I'm so excited to find a forum that is geared towards emergency preparation. With the country faces challenges like never before, it's really important to prepare for the worst. I've been purchasing some extra non-perishables each time I make a trip to the food store. Unfortunately, even the can goods don't last forever. I try to rotate my stock and use up the older first, but I'd like to find something that will last longer. Does anyone know of any alternatives? Thanks for any ideas.

First off, welcome to the forum. Now to answer your question, check out Mountain House's website. They make freeze dried foods that many hikers, campers and backpackers use. But more importantly for you, they also offer food in No. 10 sized cans which have a great shelf life. They have a great variety of offerings too.

From thier website:
Mountain House® freeze-dried foods are packed in airtight NITROGEN PACKED #10 cans. Up to 98% of the residual oxygen has been removed. Our unique canning process uses both vacuum oxygen removal and nitrogen flushing. This is a time consuming and slightly more costly process…but well worth it. It is the same process mandated by the U.S. Military for whom we also can. Our foods will have the longest shelf life available…up to 30 years! We've been around for 40 years so we know first hand. We invite you to compare. Each can is coated with a protective enamel inside and out for double protection, including the lid. The can contents are protected until you are ready to open and use them. After opening, we recommend using the contents within 1 week for best results and taste; using the convenient resealable plastic lid between uses. Treat any leftover food as you would fresh food.

Check them out at their site for more info http://www.mountainhouse.com/index.cfm

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

Thanks for the info. That's exactly what I was looking for. They seem a bit pricey, but I'm sure it's well worth it. Thanks again.

I've used the Mountain Home products for hiking and camping trips, though I use the smaller packages of fodd not the big cannisters. As far as taste goes, you can't really beat it. I reccomend them to my camping buddies.

25 years shelf life !!
wow !!

honey and hard wheat will last indefinitely, though you should rotate for best taste.

Store what you eat and eat what you store... that is the best advice I was ever given. I actually changed my cooking style to accomodate my food storage. I use a lot more grains and beans now, and hey, it's healthier to boot! (sometimes you can buy this stuff through the 7th day Adventists, they often have buying co-ops for whole grains)

Also when you pack grains, you want to pack in nitrogen, you can use dry ice to pack your stuff and there are instructions out on the internet of exactly how to do it (yes I'm too lazy to look it up for you right now).

In many communities the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have facilities where you can can food into #10 cans pretty cheaply.

Oh wow, thanks for the website. They have so much useful stuff there.

First of all I Welcome you to the forum. Nice piece of info indeed, But my opinion is that, dry food usually has long life when compared to other perishable food stuff. Dry food with added salt and benzoic added to it , keeps the food stuff preserved for long periods of time.

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Dry fruits are non perishable and they can withstand any kind of extreme weather conditions and indeed they are healthy too. Salted nuts are also a good source of non perishable items.

Keep one thing in mind , my dear fellas. More the amount of moisture in the foodstuff ,more the chances for the food to get rotten. So buy those foodstuff that lag moisture.