Food and Water Storage

 

        Food & Water Storage                

July 2021

 Store What You Will Use, and Use What You Store.

Home Storage

 Basic* Storage—includes life-sustaining foods, if nothing else was available to eat, and nonfood items that will store reasonably well for long periods.

 

*Lists in charts below are for Basic Food Storage items only:

 

1-Month Food Storage / Person:

Cooking Oil	1-24 oz. bottle
Flour (white)	1 #10 can
Macaroni	1 #10 can
Pinto Beans	1 # 10 can
Quick Oats	1 #10 can
Rice (white)	2 #10 cans
Salt	1-26 oz. canister
Sugar (powdered)	1 #10 can
Sugar (white)	1 #10 can
Wheat	3 #10 cans

 1-Year Food Storage for 1-Adult:

Grains* (wheat, flour, rice, corn, oatmeal, and pasta)	400 lbs.
Legumes (dry beans, split peas, lentils, etc.)	60 lbs.
Powdered Milk	16 lbs.
Cooking Oil	10 qt.
Sugar or Honey	60 lbs.
Salt	8 lbs.

 *Regular use of whole grains is vital to build a digestive tolerance for roughage. If wheat is the stored grain, a grinder (preferably a hand powered) for preparing flour would be necessary.

3-DAY Emergency Food requires no refrigeration or cooking for each family or individual, and is stored in easily accessible and portable containers; alongside emergency supplies.

3-DAY Emergency Food:

Canned tuna fish/chicken or pork & beans	½ lb./ person
Canned oranges or Tomato juice	46 oz./ person
Fruits or Vegetables (canned, dehydrated, freeze-dried, Trail Mix)	1 lb./ person
Crackers or Cereal	1 lb./ person
Peanut Butter	½ lb./ person

 

Expanded Storage—includes foods and other daily essentials to supply total nutritional needs and allows for variety of personal preferences in diet and living.

 

Expanded Storage	Shelf Life
Baking Powder, Corn Starch, Soda	Forever
Bouillon	2 yrs.
Dark Chocolate	2 yrs.
Fruits/Vegetables—canned, dehydrated, freeze-dried	1-2 yrs. beyond  expiration date stamped.
Beans, Legumes, Lentils	Forever
Fish & Meat—canned, freeze- dried, or dehydrated	6 yrs.
Oils	2 yrs.
Dried Fruits—raisins, cranberries	1 yr.+
Pasta	3 yrs.

 

Grains—barley, flax, grits, millet, quinoa, rye, wheat	8-10+ yrs.
Jams & Jellies	2 yrs. unopened; otherwise, 6-mths)
Jerky	2+ yrs.
Maple Syrup	Forever, unopened
Molasses	(10+ yrs. unopened; 5 yrs. opened)
Oats	2 yrs.
Pickles & Pickled Vegetables	4 yrs. unopened; 1-yr. opened
Popcorn	Forever
Jell-O—powdered	Forever
Powdered Milk	20+ yrs.
Ramen Noodles	2+ yrs.
Raw Honey	Forever
Rice	30 yrs.
Salt	Forever
Soy Sauce	Forever if unopened
Spices	Whole:  4+ yrs. Dried:    3 yrs.
Sugar	Forever
Tomato Sauce— canned/jarred	2 yrs. unopened
Pure Vanilla Extract	Forever
Vinegar	Forever

 

Special provisions should be made for infants, small children, and any- one with a restrictive diet.

 Expand Basic Storage gradually and systematically.

WATER—has been called “the most essential nutrient.”

Next to the air you breathe, every living creature depends on it to survive. A person can live for weeks without food, but significant damage can be done to your body in a matter of days without water. 

Fifty-five gallons of water is enough to sustain a family of four for a minimum of 7-days, with enough water for drinking, cooking and light   

                 personal sanitation. 

 

It is vital that all household members learn how to shut off the water at the main house valve so that you don’t lose clean water which you could use. The effects of gravity may drain the water in your hot water and toilet tanks unless you trap it in your house by shutting off the main house valve (not the street valve in the cement box at the curb – this valve is extremely difficult to turn and requires a special tool). Label this valve with a tag for easy identification, and make sure all household members know where it is located. In addition to storing water, be aware of your surroundings and where you can find other sources of water; including hot water heaters, toilet tanks (not toilet bowl), streams, lakes, rivers, etc.

