Some folks initially getting into prepping are so eager to build their food storage quickly, they’re tempted to go out and buy a bunch of expensive freeze dried food, or a pallet full of beans and rice, sock it away, and forget about it. That’s fine, and it’s certainly better than having no food storage put away at all. However, there are some downsides.
- Expense – while beans and rice are cheap, if you go the freeze dried route, you are paying a hefty price for the convenience compared to similar food that can be stored in a different more cost effective manner. Buying a huge amount right away also potentially means you’ll be missing out on sales you could take advantage of to stock up at much increased savings.
- Nutrition – much of the commercially available food is not the best quality from a content point of view. It often times is potentially GMO in origin, and could have lots of extra ingredients like salt and preservatives. Storing lots of rice means you’ll have plenty of carbohydrates, but you’ll also want protein and fats to have a balanced diet.
- Taste – if you never eat the food you have socked away, you may be storing things that you don’t even want to eat. In a SHTF scenario, sure, having any food is better than having nothing. But in an already stressful situation, you’ll have extra comfort knowing you have food to fall back on that you actually enjoy eating.
- Rotation – if you’re not eating out of your food storage, that means either you’re not rotating it or you are throwing things out. Granted, if you go the freeze dried route, spoilage isn’t a big concern until 20+ years down the road. However just because something is technically still edible does not mean its nutrition is optimal.