Question about food storage and water?
Posted by SAMPLE_TEXT6643@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 22 comments
I always hear about storing rice and beans which I do have I just don't store a lot of them mainly due to lack of water storage to prepare them. I aim to remedy this soon. However, I was also considering freeze dried meats instead even though the cost difference is significant regardless of how anyone does it due to the lack of water to prepare them.
that also being said I do have a little over two weeks worth of MRE's and about 2 weeks of freeze dried meals which i rotate because some of them are actually pretty good.
I have enough water stored in bottles for this and consumption for almost the whole month.
But, back to what I'm talking mainly about is, with my current situation is it even worth it to store the food if I don't exactly have a way to prepare it if somehow water got cut off?
as for future water storage all I'm planning on storing is 110 gallons in two barrels in the basement near the floor drain and rotate them accordingly.
also I do cook a lot of rice just not so much with beans, hopefully my writing is coherent
Ra_a_@reddit
If the water is not coming out of the faucets for your 20,000 nearest neighbors who have no water, food, or meds…then cooking water may be the least of our worries
cosmicosmo4@reddit
Water falls from the sky, food doesn't.
Pylyp23@reddit
Water doesn’t fall out of the sky reliably everywhere. I set up two 55 gal drums to catch my gutter runoff and after 2 years they are both about 14 inches deep. I’m lucky I live right on a river in the desert. I got two pumps and solar to power the afternoon I realized how little rain we actually get. If I didn’t have the river I’d have to dedicate a LOT of space to water storage
One-Entertainer-5499@reddit
Water doesn’t fall from the sky in the summer and hoards of people will be competing for the same creek water. Get your water game tight before anything else
RunAcceptableMTN@reddit
Depends on where you live.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
This. Plus 1
Good starting points- rain collection and a quality filter, generator for your well pump run it to fill your water storage tanks back up and shut off- NOT run it 24/7.
Gathering surface water as your last resort due to possible contamination both now and if an NBC event, as well as security issues.
polyamy74@reddit
So many great comments here about deepening the water supply, but also remember that canned goods such as veg and chicken have water that can be saved or used to cook with. Rice can be made with chicken and green beans and corn to make a soup. You can set the liquid aside and combine to cook beans in. Also, you may want to can up some beans and have them ready to eat and rotate. Then you would even have excess water from them to cook more if needed.
juancarlospaco@reddit
If SHTF there will be plenty of things to eat, anything that moves ends up in a BBQ grill.
SentenceAwkward5302@reddit
Saw dust
cjbartoz@reddit
Just store pemmican, very nutritious and always ready to eat.
thunderhawkburner@reddit
IMO I would rather have food and need to find water. Water is "easy" to find. Dirty water can be filtered and purified. Food will be harder to come by.
All of that said, stock more of both.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Water you can get- collect it off your roof and filter it, carry it from the creek or pond down the road, etc. Should you store more, sure- and have a plan for resupply.
Is it worth storing food if you don't have water sitting for it? Some of us have years (multiples) of food stored and maybe only at least a few thousand gallons of water stored. The water can and will be resupplied.
It's harder to store a yuuuuge amount of water than it is a really large amount of food.
I wouldn't try to think of it as a ratio or something. Just build a plan for resupply -rain catchment is a good start with a quality filter, generator for your well pump, etc. and build your food supply as well.
Hhhhhhhhhhhggg@reddit
Get a bathtub back to start. You put it in your bathtub and fill it. Great source of emergency water if you make your water might be shut off.
You also need to consider alternate cooking sources. Wood stove, camping stove, grill. If your water gets shut off your electric and gas might not be far behind if not first.
Ra_a_@reddit
WaterBob
nvaus@reddit
You can trade food for water if you really needed to.
nakedonmygoat@reddit
Where you live and what you're prepping for will make a big difference. So will the number of people and animals in your household.
I've been through three direct-hit hurricanes and numerous tropical storms that sat and dumped rain, causing flooding, and never lost water, for example. And because I'm urban, water trucks and other forms of relief showed up within days for those who did. Even in worst case scenarios, relief usually makes it into an urban area within 1-2 weeks.