 

Consider adding a water filter or water-purifying agent to your year’s supply.

So, you can safely use water you find.

 

How much water should I store?  2-week supply = 1-gallon per-person per-day to take care of drinking, cooking and hygiene needs. You might need less depending on your cooking methods and if you’re using wet wipes for hygiene. Plan to drink at minimum one-quart of water per-person per-day. High temperatures require greater water intake. Active children, a nursing mother, and sick people will usually need to drink more than the minimum each day. Remember to have water for your pets, too! 

 

Which containers should I use? Plastic containers with a screw-cap lid, such as 2-liter soda pop bottles or commercial 1-gallon and 2-gallon plastic water bottles work best for storing water. Don’t use glass bottles or old bleach bottles (or any container that has held a toxic substance). Avoid the use of plastic milk jugs. (They are difficult to seal tightly, and their plastic becomes very fragile and brittle over time). DO NOT use metal containers for water storage.

 

Store water in new, thoroughly cleaned, heavy-duty, plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Plastic containers are available in many sizes, ranging from 5-gallon to 55-gallon models. The 5-gallon container is about the maximum weight most people can carry—best for when or if you have to be on the move. The larger containers are better for consolidation and at-home storage use. Storing food that doesn’t use water is one way to minimize water storage.

 

Store water away from paint products, all petroleum-based products, acids, or anything releasing objectionable odors.

Consider multiple locations to store water, especially if in an apartment or smaller house. Thoroughly rinse out the container and the lid with water and fill it to the very top of the container. For extra safety, thoroughly rinse the container with a weak solution of liquid chlorine bleach (8-10 drops in two cups water). Empty this solution out and fill the container right to the top with fresh water.          

• Seal the container tightly.

• Label it “Drinking Water” and date it.

• Store it in a cool, dark place.

Is adding liquid bleach recommended? The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency says that tap water does not need anything added to it before it is stored because it has already been chemically treated. Commercially purchased water does not need anything added to it. Keep it in its original, sealed container. It is recommended that stored tap water be rotated every 6 months. Commercially sealed water is safe for up to 2-years; some are labeled for longer storage. The only thing that should be used to purify water is liquid household bleach containing 6 percent sodium hypochlorite and no thickeners, soaps or scents. Boiling water kills bacteria, viruses,

and parasites that can cause illness. Treating water with chlorine bleach kills most viruses, but will probably not kill bacteria. Therefore, boiling and then adding chlorine bleach is an effective water purification method.

Keep a bottle of Clorox (no thickeners, soaps or scents) in storage. With a permanent marker, write date purchased on container. Rotate Clorox every year, as strength diminishes with time. Fresh bleach should be used as a water disinfectant. If the bleach is a year-old, the amount should be doubled.

Sterilized water—To sterilize, boil water 1-3 minutes and pour into hot, sterilized jars with sterilized lids, or process bottles of water in a water bath—20-minutes for 1-quart jar and 25-minutes for a 2-quart jar.

 

Boiling water is the safest! Water may be stored in plastic bottles, to which sodium hypochlorite (bleach) may be added, if the purity of the water is in doubt. (If the water is clear, add ½ teaspoon per 5-gallons. If the water is cloudy, add 1 teaspoon per 5-gallons.)

Distillation: One method of purification in addition to filters and purification tablets

1. Fill a pot halfway with water.

2. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side up when the lid is placed upside-down on the pot (make sure the cup is not dangling in the water).

3. Boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled. This method allows the vapor resulting from boiling water to collect in the cup. This condensed vapor will not include salts or other impurities.

  

In case of emergency, the water in water heater, toilet tanks, and cisterns may be purified and used. Water heaters should be drained periodically to release any accumulated sediment so that the full capacity of the container is readily usable.

 

Food and Water Storage

 

Regarding the importance of Food and Water Storage, Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone shared 4-tips that anyone can do right now:

 

1.    Take an inventory of the food and water you already have and estimate how long it will last you.

2.    Decide what you need to buy or store in order to have a year’s supply of food and water for you and your family.

3.    Set a time schedule for when you will achieve that goal. You don’t need to buy everything at once, just a little at a time.

4.    Set aside money dedicated to building your food and water storage little-by-little every month.