worth of Lipton Tea stored for my consumption at present rate, could spread it to 3 years.
There is about 25 pounds of peanut butter stored in the deep freeze.


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## Will2

One important thing to consider is... do you really want to stockpile foods you will gouge on. Example I rarely buy peanut butter because I eat it too fast. I break out because I eat too much of it. So I don't plan on prepping peanut butter - even though I do have a jar of it right now... quickly depleting and it caused me to breakout or atleast get clogged pours (always the nose).

I don't stockpile corn as I never feel like I digest it, it always seems to come out whole, so I don't really eat it much as I think I'm not digesting it well enough.I do eat corn tortillas though.

IMO what you want to stockpile is foods you like that will also last but also foods you don't have a fetish on and will be gobbled up.. like for some maybe there is a type of cake or otherwise.

FOr those things you need to have a prepping friend who you plan on bugging in with --you need to get them to hide the stuff really well. This is also a good time to start practicing secret caching materials. You can play - treasure hunt to test each others caching skills with it to, have some fun.


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## PaulS

If you don't have the willpower to moderate your own habits perhaps that is a preparation you need to make.


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## Ripon

Better to stock the staples then the meals. Better to spend on sustainable living then rations though rations do have their place.


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## 8301

I generally only consider food with a least a 10yr shelf life so 99% of Costco foods are out for me. We keep a solid 30 days worth of better tasting Mountain House and MRE foods. If things get so bad that we use up the 2 weeks of food in the pantry and the tasty Mountain House food we'll be happy for the less tasty Honeyville.com long term storage foods.

Load up on the spices, sugar, honey ect.


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## PaulS

I only store what I eat. (well what the family will eat)
In a time that is filled with stress changing your diet drastically can kill you. If you are used to eating "meat-n-taters" and you suddenly switch to rice and beans your gut is going to put you down hard. It would be better to taper off your normal diet giving your gut time to adjust but I figure it is best to put away the things you enjoy eating enough that you already eat them. If that means having canned meat in storage then do it. The cheap way to get it done is to can your own. Meat-n-taters is no more difficult to can than green beens, corn, asparagus or brussel sprouts. 

Instead of "rice and beans" you could insert TVP or anything that you don't commonly ingest.


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## triem

corn has to be "cracked' for you to access the nutrients in it and it also has to be 'slaked" with lime to break down the grain enough to let your body absorb the nutrients. i'ts not a particularly good choice of long term storage food, but it can be made to suffice as part of your supply, if you know how.


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## Slippy

Will2 said:


> One important thing to consider is... do you really want to stockpile foods you will gouge on. Example I rarely buy peanut butter because I eat it too fast. I break out because I eat too much of it. So I don't plan on prepping peanut butter - even though I do have a jar of it right now... quickly depleting and it caused me to breakout or atleast get clogged pours (always the nose).
> 
> I don't stockpile corn as I never feel like I digest it, it always seems to come out whole, so I don't really eat it much as I think I'm not digesting it well enough.I do eat corn tortillas though.
> 
> IMO what you want to stockpile is foods you like that will also last but also foods you don't have a fetish on and will be gobbled up.. like for some maybe there is a type of cake or otherwise.
> 
> FOr those things you need to have a prepping friend who you plan on bugging in with --you need to get them to hide the stuff really well. This is also a good time to start practicing secret caching materials. You can play - treasure hunt to test each others caching skills with it to, have some fun.


Did I really read this...twice?


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## Will2

More words -
1. The secret caches can be useful as they can also be a massive morale booster. Say if someone is bummed out then, geting something they really like from its hiding place can be met with great joy.
2. The point on diet changes is important to note. The overall psychology through physiological response can go both ways. That is why prepping food is not the big picture. You need to have a food plan that you actually use and rotate your stockpiled food, or at minimum that you atleast try the foods you plan on eating later, what if the food item is contaminated, or subject to recall you arn't aware of, or your specific product has a flaw? What if after buying it and storing it for3 years when crisis strikes you have an allergy or other reaction, gives you diahrehea or knocks you out due to glucemic content of eating a lot of that food?

