How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [38]
WARNING: If you don’t wait until the dry ice has almost completely sublimated before you seal the bucket, then dangerous pressure could develop and you will have a “dry-ice bomb” on your hands. You must wait until the dry-ice chunk has sublimated to the diameter of a nickel no thicker than one eighth of an inch.
Once you open each bucket of storage food, you will probably want to replace the standard “pound-on” lid with a Gamma Seal lid. The end result: Very dry food in a sealed, oxygen-free environment, safe from mice. This method will triple or quadruple the shelf life of rice and beans, and make whole-grain wheat last literally for decades.
Home Canning
This is a subject that would take a book to explain in detail, but a couple of good references will suffice: The first is The Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery, published by Sasquatch Books. Be sure to get the ninth or later edition.
The second book on canning that I recommend is Keeping the Harvest, by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead, from Storey Publishing.
Learning to Cook and Bake with Your Storage Food
One oft-overlooked aspect of food storage is how to cook and bake with the foods that you’ve stored. Three books on this subject that I strongly recommend buying are: Cookin’ with Home Storage, by Vicki Tate, Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens, and The Encyclopedia of Country Living.
Family Food Security Against Confiscation and Theft
I’m sometimes asked about the risk of government confiscation of storage food and supplies by executive order or under martial law. There is a slim but nonetheless real threat of storage-food confiscation in the United States. It is one of the many reasons why I emphasize operational security (OPSEC). If you are concerned about the prospect of martial law, then I recommend that you buy the majority of your storage food with cash, without generating a paper trail. You should pick it up in person. There are several food-storage vendors advertising on SurvivalBlog who are located throughout the country. Many of these are mom-and-pop operations that will make cash sales. With these small vendors, you don’t even need to mention your name.
While keeping circumspect is important, don’t become so preoccupied with secrecy that you cease being charitable. The two goals need not be mutually exclusive. You can maintain OPSEC if you dispense charity through your local church. My advice: Give, and give generously (both now and in turbulent times), but be prepared to give from arm’s length. I recommend that you make arrangements in advance for your church elders to act as intermediaries for post-WTSHTF charity. Be sure to get their promise to maintain your anonymity.
Concealing Storage Food
Several of my consulting clients have asked me about concealing storage food from burglars, in unoccupied retreat homes. Some of them have asked if I suggest burying food. I do not recommend burying food unless you buy very heavy-duty containers with watertight seals. There is too much risk of moisture intrusion or destruction by vermin.
Here are a few alternative solutions for hiding modest quantities of food that I can recommend, only one of which requires the assistance of an amateur carpenter:
• Buy a used queen-size “hide-a-bed” couch. Remove and discard the entire bed frame internals and mattress. Build a framework of two-by-twos and cut a piece of three-quarter-inch plywood to support the seat cushions.
• Hide a single row of canned foods (small cans, such as soup and tuna cans) behind books on bookshelves.
• Buy a few used four-drawer vertical file cabinets. Burglars usually bypass these. Put innocuous-sounding labels