# What food would you run out of first?



## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

Because of our glorious leader and the Congress of Baboons, the wifey and I are facing either furloughs or layoffs if this budget thing isn't resolved in a few days.

I started thinking about my food preps. They're not just for whatever catastrophe you're currently "preparing" for, but for personal hard times as well, such as this. I thought, "Now's a great time to test our food preps." 

Even if we still have jobs, I thought about quitting the grocery store, and all food supplies, and living entirely off of our food preps, as long as we can. Even though we have savings, this would: 

1. Help us save money short-term.
2. Help us rotate our food stock.
3. Let us know what we are deficient in regarding our preps.

Just thinking for a couple minutes, I know that the first things we would run out of are:

Milk
Coffee creamer
Eggs
Fruit juice

Then, we'd move on to:

Veggies
Fresh fruits

You get the idea. It really made me rethink my food storage priorities. Sure, rice, beans, and pressure canned meat are great, essential even, but when you run out of all dairy products, and then take away your produce, and all pretty quickly, you start to realize what a fragile position you're still in.

I'm sure you've all heard before, you can starve to death with a belly full of meat. If it's lean meat, no fat, and you're not getting greens or fats, you can very easily die of malnutrition with a full stomach.

So, tell me, when thinking in this scenario, what would you run out of first, how long would it take, and what steps should you take to correct this?


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

We been through this a few times. Everything in the fridge and freezer then everything perisable

You can't starve to death with a belly full of meat. If you eat only rabbit you might eventually have a problem. Most meat has plenty of fat.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Meat would be what we have the least of. Sumtin we been workin on an will continue ta do so.

We've used our stuff when times got tough. We also use some from time ta time just ta rotate it out.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

We are facing the waiting game right now in regards to my DH's job. The next site doesn't break ground til the end of March so we are on our own til then. We are going to be living off our preps til then. 

But I already see a weakness with dairy. I have powdered whole milk for Roo and canned butter but we lack in cheese. We do have about 5 dz eggs. I have everything to make bread and tons of canned, tinned and frozen meat.

So I'll have to get some FD cheese powder and milk when things get better.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Fresh produce, then dairy.

I've had to live off my preps due to illness and the inability to work. Not fun.


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## memrymaker (Dec 12, 2012)

Interesting thread.  I would also think dairy would be the first thing gone. With 3 kids, they go through milk like crazy!


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

swjohnsey said:


> We been through this a few times. Everything in the fridge and freezer then everything perisable
> 
> You can't starve to death with a belly full of meat. If you eat only rabbit you might eventually have a problem. Most meat has plenty of fat.


Yes, you can, and it's happened. You point out rabbit, which is actually called rabbit starvation, seen here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

however, it can happen with any very lean meat. The same applies if you cut out fats from you diet, as many people are prone to do when losing weight.

You being a backpacker know the value of sodium, salts, and electrolytes in your diet. I've seen people shut down and go into seizures on the trail because they drank so much water over a period of days, and thought they were being smart when they had no salt or potassium at all in their food supply. Same principle, but it takes longer with lack of fats than lack of electrolytes.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I'd have to say coffee would be the first thing to go. I dont have a "coffee habit" now like I did years ago so I dont store it beyond regular shopping trips. Its one of things "we" will voluntarily give up when necessary since I am the only one in the house that drinks it.

Pretty much everything else is good for a "Long Time". Fresh fruits and veggies would take a hit but we have plenty of canned and dehydrated. We have greens growing year round so we would have some fresh veggies available.


Sue(Gypsysue), we will always have plenty of "Blue Cornbread"!lol


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

WWhermit said:


> Yes, you can, and it's happened. You point out rabbit, which is actually called rabbit starvation, seen here:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation
> 
> ...


I had added the hydration tablets to our BOB preps for this very reason. I am now going to add the Gatorade powder too.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I would say coffee and chocolate or cocoa but I know we would be rationing out the last bits of it like it was gold, probably never use the last of it
If we were buying everything it would be milk, bread, eggs but we have those things on our homestead.
Sunflower oil maybe.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Yellow mustard. But I wouldn't miss it.

