You want to be ready for every possible outcome, so you’ll want to keep reading. That’s why it’s essential to have a supply of non-perishable survival food in case an emergency arises. However, the most challenging thing about trying to build up your emergency food supply is knowing exactly what you include in it.
You do have the option to stock up yourself using food from your local grocery stores, but many people swear by purchasing from companies that specialize in emergency food supplies. By doing this, you’ll have peace of mind that your food has been preserved correctly and will last you for years to come.
Contents
Survival Food – What Food Should I Be Storing?
- A delicious, low fat, cholesterol free breakfast cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats cereal has just the right amount of crunch, flavor, and the nutrition you need to nourish every smile.
- Is a heart healthy cereal (0g trans fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol per serving).State of Readiness: Ready to Eat
- A great whole grain option - 10g of whole grains per serving. Nutritionists recommend eating 3 or more servings of whole grain foods per day. (About 16g whole grain per serving or at least 48g...
Here’s a list of perfect survival foods for your designated survival food cupboard, and you should be able to pick these items up from most grocery stores:
- Canned foods
- Beans and lentils
- Pasta
- Rice
- Quinoa
- Cereals
- Instant foods such as mashed potatoes and soup
- Dried meats
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Powdered milk
- Powdered eggs
- Dehydrated fruits
- Dehydrated vegetables
How to Prepare DIY Vacuum-Packed Food
- ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURE from 95ºF to 158ºF that foods are dehydrated at their optimal temperature and horizontal air flow distributes heat evenly and efficiently.
- HEALTHY SNACKS: Prepare 100% all-natural dehydrated foods and snacks with no added sugars, additives or preservatives. No more processed junk food, dry healthy fruit rolls, trail mix, granola,...
- FUN AND CRAFTS: Perfect for hobbyists to dry flowers, potpourri or dough crafts and pet lovers to prepare healthy and delicious 100% natural treats for their furry companions.
If you’re looking to prepare and vacuum-pack your own survival food, the first thing you should do is look into buying a food dehydrator. Here are the steps you need to take to prepare your own vacuum-packed food.
1.
Make sure you have decent vacuum sealer bags. Try getting them from Food Saver as they’re currently one of the best manufacturers on the market. Don’t forget to think about what size sealer bag you’ll need for the amount of food you wish to store.
2.
Take the time to prepare the food by dehydrating it with a food dehydrator. If you’re vacuum-packing liquids, freeze them first to save a lot of unnecessary hassle and mess.
3.
Fill the bags. Remember to leave some room between your food and the edge of the bag. By doing this, your seal will stay intact for longer.
4.
Use your vacuum sealer. Lay the bag flat on the counter and attach your vacuum sealer to the bag. Once the machine has finished sealing your bag, it will likely turn off. If not, it’ll give you another signal that the sealing is complete.
5.
Label your food with what it is and the date you packaged it. Put it in the freezer to store. Using this method will allow you to keep your food up to 5 times longer than usual.
However, if you buy from a specialist emergency food company, you’ll be able to keep your food for up to 30 years.
Specialist Companies
If you want to take the stress out of building up your emergency food supply, consider using a company that has the goal of doing just that. There are lots of different companies out there, and some are better than others. I’ve compared the top 6 emergency food supply companies so you can work out which one best suits you.
My Patriot Supply
My Patriot Supply is passionate about helping people prepare for emergencies. They provide a 3-month emergency food supply option, a 6-month option, and a 1-year option.
Pros
- Their meals provide 2000+ calories per day
- They offer a discount of 10% to the military
- They promise to deliver your food within 2 days
- The food has a shelf life of up to 25 years
- They didn’t forget to include coffee
- Their food is packaged in durable, stackable buckets.
Cons
- You don’t have the option to try a pouch before you commit to a larger purchase
- The buckets are not very portable if you need to leave in a hurry
- When preparing your meal, you would need to add boiling water to a pot and pour in the ingredients rather than preparing it directly in the pouch.
Survival Food – Valley Food Storage
Valley Food Storage has a great variety of food kit options. They measure their food kits per serving. You can buy from a 175 serving food kit up to a 4200 serving food kit.