I am sure mountain house is pretty well rounded as are other equivalent foods, however be sure to budget for replcacing that stuff and using it.

At some point you should plan on using it or giving it away.

I remember from one episode of doomsday preppers they spent massive amuonts of money on freeze dried foods - my guess is they now have eaten, or still have that food...

Chances are they would still be at their awsome property with no major SHTF... but their insurance is still there or they got an experience from it.


Look at food shelflife websites.

Lots of emergency resources websites have ration and food packs. 

In doing my own research china was the cheapest source of packaged rations - however India also has some cheap awsome tasting stuff, if you like curry type stuff. 

A good way of doing this is as suggested, like a food bank. Put in a bit more everytime you go shopping so buy more than you need for that grocery period, after a few years you will have excess if you spend 25% more every two weeks you gain about 4 days every two weeks that works out to 100 days of food prepp or about 3 months every year of food prepping. Within about 4 years you would have a years supply.

I would suppliment this by a lump payment of 100$ or so to buy staples such as wheat, rice, sugar, salt, and oil. Also consider buying extra protien powder if you are strong and multivitamins.

Import/Export is the way to go for lowest cost, you can try alibaba or "bulk sales" websites that deal in tonnes. If you have a group, have a truck, and live near a port of entry it is more realistic.

Look at "trading companies" or trading websites.


If you want to outdo the companies who sell this stuff, you have to go to their suppliers, but understand efficiency is often what makes profit by assembly line optimizations.


Doing it yourself would likely only be a segment of their profit.
If these are public companies look at their annual profit then look at their number of sales, and you should get an idea of how much you could save by upsourcing them.


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## Orang Pendek

In the long run, Mountain House isn't expensive when you consider you don't have to rotate it. It lasts forever as long as the cans are not allowed to rust through, and they have a protective coating on them. If you want to go cheap, and that's probably the first thing you should do anyway, just buy dry goods like beans, rice, and wheat. They are cheap in bulk and will last decades if stored properly. Basic staples will keep you alive but are bland and boring. They also require a lot of cooking (at least the beans do).


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## trips-man

Orang Pendek said:


> In the long run, Mountain House isn't expensive when you consider you don't have to rotate it. It lasts forever as long as the cans are not allowed to rust through, and they have a protective coating on them. If you want to go cheap, and that's probably the first thing you should do anyway, just buy dry goods like beans, rice, and wheat. They are cheap in bulk and will last decades if stored properly. Basic staples will keep you alive but are bland and boring. They also require a lot of cooking (at least the beans do).


Mountain House is a lot cheaper than Wise, from what I can gather.


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## PaulS

Nothing is as cheap as home canned - it it tastes better.


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## Quietsurvivalist

Funny I just did a review of storage food from PrepareWise today. Good tasting and relatively low cost, very customizable as well. I enjoyed this review a lot.

Legacy Premium Foods Review - The Quiet Survivalist


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## Medic33

then buy 500$/100/200$( or what ever you want) worth an save and buy another 500$/100/200$$ worth then save and you get the point eventually you'll have that 1 year supply
plus by doing it this way you could also get can foods from the grocery store by buying a extra 5-10 dollars worth of caned chili or fruit or ravioli 
and maybe even some garden seeds


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## GasholeWillie

___ said:


> I got $500 to spend.


Ah Grasshopper, throw a stone into the still pond and watch the ripples eminate from the center outward.

What you need to do is focus on it 1 week, then a month and then a year. There are cheaper alternatives, but it all depends upon what you are planning for. With a budget of $500, you will not get very far towards a 1 year goal, but I'll bet it could get you 2 months worth of FD pre packaged meals. My goals are 30 days w/o power in winter. Short of a tornado, that is the worst case scenario I see for myself. If I lose NG service, then I got problems in winter, then I'll have to scale down space and heat with clear kero. I got water licked, so I'm down to a 30 supply of quick food.


