Emergency food | TheaterFire

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SgtPrepper@reddit

What kinds of foods are these? Freeze dried?

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Responsible_Big2982@reddit

Just buy canned foods. Chef boyardee and dense soups. They basically last forever and are packed with calories

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Roguefem-76@reddit

Auguson Farms is legit. I buy a lot of their dried veggies just because it's easier than having fresh veggies that go bad before I use them. Also their dried fruits are wonderfully munch-able.

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Ok_Masterpiece5050@reddit

E foods direct for anyone wondering what op is talking about. Not sure if they’re even in business anymore

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

Yes i just checked. Not in business anymore, at least not food buckets. I feel bad for those plunking a lot of money down for that back in the day thinking they were preparing.

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gonyere@reddit

This is a perfect example of why just buying buckets and never really planning on eating them is bad.

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

Not in my case. I had one off brand that went bad, one bucket wasted. We are currently eating from the AF buckets and it's great. Not sorry in the least.

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smsff2@reddit

eFoods Global is now called GoFoods Global.

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Mediocre-Tomato666@reddit

Team Deep Pantry here. Why buy food you might hate? You wanna punish future you who is in a crisis?

Just stock up on what you know you like and do first in/first out. Guaranteed to make you happier if things go sideways and you're under extreme stress.

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

I only had the one off brand bucket. The rest tastes great! On top of that i have a nice pantry plus a little hydroponic set up for microgreens, herbs, bok choy and lettuce.

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150Dgr@reddit

Thanks for the review. I’ve been buying Augason Farms here and there on sale.

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HamRadio_73@reddit

We have purchased AF whole wheat berries (24 lb pail) which we mill into flour for baking bread. The quality is excellent and the bread turns out perfect. We look for it on sale.

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kactive@reddit

Definitely going to do this thanks for sharing!

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SaveSummer6041@reddit

Man, I love that I can just run down to the Amish bulk foods store for wheat berries at a fraction of the price.

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OwnedByBernese@reddit

I want to join the Amish before the SHTF. I’m old so I can be the old lady canning and baking bread.

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SwissChzMcGeez@reddit

Ah yes, the Amish, notably great on womens' rights. /s

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GigabitISDN@reddit

Everyone raves about Mountain House being the gold standard, but honestly AF has closed most of that gap. MH’s price premium isn’t worth it anymore, at least for me.

I love AF’s “staples” options, too. Diced onions, chopped peppers, butter powder, etc.

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This thread is making me reconsider AF. Tried some of their stuff a decade ago and was...let's say, 'not impressed'. Been defaulting to MH sales since. They have great flavor but are so salty they could be used as a salt substitute for other foods. If AF is definitely less salty I may jump brands.

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FancyFlamingo208@reddit

My local Walmarts have AF goods on the shelf. I love the single veggies, actually. Can't really have too many dried onions (they rehydrate fine in soups and such), or spinach (for crockpot meals or soups so I don't get slimy fresh spinach sitting in the fridge), or my fave?
I keep dehydrated or freeze-dried onions, carrots, celery on hand at all times. So anytime I have bones left from a chicken or a roast, I can make stock. And I don't have anything going bad in my fridge waiting for bones.

I can't speak for the AF already done meals though, I got a screaming deal on MH years ago that we're still working through. But the standalone fruits/veggies? Absolutely.

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GigabitISDN@reddit

Amazon runs some decent sales from time to time, give them a shot. Normally I don't advise buying freeze dried off Amazon because it may have been sitting in a hot warehouse for who knows how long. That's still valid but the last time I ordered direct from AF, 2 of my 12 cans were dented along the seam.

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Outside_Simple_217@reddit

How long is AF supposed to last? Mountain House says theirs is 25 years.

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emorymom@reddit

It depends on what it is. Foods with fat calories don’t last as long, don’t care what the can says.

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GigabitISDN@reddit

It all depends on the product. No matter the brand, a lot of dairy stuff is only marketed with a 10-ish year shelf life. Dried veggies / meats / fruits will last much longer. Most of my AF stuff is 20-30 years.

Pretty much every freeze dried vendor is marketing on the same range these years. But any can can get its shelf life shortened by damage / rust / theft / heat / etc.

