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Other Sources (besides this FAQ)

This FAQ does not tell me what I need to know!

Please post your question in this site at Survival Talk or put the question to the misc.survivalism newsgroup. You can also post to the rec.food.preserving newsgroup. You could even resort to the tried and true method, a book.

The following is a list of books that I have found to have useful information. It is by no means an exhaustive list on the subject. If you have books you would like to suggest, please feel free to e-mail me with the particulars. If you can please include the same kind of information about the book in question as you see below, particularly the ISBN #, if it has one.

Books

Pamphlets

Magazines

Backwoods Home Magazine. Dave Duffy, publisher.
P.O. Box 40
Montague, CA 96064
(916) 459-3500
(800) 835-2418 (orders only)
E-mail: backwood@snowcrest.net
http://www.backwoods.com

Countryside & Small Stock Journal
N2601 Winter Sports Rd.
Withee, Wisconsin 54498
(800) 551-5691

Mother Earth News
P.O. Box 56302
Boulder, CO 80322-6302
(303) 678-0439
http://www.motherearthnews.com/

Phone (non-modem)

Your extension service--check your local university directory, especially if its a Land Grant College; look under Government Services, under Dept. of Agriculture. Master Preservers--similar to Master Gardeners or Master Composters.

Electronic

Software Sources

[I have not used any of these programs myself, but I'm listing them for those who might be interested - editor]

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/calc.html
There are two Excel spreadsheets here that can also be imported into Lotus 123, Quattropro or Works For Windows. The first spreadsheet is a nutritional calculator showing the breakdown of 65 nutrients for 167 foods with more being importable. The second spread sheet is a yearly supply calculator.

http://waltonfeed.com/self/plan.html
A nutritional calculator that allows you to enter your food supply and it gives you a daily nutritional printout. This is a smaller, less versatile version of the one from Revelar, but is less resource intensive and will run on a DOS only machine.

http://www.revelar.com/fsp.html
A more extensive, versatile version of the above program, makes it much easier to modify for personal use. It also requires at least a 486, Windows and 8mb of Ram. A version for the Mac is available as well.

http://beprepared.com (click on free software area)
Offered on the Emergency Essentials website. The first program is a food planner demo for creating shopping lists and planning recipes for any length of time. The second is a 72 hour preparedness program that will take you through various disasters and how to prepare for them.

Food and Equipment Suppliers

Mail Ordering Storage Foods -- What You Should Know

When it comes to building a long term food storage program, sooner or later it is going to become necessary to seriously consider mail ordering at least a part of the foods you want to store. Even for those of us who try do as much as we can locally there are some things which are not going to be easily available in your area. Because of this I have included below a list of food and equipment suppliers where just about anything can be found.

Because many do find it necessary or desirable to purchase through mail order I am including a few points which should be considered before shelling out the cash.

  1. Find out how much the shipping costs are going to be. Grains and legumes are relatively cheap, but weigh a lot when bought by the five or six gallon-bucket full. Because of this, shipping charges can sometimes as much as double the actual cost of the product by the time you get it to your door. Adding insult to injury is the new $2.00 per bucket fee UPS is charging. Compare carefully each company's list price and their shipping charges, combined, when deciding who to order from. Saving up for a larger order, or trying to find someone to combine orders with might enable you to make a large enough order to get a price break on shipping. You could also take a vacation in the area of the company's location or swing through the area on the way back from one. If you choose to do this, be certain to call ahead and let them know so they'll have your order ready and waiting for you. The company in the next state may be slightly higher on the list price, but end up being much cheaper than having it shipped in from six states away.

  2. Ask the supplier when your order is going to ship. Some suppliers are way behind in order filling and you could be waiting and waiting. Slowness in shipping is not necessarily a sign of bad business. Some suppliers may drag their feet, but others may be genuinely swamped by the volume of business they are receiving because they have a good product at a fair price.

  3. How fresh is the product you are ordering? Freshness is what it's all about when it comes to storage foods. If a food has a five year shelf life in its container then you want as much of those five years to be on your shelf, not the supplier's.

  4. Be very clear as to how the product you are ordering is packed. Many suppliers offer identical foods packed in several different ways. Be certain the product number you are giving the salesperson is for the product packed in the manner in which you want it.

  5. If you are ordering foods packed in a nitrogen flushed oxygen free container (with or without an oxygen absorber packet added) then ask about the laboratory test results that measure the oxygen content of the head gasses in the container. This is of great importance if you are counting on the extra storage life such packaging will give you. There are but a few companies such as Perma Pak, Sam Andy and Walton Feed that actually produce packaged storage foods and most dealers only distribute and retail their products. If the dealer can not produce the manufacturer's test data measuring the head gasses of the products they are selling then keep looking.

  6. If you are purchasing wheat and intend to use it primarily for bread making then be sure to ask about its protein content. The best breads need at least 12% protein and the higher the better. Also take a close look at the weight of the grain. One company's five or six gallon bucket of wheat may not weigh the same as another's. The same applies to dehydrated foods such as fruits, vegetables, tvp, etc. Ask about the moisture content of bulk foods which are not already packaged for long term storage. 10% moisture is where you want to be for grains, legumes and most everything else.

  7. What is the company's damage and return policy? If your carefully packed superpails and #10 cans get dented or cracked in shipping you'll need to have them replaced. Most mail order companies will require you to contact the shipper (such as UPS) for a claim number. The shipper may or may not require an inspection so don't destroy any packaging or containers until you know for sure.

