21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile

 

Who would have thought an article like 21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile would actually be relevant in this age we live in; especially in NYC?

 

In early 2020 we all remember the shelves were empty for everyday items like toilet paper, cleaning products, and even some food items?

And in America, who would have thought the shelves at stores like Costco, Target, Whole Foods, and your local grocery store would be empty, and many ‘essential’ items like water, there would be a limit on how much you could buy?

 

And what if even greater disasters strike? What if there is a total shutdown to our food distribution system? How long would you be able to go without food and water as of right now?

 

Whether due to a natural disaster like a hurricane, social unrest, or a pandemic like COVID, every household should always have at least two weeks of food in storage. And this is 2 weeks for each person in your household! (and let’s not forget our animals).

 

The 21 survival foods every household should store listed in this article are not only low cost, but it’s things most of us eat as a regular part of our diet. So when you shop for these items, just buy extra! Then as you rotate your food supply, you can continue to replace what you use.

 

This is an easy way to start prepping now!

 

It’s extremely important that you start getting your families survival food storage goals met, and soon! The last thing you ever want is to not have food or water; and if a massive catastrophe were to occur, you may find yourself with no help coming for days, or weeks.

 

21 survival foods every household should stockpile

 

So to help you prep, here are the 21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile now:

 

(if you don’t want to read through the entire article to view the complete list, we are listing them all now)

 

1. Oatmeal
2. Rice
3. Beans
4. Sugar
5. Salt
6. Cooking Oil
7. Peanut Butter (or almond butter)
8. Jelly
9. Flour
10. Pasta
11. Sauce
12. Powdered Milk
13. Alcohol
14. Canned Fish / Meats
15. Candy
16. Canned Vegetables
17. Honey
18. Apple Cinedar Vinegar
19. Coffee / Tea
20. Water
21. GHEE (Shelf Stable Butter)





 

#1 Oatmeal

 

oatmeal survival foodMany people wonder if oatmeal is a good survival food. Any real ‘prepper’ will say it is one of the best survival foods! It’s easy to store, nutrient-rich, and has a long shelf life. It’s also relatively cheap compared to many other survival foods.

 

Top reasons to add oatmeal to your survival supply:

 

Oats are one of the world’s healthiest foods and will fill you up!
Oats are a good source of protein, dietary fiber, thiamin, folate, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and niacin.

Oatmeal is great because it can be stored and transported easily.

 

And, if necessary, oats can be eaten without additional cooking or heating.

 

#2 Rice

 

rice survival food stockpileRice is one of the best foods for survival household storage. Rice is one of the cheapest calories to buy in bulk, and it super filling! If you opt for brown rice, you will have a meal that is high in calories and protein, as well as essential vitamins and minerals like iron.

 

Rice alone can be a meal you can survive on, but be sure to calculate how much rice you will need based on the number of people in your household. As an example, one cup of raw white rice is about 600 calories, so you’d need about three cups of rice per person, per day, if you want to get close to 2000 calories for the day.

 

And what about shelf life of rice? Rice is a great survival food because of its insanely long shelf life. In fact, accrding to a BYU study sampling polished rice and parboiled rice stored from 1 to 30 years found that both types of rice will keep their nutrients and flavor up to 30 years!

 

For all the reasons above, rice is one of the best survival foods and is something every family in New York City can stockpile now!

 

#3 Beans

 

beans survival food prepping suppliesBeans as a survival food, which are best, and why?

 

There are canned beans, and then there are dried beans. Both are great to fill your pantry with, but it’s dried beans that are an ideal, shelf-stable food source for an NYC prepper looking to beef-up their pantry. The best types of dried beans to stockpile are black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, lima beans, and pinto beans.

 

Best of all, beans are cheap, very filling, low-fat, and a great high-protein food. Any NYC loves their bean centric dishes…so when you’re stockpile of food contains beans, it’ll be like any other meal in New York City, especially when you rip out the rice you’d been stockpiling as well!

 

#4 Sugar

 

sugar supply stockpileWhy did we add sugar to the list of survival foods to add to your pantry? Here are some great reasons:

 

First, it makes many things taste better! And who wouldn’t want better tasting food during the next zombie apocalypse?

 

Adding to that, the NIH says this about the use of sugar in food:

 

Although the main reason for the use of sugar is its sweet taste, sugar has many other functions in food technology. The most important among these are that added sugar in foods acts as a sweetener, preservative, texture modifier, fermentation substrate, flavoring and coloring agent, bulking agent.

 

Also, sugar is a preservative. It does this by maintaining and stabilizing the water content in foods, and as such, sugar helps to prevent or slow the growth of bacteria, molds, and yeast. Just think foods like jam and preserves. Also soda’s.

