Having something like a survival food kit meant that you were labeled a “preparer” as that’s a bad thing somehow. Preparers were often laughed at and called “conspiracy theorists” for their beliefs in preparing themselves and their families for each and every setback that life could present. However, since the pandemic, hackers shutting down gas pipelines and meat makers, rising food costs, weather disasters, and threats of war, ordinary people are beginning to think that maybe they too They should at least have a survival food kit on hand.
Starting to build a survival food kit can seem overwhelming to many at first. What foods to add to the kit for better nutrition? How long will the food last? How should I store the kit once it is configured? These are just a few of the questions you may be asking yourself, and the reason this is so is because you are used to buying what you like to eat and only what you need for the next week every time you go to the grocery store. groceries. Building a survival food kit doesn’t have to be too complicated if you go through the process step by step.
Step 1: Decide on the purpose of your survival food kit.
You will need to ask yourself a few questions to determine the primary use for your food kit in the first place. Are you preparing the food kit for emergencies or conditions that confine you to your home or for situations where you will need to grab the food kit, get in your car, and drive off? Will the kit be designed to stay in the car in an emergency while in the car away from home? Will the kit be expected to feed you and your family for a few days or weeks or even months?
Step 2: Determine the storage location for your survival food kit.
Once you have decided on the purpose of your food kit, you will need to determine where in your home or car you want to store your food. You will need to consider the anticipated size of the food supply, which is directly based on how long the food should be able to feed you and your family, as this will limit your options for storage space. Obviously, your car has limited space, so a 6-month supply of food probably won’t fit well or that such a large amount of food is needed in your car anyway.
The storage location of your survival food kit can greatly affect the shelf life or longevity of the food in your kit. You’ll want to store your food in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight to make sure the food stays good to eat for as long as possible. Find a place in your home that meets these criteria and make sure there is enough room for the amount of food or the total size of your team.
Step 3: Gather or buy food for your survival food kit.
As a general guideline, remember that you will want to store the food you already eat. There is no point in storing a ton of cans of tuna if you and your family don’t even like to eat it. Even if you have additional funds to buy foods that can be stored freeze-dried long-term, you will want to choose the types of foods that you and your family already eat in their “fresh” form. Stick with the foods you like, but try to add a balance of nutrition to your kit in the process.
With that said, there are certain foods that just can’t be stored well, period. Foods that are high in fat or moisture generally don’t store well. Dry pasta, rice (white), flour, sugar, and oats store quite well if stored in the proper sealed containers and in the right environmental conditions. Canned goods generally store quite well, however you may consider choosing things like dried beans over canned beans for a longer shelf life and less weight.
You can buy powdered alternatives for things like milk, eggs, butter, and even peanut butter. Powdered dry foods are never exactly the same as their fresh counterparts, even when reconstituted, however they can be quite good in many recipes.
Step 4: Repackage the food for longer storage, if necessary.
Many foods can be repackaged to provide a better shelf life. All your dry foods will store well in a simple sealed container, however they can also be placed in mylar bags along with oxygen absorbers and / or desiccant packets to control moisture. You can then vacuum seal the mylar bags for maximum protection for the food in your kit. Many long-term freeze-dried foods that can be purchased are already packaged similarly for longevity, so repackaging is generally not necessary.
Step 5: Eat and rotate the foods from your survival food kit.
One of the key steps to your survival food kit is remembering to rotate foods that have reached or passed their expiration date and replace them with fresh replenishments. The easiest way to do this is to simply eat foods from your kit every now and then and replace them quickly. Again, this is why you will only want to store food in your kit that you and your family want to eat.
Always eat the oldest foods in the kit first to ensure proper rotation. You may be tempted to choose a particular item from the kit based on what you “feel like”, however you should avoid this and choose items that are closer to the end of their useful life first.
As an added tip, you may want to include items like can openers, spice or condiment packets, fire-lighting and cooking tools, etc. in your survival kit too, for convenience, especially if your kit will be the takeout type. Having these items in your kit can save time and can make the experience of any disaster or situation that requires accessing your food kit in the first place less stressful to handle.