Food Storage Choices

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Which Survival Food is Best?

What type of food reserve is best for survival preparedness?

I have sorted through the pros and cons of various survival food options below with these needs in mind.

Two options that you may not be as familiar with are MRE (meals ready to eat) and Freeze Dried Food. MRE is what the military uses for mobile activities, but it is available from the same manufactures as civilian MRE.

Freeze dried food is a more longer storing type of food reserve that is also used by the military and government agencies.

Both freeze dried and MRE are often overlooked. When we first start thinking about food preparedness, we think bulk food storage such as bulk rice, bulk wheat, bulk flour, bulk sugar, and canned food reserves. These bulk foods have some real drawbacks. So you would be severely limiting your choices if you did not consider MRE and freeze dried food.

Freeze dried food and MRE have long to very long storage life for emergency food reserves and most importantly require little or no preparation, water, and no cooking equipment.

Here are some commercial examples of MRE & freeze dried food;

See Examples of Various Freeze Dried Food Reserves

Family & One Year Food Reserves

See Examples of Various Bulk MRE (meals ready to eat)

If you take just a few minutes to read below about the advantages and disadvantages of survival food options to make a wiser more well informed choice.

Survival Food Options

What are the options for food emergency preparedness?

The conventional wisdom offered by our governments and dedicated survivalists is to go to your local supermarket or big box store and buy canned food and dry grains and carefully store them. There are limitations to this survival food strategy that are highlighted below.

Survival Food Option – Buy Canned Food and Dry Grains

Buy the canned foods, grains, and bottled water as many government agencies recommend. Store in your house or apartment.

Advantages

Can be done in a few hours or less for a 72-hour or one week reserve.

Disadvantages

Most will forget and some will not store it properly so it will be useless when it is needed. Did you do this years ago? Go look at this food now and check the expiry dates on canned goods and check grains for mold infestations, rodent invasions, etc.
Canned foods are bulky and heavy, space is often limited people will not be able to store much
Grains need a lot of water to cook to eat and water may be unavailable or scarce in a disaster.
You will need to spend a lot of time preparing food
Canned foods destroy appetites and morale quickly. Even unexpected allergic type reactions can occur if the types of food in a diet are drastically changed.

Survival Food Option – Buy Canned Food and Dry Grains and use them regularly on an “inventory cycle” plan

Same strategy as the first option, except you actively manage storing and ‘cycle’ inventory of goods. As you buy new food you use up the old canned food so that the food store is less than the expiry date of the canned food.

Advantages

Food will not be bad when you need it

Disadvantages

Most people do not have the time, space, or inclination to do this
Grains need a lot of water to cook to eat and water may be unavailable or scarce.
You will need to spend a lot of time preparing food
Canned foods will destroy appetites and morale quickly

Survival Food Option – Buy MRE’s

See Examples of Various MRE (meals ready to eat) Reserves

Advantages

Easy to store and lasts upto 5-7 years in a cool dry place.
Easiest and fastest preparation time possible and can be heated fast with “MRE heaters”
Can be ordered online in minutes, delivered to your house. You will only have to spend less than 30 minutes storing it.

Disadvantages

Relatively expensive per meal ($6-$7) and for extended reserve of 6 weeks, 3 months, or a year a lot space required to store.
Lasts only 5-7 years so you will need to buy a replacement reserve relatively soon. Hopefully you do not live in a place where there is a disaster that often.
Tastes like canned food which will destroy appetites and morale quickly

Survival Food Option – Buy Freeze Dried Food

See Examples of Various Freeze Dried Food Reserves

Advantages

Easy to store and can last up to 30 years.
Fast simple preparation just add water. But only water that is needed to hydrate the food, much less than cooking.
Once hydrated, freeze dried food taste is very close to original food taste.
Light weight easy to store large qty (Mountain house #10 cans) of food for reserves of 6 weeks, 3 months, or a year. A 6 week food reserve can fit under a bed!
Can be ordered online in minutes, delivered to your house. You will only have to spend less than 30 minutes storing it.
Good economical choice – cost can be less than $3.00 per meal.

As you can see there are a lot of benefits to Freeze Dried Food over the other options making it the superior choice as a bulk survival food.

The Survival Review