A Man, a Vacuum Sealer and a Year of Food

A Man, a vacuum sealer and a year of food

If you’re like me, understanding the times we live in are just about
impossible! Getting a grasp on our current situation feels more like
treading water on a stormy sea and gasping for air when one can. In that
situation the one thing that makes the difference is a life vest to keep
you afloat.

OK, that said to frame what I want to talk about. I live in a small city
of around 20K people. I live around farms but they don’t grow anything
but hay and corn to feel horses and cattle. We owned a small restaurant
here in the Shenandoah Valley and I quickly learned that I had to make
sure that my produce was stocked to match shipments being trucked in from
California and Mexico! You see, almost a complete absence of commercial
greenhouses around Virginia and the sad part is I do live in what is
considered to be farm country.

We know that the “Just in Time” supply model has become the standard for
industry suppliers including food distributors. When I was a kid, I
worked in a grocery store and the back wall was stacked to the rafters
with boxes of canned goods. Now the new stores are just designed to have
a receiving staging area. All that is ordered is enough to “front” the
shelves. No longer are full cases ordered but at times restocking is just
one at a time so the shelves are now the stock room…in a real crisis we
all know just how fast the grocery stores will be emptied.

What is one to do?

Food supply:
Food is relatively cheap right now so this is the best time to start
stocking up for your own supply that can carry you through the first
year…you, your children, and their children if they are grown. One can
purchase 50 pounds of wheat for around 40 cents per pound so you can see
that one can quickly you can build up serious stock, but don’t forget to
buy a grinder!

What kinds of foods you need to inventory are the ones that seal up nicely
and have inherent long term storage built into them. Seeds by design,
when kept whole, like wheat, corn, oats, rice and beans (for example) have
excellent storage capability built right in so it makes sense to major on
these types of foods. I have managed to put away quite a few buckets of
food of these types and a whole lot more to go but here is what I do but
there are lots of ways to get the job done.

I like to put up food in smaller vacuum bags. There are really nice
commercial vacuum machines that run around $350 and up but that was not in
my budget so I spent about $30 on a Foodsaver brand (or whatever) sealer.
Although this will only draw around a 10 to 15 inches of vacuum I add two
items into the bag just before sealing. One is an oxygen absorber and the
other a moisture absorber. Between these two I figure I am getting just
about all the moisture and oxygen out of the bag and as the air we breathe
is about 80% Nitrogen that leaves my future food bathed in an inert gas
that is excellent for long term storage. Even if you had buggies that you
could not see in with your grains, they simply cannot live without oxygen.

On eBay I found out you could order six gallon (food grade) Mylar bags
with a huge oxygen absorber for just over a Dollar. At Home Depot they
have nice orange, five gallon buckets with rubber gasket in the lids for
under $5.00. So I place the Mylar bag into the bucket, then put the
smaller bags say quart sized and perhaps one or two ½ gallon sixed vacuum
sealed bags into the Mylar bag along with the large oxygen absorber and
with practice you can seal the large Mylar bag with your vacuum sealer and
remove the oxygen from that larger Mylar bag. To do this after loading
the Mylar Bag take a small board (or any nicely flat and sturdy object)
and fold the Mylar over the board and take the wife’s nice iron (a lot of
guys might consider getting a used iron from the thrift store) and seal it
up except for enough space to stick a small vacuum hose into your bag.

I purchased a Mason jar sealer that attaches to my vacuum sealer and
nicely seals up canning jars with dry packed stuff like bulk spices. It
has a PVC hose that connects to the vacuum sealer. I take that hose and
stick it into the Mylar bag and then finish sealing the Mylar bag with the
iron right up to the hose. With a little pinch I then get a seal so I can
now pull a vacuum inside the Mylar bag as well providing your food with
triple sealed storage, bucket, Mylar and small vacuum bag. You have just
created five gallons of food for the future for around $5.00, plus the
food cost, for a small fraction of the “emergency” foods you can buy over
the Internet. When it comes to bulk wheat you might want to forgo the
individual bags and put it right into the six gallon Mylar bag and seal it
up properly. You can get a lot more food into each bucket that way and
that is important when space is critical. These smaller bags then need
protection from everything from rodents to accidental tears and punctures.
One can purchase 55 gallon Mylar bags if you are seriously sheltering
in…and space is critical.

