Food storage is a practice that many people should partake in, especially if you live in an area which is prone to dangerous storms and power outages. In most natural disasters, all of the nearby supermarkets will be out of food which means you can only rely on the food that you have stored away. This won’t be the most pleasant tasting food either so try not to be too picky about the taste. The majority of the food you store will be canned food because it will last for a long time. You should also purchase freeze dried fruits and vegetables because they contain no moisture and can last for many years.
The typical person will just store food in their kitchen cabinet. But you want to have more food stored around the house just in case. One popular area to store food is underneath your bed. Just get a box or a bucket and place all of your preserved food in it. Then if you’re in your bedroom when disaster strikes, you will have food available to you right away. For those who have staircases in their homes, there should be plenty of space to store food underneath the staircase. Other places include the garage, attic, and even a shed in your backyard. Some people who are really worried about disaster will turn their shed into a small pantry. If you have a basement then you can turn that into a pantry as well. Some people even build extra shelves in their kitchen and living room that are up high near the ceiling. Then they just store all of their preserved food on these shelves and only use them in emergencies.
Aside from canned and freeze dried foods; you should also store white rice, honey, grains, and MREs. You could purchase huge bags of white rice right from the farm and place them in a room temperature environment for up to 30 years and it will stay good. White rice is cheap and will give you lots of calories and carbohydrates per serving. Honey is another food source that can literally last forever. Due to its low moisture content, it does not go bad since microorganisms are not attracted to foods with little moisture. Grains such as oats, rye, and quinoa should last for about 8 years as long as they are sealed in an airtight container and placed in a room that stays around 70 degrees. As for MREs, these are “meals ready to eat” that are usually given to soldiers in the military. They are basically like rations which can last for up to 10 years in a cool environment.