 

This is why many foods and beverages containing high concentrations of sugars do not need to be refrigerated.

 

#5 Salt

cooking salt survival food supplySought after for millennia, salt is essential to life, to making food test better, and used as an effective preservative among many other benefits its known for. Table salt, sea salt, and many other salts found at your local grocery store give you many options to obtain it at an affordable price. And when stored in the right conditions, you will not need to worry about the shelf life of salt; its going to outlast you for sure!

 

You should definitely make sure that some of your salt is Iodized salt. Iodized salt is salt that contains small amounts of sodium iodide or potassium iodide. It’s normal salt that has been sprayed with potassium iodate. It looks and tastes the same! The majority of table salt used nowadays is iodized, and it comes with many benefits. Iodized salt helps create the hormones that regulate heart rate and blood pressure. It also helps to burn extra fat deposits that could lead to heart disease. Salt promotes healthy hydration levels and creates a balance of electrolytes. This balance is crucial for the proper functioning of the cells, muscles, tissues, and organs.

Youcan read more about the benefits of Iodized salt on WebMD!

 

 

 

#6 Cooking Oil

 

cooking-oil-survival food supplyMost people who love great oil love EVO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), and it is definitely a good idea to keep some stockpiled at all times, especially because of all of its known health benefits. But when it comes to shelf life, nothing beats vegetable shortening!

 

This is easy to obtain…think Crisco, which is still the best-known brand of shortening in the US, consisting of a blend of partially and fully hydrogenated soybean and palm oils.

 

Vegetable shortening is very shelf stable, lasting up to 5 years in unopened metal cans.

 

Another great option (if you don’t mind pork based products) is Lard; the calorie rich survival food of The Great Depression. But, the shelf life of Lard is only 3 – 6 months (longer if frozen), making it not as good for stockpiling as vegetable shortening!

 

#7 Peanut Butter (or almond butter)

 

peanut butter best survival food supplyIs peanut butter a good survival food? YES – Peanut butter is really good survival food. It is readily available, shelf-stable, nutrient-rich, calorie-dense and easy to store. And it tastes great! But depending on the shelf life you are looking to store peanut butter for, you have some options to consider; butter or powdered peanut butter that is.

 

How Long Will Peanut Butter Last?

 

The shelf life of any food depends on certain basic factors. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives general guidelines for storing food on our shelves at home.

Peanut Butter, unopened 6-9 months Refrigeration not needed
Peanut Butter, opened 2-3 months Lasts 6 -9 months in refrigerator

 

Powdered peanut butter

 

As stated, you don’t need to only stockpile peanut butter in a jar, as there are companies out there that make emergency long term peanut butter powder mix for food storage, and this has a shelf life of 10 – 15 years!

 

#8 Jelly

 

Best Jelly Survival FoodsIf you got peanut butter, you need jelly! Jelly tastes great, and has a long shelf life. According to Britannica in What’s the Difference Between Jam, Jelly, and Preserves, Jelly has the smoothest consistency and is made by crushing a fruit and discarding the solid chunky leftovers. This leaves only the fruit juice, which is then mixed with a substance called pectin and heated to form the gelatinous spread.

 

Jam is similarly made by crushing a fruit, but this spread leaves in most of the solid pieces of the fruit’s fibers and seeds (if they’re small enough and safe to consume) to give it a spreadable consistency.

 

Jelly is a great survival food as its packed with calories, tastes great, and has a long shelf life! It is also inexpensive, so you have no reason to add a few extra jars of jelly to your stockpile every time you head over to the supermarket! And because peanut butter & jelly is such a favorite stable for most households, it surely will not go to waste and you can easily rotate in your daily meal planning.

 

#9 Flour

flour cooking food survival checklistFlour is a must have for all survival food kits, and is at the center of most of all baking recipes. What is Flour? According to Wikipedia, Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for some cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe.

 

It is said that Flour will last 20-30 years in food grade buckets if kept at the proper temperatures. All long term containers for flour should be stored at between 40 and 70 degrees for optimal shelf life and nutrition. All food storage should be kept between 40 and 70 degrees for optimal shelf life and nutrition.

 

Many people wonder how to store Flour as a survival food. If you want to store flour for months, years, or even decades, the best solution is to use oxygen absorbents in sealed Mylar bags. Mylar bags are made from a metal-like material which do not succumb to moisture and oxygen. The last thing that you want is your Flour to become molded, and when you need it most, it will be unusable!

 

#10 Pasta

pasta supplies survival foodsLiving in New York City, most love pasta, and have pasta at least a few time a week! Pasta makes a good survival food since it is a shelf-stable and energy-dense source of carbohydrates that is both cheap and widely available. Pasta lasts virtually forever, and is a very good for sustenance as its packed with calories!

