So you want to store different kinds of food for survival? What would be a good fit? Fruits, Vegetables and water? If you have Survival By VI you only need water for a 30 day supply. If you are seeking other survival options consider that you should have the following to best survive in your bunker plans. Here is a list:
Beans
Kale
Cantaloupe
Berries
Barley
Seaweed
Fish
Please look at the Nutrition tab above to see the value of Survival By VI.
FROM THE PROS
Food
Whether you are "bugging in" or bugging out" you will
need food and water to survive. FEMA recommends you stockpile at least 3 days of
food and water for each person.
Below is a shop list of food items you could
stockpile:
MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) use to be the best food supply for the money. They are easy to
store and carry and they last for up to 5-8 years., however, Visalus will store longer. easier to carry and is cheaper!
Mountain house carries some great dehydrated food packs for camping and hiking. These
last up to 7 years. Be sure to get one or two heating kits. One kit heats up to
5 meals.
High calorie food rations will provide the energy you need. Trail mix also packs a
lot of calories. Try to get at least 3,000 calories a day per
person.
The best food to store is canned soup. Get the ones with the pull top or get a good can
opener (the P38 is small but hard to use). These are usually already cooked and
just need re-heated of can be eaten
cold.
For cooking the simplest is either a small camping stove (stockpile a ton of those gas
canisters) or a sterno stove. The small cans of sterno are cheep, easy to carry
and last for hours.
You will also need something to cook with and eat off of. Buy a small camping mess kit,
they come with a small pot and pan and a plate and cup. Get a folding utensil
kit to eat with. They come with a spoon, fork and knife.
If you run out of food and the stores have been cleaned out, the last resort can be living
off the land. Lean basic hunting and trapping. Know what plants are eatable or
stockpile seeds to grow your own food.
Stockpiling is a never ending process. Each time you go to the store, pick up something for
the stockpile. Cycle out food that is close to expiration and use it and
restock. Most can goods will last forever, just be sure not to get any cans that
are rusted or dented.
In a survival situation, anything goes. If you have an opportunity to grab food, even
if you are fully stocked, do it. You never know if you will need it or you can
use it to barter for things you need.
Water
You can survive three weeks without food but only 3 days with out water.
The minimum amount of water an adult need each day is one gallon. That is just for drinking.
For cooking and washing you will need at least 2 or 3 gallons.
Do some research in you community and see if anyone uses those 55 gallon plastic drums.
These can be purchased over the internet but are expensive so try locally. I
have a recycling center for a candy maker and they practically give these away.
Of course you have to clean them out but for the $1 they charge, it's worth it.
Store as many of these filled with water as you can. Keep them out of the light and stir
them every once and a while and they will last forever. If you can't get a drum
stockpile bottled water or keep the gallon milk jugs and fill them with tap
water and store them in a cool dry place out of the sun/light.
If you hear the water might be off for a while, fill the sink and bathtub.
If water sits it can get stagnant. The cheapest purification available is simple Clorox.
Be sure to get the regular with no cents and has a minimum of 6% sodium hypochlorite.
1 Gallon water is disinfected by 8-16 drops. Shake and let stand 30 minutes. One
teaspoon will disinfect 5 gallons. Immediately after treating, water will have a slight smell
of chlorine. If it does not - repeat the process.
Bleach effectively kills bacteria and viruses, stops smells and then breaks down. Its
effective germ killing alkaline property is completely neutralized very quickly. It does
not stay chemically active in tanks for more than a few days. Most germs require sunlight
to grow. Store water in the dark.
All long-standing water that is exposed to air and sunlight grows bacteria and other
organisms which may include the very troublesome protozoa, Giardia. These
organisms may cause people to become very sick. Iodine has long been carried
by back-packers for cases of emergency because very small long-lasting tablets
effectively disinfect germ infected water. Iodine is at least 1000 times more toxic
than is sodium hypochlorite (bleach). Unlike sodium hypochlorite, iodine does not
break down. It does, however, cause an unpleasant taste in treated water. This is
why back packers are given the option to carry a taste neutralizing tablet for use if
water has been treated with iodine. Iodine does remain in the body. Iodine poisoning
is of greater concern for longer term situations than is the slight smell of bleach.
