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Survival Food Storage Tips

One.  The first survival food storage secret is to learn to garden and use whatever space you have available.  From a back yard area, raised beds, container gardens on a deck or tiny herb pots in the kitchen window, people can grow more than they believe with a little creativity and effort.  Use edible landscaping for plants that are ornamental as well as that provide food.  Need a couple shade trees?  Why not use fruit or nut trees - they are going to supply shade as well as food.  

Two.  Learn to ‘put up’ food - canning, food dehydrating and other strategies are easier than ever with modern gadgets designed to preserve food.  It needs a little effort - but on a kitchen counter you can dry enough herbs for a year ; you can make real powdered and flaked pepper, garlic and onion.  

Three.  Next survival food storage  secret is if you freeze food, be sure you’ve a means to keep it going in an emergency.  If the electricity goes off you do not need to lose a year’s supply of food!  Have a generator and fuel, get a propane fridge, have some method of keeping that food cold.  Putting food aside is only part of insuring your food supply - storing it safely is the other issue.  

Four.Always be discreet.  Don’t gloat about your food supply and don’t spread the word you have six months of food in your basement.  If you do, and there’s a crisis, you may be overrun with folk who know you have plenty stocked away.  Are you then prepared to protect your food supply?  

Five.Storage can be a problem?Use areas most people don’t think of.  The pantry is good for many things but if you’re putting up dozens of jars of spaghetti sauce, preserves, soups and other sauces you’re going to need room.  Have a protected corner of the basement up off the ground ( enough that a wet floor will not damage the food ).  

Six.Here is one more survival food storage secret.  Along with your food supply have a means to prepare food including water, griddle and gas/wood/charcoal, for example.  If a storm| typhoon knocks an area down for 2-3 weeks be in a position to rely on your own resources for those 2-3 weeks.  Have on hand not only necessity items but a few luxury items too.  These may include a little candy, or cookies or something that just makes things a little more like home.  

Seven.  Do not forget storing personal cleanliness items - you can make a ‘composting toilet’ from free plans onlinehaving this available with sawdust or chips, toilet paper and other survival gear can greatly increase the comfort in an emergency.  

Eight.  Don’t depend on the government helping - or on folks being friendly.  A catastrophic situation like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina showed the govt can’t handle it - people have got to be ready to rely on themselves.  Prepare and have plans in place for tornado, fire, emergency evacuation and sheltering in place ( being confined to home ).Remember a train derailment or other issues could change things quickly!  Practice that evacuation.  You have ten minutes- what do you grab?  Hesitating can be deadlyhaving a plan can suggest survival.  

Nine.  Be able to cook from nothing, make bread and do other skills to get through if you had to.  If you have the food stocked up it doesn’t do any good if you can not use it.  If you rely on mixes make your own mixes in Ziploc bags that seal firmly - label with a marker right on the bag with how much liquid, egg and oil to add.  In a pinch, that bag can be the bowl - simply put wet ingredients in and mix, then decant into a baking pan.  Experiment with your griddle to make things before you’ve got to.  

Ten.  Being able to hunt and fish can mean having a continuing food supply.  Having fishing gear and hunting supplies can mean the difference between eating or not.  In the depression some spoke of having a small dog that would go through culverts and flush out rabbits while the enormous dog at the other end dispatched the rabbit as it ran out.  Sporting?  Perhaps notbut if it comes to eating or not, how moral will you be after not eating for 4 days?  

Get prepared now.  Work on getting things growing, on learning the abilities you have to to survive.  When the general public food supply is interrupted it will be too late.

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