Pros
- They seek to provide meals with balanced nutrition.
- Their food has simple, non-GMO ingredients.
- They provide high-quality calories rather than sugars and empty calories.
- Their food lasts up to 25 years.
- They offer gluten-free and dairy-free options.
Cons
- They don’t offer freeze-dried eggs or bakery products.
Survival Food – NuManna
- This is high quality food you can enjoy tonight or 25 years from now
- Light, easy to carry store of grab-n-go meals
- Flexible, convenient and ready at a moment's notice, the name says it all
NuManna pride themselves on providing products that are free from MSG and GMOs.
Pros
- Their products have a shelf life of 25 years.
- They offer a sample pack for $19.95.
- Their food is free from aspartame, chemical preservatives, and soy.
- They offer a 60-day guarantee.
Cons
- There aren’t many pictures of the prepared meals to help you decide whether it’s something you’d like to purchase.
Survival Food – Mountain House
- EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY - Designed to provide approximately 1,718 calories per day. 56 cups or 14L of water is needed to prepare all meals in this emergency kit.
- NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS - Meals included: (5) Breakfast Skillet, (4) Biscuits & Gravy, (5) Granola, (5) Beef Stroganoff with Noodles, (8) Creamy Macaroni & Cheese, (5) Chicken Fried Rice, (5)...
- QUICK PREP - Just add hot water to the pouch & eat in less than 10 minutes. Power outage? No problem. Mountain House meals can be made with room temperature water, just double the rehydration...
Mountain House is popular amongst the hiking community as their food is easily transportable in a backpack.
Pros
- They offer short-term kits as well as long-term kits. You can buy a kit to last 2 days or one to last an entire year.
- Their food has a high protein content.
- They have a large variety of meals on offer.
- Their food has a shelf life of 30 years.
- To prepare your food, you only need to add water to the food pouch.
- Their pouches are resealable.
Cons
- There’s no guide in the pouch to let you know how much water you need to add.
- There aren’t many gluten-free options.
- The calorie count per serving is low in comparison to other companies.
Survival Food – Thrive Life
- Club, Pantry Pack (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 137 Pages - 11/26/2019 (Publication Date) - Independently published (Publisher)
Thrive Life focuses more on providing ingredients rather than the entire meal. The idea is that you could buy the ingredients and create your own recipes.
Pros
- They don’t use GMOs or any chemical preservatives.
- They offer a selection of pork options, and this isn’t common amongst other emergency food storage companies.
- Extensive selection of freeze-dried vegetables.
- Recipe ideas are provided.
- Their food has a shelf life of 25 years.
Cons
- Their products are not easy to stack, as a result they have the potential to take up a lot of space.
- They don’t offer any bulk-buy options.
- Their focus is simplicity and reducing the amount of time people spend at the grocery store, rather than providing food survival kits.
Survival Food – Augason Farms
- Total Quantity: 10 pails (158 food pouches)
- Total Servings: 1,116 servings (excludes cheese powder)
- Total Calories: 204,640
Augason Farms was established in 1972, which means it’s been around for a long time. You can buy their products from many stores, including Walmart and Costco.
Pros
- They’re one of the most cost-effective companies and offer free delivery on any of their 6-month or 1-year kits.
- Their products are sold in many stores, making them easily accessible.
- The shelf life of their products is 30 years.
- They offer short-term emergency supplies from 72 hours upwards.
Cons
- Their products are low in protein and don’t contain much meat.
- They don’t offer free samples, so you’d have to spend a minimum of $30 to sample their products.
- You need to boil the ingredients in a pan with water rather than add boiling water to a pouch.
- The kits are quite basic.
Survival Food – Conclusion
- Cobb, Jim (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 208 Pages - 03/08/2020 (Publication Date) - Ulysses Press (Publisher)
You should now be fully equipped with all the information you need to begin building your emergency food supply, so go get started!
It’s impossible to say which company is the best because they all have their pros and cons, but now you’ll be able to decide which one is best for you and your needs.