In any regular situation, bleach is the by far the preferred method for purifying drinking
water because it effectively kills harmful organisms, and then it breaks down and is
quickly chemically neutralized.
It should be noted that fish, mosquitoes, algae, etc. can not - and do not live - in
poisonous water. Given the choice between two still ponds in the wild, one with
mosquitoes, or algae growing in it -- and another near-by it, which may be seemingly
clear - I would prefer to drink the water that has the organic life growing in it. The other
standing water, even though it appears clear - is obviously unusable or undesirable to
other living organisms and therefore it may be poisonous.
Take an empty one gallon jug or plastic bag and place it over a deciduous tree overnight,
dew collects and will be trapped in jug or bag and presto, fresh clean water.
You can also collect rain water; just strain it through a clean sock or other fabric if you are
collecting it from a rain barrel.
As a last resort, there is a water collection process called, a pee still. It isn’t as bad as it sounds.
First dig a hole about 2 feet across. Place a cup in the middle of the hole. Pour bad water or pee
about the cup (not IN the cup) and place a plastic sheet across the hole and put a rock in the
middle of the plastic so the plastic is a few inches above the cup making an inverted pyramid.
Let this sit over night and in the morning the condensation from the water (or pee) will condense
on the plastic and collect in the cup.
If you need water NOW and have some sand and a tube, place some clean sand in the
tube with a sock covering the bottom, pour the water in the tube and allow it to drain
through the sand. This will remove most of the large particles and dirt but will still need
to be decontaminated, use the Clorox method if possible.
The simplest decontamination method is simple boiling. If the water is relatively clear it
should be safe to drink, but you are still concerned simply boil it.
Never drink untreated water. More battles have been lost due to dysentery than bullets.
One item you may want to put together with some food and water is called a "bug-out bag" or
"get home bag."
They are exactly what they sound like. Both are simply a backpack or large duffle bag
with some cloths, food and water and kept with you at all times. These should still have
the 3 days food water.
Beans
Kale
Cantaloupe
Berries
Barley
Seaweed
Fish
Please look at the Nutrition tab above to see the value of Survival By VI.
FROM THE PROS
Food
Whether you are "bugging in" or bugging out" you will
need food and water to survive. FEMA recommends you stockpile at least 3 days of
food and water for each person.
Below is a shop list of food items you could
stockpile:
- High-calorie bars (2400 a day bars)
- 72 Hour MRE Kit or Visalus Shake Mix
- Lifeboat rations
- Protein and Power Bars
- Dried Meats
- Dried Fruits
- Dried Vegetables
- Crackers
- Peanut butter
- Instant oatmeal, tea, coffee, soup
- Drink Powders: especially those that contain electrolytes or added vitamins
- Infant formula, dried or canned milk for infants and small children
- Salt and other seasonings
- Vitamin pills
MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) use to be the best food supply for the money. They are easy to
store and carry and they last for up to 5-8 years., however, Visalus will store longer. easier to carry and is cheaper!
Mountain house carries some great dehydrated food packs for camping and hiking. These
last up to 7 years. Be sure to get one or two heating kits. One kit heats up to
5 meals.
High calorie food rations will provide the energy you need. Trail mix also packs a
lot of calories. Try to get at least 3,000 calories a day per
person.
The best food to store is canned soup. Get the ones with the pull top or get a good can
opener (the P38 is small but hard to use). These are usually already cooked and
just need re-heated of can be eaten
cold.
For cooking the simplest is either a small camping stove (stockpile a ton of those gas
canisters) or a sterno stove. The small cans of sterno are cheep, easy to carry
and last for hours.
You will also need something to cook with and eat off of. Buy a small camping mess kit,
they come with a small pot and pan and a plate and cup. Get a folding utensil
kit to eat with. They come with a spoon, fork and knife.
If you run out of food and the stores have been cleaned out, the last resort can be living
off the land. Lean basic hunting and trapping. Know what plants are eatable or
stockpile seeds to grow your own food.
Stockpiling is a never ending process. Each time you go to the store, pick up something for
the stockpile. Cycle out food that is close to expiration and use it and
restock. Most can goods will last forever, just be sure not to get any cans that
are rusted or dented.