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

25 years.

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DisastrousHyena3534@reddit

Me too, Augason Farms & Mountain House. Once in awhile we crack open a #10 cannot see if we like it. That’s how we learned that peanut butter powder has its limits.

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150Dgr@reddit

Uh oh. Can you elaborate on this?

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DisastrousHyena3534@reddit

Nothing dire, it’s great as a mix-in in other things or to make peanut sauce or dressing. But as peanut spread on a PBJ it was subpar.

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Unencrypted_Thoughts@reddit

Same, I got a couple buckets of AF and some cases of MREs for variety.

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joelnicity@reddit

I don’t understand the rage about MREs lately. Sure they’re a whole meal in one pouch but at most you’re going to get a 10 year shelf life. Freeze dried stuff gets 25-30 year shelf life

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Unencrypted_Thoughts@reddit

As the expiration dates creep up I just start to use them for hiking, camping, and fishing trips then buy another case. Having a complete meal is a great psychological benefit too.

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joelnicity@reddit

Alright, you have a good point

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Spiley_spile@reddit

Ive eaten a LOT of Augason Farms. I was supposed to do a 3 months wilderness backpacking trip in 2020. So I stocked up on AF for 2 years leading up to it. The pandemic started and it cancelled my plans. Then a giant fire forced me to move to a bigger city. I ate a bunch of the AF my first couple months after moving. Be prepared to add your own salt and seasonings to some of them is all. I honestly prefer that.

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This-Rutabaga6382@reddit

That’s exactly how i would prefer it too … I mean sure in an absolute emergency situation would I prefer it was seasoned to perfection sure but I’d rather it be a little under seasoned and me add a bit of salt than it be super salty.

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FrontEndCore@reddit

Good catch. Chemical odor means those packs are compromised. Oxygen absorbers and proper seals make all the difference for long-term storage. Stick with trusted brands like Auguson Farms or make your own with mylar, O2 packs, and rotation every few years. In prepping, quality control is survival insurance.

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banjogitup@reddit

I know it's an expensive purchase but a freeze dryer is an awesome investment. I bought one 6 months ago and I freeze dry everything I can. I control what goes into my food and when packaged correctly it will last 20+ years.

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Skip106@reddit

I'd also love to know which freeze dryer you went with. And what sorts of stuff are you freeze drying? Anything you can think of?

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banjogitup@reddit

I have carrots, celery, onion, mashed potatoes, herbs for tea and seasonings, peppers, I went crazy on peppers. Smoked poblanos, Anaheim, jalepeno and cayenne, freeze dried and I powder some and use as seasoning. Tomato sauce, canned beans, kidney, black and canelli. Jars of spaghetti sauce, beef stew, black eyed peas and ham hock stew. Cheese, pepper jack, medium cheddar, English cheddar. Half n half and sour cream

Peaches, cherries, apples, nectarines, bananas, plums, apricots.

I know I'm forgetting some things. I buy in bulk at farmers markets. High season is over, so I'll be doing more canned beans and stuff I don't have to process myself.

You can freeze dry almost anything.

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MMXXLoeg@reddit

Which freeze dryer do you use?

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banjogitup@reddit

I bought a small Harvest Right brand from Costco. I wish I had gotten a medium.

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ZivH08ioBbXQ2PGI@reddit

What are you all actually freeze drying?

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Open-Attention-8286@reddit

You can sometimes find them at a cheaper price from university surplus. Schools with strong science programs will replace their laboratory freeze-dryers regularly, regardless of how good of shape the dryer is in. I don't know how other university systems handle it, but the University of Wisconsin sells theirs through https://swapauction.wisc.edu/

Freeze dryers usually get a lot of bidding, but they often go for less than $500, and are still in good working order.

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churnopol@reddit

After watching many YouTube reviews on these survival buckets, I decided to pass on those and just make my own buckets. These survival buckets really don't have a lot of calories or protein and I wanna actually enjoy my prepper meals. They're also kinda over priced, even when they're on sale, and there's never enough egg dishes. I like using camelcamelcamel.com for tracking price drops on amazon, supporting Etsy sellers small businesses that specialize in freeze dried camping/survival food.

