Taking Food to the US?

daught

daught

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I am going to the US on a camping trip. Considering I will be backpacking with a lot of gear I am quite particular about the food I will be taking with me. I don't want to rely on buying stuff from the US, because I dont know what they have available except hamburgers. I usually take a a lot of canned food when I go camping. Campbells cans and Stag chilly cans are my favorite. I also have a bunch of fish pâté cans and vegetable spreads that are imported to Canada from Poland I believe. I also have powdered milk and powdered eggs. Peanut butter and jam is obviously on the list. I am getting a lot of conflicting information from all over the place. Any have any experience with food across the border?

Worse comes to worse I can just take a bunch of Mountain House freeze dried food because it's made in the US, but I rather save a but of money.
 
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Everything we have here they have in the states and then MORE. Also when you buy in the states it will be a lot cheaper and you wont have to drag the crap there. All you need to do is hit up a walmart supercenter and you're set
 
I am looking at https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use. Most of my stuff seems to be unrestricted, except the chilly cans, but they are made in the USA so I guess that won't be a problem. I really don't want to waste time shopping in the USA.

I can trim my stuff to match the list. I am just worried about the guy at the border knowledge regarding what's allowed to be brought in. The border is not a place where I want to have an argument. I will print that official list just in case.
 
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Highlight the relevant sections and hope he's literate :cool: If it's only the chili that's missing, I'd just pick up a few cans in any store. Another option: buy it locally and hope you get a reasonable one. Worst case scenario, you're out a few cans of what passes for "chili" in some circles.. Certainly not my house :cool:
 
Buy from the states. There is a larger, better selection and prices are much cheaper.
 
matthew said:
Buy from the states. There is a larger, better selection and prices are much cheaper.
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Bonus points for corn with cockroach genes :cool:
 
daught said:
I am looking at https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use. Most of my stuff seems to be unrestricted, except the chilly cans, but they are made in the USA so I guess that won't be a problem. I really don't want to waste time shopping in the USA.

I can trim my stuff to match the list. I am just worried about the guy at the border knowledge regarding what's allowed to be brought in. The border is not a place where I want to have an argument. I will print that official list just in case.
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Have fun on your camping trip. Remember the USA only has regular ground hamburger beef. They do not have any other kind of food for sale so make sure you pack well. Your right not to rely on buying an food down there as they only use some form of magical pesos as currency. Once again, good luck on your magical trip to the land of the hamburger.

P.s. What's it like To be a proud rider of the short bus?
 
DaveOke said:
Have fun on your camping trip. Remember the USA only has regular ground hamburger beef. They do not have any other kind of food for sale so make sure you pack well. Your right not to rely on buying an food down there as they only use some form of magical pesos as currency. Once again, good luck on your magical trip to the land of the hamburger.
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What are you talking about the U.S. only has regular ground beef? We can get regular, lean, extra lean, ground sirloin etc. at our local grocery store. We can also get ground turkey, lamb, chicken, pork.

Not sure what grocery store you went into, but it wasn't normal if they only sold regular ground beef.
 
revrandy said:
What are you talking about the U.S. only has regular ground beef? We can get regular, lean, extra lean, ground sirloin etc. at our local grocery store. We can also get ground turkey, lamb, chicken, pork.

Not sure what grocery store you went into, but it wasn't normal if they only sold regular ground beef.
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he's being sarcastic. . .

everyone keeps telling the op to buy his stuff there (the same stuff, but at a cheaper price), but he's insisting on slugging the stuff across the border. . .

lol, perhaps the cans of 'food' are not food. . .dun-dun-dunnnnnnn. . .
 
DaveOke said:
Have fun on your camping trip. Remember the USA only has regular ground hamburger beef. They do not have any other kind of food for sale so make sure you pack well. Your right not to rely on buying an food down there as they only use some form of magical pesos as currency. Once again, good luck on your magical trip to the land of the hamburger.

P.s. What's it like To be a proud rider of the short bus?
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Look, call me nuts but I use the same shopping list for the US as I used for the Republic of Moldova. I can't trust their food and water. Who knows, they might even genetically modify their water. I heard some people are so desperate there that they kidnap tourists approaching Walmart, thinking they are loaded. I guess border guards make up all these rules to confiscate food to feed their family.

