Stocking up means you look for a balance between long life span, maintenance and desirability. If you hate creamed corn you don't buy it to make the food last longer. That's idiot. You buy stuff you're actually going to eat. There are a whole lot of really inexpensive food items out there that, with a little moxie, can become a pretty darned good dish. Take that bland rice for instance. Yes, rice is cheap, and it can keep darned near forever as long as you pack it in a sealed, dry container. But we're not Asians, and a bowl of bland rice definitely does not make us drool with anticipation. You can however, buy a large bottle of chicken bullion and add some of the powder to each batch of rice you cook, and presto! You've got something that's surprisingly tasty. And for those of you that are milk lovers or have small kids, you need to be stocking up on dry milk, both powdered and canned. Yes, it's a little expensive, but the price is going to skyrocket shortly, and make it totally out of reach for most people, so make the sacrifice now or forget it. Another thing to get is chocolate. That's going to be one of the very first things to become unreachable, quickly followed by coffee and tea. Stock up on these as much as you can. Buy a lot more than you think you should because believe me, no matter how much you buy, you're going to wish like hell you'd bought more...

Also buy canned juices and Kool-aid packets. You won't be able to buy a bunch of pop because it takes up too much room and it doesn't keep over six months. Buy lots and lots of sugar, though I recommend buying powdered Stevia. It comes in a pound bag and will sweeten ten times more stuff than twenty pounds of sugar. And it's not artificial! It comes from a South American plant! In fact I use it all the time and it's great. As far as flour goes, buy bleached flour only! ALL flour has weevil eggs in it. They can't be removed. So unless the flour has been bleached to kill these eggs, a whole army of these little destroyers will hatch out approximately 21 days after you buy the bag. You've been warned. Buy canned fruits containing vitamin C, such as peaches and pears. Fresh fruit will be impossible to get. Meat is another big issue. Forget about steaks and chops. Buy whole canned chickens, tuna, corned beef, sausages, salmon and especially jerky. The stuff keeps for absolute ever and is very nutritious. You can even boil it for a soup. Buy lots and lots of bullion, both chicken and beef. Though low on nutrition, they make a whole ton of otherwise bland items taste just fine. Dried onions and plain garlic cloves will last as well, and are vital for a number of uses...

Of course you want to stock up on the monster bags of pinto beans and rice, along with all the other types of lentils such as peas. Pinto beans are the closest thing chemically to meat that there is, and your body looks at it as meat. As far as potatoes go, buy all the powdered ones in every form you can get. They too, keep forever. Buy tons of salt and pepper, and every other spice you commonly use. I go to the dollar stores for these. A while back I bought a two pound jar of pepper for a buck! You just have to look for the buys. As far as cooking oil goes, believe it or not, PAM will last just as long as two large cans of shortening, and it takes up almost no room or weight. It also keeps forever. Dried fruits are great, and you can find these at just about every green grocer there is. They too, last forever and have all the food value of fresh fruit. Stay away from frozen foods or things that need refrigeration. When the power goes..and it will, so will that stuff. Filling a deep freeze is idiocy. If you have a pet, now's the time to stock up on food. Get the monster bags of dried stuff and the cheap cans of dog food, even for your cat. He can eat it, and you get five times the food for the same price. In a pinch you can eat it too. It may not be appetizing, but it's sterile and safe to eat, and will keep you alive...

If you don't have a pet, for God's sake, don't get one! They are going to be a real liability in the days to come. Even a small pet eats a lot, and their food supply won't last forever. Then what? A word to the wise: Don't tell anyone you're socking away food! Even your most trusted friend will rob and kill you when he's hungry enough. Keep you mouth SHUT! That includes family members, especially your kids. They are young, stupid and weak willed, and can get you all killed. Another thing: NEVER put all your food in one place! Spread it out to several different locations. That way if you're robbed, you haven't lost everything. Keep one special stash all to yourself that only you know about. The reason for this will become painfully apparent in time. When times get tough and people are down to the issue of survival, the mask of civilized man drops off very quickly, revealing the primitive beast beneath. And people that you have always trusted to the bone will happily kill you and yours for your food, no matter how little there is. This is the ugly side of humanity, and believe me, we'll all see it...

