There are numerous benefits to getting into the habit of storing food, which span from saving money to maintaining a well-balanced diet year-round. Most importantly, understanding how to maximize your food storage can alleviate stress and provide a sense of security.
The main purposes of storing food include preparing for times of famine or scarcity, maintaining self-sustainability, ensuring food security, and saving time and money.
- Preserves harvested and processed food products for later use
- Provides a balanced diet throughout the year
- Preparedness for catastrophes, emergencies and periods of food scarcity or famine
- Religious reasons
- Peace of mind
- Self sustainability
Factors that affect food storage:
The shelf life of stored food is greatly affected by the temperature at which it is stored. The United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, advises that a temperature increase of 10.8 degrees reduces the shelf life of stored food by half. To ensure optimal food storage, it is best to maintain a constant temperature between 40-60 degrees and avoid freezing temperatures.
When storing foods, it is advised to eliminate moisture. In order to store foods for an extended period, the moisture content should be 10% or lower.
Foods are best stored when oxygen is absent because doing so prevents compounds in the foods from oxidizing. There are various ways to eliminate oxygen.
- Displacing oxygen – Purge air from product with an inert gas (nitrogen). Dry ice is often used giving off carbon dioxide gas which displaces oxygen.
- Oxygen absorber – Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. If the oxygen is absorbed, what remains is 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.
Light: Light is a type of energy that has the capacity to diminish the nutritional value of food. It is advisable to store food in areas devoid of light.
Store foods in containers made of food grade plastic, metal, or glass to ensure that the containers are free from chemicals that can be transferred to food and pose a risk to your health. To ensure optimal storage lifespan, opt for containers with a hermetic seal, which prevents the entry of air. These containers with air tight seals are:
- #10 cans
- Sealable food storage buckets
- Sealable food quality metal (lined) or plastic drums
- Foil pouches
- PETE bottles (for dry products such as wheat, corn, and beans)
By using oxygen absorber packets, the containers mentioned above can eradicate food-borne insects and retain the nutritional quality and taste.
Moist products stored in packaging that restricts oxygen may lead to botulism poisoning. To prevent this, products must have a moisture content of approximately 10% or less when stored in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers.
Infestation of home-stored dried foods is commonly caused by several insects. To control the infestation using cold treatment, place the infested items in a deep freeze at 0 degrees for three to four days. This method effectively eliminates live insects, larvae, and eggs.
The shelf date is known as the “best if used by” date, indicating that you will experience the maximum flavor and nutritional value. On the other hand, the “life sustaining shelf life” date signifies the duration during which the food remains edible.
When you are starting to store food for your family, there are a few things to consider.
- Size of your family
- How much food do you want to store? How many weeks, months or year/years do you want stored for your family?
- Where or how are you storing?
- Are there special needs like allergies, diabetes, religious needs, other medical issues?
- The young and old
- Your pets or other animals in your care
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR FOOD STORAGE NEEDS FOR YOUR FAMILY
Considering the varying sizes of families, it is important to acknowledge that their needs will differ significantly. Many individuals believe that simply stockpiling beans and rice is sufficient. However, I hold a different perspective. Though storing beans and rice is a good initial step, have you ever experienced the process of cooking beans from the beginning? If not, I encourage you to prepare a pot of beans, as practice makes perfect. Acquiring this skill now guarantees that you will possess it when required. While beans and rice are important items to store, there exist numerous other things that should also be stockpiled.
By inputting the number of adults and children in your family, the system will calculate the necessary quantity of food for a one-year supply, considering minimal requirements. You can select the optimal food options for you and your family. The food options are categorized as GRAINS, LEGUMES, FATS & OILS, MILK & DAIRY, SUGARS, DRINKS, COOKING ESSENTIALS, WATER, FRUITS, and VEGETABLES.
- Grains include wheat, flour, corn meal, oats, rice, and Pasta.
- Legumes include dry beans, lima beans, soy beans, split peas, lentils, and dry soup mixes.
- Fats & oils include shortenings, vegetable oil, mayonnaise, salad dressings, and peanut butter.
- Milk & dairy include dry milk, evaporated milk and other dairy like Cheese.
- Sugars are honey, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, jams, and powdered fruit, and flavored gelatin.
- Cooking essentials include baking powder, baking soda, yeast, salt, and vinegar.
- Water includes water storage and ways to purify such as bleach.
- Fruits include fruit juices, fruit mixtures, Banana Chips, applesauce, and dried fruits (dehydrated or freeze dried). Canned fruits are also great too. You can purchase freeze dried fruits that can be stored for decades.
- Vegetables include corn, peas, green beans, carrots, Potatoes, Onions, tomatoes and pasta sauces. Again, dehydrated or freeze dried are great ways to store, however, canned options are great to store and rotate.
- Spices are a must, what is spaghetti sauce without Garlic, bay leaves, sweet basil, and oregano? So, storing spices adds flavor to food.
- Proteins are not included in this list, but you will get lots of protein from lots of foods, however, storing canned goods like chicken, beef, and tuna are some examples of items you can store.
STORING YOUR FOOD
Let’s begin with your Food Storage. Make a note of what you are storing and don’t hesitate to buy items on sale or in large quantities. Buying in bulk usually offers the best price and you can easily store it in Mylar Bags. Storing your food in an environment without oxygen is the most effective way to ensure its longevity. By storing it in a Mylar Bag with Oxygen Absorbers, you can eliminate oxygen, bugs, and other potential issues. It is advisable to store your Mylar Bags in bins or buckets. Using metal containers is preferable to prevent rodents, but I personally store most of my items in 5-gallon buckets or bins. The best storage locations are cool, dry, and dark, such as a cellar, ideally at a temperature of around 70 degrees.
SPECIAL NEEDS
If you have gluten allergies and cannot consume wheat, choose different grains that are suitable for your dietary requirements. Many ingredients can be used to make flour, but it is preferable to store whole grains in their original form.
If a person has other medical needs such as diabetes, it implies a reduced intake of grains and an increased consumption of protein.
THE YOUNG AND OLD
If you have young children, you will require additional milk and baby supplies like diapers and wipes. Similarly, if you are taking care of elderly parents or grandparents, you will also need to consider their medication and other necessities.
PETS
Storing food and supplies for your four-legged family members is necessary. If you have additional animals like chickens, you should also include extra feed for them. Additionally, it is important to have crates/carriers, leashes, copies of shot records, toys, and other essential items.
