As I discussed in my post about building a core food supply, I have purchased some Value Buckets from the Ready Store. I recently added another staple to my supply: a bucket of white rice.
This is a great addition and probably could have been the first bucket of food that I purchased since rice is an excellent core storage item. I believe the bucket is about 40 pounds worth of rice. I read often that many survivalists think wheat is the best core item for a food supply but I have zero experience with wheat. Maybe at some point, I’ll learn how to prepare and utilize a wheat supply. For now, I can easily manage with rice.
How much rice do you have in long-term storage? What is your target amount of rice?
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About $12 = 25 pound rice sack =(about) 9 quarts dry.
= 36 cups dry = 110 cups cooked.
Figure a cup of rice, cooked, at around 200 calories.
Figure a hungry adult eats about 1/4 to 1/3rd cup dry or about 2/3 – 1 cups cooked for a dinner, mixed in with a stir-fry or something similar.
The math: 1 x 25 pound sack = 8 to 10% of an adult’s 2k-2500 calorie diet for 110 days = 3 to 4 months.
Similar idea: go check your local agricultural feed store, (eg. Southern States) they’ll have 50 pound sacks of peanuts, corn, and sunflower seeds.
The big advantage to wheat is that it keeps for a very long time. Rice is pretty good, though. Wheat will keep for 30 years if kept dry. White rice, about 12 years. Brown rice about 8 years.
But, wheat is something we’re not used to eating much of. I can tell you this, it makes great snacking finger food. Just put a bowl of it out and eat it by the handful. No cooking, nothing. Its pretty tasty.
Rice, on the other hand, must be cooked to soften it.
But, either way, you’ve got a good thing. Corn works too. If you buy the stuff in bulk, its all pretty cheap. And, while you’re at it, buy a few cattle salt and/or mineral blocks. They keep forever. Also, just containers of salt are cheap. 50c for a couple pounds. Cooked rice and a little salt and/or sugar can keep you alive for quite a while.