To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years ago ?

Narz

Are you glad you did?

If you could do it again would you have spent your money differently?

Note : for the sake of argument lets define "stockpiled" as at least $500 worth of stocked food you wouldn't normally buy.

Personally, I ordered a few pails (about 100lb total) of quinoa & oats but the company I ordered from said they were really backed up, couldn't ship right away & gave me the opportunity to cancel my order. After considering my financial situation & the silliness of thinking that, should the worst happen, that I can survive in suburban New Jersey on 100lb of bulk grains anyway, I canceled my order. I'm glad I did.

Just curious as to other people's opinions on this subject. I'm sure lots of buttons will get pushed & flames will abound but hoping this thread can avoid sinking into the Hall. Remember that the hands of time will surely reveal which of our choices were wise & which were foolish. Smile

Cheers,
Narz
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Hermes

I'm very glad.

Unfortunately I haven't taken good care of the grains, and am frankly pretty concerned what things are going to look like when we open them up... but that's another story.

The calmness that having a year of grain stored up has brought us over the past few years has actually been almost worth the money.

The time's about right to start opening them up and replenishing them. I think we're still good with our local food coop to get a few hundred pounds in, and mylar/dry-ice/bucket them ourselves.
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Spanktron9

I purchased several years supplies of MH #10 cans. So if the cornocopians turnout to be right and we will be living in Utopia hydrogen fueled green economy. then I have lots of camping food. Otherwise, i am set with a 30+ year shelf life.
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RonMN

I'm glad I did...but I have a question...

While I've spent over $500, I didn't spend it on "things I don't usually buy"...I stock what I eat & eat what I stock, so in the long run, I haven't lost a cent.

In any case, I would still be glad I stocked up becase it gives me peace of mind & I consider it to be an insurance policy. Even if I were to dump it all for some reason, it was still there if I ever needed it (and I've spent a helluva lot more on homeowners & car insurance, that I have never used).

I spent less money on food prep "insurance" & got more money & convenience out of it than any other type of insurance has given me.
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Pops

Don't be silly, Narz.

Christ, do you think this is TEOTW?

You ain't seen nothing but an Imagined Armageddon on your monitor.
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HEADER_RACK · Intermediate Crude Joined: Feb 15, 2007 Posts: 540

1000's of years ago they new the answer to your question

Aesop's Fables- The ant and the grasshopper

moral of the story- best to prepare for the days of necessity

My food stocks are a nice warm blanket to my black heart.
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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1664

I've been stocking food for as long as I can remember. It was a way of life that I grew up with. Only when I bought a ton (2,000 lbs.) of hard red winter wheat about 25+ years ago has it been an unusual expenditure. But, we're still eating that-this week, every week we bake bread with it.

At other times I suppose you could say we spent a chunk on food, such as when we raised a few calves and butchered one for our use. We could have sold it, but it was worth more in the freezer.

All told, we spend less per meal than almost everyone we know, by buying in relatively larger amounts, buying cases of stuff on sale, and trying never to be in a position that we HAVE to buy food. That allows us to shop for the best prices. By using an absolute minimum of convenience foods, our costs are lowered dramatically over what most people spend. That leaves a lot more for bait-and-beer-money, or for those solar panels we wanted for so long.

I am way too damned tight to spend more than I have to on food, or anything else. It's a way of life.
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Pops

Cog · Heavy Crude Joined: May 17, 2008 Posts: 148

I've been slowly stockpiling food over the last year and a half and have no regrets about it. I too am in the store what you eat group and I can see the savings from eating food bought at last years prices. For me its somewhat comforting to know that I can get through an extended period of time without outside food sources.

Since I do some out of town work, I take the per diem money from the company and hit the grocery store right off. I usually come back with $100 worth of food preps. Some of my co-workers think I'm a little off by not going out and eating steak dinners with them but I simply tell them my wife hates grocery shopping. Smile

cynthia · Heavy Crude Joined: May 29, 2005 Posts: 378

um. To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years ago (?) I hope they would have already gone through their stores and replenished them. Some foods (canned) hold better than other methods but if you bought food two years ago and haven't touched it, you don't understand the process for planning for the future.
Check out the Mennonites or better yet, I believe the Mormons have a patent, and if they don't they should, on food preservation and formulas for planning ahead per person.
cynthia

skyemoor

Our stockpiling is a mix of dry store grains, nuts, beans, etc, as well as canned goods that are rotated through. As we grind our own grain and make our own bread (pancakes, waffles, etc), we're actually saving money. I buy grain from a local farmer right off the combine at $8.80/bushel, which makes over 60 loaves of bread per bushel. The dry store is in mylar bags, plastic buckets with oxygen absorbers, so the wheat will last 15+ years.
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mos6507

Heineken · Last edited by Heineken on Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:17 pm; edited 1 time in total

The key as some others have noted is to eat out of your stores and replenish them as you use them. This requires knowledge, discipline, and organization.

I myself have not stored a huge amount of food. This summer I installed a long row of kitchen-type cabinets halfway up one basement wall and have filled some of them with canned goods and sacks of rice sealed inside plastic bags. For me canned goods are the way to go. Many types of canned foods last a long time, and they're convenient and would be tradeable. They cost much less than freeze-dried foods.

I do need to add many more cans of product, and after a year or so we'll start using them and rotating them.

I do not see food storage as a real solution to the problem, except for those who are already extraordinarily self-sufficient. It will buy some time but you'll still probably end up dead under most doom scenarios.
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BigTex

Some of the Mountain House foods are quite good. The Chili Mac is almost like eating Hamburger Helper (which I like).

I have some Mountain House in the cabinet and I like having it there.

The #10 cans are the way to go, IMHO.

To me, though, it's best to buy it a little at a time. Maybe $100 here and there, but I'm not a big fan of buying the "Deluxe 4 Horsemen 2 Year Bunker Pack for $2995." That strikes me as something you might regret.
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timmac · Heavy Crude Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Posts: 252

I leared long ago to stock up on what you eat today,, I stocked up on MRE'S about 15 years ago and when it expired I just threw it away because eating MRE's are not so great and plug you up..

I now stock up on can foods and soups that we eat today and when 2 years roll around we will buy new ones and eat the old stock, no waste..

Also as a long term back up I do have some mountain house #10 cans,, there food is good,, you want easy to prepair foods when times are lean..