Help Me Build Better Long-Term Food Storage (Need Real Feedback)

Hi everyone, my name is JOHNNIE. I’m building a business around long-term meal storage using freeze-drying and real meal concepts. I’m not here to promote myself or push my business in any way I’m genuinely here to learn, listen, and get feedback from people who care about preparedness and long-term food storage. I’d love to hear what needs you have, what’s missing in the market, and what matters most to you. Looking forward to learning from everyone here.

 

Welcome! I'm in Alabama and have been prepping for about 27-years, yeah, I was around for Y2K. I have stored food in zip-lock bags, Food Saver bags, canning jars, mylar bags, etc. I have some plastic buckets of Legacy 25-year food, and I purchased a Harvest Right freeze-dryer to make my own freeze-dried foods (mostly eggs, milk and meats) cause the cost is so high. I'm also planning to create a larger pantry and stock it with cases of canned goods that we use regularly. Hopefully, I'll get everything done this year, or next, then I will be ready for hell or high water, except for rotation/replacement.

 

I'm a very happy old man, thank you.

During hurricane Bertha (1996) we learned that five gallon food grade buckets with mylar liners were compromised after getting battered around by flood waters, while glass mason jars and #10 cans survived, even if they got washed out of the house and were recovered after the storm. If you pack in buckets weight seems critical to their ability to survive battering from any source.

Now that I'm older I'm learning that everything is getting heavier. During Hurricane Florence (2018) we lost a coastal home and found out how difficult everything that survived was to move. Smaller and lighter is definitely an advantage as you age or get injured.

 

The problem with most long term stored foods is they are largely a lot of flavored starch with a very high sodium content. Not much protein and greatly diminished calories. It's a bit more difficult to get the right proteins in there due to the fat going rancid. Mountain House has done a pretty good job of it in combination or "one pot" meals that are nutritious but you can eat them for a few weeks at a time before getting food fatigue.

In my opinion 99% of the other stuff on the market might work as an add in to a meal. But all of this "Cheesy Lasagna" or "Mamma whatever bean stew" isn't going to cut it.

 

The cure is called HUNGER, a couple of days of not eating will fix you right up.

 

There are a lot of people into Prepping, but most just do the 72-hour plans for short-term storms, power outages, earthquakes, etc. It would be nice if we could convince more folks to think longer term, but there is the perceived high cost. Prepping doesn't have to be done ALL at once, it can be done, for the most part, on the cheap. Just buy an extra bag of rice or beans per week, or maybe some canned meat or veggies. Before you know it, you have a weeks' worth of food, then a months' worth, etc. Some things like water filters aren't too expensive, but things like generators (and fuel), weapons (and ammunition), solar power systems, etc. can be eye-wateringly expensive. Everyone should have an emergency source of heat, like a couple of #20 propane tanks with a heater/burner on top, at a minimum.

 

Glad to hear it! At just 68, I hope to be a very happy old man...someday!

 

Sorry, but I've got everything covered foodwise, and pretty much every otherwise! As I keep telling y'all, I got me a plan! Actually, I've got plans within plans. Hell, I got Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc.! I got plans for everything from asteroids to zombies (and everything in between). I got plans for an honest to GOD SHTF situation (aka TEOTWAWKI), and I got plans if everything just keeps on keeping on too.
To quote Col. Hannibal Smith; "I love it when a plan comes together".

 

Grumpy middle aged woman here. I have a harvest right and freeze dry the hell out of everything.

 

MRE components. I grab an MRE when going somewhere, but I would really like to just grab what I want and not have the other stuff to mess with. Some even gets relegated to the "later" box and never gets eaten before expiration.
Also, freeze dried food that's good and in one meal size like Mountain House but affordable.

 

You could do freeze dried meals for people with food allergies like gluten free, soy free, dairy free, etc…

 

Here's a funny yet valid idea. I walk through the grocery store and the pet food section has bags of dog food with wonderful pictures of healthy looking food on them. My idea is to produce dog/human food. Big bags of edible food. Maybe adding hot water makes a gravy that makes it better. Better than eating soylant green.
Today I threw away old cans of food that I didn't trust eating. I like a small amount of salt but soups and chili has too much. Cans also rust inside. My plan is for a greenhouse for veggies and raising rabbit,quail and chickens. I can also feed these without a feed store.

 

The main issue is when it's just about all carbs. It doesn't last after consumption and just turns to sugar in your system. If you are doing not much more than sitting around it will work for a little while. If you are working even moderately hard you will become very hungry quickly and start suffering fatigue and headaches. I think these survival food options today need to have a good variety of more proteins and foods other than simple flavored starch and a realistic caloric intake.

After going through all of that no matter how hungry you are, you will begin to get into some serious food fatigue. Even while very hungry you will eat less and further exacerbate the issue. I agree that hunger does solve some of that issue but without the proper fuel for the body you won't do very well in anything longer term than a few weeks.

 

Currently, I'm freeze-drying mostly milk, eggs and meats, but you can freeze-dry almost ANYTHING, except fatty foods and water. My Nieces want me to freeze-dry some candy for them, but I'm worried about Skittle shells in my Harvest Right. Someday, I'm gonna start doing fruits and veggies.

 

People with real or imagined food restrictions are gonna have a hard time come SHTF, some will make it and some won't. I have two Nieces that have imagined food restrictions, and they will have to change their ways if they plan on dying from their Type 1 Diabetes. And NO, their food restrictions have nothing to do with being diabetics, they're the ones that want me to freeze-dry the Skittles.

 

I'm always amazed by Preppers that have packs of large dogs. How are they planning to feed these beasts? How much food do they have stored for them? Are they planning to eat them? I have a cat; Mittens and I currently have enough cat food for the first month, after that I'll have to feed him from my preps. I may have to look into freeze-drying some additional meat for him. In the meantime, I'll just buy additional canned and dry cat food.

 

I eat to live, not live to eat! I'm reminded of a WW2 Army Ranger that I met years ago. During the Battle of Anzio, the Rangers were cut-off and surrounded by the Germans. He survived by eating orange marmalade, that's all they had! Every day he got a big O.D. green can of orange marmalade. People asked him what he ate it with and he told them, " A spoon!". Some people asked him why he ate it and he said, " I was a soldier and it was my duty to remain strong so that I could continue fighting the enemy, so I ate it!". He had grown up on a small farm in north Alabama and had never seen orange marmalade until he joined the Army. He said that he had liked it, but after Anzio he never ate it again. Told his wife that she could have it in the house, but that he didn't want to EVER see it, smell it, or taste it! Said that he really never liked orange anything again.
So, eat because it is your duty to survive and be able to function, if not for yourself then for those that are depending upon you! Carbs are cheap and store easily, fats and proteins are more expensive and harder to store (except for dried beans). That's why I'm loving this Harvest Right freeze-dryer, it allows me to store proteins. Fats and oils, will have to be stored in a cold storage and rotated.