Haven't seen this come up in a while and I want to get folks thoughts When I was out of work I had about a years worth of food for the family (10 of us) put up. What little money I made or got from unemployment was able to be spent elsewhere with the exception of flour, animal feed etc.
One of my mistakes was I purchased lots and lots and lots of canned goods. Now I love having lots of them, but this time around I don't want my food storage to consist of mainly wet pack. I am wanting more of a rounded mix, and with the weather being a bit off this year, I don't want to have to worry about power/heat etc. Also, wet pack foods are cheap to a point.. but buying bulk dry goods will stretch my budget farther.
Which has led me to looking at long term storage of grains, beans, rice, wheat berries etc. I am going to start packing into 5 gal buckets with mylar bags and an o2 absorber sealed in there. This way I can put it in the dark damp corner of the basement room (where I am venting to make a true root cellar enviroment) without worry it'll get wet, or ruined. That area keeps a constant 40 degrees in the winter and about 55-60 at the highest in the summer. The humidity down there is clammy though.. may have to work at that...
Any suggestions on quanities per person? I know packing dry will eliminate many of the preservatives and salts that commercially canned foods have and looking for a good balance. How much wet to dry?
PS, in a worst case scenario; I am bugging in, not out unless pushed. And if I bug out it'll be a 6 hour drive and I want to at least have food that that can be quick and easy to move (not 50,000 loose cans rolling around)
One of my mistakes was I purchased lots and lots and lots of canned goods. Now I love having lots of them, but this time around I don't want my food storage to consist of mainly wet pack. I am wanting more of a rounded mix, and with the weather being a bit off this year, I don't want to have to worry about power/heat etc. Also, wet pack foods are cheap to a point.. but buying bulk dry goods will stretch my budget farther.
Which has led me to looking at long term storage of grains, beans, rice, wheat berries etc. I am going to start packing into 5 gal buckets with mylar bags and an o2 absorber sealed in there. This way I can put it in the dark damp corner of the basement room (where I am venting to make a true root cellar enviroment) without worry it'll get wet, or ruined. That area keeps a constant 40 degrees in the winter and about 55-60 at the highest in the summer. The humidity down there is clammy though.. may have to work at that...
Any suggestions on quanities per person? I know packing dry will eliminate many of the preservatives and salts that commercially canned foods have and looking for a good balance. How much wet to dry?
PS, in a worst case scenario; I am bugging in, not out unless pushed. And if I bug out it'll be a 6 hour drive and I want to at least have food that that can be quick and easy to move (not 50,000 loose cans rolling around)