Had to live off mainly preps before, and no, it's not the best situation to be in, but it does make you do a priority and reality check. Amazing the little things that you can do without in order to afford what you need. And the things you think you need at first sometimes end up being things you can really do without quite comfortably.

Creamer? Use powdered milk. Fresh veggies and fruit? Grow them and can or freeze the extra. Buy over ripe on clearance. Shop farmer's markets, or barter with a gardener/orchard owner. Meat? Stretch that expensive stuff with slow cooker meals in a hearty broth you make from leftover veggie parts you store in the freezer. Or use oatmeal/bread crumbs to stretch out meatloaves. Using barley, lentils, wheat in meat dishes or as a meat substitute in meat broth based dishes is still filling and hearty.

Look online for depression era or wartime type recipes and historical references to see how people coped and still managed to make good wholesome food without eggs, dairy, flour, etc. Puts things in perspective, for me anyways.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

WWhermit said:


> Yes, you can, and it's happened. You point out rabbit, which is actually called rabbit starvation, seen here:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation
> 
> ...


The only folks who I know have died from rabbit starvation were canibalizing the corpses of humans who had died from starvation. If you eat a diet of processed foods you will get adequate salt and electrolytes. I have seen people people shut down and go into seizures but not on the trail. These were Rangers trying to hump 100 pounds of gear in hot weather.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

swjohnsey said:


> The only folks who I know have died from rabbit starvation were canibalizing the corpses of humans who had died from starvation. If you eat a diet of processed foods you will get adequate salt and electrolytes. I have seen people people shut down and go into seizures but not on the trail. These were Rangers trying to hump 100 pounds of gear in hot weather.


Ever hear of dying from malnutrition? Same thing as dying with a full stomach. We would see this all the time with the homeless dying in the hospitals in NYC. Full stomachs, but their organs shut down from lack of simple nutrients.

Dunno about rangers going into seizures. I've spent my trail time on the trail. Many people don't take into consideration the importance of fats and electrolytes.

Obviously, none of this is a risk in the situation I may find myself in, but it does present some interesting scenarios. Eventually, in everyone's pantry, something will run out first. No matter how much you stock, something will run out.

I can hardly envision a time when I, or any of us, will have to rely on what we've stored and what we can grow for the rest of our lives. If that were truly the case, I think we're all screwed. But, if I'm looking for a year or more, which I am trying to be prepared for, I'd like to have all the necessary items to provide a balanced diet for me and my family during that time.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

That's easy, French wine and Caviar, in fact we may be out right now !


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## mpguy18 (Sep 7, 2011)

The first things you normally run out of are the veggies, milk products and fresh meat.

Fortunately have been there done that when I was young and learned from the situation. Needed to learn to plan and adapt.

Veggies - grow year round. As long as you are in a single location, there are always things to grow. Look under any posting by Andi - she's a guru.

Milk products take a concerted effort. Powdered products work well. If you do not have little ones, coffee creamer is a great substitute. When sales are on for cheese, coat blocks with wax. Lasts forever.

Fresh meat will have to be limited and substituted for caned, unless you are a hunter with a freezer. Even then, make sausage, dried, smoked and jerky. This area is the toughest, at least it was for us.


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

We will run out of produce, dairy, eggs and bread. We have started gardening but it will be a while before that furnishes much, we have some UHT milk and condensed milk but need to get dried milk (I won't drink it but I'll cook with it.). Bread will be a real problem until we can get stocked up on flour, whole grains and a mill for the grains. This spring we are going to get some chickens but those won't do us much good until big enough to butcher or lay eggs. We have been canning chicken, turkey and ham; we won't run out of meat so quickly but still need more put by before SHTF.

I can see my shopping list for next month getting longer and longer. I hope I have enough time to purchase what we need.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

For fresh produce, sprouts are easy and quick to grow, and packed with nutrients.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

Lake Windsong said:


> For fresh produce, sprouts are easy and quick to grow, and packed with nutrients.


You know, you're absolutely right! And in fact, I've been sprouting for years, and if memory serves me, I've even suggested sprouting on this very forum! :doh: Can't believe I missed that. Thank you.

