I’ve seen this question in various places on the internet, and thought I’d put my 2 cents’ worth in on the subject.
First – let’s talk about the bucket. If your bucket was previously used for food (icing from a bakery, pickles, etc.), then wash the bucket thoroughly, maybe even put some bleach in it and then let it air out for a couple of days to get any residual smell out.
If your bucket previously contained chemicals, DO NOT USE IT FOR FOOD STORAGE.
There is some debate on whether or not the orange “homer buckets” from Home Depot are suitable. Please note this is just MY opinion – everyone has to decide for themselves on this matter. I use metallized Mylar liners in any buckets we use for food storage, so the bucket is really there just to protect the liner – food never comes into direct contact with the bucket this way. Home Depot has stated the homer buckets are not food safe, but some people say the manufacturer said they are, but the dye used in the buckets is not. For myself, using a mylar liner, I don’t have a problem using the orange Home Depot buckets. That’s just me though.
Now – the liner. I think it’s necessary because buckets in and of themselves are NOT air-tight. With the mylar liners, you can choose to put in a few oxygen absorbers if you’d like. I personally do not use the oxygen absorbers along with my liners. I think to an extent, the food storage people are having a field day selling supplies to folks. Again, this is another area everybody has to decide for themselves. I buy liners from www.beprepared.com
From my own experience, a 5 gallon bucket will hold approximately 30 to 35 pounds of long grain rice, sugar, beans, etc.
An addendum to this: I was browsing yesterday and ran across http://sevenunits.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-food-storage-on-budget.html
The info on their site says that a 5 gallon bucket will hold 80 cups of whatever you are storing (by volume – not weight). Their recommendation is to store (5) 5 gallon buckets per person of rice, flour, and beans annually. When you tell someone to store a year’s worth of food, it’s sometimes hard to visualize. This will give you a better idea of a starting point.
I have also read about some people putting more than one item into a bucket, and there is some wisdom in doing this. You could choose to vacuum seal packages of flour, sugar, beans, rice, salt, seasonings, some canned goods, etc. and put into the mylar bag, then seal for some extra protection. That way you can grab a bucket and know you have enough to make a complete meal from one pail. This would also be helpful if you need to give a bucket of supplies to family, friends, or neighbors (or if you have to evacuate in an emergency – you can literally “grab and go”).
The important thing is to actually START on your food storage. Make it a priority for yourself and your family. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT. Hard times are coming, and you may need to rely on your food storage. Since I started this blog last fall, things have continued to go downhill – they will not get better anytime soon. Sorry – not trying to be “doom and gloom”, just a realist. Farmers have been unable to get loans to plant crops, there are droughts occurring on the west coast, and a large percentage of our food supply is being shipped in from overseas.
Getcher buckets ready, folks!
UPDATE 4/8/09: Be sure to check another post I made on this subject – having “Grab and Go” buckets ready for an emergency (includes pictures!): https://arksoaper.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/emergency-buckets-grab-go-food/
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