This kind of food storage is critical if we do have a TEOTWAWKI (we all
know that stands for The End Of The World As We Know It, right?) event.
Most of what I read about looks more like a slow and painful death of the
Dollar through contortions of hyper inflation/stagflation and deflation.
In my really stupid years I once drank a whole bottle of Tequila and that
is a lot what we will have when a financial system is completely out of
control, our coming financial collapse is going to be like that on an
experiential level…complete loss of voluntary control, and it is going to
be messy.

This food you can easily set aside can help you make it through the first
year of your life should the unthinkable happen and you have to become
self sufficient overnight. Google phrases like “food storage per person”
and see what the calculations look like. It might take thousands of
pounds of food for a medium size family but this can be done. I looked
for a local semi-independent supermarket that orders food in bulk and then
breaks that down into smaller bags for retail and asked if I could add
bulk orders onto their regular weekly shipments. They said yes and now I
order 50 or so pounds of bulk foods from wheat to beans and I also get a
10% to 15% discount rather than buying off the shelf. Best of all is no
shipping charges! You can also order off the Internet but you will have
to pay for Mr. UPS to come deliver it typically doubling the cost of the
food.

This week I just ordered another 50 Lbs of Raw Sugar as Sugar prices are
expected to be sharply on the rise due to crop failures and Wall Street
commodity investors. Items like sugars and honey have practically
unlimited shelf life and if you package them as I described you will
eliminate caking due to moisture. You will get some packing together,
especially with raw sugar, due to the compacting typical with the
vacuuming but it busts apart easily.

Adding in a nice variety of freeze dried foods for flavor and simplicity
gives you a great selection so that meals can be different and interesting
in a crisis situation. The only thing I can imagine worse than eating the
same thing day after day is eating nothing day after day.

To start taking advantage of your new supplies, start making prepared
meals out of them now. Think of a meal you would typically make. In my
house Black Beans & Rice are a typical dinner. Beans typically need to be
soaked overnight before cooking and that is so easy to forget. Try this
idea for quick emergency or not so emergency meals. Take a canning jar
and fill it with the beans like Black Beans. Add in spices along with
garlic & onion or what you might typically use and then fill the jar with
boiling water and seal it just as you would when canning with a hot lid.
Place your jars into a pressure cooker and pasteurize the contents. When
you open it back up you will have a bean dinner already seasoned and ready
to heat up and serve.

In addition to canning veggies you can also can meats and butter but you
have to do some reading on that temperature you need to reach for 100%
food safety.

If a TEOTWAWKI hits in winter then you might not need a full year’s supply
till you have food coming in from the garden but you have to have seeds
and good soil…more about that next time.

Bruce


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FREE Fire Rescue TV Vehicle Decal for First Responders

Drop by the Virginia Fire Chiefs Mid Atlantic Expo this weekend, February 24-27, 2011 at the Virginia Beach VA Convention Center and stop by our booth and pick up a FREE vehicle decal. You can also REGISTER on our website, www.firerescuetv.com and we will send you one for FREE!


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A few thoughts on gun control…..

I don’t often talk a tremendous amount about politics or common political “talking points”. Gun control is one issue that I certainly have opinions on and you may or not agree with me.

The recent shootings in Arizona have spurred talk on gun control all across the country. Often when a mass shooting gets a lot of press – “gun control” will be mentioned as something that could have prevented what occurred and what should be put in place to prevent future occurrences.

Let me start off by stating for the record – I support the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. Period. I believe that our forefathers placed the right to bear arms into the Constitution for a reason – and it was not for the creation of out military and police forces.

“A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The Minute Man statue - Concord, Mass.

Knowing the history of how the United States came to be I firmly believe that the above statement refers to the ability of the people to possess firearms – not just the government.

