I am happy to be back home after being away for a week. Now I can proceed with my bulk food storage plans.
Last week, I posted about shopping for food staples such as rice, pasta, pinto beans, etc. in “Survival Food Shopping” https://apartmentprepper.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/survival-food-shopping/.
We then bought the materials needed to package these foods for long-term storage. These were purchased online as I could not find a local store that carries them:
–food grade five gallon buckets with lids
–1 gallon size mylar bags
–oxygen absorbers (300 cc)
The following common household items will also be needed:
–iron
–flat surface such as a leveler tool or a wooden table with a cardboard liner
–permanent markers for labeling
–labels or masking tape so you can label the buckets
–empty jar
–measuring cup
Most sites I read recommended five gallon size mylar bags to fit into the buckets. We chose one gallon bags instead for the following reasons:
- One gallon bags of staples are easier to transport than five gallon bags. Since we live in an apartment, there is always a chance we may have to bug out. If we had to leave on foot with only the bug out bags, we would be able to carry one gallon bags of food between family members.
- Since the goal is to keep the food fresh for as long as possible, if we open up the five gallon bag, we would need to use it all up. Since we are storing in one gallon bags, they can be opened and used as needed, without affecting the rest of the batches.
- If we choose to, we can share one gallon bags of food with others in need, such as family or neighbors, without compromising the rest of the bin.
Here are a few of the materials I have collected. 
On my next post, I will go over the steps that I am doing to store the bulk food items.
The Apartment Prepper's Blog 
Thanks, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting. I plan to use the same materials you listed here for long-term food storage.
I like the one gallon mylar bag idea for portion control. Much of the rice I have I keep in the original bag I bought it in, and then place the bag in the mylar bag for the same reason. However your method makes the food stores more portable if you have to Bug Out, as you mentioned…. I may have to investigate this method for myself. Thanks for the great idea.
When it comes to emergency preparedness, most people I talk to think that nothing will ever happen to them- I constantly hear “why should I bother”. In today’s world it sounds crazy to talk about storing food. Why bother when restaurants, convenient stores and grocery stores are open 24 hours a day, 7days a week? We have grown up in the age of consumerism and take for granted there will always be food on the shelves. Well, what if there is a national emergency? Or if the unions repeat what happened in France – and stop delivery trucks in protest. What if our government keeps spending and hyper inflation occurs? Just look what happened in Boston! http://survivalist-hub.blogspot.com/. Why not be prepared just in case? It drives me NUTS when people have their heads in the sand!! But I know I am not nuts.
As a father of 3 small children, I have always tried to protect and provide for all their immediate and future necessities. I could not come home and tell my kids there was no food on the shelves. Now, I can sleep in peace having purchased years of emergency food! I love having the peace of mind, the feeling of being empowered– that my family and I are covered with the necessary emergency food, and survival supplies for the next 20 years at TODAY’S prices for what ever comes our way. For more information, go to blog http://survivalist-hub.blogspot.com/.
Hi – I am looking to purchase the items you listed above. What online sites did you purchase them from?
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan,
The food items were from Sam’s Club. Most of the items such as oxygen absorbers, mylar bags were bought from Amazon; you can find them in this link to my Amazon store where I bookmarked the items: .
Please note I have a new website that has all the latest posts where this one left off. Please follow the link in my website to Emergency Essentials, they carry the 5 gallon buckets and lids. However I am told you can get those for free if you know someone in the restaurant/food service business. Thanks for reading!
I think you have hit the nail on the head for urban and suburban preppers. Having all your food tied up in big lots is a real problem in the event that you have to bug out. The reality is that unless you live on a defensible piece of ground, you should always be thinking about where you will head out to and what will be able to take with you.