Emergency food kit

cualcrees · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:22 am Post subject: Emergency food kit

What do you think about this: link

MeadowMuffin · Coal Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 7

Got one. Here in the Mesa area they are $69.99 in store....
Looks great for at least sustinance for awhile, plus light weight. It also come with a sterno type heater that they claim gives 8 hrs of cooking time. They claim it is good for 20 yrs, but the small print says only under cool conditions
They were cooking some up in the store when we got ours and it was not too bad. When the price goes down (if it does) I plan on at least one more.
Meadow Muffin

WyoDutch · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency food kit

I think its real value would be as a "charity kit"... handouts to neighbors/relatives who were grasshoppers while we were ants. I bought a half dozen cases of 'Pasta Alfredo' MRE main meals a few years ago for just that purpose.

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jlw61 · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency food kit

If you like that crap, by all means, get it. I have a pantry of food that I rotate regularly and a number of freeze dried meals, that I like, in a large box. If the food taste less than desirable, you're hurting yourself. In an emergency, good food will lift the spirits and make things seem a little less dire.

As far as giving it to the neighbors, I would rather give them a seat at my table, every day for a month, than to stock up on expensive crapola like you'll find at most big-box retail outlets.
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mattduke · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Oct 28, 2005 Posts: 1501

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1664

We will share a meal with some people in the future, and they will be told to expect to help us out for a while for the privilege.

For a stash, I guess that's good as a no-brainer, but I prefer to think about the planning, and add some meat to the mix. With some like minded people around here, it shouldn't be a problem. YMMV.
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kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1313

I have not looked into the preparation, but I'm guessing water is added to prepare the stuff.
I'm looking at 23 pounds of food for $80. This works out to $3.47/pound. With 275 servings, it works out to 1.4 oz per serving. If doubled with water, 2.8 oz per serving. This seems like a high price for a small amount of food. At least you get a bucket to barf in if you don't like it.
$80 would buy:
50-100 pounds of dry beans/peas/lentils
or
a dozen 10# bags of chicken legs and thighs
or
about 7-20# bags of rice
or
a Presto 21 quart pressure canner
or
lots of mylar bags and oxygen absorbers
or
a large amount of vegetable seed
or
a couple dozen chicks and grain for a couple months
or
2-3 piglets
or
9 dozen ball jars, quarts or pints
or
about 50 dozen lids for ball jars
or
about 300 pounds of salt
or
about 150 rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper
or
about 220 bars of Safeguard soap
or
10 cans of coffee
or
80 cans of Chef Boy R Dee Ravioli
or
106 cans of WalMart brand canned ravioli
or
500 packages of ramen noodles
or
228 cup o soup
or
enough barley to make 12 cases of beer
or
200 cans of vienna sausage
or
90 cans of evaporated milk
or
37 cans of Spam Turkey
or
53 cans of WalMart Spam
or
258 packets of yeast
or
31 1# canned ham
or
320 cans of potted meat
or
142 cans of tuna
or
240 packs of gravy mix
or
a propane camp stove with enough fuel to use it daily for a couple of months

Above figures using prices on my last trip to WalMart, 6/15/08.
What do I think?
I think you can do better.
Is your intention to buy the stuff to put it in storage until an emergency comes along? I think you would do well to increase the inventory levels of the stuff you eat now, keep it rotated and stored properly.
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jlw61 · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency food kit

sittinguy · Heavy Crude Joined: Sep 07, 2007 Posts: 380

Wyodutch, I have to agree with you a little. That would be a great charity gift for family or close friend. I would not want to keep someone around and feed them my GOOD food, Screw That!. I was actually thinking about some food bars that I could give away. I would open the door hand out a few food bars and say,, this is all I have,, don't come back, good luck. Once you let someone in your house and they know you have alot of food, that could be a problem I think
I like the shelf life, its awsome, the food bars say only 5 years.

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

Blacksmith · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:05 am Post subject: Re: Emergency food kit

Might I suggest adding a few kilos of Bulgar Wheat.
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MeadowMuffin · Coal Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 7

kpeavey, I think your response was pretty stupid....I thing the guy who started this thread was probably looking at the container of freeze dried food as a hedge against WSHTF. You then ran off with some insane list of how many pigs, chickens and barley for beer he could buy.

Maybe you are in a position to buy livestock and keep it, or you have a mini brewery to use, but I think that most of us are living in a city in our hovel with a closet to store some stuff in fo a hard time.
Next time maybe you can think of the rest of us.
Meadow MUffin

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1313

Dear Meadow Muffin, If the city people have only a closet to use to prepare for WTSHTF, they are in trouble already. An apartment on the 4th floor with all electric utilities, a population density of 150 people per acre, no grass in sight and maybe a couple of window sills in which to put a potted plant is what I would call a precarious place. A 23 pound bucket of powdered snake oil for 80 bucks is a hedge against a full belly and a full wallet. Going to survive on 2.8 ounces of food per serving for how long? Store what you eat, eat what you store. This stuff is junk being marketed to people who have not done their homework. Take the time to study food storage. The internet is yours to do with as you please.

allenwrench sums it up succinctly