Stockpiling Food

[aja8888]

We had to throw out the chest freezer contents only once in the last 20 years or so due to a power outage, so it hasn't been big issue where we live. Saving a couple of hundred dollars a month or more by stockpiling freezer foods on sale / bulk Costco size packages for us still outweighs the risk having a power outage, unless we started having longer outages. Whenever we use up some of the freezer foods, I add in containers of water that freeze solid to keep the freezer packed full. It helps the freezer to use less electricity and keeps things cold pretty cold through most power outages. We only had the one I can remembers where it was long enough that even my large, solid ice packs couldn't save the contents.

Might be a good idea to pick up a small gasoline powered generator for those times, if California will allow you to own a few gallons of gasoline that's not in an auto fuel tank.

 

[mystang52]

We don't stockpile, but we always have 1 refill. So, if I'm using a roll of aluminum foil there's another unopened one on our basement storage shelf.
We have a small basement freezer and keep some extra food down there but it's not stockpiling, just some extra that we currently have. Closest we come to stockpiling is if an item we normally buy anyway has a great sale price, like the 6 packages of Bay's English muffins currently in that freezer.
Whenever I think about reasons to stockpile food and essentials, I get depressed.............so I prefer to not think about it.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Don't know that I have seen a 50 lb. bag of rice. Would this be at Costco?

We buy beef tenderloin 10 lb or so at a time, then slice it and freeze. We also buy boston butts and freeze them. Other than that, what other bulk purchases are available, if you don't live close to a Costco?

Don't see me buying a whole hog, but maybe.

Most grocery stores in Hawaii have 50 lb bags of rice. And a 50 lb bag might only cost 4 times what a 5 lb bag costs so it is actually a common size for a family to buy here.

 

[SecondAttempt]

One problem with buying long term food in bulk is preventing rodents from getting into it. They can and will chew through plastic containers. I prefer buying in #10 cans. But if you're in a flood prone area or plan to keep them many years it's best to mark on the can lid what it is since the labels can wash off if flooded or fade over time.

Over the last 8 years since I have lived in Hawaii and kept a full pantry I have done a lot of research on food storage. Even the survival [-]fanatics[/-] enthusiasts have a lot of good information. Many LDS (Mormon) sites have excellent information since they do this as a common practive in their community and have for almost 200 years.

Since I am not getting crazy in trying to stock for survival and I can usually cycle through most stuff before it expires, I am more focused on keeping the bugs out. While we do get occasional rodents (everyone does in Hawaii), we have never had a big problem with them chewing through good plastic containers. The occasional bag or candy wrapper, sure. Essential oils like peppermint, tea tree, lemon, and lavender are pretty good at detering rodents.

I have found the the single biggest deterrent to bugs in rice, flour, pasta in plastic containers, and almost anything else is bay leaves! I bought about 2-3 lb of bay leaves for a few dollars over 5 years ago, threw a few in every container, and have not had any bugs since. I still have 90% of the bay leaves too. I replace them every few months but it really seems to be extremely effective.

I find the hardest thing to keep is spices so those are mostly in the fridge which takes up a lot of space.

 

[SecondAttempt]

DW's go to wine is 19 Crimes (Banished and Uprising). On sale at Harris Teeter or Food Lion we can typically purchase by the case to get around $7.50 a bottle. She is happy. Please do not suggest another wine unless you want to present it to her. Just wear protective gear.

Yellowtail. $5 a bottle at CVS in Hawaii. Wide range of varieties and some blends that I really like. Although I find their merlot to be awful! Doesn't sound like I would like to present it to her. Maybe next time you shop there is a shortage of 19 Crimes?

 

[SecondAttempt]

We had to throw out the chest freezer contents only once in the last 20 years or so due to a power outage, so it hasn't been big issue where we live. Saving a couple of hundred dollars a month or more by stockpiling freezer foods on sale / bulk Costco size packages for us still outweighs the risk having a power outage, unless we started having longer outages. Whenever we use up some of the freezer foods, I add in containers of water that freeze solid to keep the freezer packed full. It helps the freezer to use less electricity and keeps things cold pretty cold through most power outages. We only had the one I can remembers where it was long enough that even my large, solid ice packs couldn't save the contents.

We have had multiday outages about once every year and a half. Most have not resulted in throwing out food but we lost probably about $300 worth of mostly meat last December so I guess I am still a little gun shy. As I said, for me, stocking is more about having what I need available than saving money so losing $300 hurts quite a bit. I do keep a good stock in the regular freezer and am looking at a portable generator to keep it running next time.

 

[Ronstar]

We barely have enough food to get through the day.

 

[Badger]

I finally bought a medium size freezer a year ago to avoid too many trips to the grocery during the pandemic. It now has 4-1 gallon containers of ice in it to save the food in case of power outage during the coming hurricane. I hope I don't need them.

Cheers!

 

[folivier]

Just a side story. A couple years ago we had bags of our favorite coffee in a plastic tub in the basement storage of our motorhome. A chipmunk found its way inside and chewed a hole in the plastic tub and then chewed a hole in each bag of coffee. He must have been pretty hyped up after eating that much caffeine. My DW was sick!
When a hurricane is in the gulf we always throw a few cases of water bottles in the freezer to help keep stuff frozen.
Another note. I've heard that Irish Spring is a good rodent deterrent. Not true. In the cabin basement I've caught quite a few mice next to a chewed up bar of Irish Spring.