In a survival situation, anything goes. If you have an opportunity to grab food, even
if you are fully stocked, do it. You never know if you will need it or you can
use it to barter for things you need.
Water
You can survive three weeks without food but only 3 days with out water.
The minimum amount of water an adult need each day is one gallon. That is just for drinking.
For cooking and washing you will need at least 2 or 3 gallons.
Do some research in you community and see if anyone uses those 55 gallon plastic drums.
These can be purchased over the internet but are expensive so try locally. I
have a recycling center for a candy maker and they practically give these away.
Of course you have to clean them out but for the $1 they charge, it's worth it.
Store as many of these filled with water as you can. Keep them out of the light and stir
them every once and a while and they will last forever. If you can't get a drum
stockpile bottled water or keep the gallon milk jugs and fill them with tap
water and store them in a cool dry place out of the sun/light.
If you hear the water might be off for a while, fill the sink and bathtub.
If water sits it can get stagnant. The cheapest purification available is simple Clorox.
Be sure to get the regular with no cents and has a minimum of 6% sodium hypochlorite.
1 Gallon water is disinfected by 8-16 drops. Shake and let stand 30 minutes. One
teaspoon will disinfect 5 gallons. Immediately after treating, water will have a slight smell
of chlorine. If it does not - repeat the process.
Bleach effectively kills bacteria and viruses, stops smells and then breaks down. Its
effective germ killing alkaline property is completely neutralized very quickly. It does
not stay chemically active in tanks for more than a few days. Most germs require sunlight
to grow. Store water in the dark.
All long-standing water that is exposed to air and sunlight grows bacteria and other
organisms which may include the very troublesome protozoa, Giardia. These
organisms may cause people to become very sick. Iodine has long been carried
by back-packers for cases of emergency because very small long-lasting tablets
effectively disinfect germ infected water. Iodine is at least 1000 times more toxic
than is sodium hypochlorite (bleach). Unlike sodium hypochlorite, iodine does not
break down. It does, however, cause an unpleasant taste in treated water. This is
why back packers are given the option to carry a taste neutralizing tablet for use if
water has been treated with iodine. Iodine does remain in the body. Iodine poisoning
is of greater concern for longer term situations than is the slight smell of bleach.
In any regular situation, bleach is the by far the preferred method for purifying drinking
water because it effectively kills harmful organisms, and then it breaks down and is
quickly chemically neutralized.
It should be noted that fish, mosquitoes, algae, etc. can not - and do not live - in
poisonous water. Given the choice between two still ponds in the wild, one with
mosquitoes, or algae growing in it -- and another near-by it, which may be seemingly
clear - I would prefer to drink the water that has the organic life growing in it. The other
standing water, even though it appears clear - is obviously unusable or undesirable to
other living organisms and therefore it may be poisonous.
Take an empty one gallon jug or plastic bag and place it over a deciduous tree overnight,
dew collects and will be trapped in jug or bag and presto, fresh clean water.
You can also collect rain water; just strain it through a clean sock or other fabric if you are
collecting it from a rain barrel.
As a last resort, there is a water collection process called, a pee still. It isn’t as bad as it sounds.
First dig a hole about 2 feet across. Place a cup in the middle of the hole. Pour bad water or pee
about the cup (not IN the cup) and place a plastic sheet across the hole and put a rock in the
middle of the plastic so the plastic is a few inches above the cup making an inverted pyramid.
Let this sit over night and in the morning the condensation from the water (or pee) will condense
on the plastic and collect in the cup.
If you need water NOW and have some sand and a tube, place some clean sand in the
tube with a sock covering the bottom, pour the water in the tube and allow it to drain
through the sand. This will remove most of the large particles and dirt but will still need
to be decontaminated, use the Clorox method if possible.
The simplest decontamination method is simple boiling. If the water is relatively clear it
should be safe to drink, but you are still concerned simply boil it.
Never drink untreated water. More battles have been lost due to dysentery than bullets.
One item you may want to put together with some food and water is called a "bug-out bag" or
"get home bag."
They are exactly what they sound like. Both are simply a backpack or large duffle bag
with some cloths, food and water and kept with you at all times. These should still have
the 3 days food water.