Hey y’all! Today I want to talk a little more about our Long Term Food Storage (i.e. food that has a long shelf life and can be stored away for a long time). We’ve talked about several grains so far (wheat, oats, and rice), and today I want to add Powdered Milk to our long term list.

And on a quick side note, I’m going to start speaking very openly about exactly what my processes are. I want these posts to be as helpful as possible. I will try to pass on information about where I find good deals, how much I purchase, etc. in hopes that it can maybe give you an idea of where you may want to be. I’m not trying to promote certain companies and I’m not getting paid to send customers their way. I just do a lot of research before I make my purchases and figure I might as well pass what I learn along. If you know of some great deals, please feel free to let me know and I can pass that on as well!

Okay, so on to powdered milk!

Powdered milk is a very important product to have in your food storage because it has wonderful nutritional value. Did you know that even if you did not have food, you could survive for a long time (even years!) on just milk?! Of course, your body would not be very healthy before too long (as you would be lacking some other important vitamins and minerals that milk does not contain), but powdered milk contains all twenty-one standard amino acids and is high in soluble vitamins and minerals and therefore would allow you to survive. Cool, huh? Now, in no way, shape or form do I recommend storing just powdered milk in your food storage, but I wanted to give you an idea of just how beneficial this product is.

Another great benefit of powdered milk is that is has a rather long shelf-life (if stored in proper conditions). Depending on brand and how it is stored, powdered milk can have a shelf-life of up to 20 or 25 years (always check the manufacturers recommendations). Now, something to keep in mind is that it will start to lose some of it’s nutritional value the longer it sits, so it is still recommended to rotate through your powdered milk, but it’s not something you have to keep track of on a daily basis or anything.
Here’s a trick I’ve learned… I have a pitcher I use just for powdered milk, and on a regular basis I mix up a batch of milk and then use it in my baking for things like waffles, pancakes, cookies, etc. That way I’m slowly rotating through my supply.

As far as drinking powdered milk goes, I’m not sure you could get me to do that… even in an emergency. I’m not a big milk drinker to start, and throw on top of that the ‘not-so-pleasant’ taste of powdered milk and it’s a no-go for me. I would be happy with water, thank you very much. However, Hubby is a BIG milk drinker and would definitely miss his milk in an emergency or food shortage. So I have learned about a powdered milk substitute called ‘Morning Moo’ that is supposed to be quite tasty. It is said to be a little on the sweet side. But I have also heard that since it is a substitute, it doesn’t work quite as well in baking and what not. (Disclaimer: I have not actually tasted ours yet, so I cannot personally vouch for it, but I do personally know many people who have and swear by it.)

So here is what I’ve done: I’ve purchased several cans of regular powdered milk to be used in baking and cooking. Then, in addition, I’ve purchased several more cans of the Morning Moo to be used for drinking. That way we can have our milk and drink it too.

(Helpful Hint: I only buy milk in the #10 cans and not the large bucket size. This is because the shelf life is significantly shorter on the buckets and I don’t plan to use my milk that quickly. However, if you plan to use your powdered milk regularly, the buckets allow for a discounted bulk price.)

Numbers wise, for our family of four, I got 6 cans of the regular powdered milk (which is based upon my food storage recipe lists and how much milk I need for my baking and cooking), and then I have purchased 12 cans of the Morning Moo (I figure in an emergency, Hubby can get by with one can a month for his drinking purposes. Eventually I may buy more as the budget allows.)
I purchased my regular powdered milk at Emergency Essentials® and the Morning Moo at Augason Farms. Both companies have a $12 shipping max, so I like to advantage of that and order large quantities at a time to get the most out of the shipping charge. So one month I ordered my regular milk along with some buckets of wheat, rice, and oats from Emergency Essentials (they’ve got the best prices on those products). Augason Farms is one of the FEW places you can find Morning Moo’s milk and they had some of the best prices on buckets of sugar at the time, so another month I purchased those together (along with any other little items I wanted to try) with my food-storage budget.

So go figure out what amounts you want/need for your long term supply  (use a food calculator, if needed) and then do a little price comparison (prices may have changed from the time I posted this) and start working on building your long-term food storage. You are going to want this food on hand to bring you peace of mind and security for the times that lie ahead.
Best Wishes and Happy Prepping!