Suppliers

DISCLAIMER: The addresses listed below were either found by me or sent to me by the business owners or interested readers. I make NO representation as to their worthiness to do business with. Most of these merchants or manufacturers have been in their field for many years and will be around for many more and are honorable in their dealings. However, there are some businesses that spring up and then dissapear and with every update of this work there is at least one or two that I cannot locate from the previous update. The advent of the World Wide Web has only exacerbated this problem. In addition to the precautions mentioned above you should take all of the usual precautions in mail or phone ordering.

I have accumulated the following list of names and addresses of various suppliers of one thing or another relating to food preservation and storage. They are roughly categorized by type:

STORAGE FOOD MANUFACTURERS: the actual producers or packagers of storage foods. Some also do retail sales of their products, but others don't.

FOOD PRESERVATION DEALERS AND SUPPLIERS: these are businesses dealing with the aspects of food *preservation* as opposed to storage. Canning, meat curing, fermented milks, pickling, spices, soybean products, brewing, vintning, etc.

FOOD STORAGE AND PRESERVATION EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS: the actual manufaturers of equipment. Some will do retail sales and some do not.

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS: self-explanatory.

STORAGE FOOD RETAIL DEALERS: retail sales of all of the above.

Naturally, addresses, phone numbers, web sites, etc change over time so if you have more current information than I'm giving here, please be so kind as to let me know. Additionally, I'm always looking for new companies so if you have some that I don't have I'd like to see those too. Thanks - ed.

Storage Food Manufacturers

  • ALLIANCE FOODS
    P.O. Box 845
    Invercargill, New Zealand
    0064 3 2158850 voice
    0064 3 2159889 fax

    A New Zealand producer of freeze dried foods.

  • ALPINEAIRE FOODS
    Post Office Box 926
    Nevada City, Nevada 95959
    (800) 322-6325
    (916) 272-2624 fax
    http://www.alpineairefoods.com/
    E-mail: sales@alpineairefoods.com

    Storage food manufacturer. Shelf stable foods with a long storage life. Many foods that require no cooking. Also backpacking meals.

  • FREEZE DRY FOODS, LIMITED
    579 Speer Rd
    Oakville, Ontario L6K 264 Canada
    (905) 844-1471
    (905) 844-8140 fax
    http://www.freeze-dry.com/
    e-mail: info@freeze-dry.com

    A Canadian freeze-dried foods manufacturer. Produces Hardee Camping Foods. List of dealers on site.

  • HARVEST FOODWORKS
    445 HWY 29
    RR#1
    Toledo, Ontario KOE 1YO, Canada
    (800) 268-4268
    (613) 275-2218
    (613) 275-1359 (fax)
    http://www.harvest.on.ca
    e-mail: thefolks@harvest.on.ca

    A Canadian producer of primarily vegetarian (some have meats) dehydrated and freeze dried foods. A links page gives location of dealers. Ingredients and nutrition information on site.

  • OREGON FREEZE DRY, INC (Mountain House)
    P.O. Box 1048
    Albany, OR 97321
    (800) 547-0244
    (541) 967-6527 fax
    (541) 926-6001 international
    http://www.ofd.com/mh/index.html
    E-mail: mtnhouse@ofd.com

    Manufacturer of Mountain House freeze dried foods in pouches and larger cans. Does not sell direct, but through distributors.

  • READY RESERVE FOODS
    Post Office Box 697
    Beaumont, California 92223
    (800) 453-2202

    Over 100 different dry food products for long term storage.

  • SAM ANDY FOODS
    800 West Airport Frwy., Ste. #1100
    Irving, Texas 75062
    (214) 445-4144
    (800) 331-0358

    Manufacturer of low-moisture, long storage life foods. equipment, supplies and information for survival and emergency preparedness. Publishes a periodic newsletter - call to request a free copy.

  • SOPAKCO
    P.O. Box 1129
    215 South Mullins St
    Mullins, South Carolina 29574
    (800) 776-8731
    (803) 464-0121
    (803) 464-2178 fax
    http://www.sopakco.com
    E-mail: MLBailey@worldnet.att.netBR>

    Manufacturer of military MRE's, their civilian MRE equivalent brand Camp & Trail and humanitarian pouch meals. Some product info on site.

  • STAR FOOD PROCESSING, INC.
    3444 East Commerce Street
    San Antonio, Texas 78220
    (800) 882-MEAL

    RETAIL SALES. Fully cooked heat & eat serving trays. Each tray contains 106 ounces of fully cooked, ready to eat products. Thirty minutes time required to prepare a meal from pantry to the table. This product is shelf stable and requires no refrigeration or freezing for storage. Normal shelf life is two years.

  • WALTON FEED,INC
    135 North 10th
    P.O. Box 307
    Montpelier, ID 83254
    (800) 269-8563
    http://waltonfeed.com

    RETAIL SALES. Major manufacturer and supplier of storage foods. N2 packed dehydrated foods, grains/legumes bulk and N2 packed, oxygen absorbers. Free food storage planning software. Labels of most products available for viewing on site. Very informative web site.

  • WORNICK COMPANY, THE (fomerly Right Away Foods and Shelf Stable Foods) 200 North First Street
    McAllen, TX 78501
    (800) 565-4147 (Mil-Spec orders)
    (210) 687-9401
    (210) 687-7028 fax
    http://www.wornick.com

    Manufacturer of military MRE's, their civilian MRE equivalent brand *Mil-Spec* and humanitarian pouch meals. Good information on military and civilian MRE's on their site.

    Food Preservation Dealers and Suppliers

    Canning, meat curing, food drying, spices, pickling, cultured milk products, soybean products, etc.

    Food Storage and Preservation Equipment Manufacturers

    Diatomaceous Earth Manufacturers and Dealers

    Storage Food Retail Dealers

    NOTE: There are were dozens of other retail suppliers listed, but Captain Dave has chosen not to include on this page due to space limitations. If you wish to see the entire list, please download the full text version of the FAQ.

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