 

As we stated, pasta is super cheap, and you can buy a pound of pasta at most stores for around $1.00. If you go to Costco you can buy pasta in bulk. We have been able to find deals where we bought 9 pounds of pasta for around $8 dollars! Bottom line is pasta is a great survival food, with a long shelf life, and you’re able to even enjoy many types of pasta’s and make many different dishes. This mean even if the world is falling apart you’ll be enjoying your favorite Italian dishes, and will go to sleep well fed!

 

#11 Sauce

 

Tomato Sauce Food Survival StorageYes, you should’ve figured the next survival food item on our list would be sauce. Tomato sauce that is! If you’re stacking pasta as a survival item, you’d bet that most New Yorker’s want to have sauce with it.

 

Tomato sauce is loaded with vitamins, salt, sugar, and calories. It tastes great, and it has a long shelf life. Sauce is easy to store, and it does not cost a lot of money to add to your stockpile of survival foods.

 

Sauce is something you can add to your shopping list and rotate in your daily menu, so it shouldn’t be hard to stockpile. You should also have a survival garden if possible, even on your balcony or with a home hydroponics system; and tomatoes are super easy to grow! But we will save that for another post.

 

 

 

 

#12 Powdered Milk

 

Powdered Milk Survival Food StorageYes, powdered milk should be included in every person’s survival kit! Actually used in everyday meal planning, it is high in protein, calcium, and vitamins. Powdered milk, also called dried milk, or milk powder, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness.

 

One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated, due to its low moisture content.

 

Another great reason to stockpile powdered milk is because it nutritionally equivalent to fresh milk. It can be added to recipes to increase the protein content and nutritional value. It’s easy to store, and easy to make in any situation, so this is a survival item we list as a must have!

 

#13 Alcohol

 

Alcohol Prepping - Liquor SuppliesYup, Alcohol is on our list of 21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile (SOON)! And we’re not referring to rubbing Alcohol. Nope, we’re talking Whisky, Vodka, Rum, Wine, or whatever else floats your boat. Alcohol, especially anything 80 proof or over, like Vodka, has an extremely long shelf life. In fact it has been stated that if the bottle has not been opened, it will last indefinitely. Vodka will taste almost exactly the same if opened the day after purchase, or 40 years later.

 

Alcohol is a great survival item to include, and can even make a great battering item. And if you’re hunkered down in a bunker, or when the zombie Apocalypse strikes, what better way to spend it then buzzed off your ass with a good bottle of your favorite Spirit?

 

Bottom line is Alcohol is something everyone should add to their survival stockpile, for consumption or for trade when needed.

 

#14 Canned Fish / Meats

 

Canned Fish - Canned Meat Survival FoodsCanned Fish & Meats. Think Tuna, Sardines, Canned Salmon, and of course SPAM!

 

Canned fish & meats are excellent survival foods to stack, as they are both nutritious and easily storable. Prices have continued to rise, especially due to current spikes in inflation, however every person should have these canned items in their pantry!

 

These canned items can also be rotated into every day use, so the likely hood of them “going bad” is not of great concern. Turkey & chicken canned products are also very popular, and most already find themselves shopping for these products each time they visit their supermarket.

 

When the stores all close you will be really happy that you had decided to stockpile canned fish & meats, and so will anyone else that resides with you (or the family & friends that will be looking to grub off you in hard times)!

 

#15 Candy

 

candy survival food stock pilingIf the World goes to shit and the shelves at the store are empty, you’d better believe that Candy is something you want to have as one of the items in your survival food stockpile! Hard candies, chocolates, and all kinds of treats. Sweats are loaded in calories and they just taste great. They are a fast source of energy, and many candies last virtually forever.

 

Another great reason Candy made our 21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile (SOON) list is because it is extremely affordable to obtain. You can literally buy POUNDS of candy for a few dollars (think your local dollar store). And because most large bags of candy are already sealed and air tight, this makes it instantly ready to store in your stockpile without any further preparation. And when Halloween comes around you can score massive amounts of Candy for FREE.

 

Candy makes a great survival food item and this is why we included it in our list!

 

#16 Canned Vegetables

 

Canned Vegetables - 21 survival foodsYou were always told as a kid to eat your vegetables. In our list of 21 survival foods you should stockpile we’re going to tell you it again; eat your vegetables! Packed with nutrition, and “good calories”, canned vegetables are cheap to acquire, and have a long shelf life.

 

Canned vegetables are great to stockpile because they are also something most households in New York City incorporate into their daily meals anyway. So this makes for easy rotation, consuming those items that have been purchased a year or more ago, and replacing it with newly bought canned vegetables. Low-acid foods (such as canned vegetables) have a shelf-life of 2 to 5 years, so you can be sure that adding a bulk purchase will not spoil fast!