The wifey and I are also making the decision, when time and money allow (ha!) to start making our own breads, and therefore investing in wheat berries and a grain mill to make our own flour. There's a guy on youtube called yankeeprepper, or something close, that really impresses me with his bread baking. Not because it's something elaborate, but because he bakes all his bread himself, grinds his own flour, and has simple recipes that I think we could adapt to our lives pretty easily. Even has SHTF bread videos.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Making bread is fun, plus you decide what goes in it. I make basic loaves, like the artisan bread in 5 minutes a day book tells how to make. 
It's just important to find what works for y'all; for me, alot of the frugal substitutions just became a way of life, some were just to get us through the bad times. There are sometimes that 'you get what you pay for', so in those instances I'll still choose quality crafted goods, even if they cost more. You pick what works and move on stronger.


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## Riverdale (Oct 31, 2009)

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-powdered-eggs.htm

We use the *wet-dry* method. It works well.


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## Riverdale (Oct 31, 2009)

Lake Windsong said:


> Making bread is fun, plus you decide what goes in it. I make basic loaves, like the artisan bread in 5 minutes a day book tells how to make.
> It's just important to find what works for y'all; for me, alot of the frugal substitutions just became a way of life, some were just to get us through the bad times. There are sometimes that 'you get what you pay for', so in those instances I'll still choose quality crafted goods, even if they cost more. You pick what works and move on stronger.


We make a loaf (albeit in a bread machine) every day. We 'bake off' when we do a sourdough.

We also make our own pastas. It started off as a way to save money and eat better, it has become a way of life (actually back to the way both DW and I grew up).


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

The only fresh fruit I have are tangerines. I eat dried fruits in the winter. I only eat fresh fruit when they're in season. So if shtf today, I'd be out of tangerines by next week. I have 4 cases of dried milk so we'd be good on dairy( I can make our yogurt and some cheeses) for a while at least plus I have canned milk. same for fd meats and veggies, I have cases and cases of those. So I guess the list for us would be:

the tangerines
the frozen meats in the freezer
the frozen veggies in the other freezer
the commercially canned meats
the commercially canned veggies

and then we would have to move onto the fd and dehydrated foods we've bought. I look as those as an investment really and we would do what we could by wild foraging for greens and hunting to lengthen the time we would have to break into them.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

depending on the time of year, FRESH fruit would probably go first

my Pa loves fresh bananas (has one a day) so we would run out fast, oddly he is not a fan of dehydrated banana 'chips' :dunno:

the only home grown fresh fruit we have now is some strawberries, about a bushel of (wrinkled) apples; everything else has been dehydrated or canned or turned to jelly

on a side note:
I think (hope) I just crossed the TWO year threshold in all food preps! I am about as happy with that accomplishment as I have ever been with anything I have done. It was a lot of work, one reason I have not been on so much the last few months, I (just me, not the family) am currently living on 100% preps since New Years, and will continue through March (until Mom's b-day, when I take her out to a nice restaurant).


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

For the dairy issue: Purchase blocks of hard cheeses and coat them in cheese wax (three coat minimum) then store in a cool dry place( no refrigeration needed). The cheese will continue to age thus becoming sharper in flavor but has quite a long self life if properly stored.


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## Riverdale (Oct 31, 2009)

ras1219como said:


> For the dairy issue: Purchase blocks of hard cheeses and coat them in cheese wax (three coat minimum) then store in a cool dry place( no refrigeration needed). The cheese will continue to age thus becoming sharper in flavor but has quite a long self life if properly stored.


20+ years


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

ras1219como said:


> For the dairy issue: Purchase blocks of hard cheeses and coat them in cheese wax (three coat minimum) then store in a cool dry place( no refrigeration needed). The cheese will continue to age thus becoming sharper in flavor but has quite a long self life if properly stored.


 that's a great point, I remember the cheese way back during WW2, it seemed like the rind was a quarter inch thick counting all the wax., it was real sharp, but it was good.we were on a dairy farm and even after the war we could order cheese in what they called a wheel right from the milk plant.A wheel could last a family over a yr.


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

There are several places you can purchase cheese wax from. Homesteading supply is one of them...I think it's around 6 bucks a pound.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Riverdale said:


> http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-powdered-eggs.htm
> 
> We use the *wet-dry* method. It works well.


