The Food Storage Law of 3’s
I learned a valuable food storage lesson a few weeks ago by a Master Food Preserver. It has me rethinking my whole food storage plan. It’s this concept – to think about HOW you store your food and not just WHAT you store. For example, if you live in an area where storms frequently knock out the power, then relying on your freezer as the only source of food storage could be asking for trouble.
Grandma’s adage, don’t put your eggs all in one basket, rings true even today. The Law of 3’s in food storage is this:
Always have your food stored in at least three ways.
We all have our food storage comfort zone, our favorite method – and mine is definitely buying in bulk and using the freezer. There is a big hole in this system, though and my master preserver friend has convinced me to really diversify.
Since rule #1 of food storage is use it or lose it, then it’s important to use all varieties of stored food as part of your diet. When your food storage is an extension of your pantry you are rotating efficiently and practicing how to cook with many kinds of preserved foods.
Rethinking Food Storage – Canning: Water Bath and Pressure
I recently went to a class and learned how to pressure can. I’ve had the water bath method covered for years, but not having the pressure canning piece has definitely left a hole in my overall plan. We recently found that the electrical plug for one of our freezers when out. Luckily we caught it in time, but having all my meat in the freezer is not following the Law of 3’s and opens me to losing a big part of what I have stored.
Get the skills you need and learn to can your own fruits, meats, and vegetables. Here’s Tyra’s post from last year: Water Bath Canning 101 and my first “solo” try at pressure canning.
Rethinking Food Storage – Dehydrating
Another method that I need to utilize more is dehydrating. I used to have a dehydrator processing continually all summer long, but I got out of the habit. I pulled it out of storage after talking with my friend and dried 20 pounds of asparagus.
Rethinking Food Storage – Freezer
I haven’t given up my food storage plan to use the freezer! It’s just about diversity now. The freezer is really good for all kinds of food, so make sure it is part of your plan too.
Learn to freeze berries and about when you can skip blanching vegetables before freezing.
Rethinking Food Storage – Buy It at the Grocery
Does your local grocery have a semi-annual canned food sale? This is a great time to stock up on some of the regular items that your family might use. We always purchase a years worth of tomato sauce and tomato paste in pre-packaged cans.
Even purchasing at discount stores, like Grocery Outlet, will give you a quick way to get your three month supply finished. Be careful with the expiration dates and take a look at this post to see when you should pay attention to them.
Rethinking Food Storage – Freeze Dried Foods
One of the newer methods for food storage is freeze dried foods. They boast 25-year shelf life and the convenience of “just add water” for a fabulous source of nutrition. These companies, like MyFoodStorage.com, offer food with 100% of the RDA of vitamins and minerals. This shelf life and nutritional value are extended up to 10 years.
Freeze dried foods also require less square footage to store than their wet counterparts. This method has enabled the development of powdered milk, eggs, cheese, and butter; four items that make (or break) practically every meal at my house. These four are also perishable goods that we can’t “stock up on” unless we store them dry.
And finally, although they are more expensive, freeze dried foods offer faster cooking times. Entrees are ready in as little as 7-11 minutes! These quick to make, healthy foods are my choice for the foods I have included in my 72-hour kits. We also use them when the power is out because they are quick and easy to prepare.
Take time to rethink your food storage and diversify. What other methods can you add to your food supplies for a well-balanced food storage plan?
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I FINALLY found a long term storage food supplier that is organic, so NO GMO’s. I know that it is not as important to many others as it is for me, (especially since it is a bit more expensive) but I truly believe in organics, and am so convinced that GMO’s, all soy products, textured soy protein or TSP, high fructose corn syrup or HFCS, and all forms of corn that is NOT GMO free, are so bad for you that even for short periods of time should not be consumed if we want to stay healthy. If you are interested, here is the direct link to MaryJanesFarm “grocery” store.
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/categories/food-pantry.asp
I am not affiliated in any way, but have purchased several of her meals, and they are GOOD! I plan to purchase more but would also like to get my own meals canned, frozen and dried, too.
I also have become aware that a power outage is my most frequent disaster, so having items that are not frozen are going to be first on my list. The freezer will be for foods not storable any other way.
As I’m sure we all know, if you have a freezer that is not completely full, filling it with jugs of water will help, not only for keeping the foods frozen longer ( what an ice chest does), but will also provide much needed water when thawed out for consumption or use as bathing or for flushing toilets.
The same goes for your refrigerator: filled jugs of water to help keep it running well, and for use later if needed.
Just remember, as with food, ROTATE regularly!
Good article!
Thank you for sharing your valuable tips and the link to Mary Jane’s Farm. I can’t wait to check it out!
A bit off this particular topic, but this idea of “not putting all your eggs in one basket” ( great picture to denote this, BTW!), this can be said about all aspects of being prepared. You should always have more than one way to be prepared for everything. ( AND stored in more than one place! Won’t do any good to have several options to purify water if they all wash away in a flood) More than one way to store/purify water; food ( as mentioned here); shelter; heat/cooking; and to protect yourself from ‘invaders’: (the main reason for this particular comment) I just thought it might be a good idea to have more than one way to protect yourself in a SHTF scenario. I have pepper spray, am looking into getting a hunting bow and also an air rifle/BB type gun.
We should also have several options for shelter, car/tent/emergency blanket/tarp, etc.,
The four most important factors in any disaster/emergency are Shelter/Water/Food/Heat. I have added Protection as a fifth.
I have several individual water purifiers, from a couple of different manufacturers plus a large Berkley filter for a more permanent option. I have on my “want” list a water distiller as well.
I have several sources for heat/cooking: an emergency stove with fuel cubes, 2 propane grills, an oil lantern with ‘cooktop’, lighters, waterproof matches, one piece starters, etc.
I really appreciate this article and all others that you have done so much research on with so many ideas that I haven’t yet thought of.
Keep up the great work!
You are so right, the law of three’s is a part of all aspects of being prepared. You’ve read my mind! I have a whole series scheduled on the topic. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you comments.
Wonderful! I can’t wait to read your series!