Gluten Free Long Term Food Storage – Everything You Need to Know

Would you like to prep some food for the future? Here’s a look into what we are storing in our gluten-free long-term food pantry and how we are storing it.

Long Term Gluten Free Food Storage

I think that back in 2020, many of us were blindsided when it came to grocery shopping. All of the sudden, everything shut down, and there was a mad rush to stockpile everything you could think to get your hands on.

Unfortunately, our family was right in the middle of a move, and we didn’t have much of any food storage. I would go to the grocery store to shop for ten people (our family and my parent’s family) and find very little. Most of what was on the shelves was pre-packaged and boxed products, things we didn’t usually eat. Fruits and vegetables were few and far between.

It was a time that I’d rather not repeat. While our family isn’t prepping for the zombie Apocolypse or the end of the world or anything like that, we do believe that it’s prudent to have things on hand that we may need in the event that they are difficult to get or we don’t have the money or resources to get them.

It is also important for our family to store things that might help others in a bind. For more info on why and how we prepare for difficult situations, read this blog post —> How to Prepare for Difficult Times.

What Is Long-Term Food Storage?

Long Term Food Storage is food that can be stored away for at least 5 years without going bad. It’s not the same as typical bulk food buying and pantry storage.

Honestly, mylar bags and oxygen absorbers have never really been my thing. We’ve always stocked up our kitchen pantry and decided that was good enough. But we happened to have a month where we had a little extra and could find the items, so we decided to do a little long-term stocking up.

I’ve seen a lot of info on making long-term food storage in a typical pantry, but since we are gluten and dairy-free, we don’t have a typical pantry. Storing wheat berries will do me more harm than good! So I thought I should share some gluten-free grains we are stocking up on and things we aren’t.

How Much Long Term Food Storage Do I Need?

How much food storage you need will depend on what you are storing food away for and what you have the space to store.

A year’s worth of food might be difficult to achieve (especially if you have a family) but it could be a goal to attain to. We’ve found it easier not to have a specific goal in mind as far as how long our food storage will last and instead focus on adding a little bit to it whenever we are able.

Do You Need to Buy Organic?

Feel free to buy organic if you feel more comfortable and your budget allows. If you can afford conventional and want to plan ahead, that’s absolutely fine too. We all need to do the best we can in the situations we are in and never feel pressured to buy something we can’t afford.

I was able to get organic for the particular stock-up that you will see in the video below, but that’s only because our source for dry goods through our coop only does organic.

Disclaimer….we believe food storage is just a small part of long-term preparedness. Gardening, knowing how to can, being able to live without electricity, having non-food items…all of those things are just as important in a well-rounded long-term plan.

Gluten-Free Foods for Long-Term Food Storage

Here are some things we hope to add to our long-term food storage. All of these items store well for many years when stored properly.

• Whole Corn
• Whole Oats
• Whole Sorghum
• White Rice
• Quinoa Pasta

Some of the things we could store but our family doesn’t eat much of:

• Whole Millet
• Quinoa
• Corn Pasta
• Whole Buckwheat
• Teff

Non-grain long-term gluten-free food storage items:

• Potato Flakes
• Arrowroot Powder
• Baking Soda
• Dry Beans
• Lentils
• Freeze-Dried Foods (You can even buy pre-packaged freeze-dried foods from places like Auguson Farms, we’ve done that too!)

Items you shouldn’t store long term:

• Nuts
• Seeds
• Brown Rice
• Brown Rice Pasta
• Flax
• Flours

Freeze-Dried Foods to Consider

You can get many things that are freeze-dried to put away in your long-term food storage. Most freeze-dried foods have up to a 25-year shelf life. We used to have a freeze dryer but didn’t find it to be worth the money (both the upfront expense and the ongoing expense). Freeze-drying foods is a great way to preserve the nutrients and minerals (and the taste!) in many different foods.

Now we’ve been slowly purchasing some freeze-dried foods from Auguson Farms. (You can get 10% off your purchase from them with the coupon code LITTLEHOUSELIVING.)Here are a few ideas on what you can get that is freeze-dried and might be good for your food storage plan.

• Eggs
• Beef
• Chicken
• Tuna
• Onions
• Garlic
• Cheese
• NonFat Dry Milk

Make sure you check the ingredients on any item that you are purchasing to make sure that it fits with your diet.