Every paycheck I'll treat myself to two items on my price drop notifications. This week I snagged Mountain House's beef stroganoff - four large 3-serving bags for $35.17. That's $2.93 a serving. Sometimes MRE A+B boxes are $69, 24 meals with heaters.

Etsy search for 'freeze dried', sorted by newest. There's a lot of Etsy sellers the pass off their freeze dried overstock for cheap. I wish there was a way to exclude pet food.

Freeze dried crawfish étouffée. I often do the THC and google whatever I'm eating at the moment + "freeze dried". Bro, I found crawfish étouffée. And sure enough, the next day I'll get ads on insta and fb for those same freeze dried meals.

Man I wish I could afford a freeze dryer.

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Signal_Cartoonist_82@reddit

Can you share the etsy stores you like?

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Oldebookworm@reddit

Have you tried the freeze dried étouffee? If so, what did you think?

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churnopol@reddit

Solid. That was the first 'pricey' freeze dried meal I've ever eaten. For $15, you get about what you pay for at a restaurant; quality and portion size that is. Crawfish etouffée is one of my favorite dishes to make. Bowl and Kettle made a really good freeze dried meal.

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Oldebookworm@reddit

Good to know. Think I’ll order some and make it for dinner 😊

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OwnedByBernese@reddit

Open an incognito window to do your searching…that will cut down on those creepy ads. Usually.

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emorymom@reddit

Best to have a deep pantry of real dried and canned food that you actually eat & the “kits” are usually nasty to throw at your enemies in an emergency. Believe me one of those buckets thrown from your second floor window will slow them down.

When you are buying “dry carrots” or “freeze dried sausage” the brand is less important.

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frackleboop@reddit

Agreed. My husband got notice today that if the government shutdown doesn't end by next week, he'll have to on PTO. He has enough to get by for about a month. I can work on finding a job in the meantime, but I have never been so thankful to have a deep pantry. I usually do my shopping once a month in one trip, including replenishing my pantry, and we're set on food for awhile. I'm still worried, but it helps knowing my family will be taken care of while we figure things out.

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lastofthevegas@reddit

This is exactly our strategy too. Get stuff you will actually eat otherwise you'll just have to trash it when in an actual emergency.

We buy in bulk using price trackers like PriceLasso and CamelCamelCamel, and tried to keep track of expiration dates in a google sheet.

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ArcaneLuxian@reddit

I used Thrive Life before it went under, now I use Hoosier or Auguson.

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Willem_Dafuq@reddit

Honestly I think those buckets are a waste. There’s no way anyone could keep 10-15 years of food in any event so instead of keeping those crazy buckets, why not keep a good supply of ingredients like rice, beans, canned goods, spices and just regularly cycle through it. That way if emergency strikes, you’re already well familiar with the ingredients to make dishes you like, and the ingredients can be combined multiple ways to make many different things.

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numaxmc@reddit

Agreed. My "long term storage" is just a deep rotation of the foods I eat every day anyway. Oldest foods are always ate first and replaced with new. This is really the right way to do it, anything else is asking for issues when you do eventually need to use it.

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Destroythisapp@reddit

I never did like the buckets, I just get MRE’s for long term storage.

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HomersDonut1440@reddit

It takes more effort. And folks don’t like effort.

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gadget850@reddit

That has been my decision. I buy stuff I will eat and rotate it.

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Wiinorr@reddit

The issue with some of these companies is that they bank on you not actually opening/using these.

That's why I usually get ones that I taste tested first and ones that I know have been tested out by other people in this community.

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Wild-Growth6805@reddit

Thanks for sharing!

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Cute-Consequence-184@reddit

That is why

A) you always buy just one meal first and try that before you buy in bulk.

B) just build a deep pantry.

C) build your own meals in jars so you know the ingredients and can adjust it to your own taste.

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ProtocolKitCo@reddit

I buy food safe buckets with screw lock lids and create my own emergency food the mylar bags and absorbers are cheap enough to make it worth doing i also eat the first bucket every six months to ensure the food is not going bad . once u get in the flow of it it becomes second nature to do it

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thousand_cranes@reddit

Best emergency food: stick a few sunchokes in the ground. In two years, you will have more food than you can eat.