Care to guess how many grade A large will fit into a 5 gallon bucket?


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Davarm said:


> Care to guess how many grade A large will fit into a 5 gallon bucket?


Powdered? Several hundred?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Grimm said:


> Powdered? Several hundred?


Grimm, Several hundred will fit but you could pack over 1000 more on top of them.

If the dried eggs are run through a mill and powdered, I've packed 12 gross into one before.

A gross is 12 dozen for those who dont know.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Davarm said:


> Grimm, Several hundred will fit but you could pack over 1000 more on top of them.
> 
> If the dried eggs are run through a mill and powdered, I've packed 12 gross into one before.
> 
> A gross is 12 dozen for those who dont know.


WOW!

How long do they keep like that?


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

We'd run out of fresh milk first. It's the only thing we have to go to town for regularly at the moment, cows are due to calve soon. We have condensed and dried. I won't drink it but others here will, dried makes good yoghurt and cheese though. Not sure what we'd run out of next...... Flour probably, then we'd have to start on the whole wheat. We eat seasonally so only have fresh fruit when the trees are bearing, fresh veg is always plentiful here and most of our 'weeds' are pretty tasty. Meat is no problem and we'd cull a lot of stock to make our feed stretch more. Our food weaknesses are the stuff we need to produce foods from raw materials, cultures, yeast etc. We have enough for a long time and I know how to stretch them to last longer, even how to make quite a few myself. But it will be very time consuming, hopefully we'd have a few extra hands here if things were that bad and I'd be able to hand over a few of those tasks.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Dairy (as we don't have a cow yet), eggs (no chickens), and flour (no whole grains or mill). Once bills are paid off (fingers crossed-few days), we will begin solving these problems. Meat won't be an issue, we have deer, elk, bear, rabbits and squirrels al over our property and BOL (if it comes to that). Fruit isn't an issue ( apple and pear trees, plus raspberry and blackberry bushes). 

Non food items? Clothes for the kids. I hit the Goodwill every wknd and stock up on clothes. We've begun saving some of the 'lesser used' items for when we have more kids. The torn or badly stained are cut into quilt squares for projects for the kids when their bored.


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## defaultCharacter (Apr 25, 2012)

Riverdale said:


> http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-powdered-eggs.htm
> 
> We use the *wet-dry* method. It works well.


Thanks for the tip, Riverdale. I never thought of dehydrating eggs myself, and I am now inspired to do so!


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Wellrounded said:


> We'd run out of fresh milk first. It's the only thing we have to go to town for regularly .


Us too--I bought 6 gallons at Krogers and froze it.
So far, so good. I thaw it in the fridge and use as it thaws.

Tastes like real milk.

For storage, I have powdered milk, the milk from Dollar Tree in pints, and cases of evaportated milk (add like amt of water to use as milk).


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I often forget about the evaporated milk as actual milk, we buy a lot when it goes on sale as a treat, it is our favorite in coffee but makes a pretty good substitute for milk as well. Sure it tastes kinda carmelized but we use powdered milk sometimes and I don't have much good to say about the flavour there.


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## Transplant (Jan 10, 2013)

Coffee would be the first thing. Have not been able to find our favorite brand of coffee since we moved. So we have been experimenting with what is available around here. Not too please with the selection. Just today I finally found our favorite brand on line and will be ordering it. Next will be fresh produce and dairy. Then the freezer would be emptied then on to canned goods.

Not worried about bread since I make our own. I need to experiment and make yogurt and cheese.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

JayJay said:


> Us too--I bought 6 gallons at Krogers and froze it.
> So far, so good. I thaw it in the fridge and use as it thaws.
> 
> Tastes like real milk.
> ...


We freeze milk all the time, if thawed slowly it is fine, but it does have a short freezer life. I find 6 - 8 weeks about the maximum if you want it to be of a high standard.
We use about 7 to 10 gallons a week, sometimes double that (that's if I ration it). Can't wait for our cows to calve!


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Grimm said:


> WOW!
> 
> How long do they keep like that?


