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What cheap, bulk food can I guy out and buy RIGHT NOW?

9K views 45 replies 37 participants last post by  Domindart 
#1 ·
Title says it all really.
I live opposite a 24h hypermarket.
I don't have much money (maybe, say, £20 to spend.. that's about $33).
I don't have any storage facilities, pots or containers.



So if you guys were in my situation.. what would you buy with that money? (only long shelf-life foods please, aka 5+ years at the least)
 
#30 ·
If you are hard up for cash and storage space ask around for buckets with lids that you can store your beans/pasta/rice/sardines in. One source I have read of is Restaurants and Food Pavilons that deal with large customer volumes. They order condiments and such in 3 to 5 gallon buckets that they dispose of after one use. Have not resarched this but may work for you. One source of free containers that came to me by chance was an elderly neighbor with cats. Her cat litter came in 5 gallon square pails that I use for storage of non food items. They can be cleaned and then loaded with foods in their original containers. These buckets are square and plenty sturdy, they were designed to carry dirt basically, and the stack nicely. One storage solution I have been using is the 1 liter "Nalgene Style" polycarbonate bottles for my rice. Water proof and plenty tuff. I also store rice/pasta in Rubbermaid containers. I don't have a rodent problem so I am not sure if they are vermin proof. I believe they are. I find the Nalgenes at thrift stores for as little as 25 cents for the 1 liter size on a regular basis. The Stainless steel canteens are showing up now as well and they are going for a dollar for the 750 ml size. They would make good rice containers and would definitely be vermin proof, if you can find enough of them. Good Luck and let us know how you dealt with this problem.
 
#31 ·
Regarding the Chunky soups in Kev's video ... I have no idea how much they cost in the States, but here in my part of Canada, we pay over two dollars for a tiny can that is good for one person as a snack. Horrid value and, personally, I don't find them any more filling than regular canned soup. I think I would go for the much cheaper generic brands, but I am so used to homemade soup that pretty much all canned soup just tastes like salt to me.
 
#32 ·
If you are in the UK I would suggest a few big "value" bags of pasta from the supermarket. For tins, baked beans when they are on offer plus corned beef/tuna etc to ensure some protein. If you want rice try one of the Indian or Chinese cash and carries (no membership needed), they do huge bags for pretty reasonable prices and the pot/packet noodles from the Chinese markets beat our local producers hands down. My favourite noodle of the moment are the Korean Nong Shim ones, they cost about 50p each from the China mart if you buy a box of 20, very spicy and very tasty.

Oh and big multipacks of loo roll when on BOGOF* are a must!

* Buy one get one free
 
#33 ·
Rice, oats, and beans and other legumes. Buy salt and spices to go with them and you'll have the means to keep yourself eating for a long time. Stick the dried goods in the freezer for a week or three to kill any insects that might be inside or in the packaging, and then, if mice might be a problem, leave them in there or move them to the refrigerator. Download recipes on how to prepare them from the Internet so you know what to do, and you should be set, food-wise.

The thing is, your primary focus should be on water. You can last a long time without food, not long at all without water. Which you'll also need for sanitation and cooking all that rice, beans, etc, etc. Fill the 2 liter bottles with water instead of rice and freeze or store them. The rule of thumb is you need 1 gallon - about 4 liters - of water a day per person, half for drinking, half for the other stuff. If you don't have that, and the water goes off or is unsafe to drink, you'll be in a pickle...
 
#37 ·
Go to the store

Buy what you like to eat, store on a shelf, and use as you need it.

Each week buy 10 more dollars of stuff you like, store, and eat as you need it.

Keep rotating in and in no time you will have an awesome supply instead of 50# of black beans and when you need them you realize you hate them.

If you have no clue how to cook without the assistance of a frozen meal or opening a can, dumping in pan, and reheating take the 33 bucks and learn to cook first. An entire bedroom full of survival food is going to do you a whole hell of a lot of nothing if you cannot do anything with it.
 
#42 ·
On the 50 pound animal oats idea, I buy oats for my animals, the animal oats usually are not husked and you will not want to try and eat those. I have cooked them in soups overnight and you still cannot actually chew them up with the husk on.

I think the best idea I have heard here is the rice and beans.


In your shoes I would invest my 20 lyra in removing myself to a more rural area and restart my life.
 
#45 ·
Don't forget - brown rice has a very, very, very short shelf life even if sealed in mylar with oxygen absorbers. The fatty acids in the shell go rancid no matter what you do.

White rice is brown rice with the hull removed and will last a very long time. The trade-off is that much of the nutrition is in the hull which is gone.

Rolled oats are also de-hulled and lack nutrition although I'd sure buy and eat them if needed.

Put me down for dry beans, rolled oats and white rice, but heavy on the beans.

Don't forget salt and sugar. Raw pure honey if you can afford it because it lasts forever even if it crystallizes and it's very healthy and has medicinal uses.
 
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