And one small, careless comment during some innocent conversation that you've long forgotten, will suddenly come to mind to some people as they are scouring their memories for sources of food. So beware. Keep your mouth shut! Even to those you love and trust the most. You may want to rebel against the very idea of this, but you had better pay heed to my words..or suffer the consequences. They won't come up to you and politely ask for some of your food, they'll sneak up behind you or catch you off guard and kill you where you stand. When it comes down to who survives; you or him, trust me, you're dead. And you know what? You'd do the same thing to feed your kids. It's going to become a dog eat dog world where there are few allies, and damned few people you can trust...

Canned Goods:
When choosing canned goods, always pick things that are more food than water. Most canned foods..especially vegetables, are half water. So buy all the dried fruit and veggies you can find. We're not out to get the tastiest things here folks. Flavor is at the bottom of the priorities list. We're out to survive. And weight is going to end up a huge issue. Believe me, food is heavy. Ever lug in a week's worth of groceries? Then you get my point. People eat one hell of a lot more than they think they do. All that is going to change. No more three squares and two snacks a day. It's going to be one meal a day, around noon, and maybe on small snack at night, and that's it Jack. Period. And the meal you do have is going to be simple and meager. Food has to stretch for God only knows how long. If you have no visible source of replenishing your supplies, you need to start rationing immediately, not when the food starts running low. The American "good times" mentality must die, or you'll die. It's that simple...

I've heard some Christian Fundamentalists preach that hoarding food is a sin, and shows a lack of faith in God. I guarantee you they'll be changing that bullshit tune when real hunger sets in and the family dog starts looking tasty. God also gave us a brain, and he expects us to use it. And if they want to spout Scripture, the Bible also commands us to be "wise stewards". Besides, the Lord helps those who help themselves. Why should he perform a miracle to feed these fools, when he already gave them the time, the skill, and the supplies to stock up in advance? Morons. They're starve in their idiocy...

Our benevolent government is going to use food as a weapon against us to get our obedience. They'll dangle a hot meal and a hot shower in front of all the starving, idiot whites that refused to prepare, or believe that the collapse was coming. And those fools will enter those pre-fab government compounds..and never come out..except of course in one of those government bought plastic coffins. Those places will be death traps. Just another very good reason to pay heed to my words. Being prepared is strength. If you have food, supplies, weapons and ammo, you can resist the monster that's coming...

Staples:
The very first things you should buy are staples. Sugar, flour, salt (lots of salt), pepper, cooking oil and PAM, Stevia, rice (big, big bags), pinto beans(big bags..lots of these). Dried peas and black-eyed peas (they're loaded with nutrients), Big jars of beef and chicken bullion to flavor the rice and make soups. Coffee of all kinds..lots of it. Tea, a ton of it. Powdered orange drink, and lemon and orange concentrate in those small bottles. Vanilla extract, spices (large bottles), powdered seasoning mixes of every type. They weigh nothing and can make a really crappy meal taste pretty good, and this lifts spirits. And lots of powdered soup mixes. Remember, weight is a huge issue, and so is the life span of foods. Powdered things last forever. If you can buy something dried or powdered rather than canned or fresh, get the dried. It's a no-brainer. Some places still sell powdered eggs, and if you can find them, get them. They're tolerable to eat, and they're a great source of animal protein...

Storage:
The very wisest thing to do with your food is to store it in those five gallon plastic tubs. You know, the kind a large batch of house paint comes in. You can buy new ones at the hardware store, and at many wholesalers and outlets. These things are thick, tough, and they can't rust or degrade. And they're waterproof! Snap that lid on tight and you can float them in a river and the food will remain dry. I personally double-bag my food in thick, black garbage bags and tie them off really good, then a stick that inside the tub. And if I'm going to bury it, which a lot of us do, I double bag the tub as well and seal it good. Then the stuff will last underground for a century. I use the same technique for weapons, ammo, and other "contraband", which to "them" is anything that can be used to resist this evil regime. Storage is a very big deal guys, as is where you hide your food. Use your head, not your heart. Be a warrior. We're all going to have to buckle on that mantle whether we like it or not...

The bottom line is think. Use you head when gathering supplies. Think about what you'll need. Keep a log, and record all the things you use and run out of in a month. You'll be amazed at all the things you forgot to add. But remember, we can't be like Lucy and pack fifty suitcases for the trip. Keep it small as possible and keep it simple. If you already have a haven to weather out the storm at, then you can stock up until the rafters bust. But if your situation is fluid, you need to bury as much as you can in strategic places all over the place, then pack only what you and yours are able to carry. Food will be just as vital as your weapon. Remember that. Many an army lost the war because of hunger. Fun is not the operative word here, the word is survival...