Size of suitable food store

[cumbriasurvivalist]

What is the desired size of a food store for a SHTF scenario?One year?6 months,Two years?I was thinking of one year and supplimenting this with hunting/trapping/fishing(poaching coucgh cough) and growing your own food?Advice is greatly appreciated.Kind regards DFW.

[beefy0978]

1yr+

Enough for business as usual through any short lived disaster;
Enough to ration for 2yrs when supplemented by anything wild with or without legs;
Enough to buy the time needed to plant extra and watch it grow and get the small farm going;

[bulldogeagle]

the usual quote is 1 years supply of food-per person, the thinking behind this is(American based) that this will give you enough time to get in your first harvest and your first carcase of meat(if breeding animals), this is supplemented by foraging & hunting/trapping & fishing.

[jansman]

In reality 3 mths. Is do-able.For 4 people it's a lot of grub.And a lot of space.Currently we have 5 months including the garden.

[Bladerunner]

In my opinion you can't have too much food so it is a case of whatever you can store and keep without it going off. Most tinned goods last for years past their sell by date because companies are not allowed to put a sell by date of longer than 3 years regardless of how long they last.

I would happily eat anything dehydrated if it was years out of date. Pot Noodles might not be the most wholesome of foods when they are in date but I have eaten them way past their sell by date and they were fine.

Other things like Packeted Noodles, Powdered Soup, Powdered Chocolate drinks, etc. are always good to have on hand. The drinks will help with the flavour of the water and add a couple of calories to your diet. The advantage of these foods is they can be kept longer without rotating. Buy a few each week, stick them in a wardrobe and forget about them.

******WARNING********
Eat the "Bombay Bad Boy" Pot Noodle at your own risk. You might find yourself running out of your water stash after eating one of these. They aren't called "Bad Boy" for nothing.
**********************

I always repatriate a few sachets of sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar every time I visit a cafe or somewhere similar. Throw them in a box when you get home and before you know it you are rich in condiments. When you get enough, vacuum seal them and they should last you years without drying out.

Be lucky (and exsiccated)

[Triple_sod]

I always repatriate a few sachets of sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar every time I visit a cafe or somewhere similar. Throw them in a box when you get home and before you know it you are rich in condiments. When you get enough, vacuum seal them and they should last you years without drying out.

Be lucky (and exsiccated)

When I was a young'un remember once being in Bhs with my dad, he spotted a bowl full of splenda sachets, sent me to fill my pockets....

[jansman]

In my opinion you can't have too much food so it is a case of whatever you can store and keep without it going off. Most tinned goods last for years past their sell by date because companies are not allowed to put a sell by date of longer than 3 years regardless of how long they last.

I would happily eat anything dehydrated if it was years out of date. Pot Noodles might not be the most wholesome of foods when they are in date but I have eaten them way past their sell by date and they were fine.

Other things like Packeted Noodles, Powdered Soup, Powdered Chocolate drinks, etc. are always good to have on hand. The drinks will help with the flavour of the water and add a couple of calories to your diet. The advantage of these foods is they can be kept longer without rotating. Buy a few each week, stick them in a wardrobe and forget about them.

******WARNING********
Eat the "Bombay Bad Boy" Pot Noodle at your own risk. You might find yourself running out of your water stash after eating one of these. They aren't called "Bad Boy" for
I always repatriate a few sachets of sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar every time I visit a cafe or somewhere similar. Throw them in a box when you get home and before you know it you are rich in condiments. When you get enough, vacuum seal them and they should last you years without drying out.

Be lucky (and exsiccated)

I am in the food industry.30 yrs.THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SELL BY DATE.This is not a criticism,just an observation,where food storage is concerned.Use-by is what if says.Best before means that.It is still ok to eat.

[Bladerunner]

I stand corrected (in the corner with my hands on my head, those were the days).

So, are USE BY dates accurate or was I getting warm in my view that tinned food lasts a lot longer than the USE BY date?

Be lucky (and chastised)

[jansman]

Use by dates ARE accurate.They tend to cover high- risk foods(all that stuff in the fridge for instance)Whereas the best before is tinned,dried etc.This stuff will be edible beyond that date,but nutritionally may be compromised.Also in the case of tins,the packaging must be viable.Remember the John West tinned salmon Botulism outbreak?
Sorry to sound snotty about the terminology,but where food storage and safety is concerned the terms are important.A large part of my job involves traceability and storage management of high risk foods.The idea that a peck of dirt won't hurt is rubbish. It only takes 10 cells of e- Coli 157 to cause total renal failure and death,and under the right conditions will double it's number every 20 seconds.Like I say the terms matter , but I do apologise if I upset you.

[Bladerunner]

No worries, I am big enough and ugly enough to take it.

I am interested in this as most of my food store is tinned stuff. I have eaten lots of tinned stuff that has been out of date with no ill effects although I suppose this could just be luck on my part.

I am curious to know what foods last the longest in tins or what you would recommend in the tinned category. Would you ever eat something out of a tin whose date has been and gone?

Be lucky (and Staphylococcus free)