Food

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Food is one of the essential resources to acquire in prepping, with an emphasis on foods with a long shelf-life to minimize waste and spoilage. When preppers talk about "stockpiling food" or "putting food back", they're referring to the act of acquiring and storing food for an emergency.

Fresh Food

Fresh food items are typically not acquired for prepping purposes due to their very short shelf-life, unless they are frozen or processed further to make them shelf-stable. Fresh meats, fruits and vegetables can be stored in the freezer to significantly extend it's shelf-life by slowing the growth of micro-organisms.

Dried Food

Many pantry-staple food items are sold in a dried-form and can be stored without any special requirements such as refrigeration or freezing. This include rice, flour, pastas and lentils. These food items can be purchased in large quantities, and may have discounts when purchased in bulk.

Canned Food

Canning food involves sealing food in an air-tight container and heating it to a temperature and duration that kills all micro-organisms within it. Canned food from a grocery store is one of the easiest and cheapest way to acquire food with a long shelf-life. Canned food can also refer to food preserved at home using canning jars and either "pressure canning" or "water-bath canning" to preserve it.

Freeze-dried Food

Freeze-drying food involves freezing food to a very cold temperature and removing the air, removing the moisture from the food by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration where heat is utilized to draw moisture out from the food. Freeze-dried food retains almost all of its texture and nutrient content, but the process is very energy-intensive and ultimately expensive compared to other types of food.

Emergency Rations

Emergency rations are light-weight, compact and shelf-stable packages of food. They are designed to withstand fluctuating hot and cold temperatures, have a long shelf-life, and placed together with emergency water packets to provide sustenance to individuals in an emergency while waiting to be rescued. Rations are typically stored on a lifeboat or life-preserving device or area, along with other survival items.

Emergency Food Kits

Emergency food kits, also known as long-term survival food kits, are comprehensive packages or buckets containing large quantities of shelf-stable food. They are typically stored in emergency shelters or pantries, and used in the event where food runs out and the normal means of acquiring more food becomes unavailable.

MREs

Meals Ready-to-Eat (abbreviated as MREs) are self-contained complete meals for one person. They were originally designed for soldiers to have a nutritious meal in the field where cooking and preparing food would be impractical. MREs eventually found their way to civilian market for campers, hikers, survivalists, preppers and humanitarian aid workers. A typical MRE consists of an entree, side dish, dessert, coffee, tea and drink mixes.