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DisastrousHyena3534@reddit

Fartichokes

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thousand_cranes@reddit

I've eaten them about 50 times and had trouble only once. I think the biggest part of it is to start slow and get your digestion to build up what it needs to digest without farts.

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gustavotherecliner@reddit

Before i settle on a brand, i order some of their stuff to test. Open it up, look at the packaging, how it is preserved, and eat a portion of it.

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Enigma_xplorer@reddit

Well this is why it is important to test your preps and inspect them regularly. It sure would be awful to need them only to discover they were inedible or damaged in storage. I'm glad you tried them out now so you could be better prepared in the future!

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

Exactly. We are getting into the AF brand as I speak to help curb food inflation. A 2011 bucket opened tonight and the cheesy broccoli was pretty good.

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Enigma_xplorer@reddit

I'm glad to hear you've found a brand that works for you and tested it after years in storage. Afterall, it's hard to say if the other brand was gross because it just is gross or if it just didn't maintain its quality in storage like it should have. I would feel much more confident in my preps having put them to this actual real world test. Let's just hope AF have maintained their quality!

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

I think we will now just make it a staple of our diet. Have 16 buckets to go thru plus every time we go get groceries we get sticker shock.

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IlliniWarrior1@reddit

unless the mylar bagging was contaminated - the food itself was bad from the very begining >> it didn't get that bad smell & taste from the lack of 02 absorbers and good mylar is absolutely neutral ....

in regard to Auguson >>> unless something has changed - or they have been forced to make the change >>> mylar bagging was not being used in the bucket products - and there's absolutely NO WAY IN HELL the company claim of 20-30 years storage is possible ....

there's been talk of lawsuits for years over the false advertising & fraud

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SheistyPenguin@reddit

We have a few #10 cans from Augason Farms and Mountain House, mainly for bugout situations or as a supplement to what is in the pantry. It's definitely not economical (or healthy) as a long-term prep.

One thing I like with Augason Farms is that they sell specific ingredients in bulk, which makes them a great way to supplement other meals.

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LittleUrbanPrepper@reddit

There is no such thing as survival food. Better to keep an active pantry and cycle your supplies. 25 yrs on packet, oh yeah, what's the guarantee. What's the guranteethat after 25 years you'll open the packet and won't see rotton shit .

These emergency foods are like pans and shovels in gold rush. Just a money mint

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SonsOfValhallaGaming@reddit

This is why I switched from food buckets from companies and started preserving shelf stable foods to be either dehydrated or freeze dried and stored in plastic heat sealed bags and stored into air sealed containers. So far, we got enough food to last our family of 5, plus our closer friends for about a year. Our big weakness currently is water storage. I'm looking forward to having property soon and being able to start taking my prep to another level

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Round-Advertising990@reddit

Mountain House.

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Dangerous-School2958@reddit

I remember seeing Beck peddle them also. Guess the only thing he was right about was gold.

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Creative-Ad8310@reddit

i use auguson farms daily for dried veggies and fruit. use palouse/clear creek for lentils beans wheat berries oatmeal. ive never had an issue. i stay away from dried mashed potatoes other than bobs red mills. only one that has no preservatives but probably not good for longterm storage.

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HomersDonut1440@reddit

We started buying 10# cans of staples from the local Mormon pantry. We have some food crates on hand, but the 10# cans make a lot more sense.

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

Pretty smart and I bet they would take constitutional silver in payment!

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HomersDonut1440@reddit

Maybe! Never tried lol

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Patient_Ad1801@reddit

Auguson is great for random items you need along with prepped meals, like their powdered butter and stuff. Great quality

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Total_Transition1533@reddit (OP)

Pretty expensive but we loved their 10# can powdered cheese.

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slifm@reddit

Bought a Glenn beck product after all those years lying to everybody 😂😂😂 this is fucking rich

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XRlagniappe@reddit

Not sure I would trust any of the freeze-dried packets for long term use. I think Jim Bakker sells food buckets as well. They are betting you will never use them. I think it's disgusting that they would take advantage of people and sell this crap that isn't edibile when you need it. I would stick with the known names and #10 cans.

I do have some that I got at an estate sale for absolutely ridiculous low price. It's been a while since I tried some. Time to open some up.

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