Food Storage: Rice (Survivalism 101)

In this post I am going to pass on my food storage methods for bulk foods, and give you some measurements and pricing on how cheep and easy food storage can be.  I will cover rice in this post, and will continue on in following posts with other grains that can be stored.

Rice has been a staple food for a large portion of the worlds population.  It ranks second only to maize (corn) as the world's most used staple food item.  Storage is relatively easy, and cost efficient if you do things right.  My method is a little different than others you may have seen.  I pay a little higher price to buy some safety and security.  Let's look at some numbers see how far rice will go in a SHTF scenario.  Some links are provided throughout the numbers for your convenience.

One serving of uncooked rice for one person is about 1/4 cup, this equals 1/2 cup when the rice is cooked.  A one pound bag of uncooked rice holds roughly 2.5 cups of the grain.  So a one pound bag of rice holds about 10 servings of rice.  A 50 lbs bag of rice holds around 500 servings.  If you were to eat rice with every meal (three times per day) a 50 lbs bag of rice would last one person 166 days.  We should round that estimate down to 150 days just to be certain we have enough. 

Most people in Western cultures do not eat rice three times per day, but in a pinch it could be done.  When rice is supplemented with other stored grains and foods it can be made to last much longer than the 150 day estimate given above.  If rice is eaten only one serving per day, it would last 500 days.  This is a more realistic estimate of how you would eat in a post SHTF scenario.  When planning for overkill, I come to the conclusion that one 50 lbs bag of rice, if supplemented with other staple food items such as beans, pasta, and wheat; will last one person one year.

A quick Internet search of pricing for a 50 lbs bag of rice ranges from $25 at Costco to $60 for Long Grain Brown Rice.  Please note that these prices are at the time of posting, and may change in the future.  Better deals can usually be found locally.  Given these prices, a family of two could spend roughly $85 dollars, have some variety, and be able to feed themselves for a year when supplemented with other staple food items.  Why haven't you done this yet?

Food Storage

I will give you my method for bulk food storage.  This is not the only way to do things.  There are many different opinions on this topic, so be sure to search around the web and find a technique that works for you.  My philosophy, as always, is based on overkill.

Supplies

I like to use 6 gallon food grade buckets from Nitro Pak.  I get them in a set of four which cuts the price down a little bit on that site, and I order the gamma seal lids to go with them.  I get the gamma seal lids in various colors so I can sort the grain in each bucket by the color of the lid.  The gamma seal lids snap on the top of the bucket like a normal bucket lid, but have a threaded screw off lid on the inside.  This makes it easier to get in and out of the bucket.  Nitro-Pak can be a little pricey, so if these products are not to your liking, by all means shop around and find what works best for you.

In addition to the buckets, I use the Seal and Save vacuum sealer.  I picked mine up at Sam's Club for less than $100.  Both the buckets, and the Seal and Save are one shot - one kill items.  Once you buy them, you can continue using them for a long time, so invest now and you will never have to buy them again.

When storing any bulk food item, it is wise to pick up Oxygen Absorbers and a little known product called Diatomaceous Earth.  Oxygen Absorbers are small packets of Iron Carbonate that take the O2 out of an enclosed area.  The iron in the packet oxidises (rusts) and uses up all the O2.  Anyone who has had the pleasure of eating a military MRE will have seen these things stuck to the bottom of their pound cake or cardboard cookie.  I buy these from Nitro-Pak as well.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is made up of the fossilized remains of diatoms which was a kind of hard shelled algae.  It is very abrasive on a microscopic level, and will damage the exoskeleton of any insect that comes in contact with it.  As the exoskeleton is damaged, the DE makes its way inside the little critters and dehydrates them.  The result is the death of the insect.  DE has a million uses.  It can be used as a dewormer and flea/tick treatment for your pets, it can be sprinkled in door jambs and electrical boxes to keep insects out of homes.  The main use for what we are discussing is killing all of the little creepy crawlies that might ruin your food.  You have to be certain that you purchase food grade DE.  There are various industrial grades of DE that are used for other purposes.  If you try to use one of the industrial grades in food storage, you are going to be in for a world of hurt.  You can read up on all of the various other uses for DE here, but I would recommend not placing an order with this site.  I tried to place an order a few months back and did not receive my product.  Go to any local health food store and ask for some.  If they do not have it, they can order it for you.  I paid $7 for a three pound bag at my local health food store.
 
Putting it all together

You have your rice, you have your buckets, you have your vacuum seal bags, and you have your O2 absorbers and DE.  How do you use all of this to store your food long term?  Start by figuring about how much rice you and your family will consume in a week. 
 
A family of three (two adults and one 5 year old crumb muncher) might eat about 2 lbs of rice per week taking into account the figures given above.  So you want to measure your grain into 2 pound weekly serving bags.  Adding DE to your food storage can be a little tricky.  A good rule of thumb is to add 2% DE to your mix of grain.  Anything higher than a two percent mix can be harmful.  This is about one cup per 40 lbs of grain.  So for a two pound weekly bag, you will want to add about 2.5 teaspoons.  [AUTHORS NOTE - These are my conversions and my method.  Before doing anything suggested in this article, you should check all available resources and figure things out for yourself.]
 
So, take your 2lbs of rice and pour it into a seal and save bag.  Add your DE and shake everything up to ensure the DE coats the grain as evenly as possible.  Throw in an O2 absorber, and vacuum seal the bag.  It is that easy.  Once you have gone through the entire 50 lbs bag of rice, take all of your weekly servings and place them in your bucket.  You will notice that the volume of rice is significantly smaller now that all of your grain is vacuum sealed.  All of the air has been taken out, so you should be able to store much more than 50 lbs of grain in a 5-6 gallon bucket.  Once you have the bucket filled up, take one full cup of DE and pour it over the top of your packets.  This will kill any bugs that get into the bucket, prior to them burrowing into your sealed bags.  In the event a bug does get into a bag, it has only ruined one week's worth of food as opposed to a whole 6 gallon bucket of grain.  That bug will likely die in the individual bag prior to it laying eggs, so you can just toss the bag and keep the rest. 
 
This method may cost a little more but it will keep your grains easy to use in convenient one week storage packets, and will ensure that only small portions get ruined if you have a sudden insect attack.
 
Helpful Info
Oxygen Absorbers, Desiccants and Diatomaceous Earth
 
Be sure to visit my disclaimer page in case you mess up and poison your family with DE.  I will not be held responsible.
 
See you at Galt's Gulch!