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## Awakened_Warrior

Quietsurvivalist said:


> Funny I just did a review of storage food from PrepareWise today. Good tasting and relatively low cost, very customizable as well. I enjoyed this review a lot.
> 
> Legacy Premium Foods Review - The Quiet Survivalist


Do you care if I share your review?
I actually worked for Legacy before they were in operation. I designed and put into action the warehouse where they got the food shipped in, blended, packaged and shipped out. Learned a LOT about the food storage industry. Legacy has good food, it's all GMO free. It wasn't always, but as of about a year ago they made the switch. 
~AW


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## Medic33

chef boyardee


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## PaulS

Anything you can buy canned you can do cheaper yourself. The other advantage of doing it yourself is that you can it in sizes that are actually useful to you.


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## OctopusPrime

Freeze dried food is mainly for military and backpacking. Long term consumption of it will mess up your digestive system and be horrible for nutrition. It's a good backup but the expense of it deters me from buying it in bulk. I store lots of flour, honey, rice, dried pasta, legumes, nuts, dried fruit canned foods and dried meats. If you are worried about cost stock up on rice, beans, canned fruit, and vitamins. Also look for mark down items in the store and go through dates in the canned goods. Another thing to do in produce is watch for the produce people to start pulling and replacing items...I do this a lot and I get great deals too and the food is fine. I bought 4 red bell peppers for a dollar for example...I ate them in pasta and salad over the next two days but if you wanted to roast them and then can them it's a great way to cut costs....another example is I bought 4 pounds of roast beef for 5 dollars that had frozen solid and was close to expiration...I work in grocery there's a lot of corners to look in if you know where to look and how to ask.


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## Maine-Marine

Go buy rice, wheat, milk, bean, sugar, oats...ETC from here....

Self-Reliance - store.lds.org

no I am not a mormon and I do not make anything from the store


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## Jakthesoldier

With $500, I would probably look into a few food grade buckets, mylar bags, a food saver, and whole ingredients.

Rice, Beans, flour, sugar, dehydrated/powdered meats, herbs, etc. 

Costo has 50lb bags of american made rice for cheap. 

You could possibly end up with a years worth of food, new skills, and the equipment to continue packaging foods.

I have a few issues with prepackaged meals like these.

1. Waste. They claim there is no waste, but you can't eat mylar. All that trash has to be destroyed one way or another. If you package your meals on your own, you can oversize your bags to get multiple uses out of them. 
2. Price. You aren't paying for food. You are paying for convenience. Someone else gets the gear and skill, you get to pay for it.
3. Flavor. Unless you know you actually like every meal in the menu, or are totally happy eating a few different meals for a year, you might end up with stuff you just wont eat. Also remember, flavor changes over the years. 5 year old chili mac MRE is yummy. Veggie omelet MRE is nasty no matter how old it is. (probably why it comes with skittles or M&Ms)


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## kardar2

I have been watching Wendy DeWitt on YouTube she makes a a lot of sense.


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## kardar2

I am going to can my own meat Wendy DeWitt on. You tube gave me the Idea,looks easy to


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## Slippy

We just bought some Auguson Farms #10 cans of powdered milk with a 25 year shelf life. I would have no idea how to do that myself and be confident in the safety of the shelf life. Veggies and Jellies, yes. Powdering my own milk?, no.


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## 8301

Quick thought. I, and many other's here figure about 2000 calories/day for emergency supplies.

Recently a customer gave me one of those wrist bands that measure steps, calories, ect. I was surprised that at 175 lbs and fairly active at work and home I'm burning close to 2800 calories a day and walking around 7-11 miles a day and I'm not sure that the thing actually accounts for calories expended with the heavy lifting ect. I do on a regular basis.

In a SHTF situation I knew I was underestimating caloric needs but figured to supplement through local sources. Still that's a fairly major gap (2000 - 2800 calories) and we would probably be much more physically active in a SHTF situation.

My lady friend who is on her feet 6+ hrs a day while working only burns about 1300 calories a day (I reprogramed the wrist band to her weight and height and let her wear it a few days. If you're large (I'm not) you probably need to figure for more than 2000 calories a day.

Losing weight is one thing, becoming too weak to function well is dangerous.


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## Wallimiyama

OctopusPrime said:


> Freeze dried food is mainly for military and backpacking. Long term consumption of it will mess up your digestive system and be horrible for nutrition.


