21 Food Storage Items You Need For Survival
There are 21 food storage items you need for survival and I’m going to share these with you today. There are more, but if you have these you can survive. Keep in mind you need water, lots of water. I prefer four gallons per person per day. I know the Red Cross and other emergency centers say one gallon per person per day. I’m a realist. I need more water. But I am talking about food today. I want you to picture what you could make with these items. I remember in the olden days we would store wheat (hard red wheat), sugar, powdered milk, and beans. Lots of beans.
MY LATEST VIDEOSYears later we would give the wheat to farmers or take it to the dump. We’ve come a long way, baby. I know we’ve all canned fruits, vegetables, salsa, spaghetti sauce, beets and whatever we could raise or pick from trees and bushes. I am talking about food storage basics today. Let’s get started.
Food Storage Items-The Basics
These give you some ideas for protein, carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables:
- Wheat, I prefer hard white wheat
- Flour of choice
- Coconut oil
- Sugars and honey, liquid or powdered milk, instant or powdered
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt and pepper
- Spices-all your favorites
- Eggs
- Beans
- Rice
- Oats
- Yeast
- Powdered cheese or freeze-dried cheese
- Macaroni
- Tomatoes, canned, flakes or powder
- Vegetables, canned, dehydrated or freeze-dried
- Fruits, canned or freeze-dried
- Canned Meats
- Peanut butter
- Jam or jelly
Here is a list of food items you can make with the items listed above:
If you can learn to cook from scratch you will save money and you will shop less. Plus, if you have an ice storm you are prepared to make any meal you want to fix at the last minute. If you have a butane stove or a Dutch oven with some charcoal and a match you can cook if the power goes out. Just cook outside with the Dutch oven.
- Pancakes
- Muffins
- Crackers
- Waffles
- Macaroni and cheese
- Rice dishes
- Bean recipes
- Oatmeal
- Bread
- Rolls
- Cheesy potatoes
- Tortillas
- Enchiladas
- Tacos
- Soups
- Puddings
- Cookies
- German pancakes
- Pasta
- Mayonnaise
- Wheat cereal
- Biscuits
- English muffins
- Crepes
- Meatless dinners
- Meatless Casseroles
- Chili
- Casseroles
- Creamed tuna on toast
- Sandwiches like grilled cheese, peanut butter or canned meat
- Spaghetti
- Pizza
- Cheese and crackers
- Tuna or chicken on crackers
- Bagels
- Donuts
- Pretzels
Now, this is just the beginning of what we may all need and can fix at home, but it’s a start and we all need to start somewhere, right? Please be prepared for the unexpected.
USU Education Extension Food Storage Guide
Great list Linda – so much can be done with those staples!
Hi Tiffany, thanks for commenting! Now if we can teach the world to cook from scratch! :)Linda
Thanks for this great list!
Hi Carol, glad you can use some ideas! Linda
Thank you Linda for all that you teach. I’ve been storing food and doing emergency prep. for several years and try to spread the word. I just did a talk on emergency food storage a week ago Monday to a group of home childcare providers. I get the rolled eyes occasionally. Then 4 days after my talk Paris happened and I think it makes people think. I read your blog every day for more ideas.
Hi Melissa, you just made my day! I am so glad you like what I am trying to teach the world to do. I live in Utah and unfortunately, I get the rolled eyes occasionally too. I think some people think nothing will happen to them here or anywhere. I recently talked with some local church leaders and they said less than 10% of the people in Utah are prepared for anything. This really scares me because I live here. We need to keep teaching the people and hopefully a few will get it. I’m so glad to hear you are teaching emergency prep to home child care providers. Great idea! I applaud you for storing food storage and emergency preps. May God bless you for your efforts. Linda
I realize this is not an exhaustive list but for those who are not experienced at
raising, preserving and storing foods or even cooking from scratch I would
have added at least dehydrated fruits and vegetables. And it may be easier to
store pasta rather than make it from scratch? Thank you for making us think
and prepare.
Hi Rebecca, yes I have written posts about dehydrated and freeze dried foods. I am hoping people learn to cook from scratch because in a power outage they will have to once they exhaust their dehydrated or freeze-dried food storage. This list is to help people think about being prepared. We will all prepare in different ways depending on our own budgets. Thanks fo commenting. Linda
Emergency preps are very important nowadays because we never really know when a disaster is going to happen. Your list is a great way to start, it is really helpful. I just want to add that if you are going to buy food at the store make sure to check on the expiration dates so that you can keep and store food that will last longer than you need and also the food you buy will not be wasted.
Hi Tedd, great tip on rotating our food items. I am going to add this to my list. Thanks so much, Linda