Being a resident of NYC, for at least the time being, with property in the suburbs, one of my thoughts with regard to being prepared for a serious disaster would be to have food cached. As the surburban house is about to get torn apart, it is not a place I can readily store thigns and expect them to be there when I need them. Carrying all the food I might need for more than a few days is simply not an option. I can and have enough in our apt. that I think we could eat for a month. But if I need to grab the BOB and bug out, a few days of meals will be in it and not much more. Having something hidden or cached and being able to access it, might be a life saver.

My thoughts right now are to use some food grade buckets, with some grains and legumes (converted white rice and beans) as staples, supplemented by some freeze-dried veggies and maybe some other things. I think one five gallon bucket could end up supplying enough to feed me for a while, and then I will be sick of whatever I've cached. If I put 2 gallons each of beans and rice into a cache, that would provide about 40,000 calories, approx. 20,000 each, according to my calculations. That could feed a couple people for a while.

Just looking for some thoughts on caching food for if and when something happens. Is burying a five gallon buckt with rice and beans a good or the right solution? What else would you put in or add to a cache?

well one thing I would do is mark the coordinates with a gps and make sure you avarage it! this function should be avaliable, just read the users manual

> use some food grade buckets, with some grains and legumes (converted
> white rice and beans) as staples

I'm confused. Are these going to be in Manhattan? Where are you going to cook? With what? In what? ... etc.

First let me say that I am completely unfamiliar with New York so this may or may not be an option for you but you may want to consider renting a small climate controlled storage space. I have two of them in different locations that I keep supplies at.

The downside is that there is an ongoing cost with monthly rent but the upside is that my supplies are stored in a dry, dark place that is maintained at 70 degrees year round and I have 24 hour access. Another plus is that it is very easy to rotate out goods that expire, etc.

Just an idea...

I am not seeking to cache food in Manhattan, right now. If the stuff in the apt. runs out, I should have left long ago. If I do this, it will be in a suburb, probably on our property. I can drive there in less and an hour, traffic permitting, and also get there via mass transit. There is a house, but soon it will be nothing but framing. The house is not an option, but the land on which the house is located is an option.

If I make it to a cache with my and/or DW's BOB, then I should be able to cook. Each BOB has something I could cook in and a few things with which one could start fires.

The storage area is a good idea, and we do have one. I'll be in it this weekend, so I should add some food to it.

The 0idea is to locate a cache of some food outside of NYC, in an area to which DW and I are likely to flee should the need arise, and be able to eat for some time solely consuming the cached food.

I've got other options in this area, like some gear with which I could try to obtain meat, fish, etc. and more importantly friends and family on which I think I could rely. It is not the only thing on which I would seek to rely. But I'd want to make it as complete and reliable as possible.

Hi Dan,

Is this a question of caching where or caching what? or both?

On the "what to cache" perspective:
Since this is long term you will want to look at your nutritional requirements. Requirements missing from your cache list above are water, fat and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Water is absoultely critical if you are going to store freeze dried meals or dry grains. DR has some recommendations on that here.

A bottle of multivitamins can cover most deficiencies in micronutrients in your diet but fat is a problem. Fat goes rancid/toxic relatively fast (approx 1 year storage if the ideal conditions are met) and has to be rotated relatively frequently.

Other considerations, if you go to the time and expense of cacheing supplies you may as well provide something to cook on/with and a clone of your bug out gear. Again see Doug Ritter's advice here. If you end up not needing the extra gear in an emergency you can always trade/barter with it or give it to a poorly prepared friend/relative.

I read a great couple posts recently on a similar topic by a favorite blogger of mine:
1. Food storage 101
2. Food storage 101 part 2
3. Eating out of your pantry

Check it out and see if it helps with the "what" aspect. On the "where" I'm sure there are some military folks here on the forum that would have a better answer to that question. All I can think of is a trusted rural relative or a secure mini storage facility... although both of those options may not be ideal for you.

Good luck!
Cheers,
Nemo.

Thanks for the info.

How to store things (what kinds of containers, what kinds of places) and what to store I think were my main questions. Where, that's probably going to be on my own land, and maybe in a storage unit. Got some ideas.

If you lack walls to secure your food, try one of the on-site storage vendors, for probably $75/mo you get a 5x10ft steel storage box dropped to your worksite.

I covet (but don't own) one of those steel storage lockers you see around public playgrounds and soccer fields, where the soccer associations keep their materials to dress and maintain the fields. Usually very secure, also very expensive, $500+ when I looked into them. Although Home Depot sells a smaller version for on-site tool storage for ~$240.

Any of these wouldn't look out of place on a construction site.

Dehydrated beans are more expensive but much easier to deal with. Let 'em soak for 8-10 minutes and you're done. Equally important as your food stores is having a proven method of preparing them. Backpacking, I used to throw food in my pack and go, which brought about some unfortunate surprises. Fuel requirements, cooking times and methods, don't always work out like you planned. So I say whatever foods you're storing, practice preparing them just as you would in an emergency situation so there are no surprises.

Even being in NYC, I bet there are places to cache stuff. For example, lots of buildings have access to the roof, and many of those roofs may have sheds or something for repairs. Throwing in a bucket of food may well blend in, and no one will look twice at it. If you get involved in rehabbing areas (like those folks that go and make empty lots into gardens), you might be able to drop a little goody bag in as you plant a tree or something, since you've got a hole already dug. Abandoned cars still have trunks. Probably not the best area for visiting, but still a thought (even if you have to trudge into Jersey ) Those fake rocks that people store their keys in may be useful too, or the fake cleaning supply-cans that are occasionally found.

If you don't feel good about 5-gal buckets, what about ammo canisters from surplus stores? Not all are metal, if you're worried about scroungers with tools.

I'd add some TP. Maybe some baby wipes too. Bottle of soap or alcohol gel. More firestarting tools, some space blankets or something similar. Extra batteries for whatever you're carrying for light/radio/gps. Ammo, if you're carrying something for food procurement (or extra fishing line, hooks, etc). All of these are fairly small and shouldn't impact the space too much.

For food, add some dried fruit, nuts, maybe a bottle of vitamins and some pain killers (advil, tylenol, etc). I'd even add some junk food/goodies, just for pure comfort value. Consider some hot sauce or seasoning packets, since beans and rice gets real old, real quick.