Food Storage Containers
Choose food storage containers that will preserve the freshness of your emergency food supply
the longest - and prevent contamination from molds, insects and rodents.
Let’s face it. When people finally realize that the Swine Flu H1N1, Avian Flu (bird flu) or some other flu pandemic is inevitable in their country, they will panic and run to the stores to stock up on food and supplies--just like before a snow storm or hurricane.
You will be in a much better position if you have done your shopping before the crowds. It won’t take long to empty the grocery store shelves. (And, think ahead, so that you will have food storage containers to hold your foods safely.)If you’ve ever been in the northeast US when a snowstorm was coming, you know how quickly the bread and milk shelves empty when everyone runs to the store to get "emergency food supplies". You have been duly warned. Don’t be one of the people who ends up going home empty handed because the shelves are stripped bare! Make emergency food storage an important part of your emergency preparedness plan.
Choose food containers that will keep rodents out...
Best Food Storage Containers
For Long Term StorageThese are the best containers for
emergency food storage
. If you don't have time or can't find them, use whatever you have. It's better to have your food protected by something, than just sitting on an open shelf.- 3-5 gallon plastic buckets with lids that seal tightly can be obtained from grocery stores with delicatessens or bakeries, from doughnut shops, or from fast food restaurants. Many are free. Some stores charge $ .25 to $1.00. Make sure the lid has a rubber gasket in it.
You can obtain an opener to assist you with opening these, as they can be difficult to open, even with a screw driver. Kitchen-type factory outlet stores, Home Depot or community hardware stores sometimes have them. These buckets are great for flours, mixes (i.e. pancake mix), dried fruits, nuts, beans, rice, pasta. I usually put the food into quart or gallon storage or freezer bags and then into the buckets. - Plastic gallon jars can be obtained, free, from restaurants. You'll have the most success if you ask the restaurants that do a good business and have a salad bar.
You'll have to wash the containers when you take them home. These jars are good for beans, rice, pasta, dried soup mixes, Jell-O or pudding mixes, etc. To save space (and reduce the chances of introducing insect eggs, etc. into your storage), remove the outer packaging (i.e. box, bag) from items such as puddings, Jell-O, convenience foods before placing in your gallon jar. Label the jars so that you don’t get foods mixed up later. - Commercial food containers from Cool Whip, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. These can be used to store smaller quantities, or for refrigerator or freezer use.
- Purchased plastic containers Make sure that the containers have tight lids.
- Metal popcorn tins, cookie tins, Christmas tins, etc.
- Ziploc freezer bags Use these for extra protection (e.g. to protect a can of baking powder from moisture) or for repackaging. They are not good enough, standing alone, to protect from insect or rodent penetration. Place repackaged items into a larger, airtight container.
Gather any food storage containers that you already have on hand. If a container is not intended for direct contact with food, use a plastic freezer bag to protect the food. You can still use many kinds of non-food containers. You can still use them as food storage containers. For example, you could re-package pasta in plastic bags and then put them into a plastic container (like a plastic storage box or container--even an unused plastic trash can). Just make sure that there are no harmful chemicals in contact with your food. The most important point here is that you need to make sure that you have an ample supply of food in your emergency food storage. You might also be interested in:
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Food Storage Containers to Food Storage Guidelines
Food Storage Containers to Pandemic Flu and Emergency Preparedness
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