I know many more things could be added to these lists of survival food, but this is a general list based on what our family eats. If you are considering storing anything long-term, be sure your family will eat it and that it doesn’t contain a high amount of natural oils. Anything with high oil will go rancid much quicker and shouldn’t be stored in long-term food storage.

How To Store Food Long Term

You Will Need:

• Mylar Bags (I use Gallon and Two Quart, Wallaby is the best choice for bags)
• Oxygen Absorbers (500cc for Gallon Bags and 300cc for 2 Quart Bags, you can also buy the packs from Wallaby that include the bags and the oxygen absorbers)
• Impulse Heat Sealer (or you can use an iron)

Putting away the emergency food supply is very simple!

All you need to do is place your grain in the mylar bag. Don’t fill it all the way full; about 3/4 of the way full is good. Fill up as many mylar bags as are in one pack of oxygen absorbers. (For example, fill ten bags if you have ten oxygen absorbers in a pack).

Use the impulse sealer to seal the one open edge of the bag.

Write the contents and the date on the bag.

What About Vacuum Sealed Foods?

If you don’t want to purchase mylar bags and have a Vacuum Sealer at home. You could place your long term food storage in vacuum seal bags with an oxygen absorber.

While it’s better than nothing and better than simply storing foods on your pantry shelves, I wouldn’t recommend this method if you want to be serious about your long-term food storage. Mylar bars (when properly sealed) do not allow any light or moisture content into your foods, helping keep them good for longer.

I’ve had too many foods done up with my vacuum sealer suddenly come unsealed after a while so it’s not a method I personally trust to keep my food safe for a long-term storage situation. I do, however, like using a vacuum sealer for freezer foods.

Food Storage Containers

Place all your food storage in a dark, dry area if possible. Non-clear plastic totes work well for this.

You could also place the bagged food in food-grade plastic buckets with a regular or Gamma Lid.

Either way, the bags must be stored in some container or 5-gallon buckets to help make them pest-proof. If pests such as insects and rodents have access to your mylar pouches, your hard work could go to waste very quickly.

Do not store your long-term food storage dry foods in plastic bottles, small clear plastic containers, or in glass jars. While these are fine for typical pantry storage, they do not provide the space or the darkness needed for long-term food storage.

If you still aren’t sure about this process and what to store, I made a video for you! Check it out below.

One more note: If you store whole grains, you need a grain grinder to make them into flour. I have and can recommend the Wonder Junior Deluxe Manual Grinder from Pleasant Hill Grain. (We have the drill adapter for it as well.)

Where Do I Get Supplies for Making Long-Term Food Storage?

Here are some of the places that we get our supplies from for creating our long term food storage.

Food

We get our dry foods from our own bulk foods coop. I usually just put away a bag or two out of a bag of food that I would typically buy for our household anyway. For example, if I buy a 10lb bag of quinoa pasta, I will put away 2lbs in long-term storage and use the rest to fill up my regular pantry jars. This helps to keep it from getting overwhelming. If you don’t live in Wyoming or South Dakota to be able to get food from our coop, I would recommend Azure.

I’ve also started getting some freeze-dried foods from Auguson Farms. It comes already packed in a can with an oxygen absorber…ready to be stored! Auguson Farms is offering 10% off their store (at any time) for Little House Living readers when you use the coupon code LITTLEHOUSELIVING at checkout.

Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers

I have previously used the bags that came with my freeze dryer (when we had it) and then just ordered random mylar bags on Amazon. More recently, I purchased Mylar Bags from Wallaby, and now I wish I’d never used the other bags because they pale compared to the Wallaby Bags!

Wallaby is offering Little House Living readers $5 off their purchase (plus free shipping over $25) with the coupon code LHLIVING.

I buy the bag and absorber kits from Wallaby, so I don’t have to buy the oxygen absorbers separately.

And there you have it, the basics of gluten-free long-term food storage! It doesn’t need to be complicated, and it also doesn’t need to be done all at once. If you find a great deal on some bulk whole grains your family eats, that’s the perfect thing to grab and put away one bag at a time.

Do you have any food put away in long-term storage? What gluten-free foods or grains do you store?

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Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm and ministry on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

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This article on Long Term Food Storage was originally posted on Little House Living in March 2022. It has been updated as of April 2023.