P.s. the short bus is awesome. you get to heckle all the bigots.
 
daught said:
Look, call me nuts but I use the same shopping list for the US as I used for the Republic of Moldova. I can't trust their food and water. Who knows, they might even genetically modify their water. I heard some people are so desperate there that they kidnap tourists approaching Walmart, thinking they are loaded. I guess border guards make up all these rules to confiscate food to feed their family.

P.s. the short bus is awesome. you get to heckle all the bigots.
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At this point im not sure if youre joking or what. Either way, the US has all the same canned food we have and the safety regulations are just as strict. You can easily buy the same stuff down there and it will be cheaper. I wouldnt lug canned food with me since youre not saving anything and the availability is just the same.

As for the water, its good practice not to drink tap water in any strange place. You can get sick drinking tap water from other parts of the same city if youre not used to it and your stomach is senstive. I dont even get ice in my drinks if im in a different city, since the ice is always made with tap water.
 
A lot also depends on where in the USA you go. Some regions haven't heard the terms low fat, high fiber etc. Saying "No gravy" is about the same thing as saying "Communism isn't all that bad".
Whatever you do, never say "If you want me to eat all that gravy you'll have to put a gun to my head."
 
bobjohnson said:
At this point im not sure if youre joking or what. Either way, the US has all the same canned food we have and the safety regulations are just as strict. You can easily buy the same stuff down there and it will be cheaper. I wouldnt lug canned food with me since youre not saving anything and the availability is just the same.

As for the water, its good practice not to drink tap water in any strange place. You can get sick drinking tap water from other parts of the same city if youre not used to it and your stomach is senstive. I dont even get ice in my drinks if im in a different city, since the ice is always made with tap water.
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I was kidding, but I guess sarcasm is hard to catch in forums. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
 
Some parts are definitely to be avoided though... Last time we went there on business, we stopped in D-troit to fuel up. We had 3 groups of pretty shady characters going around the gas station eying the new pickup truck loaded with stuff and with foreign plates. We drove for 2 hours until we decided it's probably safe to stop for the rest of the night (around 2:30am).
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Some parts are definitely to be avoided though... Last time we went there on business, we stopped in D-troit to fuel up. We had 3 groups of pretty shady characters going around the gas station eying the new pickup truck loaded with stuff and with foreign plates. We drove for 2 hours until we decided it's probably safe to stop for the rest of the night (around 2:30am).
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I venture to Detroit frequently. Unless you're doing something illegal, it's a pretty safe city. Been on Cass Ave, Highland Park, Hamtramck, etc. at night, no problem whatsoever. As long as you're not looking for trouble.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Some parts are definitely to be avoided though... Last time we went there on business, we stopped in D-troit to fuel up. We had 3 groups of pretty shady characters going around the gas station eying the new pickup truck loaded with stuff and with foreign plates. We drove for 2 hours until we decided it's probably safe to stop for the rest of the night (around 2:30am).
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even the mayor of detroit would probably admit that the city is an urban wasteland. . .there's still worthwhile places to see in detroit, but at night, it's probably best to be elsewhere. . .
 
k-man69 said:
I venture to Detroit frequently. Unless you're doing something illegal, it's a pretty safe city. Been on Cass Ave, Highland Park, Hamtramck, etc. at night, no problem whatsoever. As long as you're not looking for trouble.
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In that case those people must have been admiring the new truck.. At midnight.. They sure weren't gonna fuel up their sneakers and even if they were, why walk around a gas station several times? If you can drive in there with a car, you certainly won't have any issues with walking in there.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
In that case those people must have been admiring the new truck.. At midnight.. They sure weren't gonna fuel up their sneakers and even if they were, why walk around a gas station several times? If you can drive in there with a car, you certainly won't have any issues with walking in there.
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I wasn't driving. My girlfriend and I were walking in those area. Left the car in a parking lot on Woodward.

Every city has good and bad areas. I'm sure some guys would probably be eyeing your new pickup truck in Toronto as well if you happened to stop off late at night at Jane and Finch.
 
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The only thing I ever got questioned about was where the fresh fruit in my lunch was from. If local or from the US they don't care. If it's from somewhere else, they don't necessarily want it. Think invasive species etc.
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