The mass shooting in Arizona was a tragedy for all involved and their families. It is an unfortunately reality that there are sick, crazy, malicious and evil people in this world with an intent that is no better than they are. The argument that decent, law-abiding citizens should have their rights effected due to those that are not decent, law-abiding citizens is unjust, unfair and against our Constitutional rights. Whether it be the Virginia Tech massacre or the Arizona shooting – those physco’s that perpetrated these acts would do so regardless of any law.

The bottom line is that gun control laws only effect those that will obey them – law abiding citizens. Criminals are termed that for a reason – they break the law. How many drug dealers and gang-bangers are purchasing their firearms at local gun shops following laws?

Now – here is where I may stir a response from you. Some gun control and regualtion is responsible and I feel required. I have no problem with a background check. I have no problem with a 24-hour waiting period. I do not have a problem with certain age requirements. I do not have a problem with any Dick or Harry walking into their local gun shop and NOT walking out with a fully automatic M60 machine gun. There has to be some common sense involved in gun regulations. This problem is - what is common sense to me may be different than to you. The other problem is most that are in favor of gun control is that if you give them an inch – they will take a mile. What I mean by this is every regulation, every law is one step towards their eventual desired goal – the banning of guns altogether. Not all gun control advocates want this – but a very large majority.

Being able to defend myself, my family, and my property goes beyond “God given” – it is built into the genetic make up of the human species to protect that which is nurtured and cared for. For some political group, “cause” or politician to suggest that I am not allowed to possess a pistol that can shoot 17 shots or a semi-automatic rifle because I can affix a bayonet to it is not just pathetic – it is idiotic.

There are 40,000 people killed every year in automobile accidents. 40,000!! I don’t hear anyone suggesting cars should be banned. Hmmmmm…….

One final thought. What if someone with a Concealed Weapons Permit was present at Virginia Tech or in Arizona for either one of those shootings?

Rourke modernsurvivalonline.com

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The Food Crisis Of 2011

Every month, JPMorgan Chase dispatches a researcher to several supermarkets in Virginia. The task is to comparison shop for 31 items.

In July, the firm’s personal shopper came back with: To read more follow link below:

http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2010/10/27/the-food-crisis-of-2011/?boxes

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You've Got To Fight For Your Rights

Here in Virginia, we are not cursed with too many onerous gun laws. Gun rights actually made progress last year with allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol (as long as they don't drink) and allowing people without permits to carry concealed in the car. We really have to give most of the credit to the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Every year, legions of law abiding gun owners descend upon our Jefferson-designed state capitol building to meet thier legislators (at least the ones who do not run and hide) and press for a return of the right to keep and bear arms, all while carrying weapons and wearing orange "Guns Save Lives" stickers. After a couple hours of that, everyone gathers on the Capitol lawn for a rally with advocates, politicians, and the occasional celebrity. I've been twice, and it is really an amazing event. This year's Lobby Day is Monday, January 17th. If you are in Virginia, I encourage you to come. I'll be there for the rally. Details can be found HERE. If you don't live in Virginia, I encourage you to become involved with whatever advocacy group is active in your state. If you don't support gun rights, well, I promise not to infringe upon your right to not have a firearm if you promise not to infringe upon my right to have one.

This article borrowed from If It Hits The Fan

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A members reply

A reply to a letter I sent

Hi Glen,
My name is Jeff "CAVSCOUT" it was good for you to contact me. It has been a while since I have been able to get on the APN. Just wanted to drop a line to say that I am still here, even though where I live went from a dry clear place to live to planet Hoth fron Star Wars in like 36 hours. We managed to get over 18 inches of snow and I figured, well my fiance' figured, it would be a good idea to test all of the things we have prepared for. We made it out to be, a massive storm (there was no imagining that), no power (we had that), all stores and gas stations closed (that was true), and we were on our own. Well everything worked out perfect, we were actually comfortable for 3 days. In otherwords we had an After Action Report (AAR). Everything that I had and most of what I learned about how to be self reliant and what to have in a survival situation I got for American Preppers. And thanks to all of the members we managed to survive the Blizzard of 2010 here in Virginia with no problems even though we went overboard with our simulation. So thank you. SCOUT OUT!