I dont know what the shelf life is but if vacuum sealed and stored in a cool place I'd guess(and am betting on) 5 or more years.

Thats a good question though, if someone knows for sure I'd welcome the info.


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

ras1219como said:


> For the dairy issue: Purchase blocks of hard cheeses and coat them in cheese wax (three coat minimum) then store in a cool dry place( no refrigeration needed). The cheese will continue to age thus becoming sharper in flavor but has quite a long self life if properly stored.


Ya but I live in East Texas. We don't have a cool place that isn't refrigerated? Literally! No basements, no cellars, etc....


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Boomy said:


> Ya but I live in East Texas. We don't have a cool place that isn't refrigerated? Literally! No basements, no cellars, etc....


I was thinking the same thing. We are moving to near the desert. The only way to keep things cool would be a cooler(no ice) in the shade in a foot or so deep hole. It makes a mini root cellar of sorts.  We do this when camping to save the cost of ice.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

Boomy said:


> Ya but I live in East Texas. We don't have a cool place that isn't refrigerated? Literally! No basements, no cellars, etc....


Any possibility of digging a root cellar? For us, it's out of the question. Our grounds literally breeds rocks overnight. Just to plant saplings, people need to borrow or rent an auger to dig the holes.

Very sad, when you can't dig. Sad, sad.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Not really on topic but I keep hearing people say they can't have a root cellar and I don't understand. A root cellar does not have to be below ground level, it was quite common to build them above ground. Even here where it is easy to dig they sometimes built them totally above ground. Granted it will take a lot of material but it works very well, especially if water table is an issue.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

Thank God we're in a lot better shape than most people. We literialy have a ton of supplies. But eventually things will start to run out. Milk would be our first thing to run out of and hard to replace in a shtf situation. Once we can move to the BOL we'll have room to have a milk cow and/or goats. Then would be fresh meat and produce, but we have the ability to replenish those. Next would be Bread but we have flour to make it at home. Once it's gone I guess I can make acorn and other types of flour. Then the wife's coffee, while I rarely drink coffee she does so I have around 50# of coffee now and I am trying my hand at growing chickory so I can use it to streach the coffee. The main thing I don't really have for long term or any plan to have for long term is comfort foods like chocolate and candy items. I guess since we have thousands of maple trees in the area I could learn to tap them and make maple sugar/candy.


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## Hopetobeready (Apr 13, 2011)

grimm said:


> i had added the hydration tablets to our bob preps for this very reason. I am now going to add the gatorade powder too.


excuse my ignorance but where do you purchase gatorade powder and hydration tablets. Haven't seen them on the sites i've ordered from.


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

Hope, my local Walmart and Gerbes stores carry Gatorade powder. They even have them in the little individual packets for a bottle of water.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Hopetobeready said:


> excuse my ignorance but where do you purchase gatorade powder and hydration tablets. Haven't seen them on the sites i've ordered from.


The gatorade powder can be bought at the supermarket and I get the tablets from our local camping/military supplier. REI should have the tablets too. You can also find both on ebay.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I will run out of A1 Sauce first, then B-Bq sauce followed by Frenches Yellow Mustard and finally Heinz Catsup.

The refrigerator followed up by the freezer goods will go first. Then about 6 months worth of canned, bagged, boxed and bottled goods in the pantry followed by a 1 year supply of freeze dried and dehydrated meals. I plan on continuous seasonal fishing, hunting and gathering to prolong my preps.

I also have put up a 1 year supply of dry dog food for the security chief. I figure a pound a day for him.

Water wont be much of a problem, 20% of the worlds fresh water supply is 5 blocks from my house. I have 30 gallons in jugs, then there is water in the toilet tanks and the water heater. I have a Katadin filter that is good for 14,000 gallons and have a still on order that I will be able to distill all the water I want. It should arrive in the next month.


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## Greggo (Dec 13, 2012)

Hopetobeready said:


> excuse my ignorance but where do you purchase gatorade powder and hydration tablets. Haven't seen them on the sites i've ordered from.


I like powdermixdirect.com. I've placed a couple of large orders with them and if you call you can negotiate price a bit, especially with a very large order. On topic the fresh fruit would be the first thing to run out.


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