I'm not looking to start a pissing contest...but that just flat out isn't true. The freeze-drying process doesn't use heat...and actually preserves more of the original nutrition than canning or dehydrating.


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## bigwheel

Maine-Marine said:


> Go buy rice, wheat, milk, bean, sugar, oats...ETC from here....
> 
> Self-Reliance - store.lds.org
> 
> no I am not a mormon and I do not make anything from the store


Thanks for the link. Used to have it but lost it somewhere. Dumb question but say on the pinto beans are them cooked in water or maybe just raw pintos?


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## Slippy

bigwheel said:


> Thanks for the link. Used to have it but lost it somewhere. Dumb question but say on the pinto beans are them cooked in water or maybe just raw pintos?


Raw Pintos


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## bigwheel

Ok.thats what I thought..most likely. I have tried to register at that place twice and they keep acting like they dont know what is up and do not get me registered. 
Any hints on that? Thanks.


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## 8301

Just remember that many beans can take a long time to cook, fine in the winter with a fire going but kind of hard during the warmer months.


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## bigwheel

Gotcha on that. Figure one big can prob last us a year eating on them regular. Might be smarter to buy them already cooked. Think I might work on that angle. Forty bucks could buy a bunch of Ranch Styles..butter beans..pork n beans..Glory Brand field peas with snaps..Bushes sweet beans etc.


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## tinkerhell

I think it would be better for you to think about creating a "store" of foods, eat from it, and buy more than you eat.

And, just like any store, you are going to have to be serious about not buying dead inventory. Don't be buying tons of green beans when you eat corn faster than you can buy it. ultimately, you'll end up with too much of the food you don't eat, and not enough of the food you do eat because you aren't paying attention to how your food is rotating.

Take advantage of the price breaks Allow the savings to snowball for you.

So where does Mountain house fit in? That is a tough one.

It has it's own set of advantages, but please don't waste you money or time eating the beef stew when you can "go to the store" and make the same thing.

I think it is better in your various kits and bags. And, you could rotate it into your camp menu.

It probably wouldn't be my first choice for 25 year long term storage. I'd focus on rice, beans, oil, sugar, honey,etc

anyway, just my 2 cents. I don't have it all figured out.


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## tinkerhell

74 replies later, I think my post is a bit off topic, but here it is anyway. sorry.


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## 8301

tinkerhell said:


> 74 replies later, I think my post is a bit off topic, but here it is anyway. sorry.


Back to topic,,,, cough up the dough or starve.

Canned store and Mountain House food cost $. so do farming tools.
fact of life.


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## bigwheel

Looks like a person with a green thumb would grow marihoochie. Bet that would be in high demand in the post apocalyptic world. Prob trade if for all the beans and tates a person could eat. Hmmmm.


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## Urbanprepper666

Blank first learn why you are prepping devise a short term goal reach it then continue on prepping is done by lots of research and lots of baby steps trial and error.

Learn to garden, learn to hunt, gather, fish. Living off shakes and berries won't get you very far. The best survival took is knowledge and experience, lots of the members here giving you advice are 100% correct. Long term food storage is a great prep but what will you do when it runs out? I'm a huge believer in you must learn to crawl before you can run as nature intended. I put my first garden in this year and having amazing results next year planning on doubling it, in the process of learning how to can, once we do we will run a trial and try to survive a weekend then a week then 2 then a month ect... 

Please read through the forum and read read and just when you think your done read some more use google use YouTube then come back and show us what you learned. Please don't take this the wrong way you just can't post a question and it clearly shows you out zero effort into doing the research lol however that being said this was a useful topic with lots of good advice thrown around follow it!!!


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## Kauboy

Not to stymie anyone's passion for food alternatives, but this thread was started by a member who hasn't been here since October.

Will this become the next "What was your prep of the day?" thread!!! *crosses fingers*


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## OctopusPrime

Wallimiyama said:


> I'm not looking to start a pissing contest...but that just flat out isn't true. The freeze-drying process doesn't use heat...and actually preserves more of the original nutrition than canning or dehydrating.


Look at the sodium content of your store bought freeze dried foods. To me for long term consumption it is unhealthy.


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