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We’re Going to Experience Apocalyptic Pain, and It’s Going to Be Out of Our Control

The US Treasury Department tells us that our federal debt is currently sitting at $13.8 trillion. On its most basic level the federal deficit is the difference between current government spending (including interest payments) and total current revenue from all types of taxes.

In 2001, when President George Bush took office, our debt was around $6.5 trillion. Combined with President Obama’s spending packages and commitments, our public and gross debt over the last 10 years has more than doubled.

But that’s not the scary part. What’s scary is how much money we owe when we look at current and future liabilities over the course of the next three decades. Officially, this figure is estimated to be around $150 trillion. Unofficially, according to Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff, our future liabilities exceed some $200 trillion. Considering that the tax revenue of the United States is around $4 trillion per year, anyone who’s ever held a balance and made a credit card payment can understand the near impossibility of paying off such a debt.

Senator Tom Coburn is one of many who warns of dire consequences if we can’t get our finances under control:

I think you’ll see a 15 to 18 percent unemployment rate . I think you will see an 8 to 9 percent decline in GDP. I think you’ll see the middle class just destroyed if we don’t do this. And the people that it will harm the most will be the poorest of the poor, because we’ll print money to try to debase our currency and get out of it and what you will see is hyperinflation.

If we don’t take some pain now, we’re going to experience apocalyptic pain, and it’s going to be out of our control. The idea should be that we control it.

We share Senator Coburn’s sentiment. Unfortunately, we’re not as optimistic as he is that any of Congress’ placations will be sufficient enough to help us get out of this hole.

With $4 trillion in annual tax revenue, at today’s debt levels it would literally take 50 years just to pay off the debt that we’ve already committed to - that’s if we stopped all additional spending right now - today. The odds of that are zero - thus our debt liability will continue to grow, as will the interest payments required to service our debt.

The end result of our pulling forward 25 - 50 years of debt is not going to be pretty. As we’ve outlined before, we are on the brink of a catastrophic collapse in the credit of the United States of America. This means that at some point our national credit card is going to be maxed out.

When that will be is difficult to predict. According to Senator Coburn, we’re looking at about 3 - 4 years - which sounds like a viable time line. Really, it all depends on China, because they are the largest buyer of US debt.

But the Chinese are not going to stand by while their US currency reserves become worthless. They are already taking action to counter the effects of a soon-to-be suicided US dollar.

We recently learned that the Chinese have signed agreements with the Russians to drop the dollar as a settlement vehicle, essentially replacing the world’s reserve currency with the Yuan when dealing with each other. We’ve heard many people suggest that this is just a drop in the bucket because of the widespread use of the US dollar - and we agree. However, China is working with other trade partners to do the same thing. And eventually all of those drops in the bucket will fill it up.

Once the Chinese pull the plug there will be only one entity left to support the US dollar - The Federal Reserve. They’ll digitally print trillions of dollars for as long as they can, but sooner rather than later the US dollar will collapse.

And when it does, the end result can only be described as an economic apocalypse.

If the dollar gets to the point it is equivalent to Monopoly money it will be impossible for holders of the bills, as well as our government, to settle transactions with the currency. This means that commerce on a global scale, for all of those expecting to fulfill transactions in US dollars, will come to a standstill.

How will individuals and governments buy food, gas, and other essential goods when the very currency being used to settle the transaction is no longer a viable trade instrument?

Really, it can get that bad. We have no confidence that Congress, the President, the Federal Reserve or US Treasury can fix this problem.

Over the course of the next decade we will see a new US monetary system introduced - just like we saw in 1971, 1944, 1913 and 1785.

This time it will be very disorderly. We can expect trillions in wealth to be wiped out and the many complications that come along with such an event - violence, protests, riots, breakdown in the rule of law and potentially even large-scale war.

If you haven’t done so already, take action to protect your wealth and preserve your well being now, before it hits the fan. Follow the investment strategies of the Chinese and you might have a chance of coming out with something when the chickens come home to roost.

Take possession of hard assets whenever you can, including precious metals, long-term food stores, tools & equipment, and anything else that will retain value when the US dollar loses it.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: December 27th, 2010
Visit the Author's Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com/

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