Other disasters have other types of effects, though. If you're prepping for earthquakes, you could be without water a long time. Civil unrest can be open-ended, with no way to know much of anything, and relief supplies uncertain.
If you're rural and use well water, and if you have only an electric pump, a power failure means no water. In an extended outage, this can turn very serious, very quickly, especially if there's any reason you can't get to the nearest town or city for more water, or if there isn't a body of water nearby that can be filtered and at least used for toilet flushing.
110 gallons of water for one or two people could last quite a while with judicious conservation. For example, if the water is out for an indefinite period, don't waste potable water on it. Use a camp toilet with extra bags. Camp toilets run the gamut from bucket, bag, and specialized toilet seat, to fancy models. Sprinkle a bit of cat litter in the bag to prevent backsplash. For meals, use paper plates and plastic utensils. I've been saving my takeout utensils for years. Get some dry shampoo, baby wipes, and rinse-free bathing wipes so you don't need as many showers. Hand sanitizer (I prefer wipes to gels) is great for when your hands aren't really dirty, but you do need to re-sanitize.
As for food, how long you anticipate being without will determine whether it makes more sense to focus on canned vs dry foods. Both should be in your rotation, but if you're anticipating a "forever" event, canned will only last so long.
So this is a question with a lot of variables, and without additional information, I feel like you're asking "How long is a string?" I hope I've given you a few ideas, though.
mountainsformiles@reddit
If you don't normally eat beans then you probably shouldn't store very many. Store foods you actually eat.
It's very smart to take into consideration how much water it takes to prepare foods and then keep that much water on hand. However, various emergency situations can be different. You may still have access to water.
Like others have mentioned, if you have canned soups, chili, meat, vegetables and fruit then you can eat those out of the can if you have to without heating them or adding water.
Rice and beans are recommended to be stored together because if you eat them together they make a complete protein. They are calorie dense. They store for a very long time.
If it's in your budget and you would rather store freeze dried meat then that is a great option.
Casiarius@reddit
Should you store food even if you lack the water to prepare it? Yes, you should absolutely store food and you should prepare for a situation in which your water supply is limited.
I buy canned soup and chili any time I see it on sale. It has water and fat in it already so you can eat it right out of the can, and you can add rice to soup rather than making a special rice dish. As long as you are rotating your pantry, you can include actual food in your preps instead of just dry raw materials.
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
You got 2 gallons in the back of the toilet. You can fill the tub. Flush your hot water heater. Twice. Now. Looking a lot like 100 gallons plus. Add in some chloroflock. Has a shelf life. So you will need to replace eventually. But small and easy to use.
Pond water flushes the toilet as good as drinkable. Also have grease and rags on hand to plug the poo water hole should it back up.
ttkciar@reddit
Focus on canned/jarred foods which you already eat day-to-day and have long shelf-lives, like chili, peanut butter, and pasta sauce.
IMO the goal should be to store at least two years of food you will actively eat, and replace it as you eat it.
Also, you should figure out how to store more water than that, and equip yourself for collecting and purifying water.
RunAcceptableMTN@reddit
What are you prepping for? I keep a large supply of rice and beans to hedge against inflation and shortages. To make sure I have a deep pantry in case of job loss.
I keep a week of freeze dried, more canned meat and tomatoes and then quite a bit of dry goods (flour, sugar, salt, rice, beans, wheat, milk).
Water is pretty easy to access in my area, but I imagine if I'm looking at a long term grid down I might be doing a fair bit of pancakes just for ease of preparation.
Store what you eat, eat what you store.
CopperRose17@reddit
I store mostly canned beans, because they do take a lot of water and fuel to prepare. I am in the process of storing raw rice and dry beans in food safe buckets, but they would be used as a last resort. In your situation, a deep pantry with all sorts of canned food would be more practical. As for meat, canned beef and chicken aren't that bad if you cut them in small pieces and add them to other dishes. I have some dehydrated meat in my preps, but as you said, it is really expensive. I plan to add small amounts to soups, stews, and casseroles instead of making them the "star" of prepping dinners. Good Luck with your prepping. :)