 

Some great tasting canned vegetables include corn, green beans, mixed vegetables, and beets.

 

If you live in NYC you are already accustomed to enjoying rice or pasta dishes that include canned vegetables. When in need of a survival food stockpile the bottom line is that you want to make sure you have your veggies, and canned vegetables are the best way to get them!

 

 

#17 Honey

 

honey - stockpile foodHoney is a miracle food.

Unless your a very young child, you certainly know what honey is, and probably love it! Honey is a sweet, healthy food substance made by honey bees and some other bees. Besides being a great tasting, long term storeable food, honey has great medical usages as well.

 

Honey has long been used as a topical antibiotic by practitioners of traditional and herbal medicine. Numerous studies have shown that honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, although potency varies widely between different honeys.

 

Honey is definitely a survival food you want to stockpile!

 

#18 Apple Cinedar Vinegar

 

Apple Cider Vinegar - food storageApple Cider Vinegar has so many wonderful uses that it is one of our most essential items in our “liquid” survival items. Apple cider vinegar is naturally acidic and has antimicrobial properties. This means it could help improve the skin barrier and prevent infections. It also has a ton of different beauty, household, and cooking uses. These include cleaning, preserving food, and improving many different health functions.

 

From personal usage I can attest to the fact that using it has helped me stay healthier during Flu season, and also get over sickness quicker than in past occurrences were Apple Cider Vinegar wasn’t used frequently (this is not medical advise, or even a suggestion that you should use Apple Cider Vinegar, just my personal experience!).

 

This is definitely a long-term storeable survival item that should be considered for anyone looking to add quality items to their stack!

 

#19 Coffee / Tea

 

Coffee and tea survival foodThe most consumed beverages in the World; Coffee and Tea. Who could even think of enduring more than an hour in the morning without it, never mind in the event of food shortages, or some other catastrophic event we are prepping for in the first place! Light roast, dark roast, green tea, or even decaf. Storing coffee and tea is easy to do, and is surely affordable. As far as tea goes, it may lose flavor or color over many years, but it technically doesn’t “go bad”.

 

Ground Coffee, on average has a shelf life of 6 months to a few years when it comes to flavor, but as with any other consumable, it really depends on how you’re storing it, if it is air-tight, etc. The best coffee to store is definitely instant coffee, and it’s been stated that the shelf life on instant coffee is as long as 20 years!

 

The best thing about adding coffee and tea to your survival food bank is that because most consume this on a daily basis, you can easily rotate your stockpile by consuming items that are a few months old with newer bought items.

 

Using this strategy you will not have to worry about not having coffee or tea in your food storage stockpile, and at the same time there won’t be a chance that it will get “stale”

 

#20 Water

 

water - water filters - water storageYou can go weeks without food, but in less than a week without water, you’re a goner! Water is the key to survival, especially clean water. Yes you can buy water from the grocery store, and store it in your house, but it does take up lots of space. Water storage definitely depends on many factors, like how many people live in your home, and the age of each person. If catastrophe strikes, you want to be sure that you have enough water on hand to last you until the power, and the water sources are restored!

 

Besides having bottled water stored at home you can consider water filtration systems, and other water collection strategies. In an extreme survival situation were you must get water you can even access your home hot water heater! These can be as large as 150 gallons, so it can be a great source of water when you can’t find it anywhere else!

 

These are survival tactics that you need to be aware of, and share with others!

 

#21 GHEE (Shelf Stable Butter)

 

ghee - butter - survival foodsGHEE is a class of clarified butter. GHEE sounds like an STD you got after a bad night out in an afterhours in NYC; but it’s actually something you want! Ghee is usually prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from cream, skimming any impurities from the surface, then pouring and retaining the clear liquid fat while discarding the solid residue that has settled to the bottom.

 

What is the difference between butter and ghee? Ghee has a slightly higher concentration of fat than butter and more calories. One tablespoon of ghee has about 120 calories , whereas one tablespoon of butter has about 102 calories.

 

How to store GHEE? Ghee is generally found to be packaged in airtight glass jars. The jars should be kept away from direct sunlight as sunlight can cause moisture to build inside the jar. Moisture can cause deterioration to the ghee’s quality as well as reduce its shelf life. If the jar is unopened, it does not need to be refrigerated as long as the previously mentioned conditions are met.

 

21 survival foods every household in NYC should stockpile

In this day and age we hope that we will ever need to rely on survival foods, but its better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it! This list can help you easily prepare for any disruption we may encounter here in NYC; from a black-out, to another major catastrophe.

 

Please let us now what you think of our list, and comment below if you feel other items should have made this list of survival foods everyone should stockpile!

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