Wouldnt I be better off just stockpiling canned and dried foods?
A. It’s a good idea to include some familiar canned or dry foods in your pantry for short term use. These foods are expensive, however, and their nutritional value declines rather quickly. Storage life on water packed or oil packed foods is 1-2 years. For the best value and the longest shelf life, you should build your reserve around properly packaged whole grains, beans and dehydrated foods, packed in an oxygen free environment. The Dehydrated foods have a storage life of 7-10 years. Some mixes such as egg mixes, baking mixes, powdered milk, and granola may only last 3-5 years if not kept cool. Every family should store 4 to 5 gallons of cooking oil per year and rotate stock. When one gallon is used up, replace with a fresh one and go on to the next oldest gallon for current use. If you are planning on living off of storage food for a sustained length of time this is especially important.
