10 Best Survival Food Items
When things get bad we will all need food for survival, this is obvious. But what Survival Food is best to keep on hand? I have come up with a list of the top 10 Survival Food Items IMO.
Of course you may want to add or subtract but this is a good basic list. We all have seen what happens when a disaster goes down and people are not prepared, panic. Even the most unaware people know that grocery stores only have about a 3 day supply of food.
So keeping even a small supply of (hidden) Survival Food for you and your family is a must. These items can be bought cheap, just pick up a couple of them each time you go shopping and soon you will have a nice little stockpile of Survival Food just in case the SHTF.
I compiled this list from various sources taking into consideration availability, price and shelf life, so please enjoy and leave me a comment if you have any additions.
10 Best Survival Food Items
- Dried Beans – IMO the best Survival Food out there. They are cheap, easy to store and provide a great supply of protein and nutrients. Any beans will work, pintos, black, red, white, or lentils. If stored properly in cool climate in a sealed container they will last for years.
- Rice – Big 10 pound bags of rice are cheap and readily available. Rice will store for years just like the beans, and provides an excellent source of much needed energy in the form of carbs. Make sure to not get instant.
- Peanut Butter – Can last up to 5 years in a cellar, is a great source of protein, fats, and carbs. Plus would bring a little joy in some bleak times. Also if it got really bad you may be able to barter with it.
- Salt – Another staple item cheap available everywhere, and is one of the best items to have on hand. Salt stores forever, can be used to cure food, season food, and is another barter item.
- Sugar – Like salt stores forever, can add much needed calories, keep kids quiet, and could be used as a barter item. Brown or white will both work.
- Dried Pastas – Cheap, versatile, and calorie dense. Kids love it and it is easy to store. You can’t it in bulk like rice, or beans but it is very good to have on hand.
- Canned Meats – A little more expensive but not by much. Not as important as the other staples if you can hunt. Tuna, chicken, ham, beef any will work and they all store for years.
- Vegetable Shortening – Calorie dense, although not appetizing to eat. Shortening has many uses for cooking, making biscuits etc. Should store cool and dry up to 3 years.
- Cornmeal – I prefer cornmeal to flour for a few reasons. It stays longer, and you can make tortillas, grits, and cornbread fairly easily. Great source of energy.
- Canned Veggies/Fruit – I put this one last because it is the least calories, and nutrients for the cost. I would stick with green veggies, and non-acidic fruit like pears or peaches. These will keep longer and make sure you rotate them into your food supply before they go bad. Best case scenario can your own in you have the ability.
I hope this list provides a good starting point for some of readers. It is not a definitive list by any means and like I mentioned please leave a comment with any suggestions.