 

[Fermion]

Buy a brand new 40 gallon steel trash can with lid and never use it for trash. That makes one of the easiest ways to store things that rodents can't get to. Rice, flour, coffee, etc.

 

[Sue J]

Never mind, link did not work

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Buy a brand new 40 gallon steel trash can with lid and never use it for trash. That makes one of the easiest ways to store things that rodents can't get to. Rice, flour, coffee, etc.

Also makes for a great Faraday cage?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Might be a good idea to pick up a small gasoline powered generator for those times, if California will allow you to own a few gallons of gasoline that's not in an auto fuel tank.

If we had the outages more often we'd have to start thinking about that. After the multiday outage a few years ago, I did stock up on emergency items like power banks, solar lights and water jugs.

 

[ownyourfuture]

I try to stockpile for winter as hate pushing a grocery cart in the slush.

That's a great idea!

 

[SecondAttempt]

in the basement storage of our motorhome

Hmm. I thought I knew what a motorhome was. I thought I knew what a basement was. Now I am questioning everything!

 

[nassa]

Thanks for the reminder! I’ve had stocking up on about 2 weeks of food, water and other supplies on my to do list for a while in addition to having a “go bag”.

I’ve found https://www.ready.gov/ to be a good resource for preparing. Hurricanes top of my mind now but disasters can take many forms such as cyber attack, chemical spill, nuclear power mishap, power grid failure, and probably other things I haven’t thought about. I only really started thinking about this after the Texas blackout. Anyone remember the Northeast blackout in 2003?

 

[Gumby]

... Anyone remember the Northeast blackout in 2003?

Why, yes, yes I do. I was trapped in my office in Manhattan until the next day.

 

[Music Lover]

I started stockpiling food on sale / clearance based on the advice in The Tightwad Gazette. Where else can you make 50 - 75% return on your money?

Exactly. We buy items in bulk and on sale/clearance, and probably have a good 6 - 8 months of non-perishables and frozen food on hand. If you're going to buy it anyway you might as well buy it at a discount.

This fall we're buying a side of beef and will share that with BIL. The price per pound is slightly more than the retail cost of hamburger but includes steaks, roasts, and tenderloin.

 

[Koolau]

Why, yes, yes I do. I was trapped in my office in Manhattan until the next day.

I recall the late 2008 power outage across Oahu. The newly elected President Obama was on Island at the time. A freak thunderstorm was apparently responsible for the 18 hour outage. I was quite concerned about our fridge/freezer food but resisted the urge to open the door even once. So we lost no food. However, thousands of residents lodged claims against HECO for lost food. Guess who paid for the losses?

It occurred to me at the time that storing food needing electricity for preservation is probably not a good idea on an Island that IS the electrical grid. So I have canned goods, rice, pasta (and canned sauce) plus a couple of those "survival buckets" (supposedly 1 month of meals for one person.) YMMV

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Exactly. We buy items in bulk and on sale/clearance, and probably have a good 6 - 8 months of non-perishables and frozen food on hand. If you're going to buy it anyway you might as well buy it at a discount.

This fall we're buying a side of beef and will share that with BIL. The price per pound is slightly more than the retail cost of hamburger but includes steaks, roasts, and tenderloin.

One year Treasuries = 4%, or 50% return on beef. Might as well invest as much as you can in beef.

 

[NW-Bound]

One year Treasuries = 4%, or 50% return on beef. Might as well invest as much as you can in beef.

Sounds good to me. What is your recommendation of AA on beef? How about chicken, and pork?

Hmmm... What size of storage freezer does one need for 20% AA in beef?

 

[NW-Bound]

Does anyone else keep a stockpile?

Not conscientiously, but my wife tends to overbuy when things are on sale. Two refrigerators, one 25 cu.ft. and a smaller one, with freezers choked full of meat. Lots of freezer-burnt meat in there, I am afraid. Only good for stew, as I try to not throw away food.

 

[Koolau]

Exactly. We buy items in bulk and on sale/clearance, and probably have a good 6 - 8 months of non-perishables and frozen food on hand. If you're going to buy it anyway you might as well buy it at a discount.

This fall we're buying a side of beef and will share that with BIL. The price per pound is slightly more than the retail cost of hamburger but includes steaks, roasts, and tenderloin.

How much room must you have for storage of that much non-perishable food? We have a fair sized closet we use for canned goods. It doubles as our overflow (mostly DW's seasonal stuff) closet. Her stuff goes on top and canned goods go on the shelves below. I'm guessing we could store about 2 months in there. YMMV

 

[Another Reader]

How much room must you have for storage of that much non-perishable food? We have a fair sized closet we use for canned goods. It doubles as our overflow (mostly DW's seasonal stuff) closet. Her stuff goes on top and canned goods go on the shelves below. I'm guessing we could store about 2 months in there. YMMV

Could supply an army here from a 2,500 sf house with a 3-car garage. That's IF PG&E keeps the power on...

 

[Music Lover]

How much room must you have for storage of that much non-perishable food? We have a fair sized closet we use for canned goods. It doubles as our overflow (mostly DW's seasonal stuff) closet. Her stuff goes on top and canned goods go on the shelves below. I'm guessing we could store about 2 months in there. YMMV

I built shelves in the basement with leftover lumber and plywood. Roughly 18" deep by 6' wide by 7' high. Plus the kitchen has a pantry 18" deep by 8' high by 6' wide. Flour, rice, etc., are stored in plastic bins.

A couple we know use the closet in a spare bedroom as pantry overflow.