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Compare prices and buy what you really like. The goal is to be safe, live well and be comfortable. I find that Honeyville Grains has the best quality food and they are usually equal to or less than other quality dried foods.
There are several outlets selling bulk, and the prices can vary widely.
This is a local company here. The grain is mostly grown locally, processed locally, and they also have outlets selling their products in several towns here. http://www.wheatmontana.com/pdf/bulk-order-form.pdf
The quality is excellent, prices aren't bad compared to some of the other merchants, and for me it is great because I don't have to add shipping costs. I can just buy at the store.
In my state, dehydrated stuff like Mountain House is really expensive because of the huge camping/hunting/outdoor industry here so everything like that is really marked up while MRE's are hard to find in local stores.
I produce a lot of my own stuff myself, (dehydrated onions, vegetables, meat) and we can and smoke and use other methods as well for preserving food.
We probably wouldn't do as much if there was an economic local source for other foods like the company I noted above.
I'd be curious to read more details/labels on this offering from Wal-Mart/Sam's Club as the details on the website are scant at best. Unfortunately from the customer reviews it does not appear that the product is actually onsite at the Sam's Clubs but must be shipped. One concern I have is if the meat is real or a soy/vegetable based protien substitute. Another concern for me is if the food is produced/processed in the USA vs. China (think melamine poisonings). YMMV
A recently purchased food deydrator and "how to" books should be arriving in the next week or so. I'm looking forward to dehydrating some of my own garden/edible landscaping produce as well as that from local farmer's markets this year for my food storage plans (yes, mylar bags and O2 absorbers purchased as well).
IMO, it is important to make the distinction between dehydrated and freeze dried when considering food storage and the shelf-life. With the exception of some often used cooking herbs and such I will not spend the money to purchased dehydrated foodstuffs, only freeze dried as it has the longest shelf life.
You can find more info, including the nutritional panels, for the Augason stuff at Food storage and gluten-free food products - Augason Farms. One nice thing about Augason, and some of the others like Honeyville, is that they offer smaller sizes (#2.5 rather than #10 cans or buckets) so you can try before you buy a biggun.
Very few outlets have storage foods in large sizes onsite, and those that do normally only have a limited supply and selection to introduce/entice you and then you have to purchase direct from the distributor when you want more. I'm glad to see a few of the more mainstream groceries at least selling the small kits or more common foods, but I'm not holding my breath that it'll continue or improve.
I'm reluctant to buy anything with TVP and prefer real meat as well, but real meat is spendy and some people don't mind or actually prefer TVP. I'm hoping to see more items with a greater selection of real meat come onto the market now that freeze-drying and retort packaging is more readily available and cost-effective for producers/processors.
Adherence to origin labeling for foods and food stuffs is still voluntary and largely unregulated with huge loopholes, so there's no telling where any of these storage foods are produced/processed. Traceability is one of the main reasons that I prefer to purchase the individual ingredients rather than prepackaged meals.
Other than foods I can't grow and dry (enough of) myself, I don't normally purchase dehydrated foods either and save my cash for freeze-dried. I'm very happy to see more freeze-dried meats and cheeses, since these have always been a problem for conventional drying. I'm also in love with freeze-dried grapes -- which are still grapes and not yucky raisins
Walmart has been selling MountainHouse and Coleman deydrated food for three years . All I can say is break out your wallet as like we laugh at tourist traps and stores their effort is not silly, but aimed primarily at weekend campers. Walmart hasn't the vision of preparedness as a marketable section. When you are finally serious about purchasing emergency food think Food for Health ,Emergency Essentials and the ready store all on-line. I have purchased 1000 meals for about $350.00 from Food for health Why? they are the best food preparers with deoxygenated foiled bags (275 meals) 20 year + shelf life and nurtrition added . What was really shocking is the food is delicious. Anyway, all listed companies are good . Buying food at Walmart ,Sports Authority,Bass Sporting or Dicks is like insane as a meal is $3-4 bucks each X 275 = $825 ! . Avoid the $1000 packages also and just shop (suggest getting the catalogs)Don't forget water filters (Seychelle best (new ones filter radiation/anthrax) We have five 1 gallon Seychelle filters and extra back up cartriges as well as individual 1 pt.vesions.
Das
Any Carbon Block or Granular Activated Carbon system will filter out any and all organic chemicals. Just make sure you buy something with a decent bed of carbon (not a Brita filter).
Yeah, I looked at the ingredients--a lot of soy and corn stuff (so called natural flavors are synthesized from gmo soy btw), all GMO of course (I only eat organic, thanks, no GMO). Plus, not clear what came from Asia and how long stuff had been stored actually. I think one is much better off buying individual ingredients in bulk in places like health/organic store/co-op. A lot of organic beans, rices, grains and flowers are very inexpensive when purchased in bulk. As to dried berries and stuff... berries literally soak up pesticides since they're not USDA organic. I wouldn't eat those. One is MUCH better off stocking up on vitamin C, and other antioxidants and vitamins, than eating non-organic berries or stuff like bell peppers that must only be eaten organic, due to pesticide affinity. Buying bulk whey protein powder from online source seems like a good idea for protein source, I mostly eat protein powder for protein anyway. Whey is the next cheapest protein powder after soy protein (which is mostly GMO). Organic brown rice protein powder is available now and is excellent; I lived off it as sole source of protein for months this summer, while living in the woods, and had been in a great shape. A bunch of non-salty dry small fish is another good protein source.
Spices contain extremely high levels of antioxidants (see Norwegian research antioxidant table published in 2010). Things like cinnamon, cumin, dry oregano, nutmeg, rosemary, etc are indispensable. Not only they make food taste much better and can be used in a variety of combinations, they contain a lot of protective antioxidants (no surprises Indian and other Asian cuisines use spices so heavily and use spices in traditional medicine). MUCH more sense to stock up on spices than on a bunch of dry non-organic veggies. Dry organic garlic powder is indispensable as well. Would be good to get organic onion powder as well, I saw it in the store sold in bulk recently, but I think online is cheaper.
I'm not inherently against imported foods. I don't say "I'll never eat something from ______" because where the food is produced is less important than how the food is produced. In some instances, buying from a country where the product/plant originated and has been extensively cultivated, and are botanically better-suited to than the US means less pesticides, herbicides, and artificial inputs (and usually taste better). It's a toss up and requires research, I want the origin label so that I know where to research in order to determine if their production methods are up to my expectations.
I'm a big believer in buying local and "buying American", but I won't sacrifice quality for principle if it comes to it. Plus, here in Alaska where a lot has to be shipped in, many goods from Canada, Russia, China, Japan, Thailand etc are actually more "local" than the equivalent from the US.
I agree with you about berries and other fruits/veg where you eat the leaf or skin... I want those to be organic, or at least *cide-free. Things that are/can be peeled have a lower priority.
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