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How Much Survival Food Is Enough
May 20, 2010
There is a lot of talk, posts, and blogs that touch on storing enough survival food as a disaster insurance policy, ranging in size for short term emergencies all the way up to the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it (TEOTWAWKI) with enough supplies lasting for years.
There are valid arguments for storing enough survival food for all ranges of these scenarios. The guideline is pretty simple… it simply boils down to risk tolerance, or the odds of the various disaster scenarios playing out. Common sense tells us that short term disruption scenarios are more likely than longer term disaster scenarios.
So, having said that, lets talk about food storage quantity. How much are you thinking about storing? What is your risk tolerance?
One could argue that the most food storage that you would ever really need is 1 to 2 years of the proper combination of foods, along with knowing how to grow, harvest, and preserve your own food.
Worst Case Scenario Survival Food Storage Supply
If we ever actually find ourselves in a true end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it scenario, we will need so much more than just a supply of food storage. What you will really need is the ability and know-how to grow your own food and preserve it.
For example, consider this… If during a worst case scenario disaster (TEOTWAWKI), a gang of starving and violent intruders steal your food storage supplies (the potential will be high) , and you are lucky enough to have survived the encounter, what will you do next? Or, lets say you manage to remain hidden from the roving gangs, what will you do when your own food storage supplies have run out? The obvious answer is, you will need the skills to provide for yourself and your family.
In one example of a worst case scenario, lets say the Yellowstone super volcano erupts. Much of the world’s crops and livestock will fail from either ash coverage and poisoning, or by blotted sunlight, colder temperatures, and starvation. If you survive the disaster itself, you may not be able to successfully grow substantive food for at least a year, maybe more, depending where you live. And that assumes that you already know how to grow food and have a supply of seeds to get started after the disaster. So, in this scenario, if you had a 2 year supply of food storage (and had access to clean and safe water), and were able to survive the other dangers that would surely hit you, you would probably have enough provided that you had the skills necessary to survive such a disaster.
More Likely Scenario Survival Food Storage Supply
Now lets get real. Although horrible disasters like this could occur at any time, and you would surely get a very satisfying sense of security and satisfaction having a 1 or even 2 year supply of food stored, the odds of such a disaster are much less than that of a smaller regional or local disaster.
Even more likely, the need for at least a few weeks worth of food in the house or apartment. You would be amazed to discover how many people do not have more than a few days of food supply (especially many city dwellers that are used to going out to eat or having convenient stores nearby)!
I’ve always suggested that if starting fresh with developing a food storage plan, set an initial goal of a 30 day supply. Then move on in increments of 3 months until you’ve reached your risk aversion tolerance.
Buy more of the foods that you already eat, with emphasis on foods that don’t require refrigeration (common sense applied here). Remember that you are building a food supply for each member of the household, and it may also be a good idea to factor in some extra for charity giving (neighbors that may not have planned ahead?). Better yet, wouldn’t it be a good thing if your neighbors also had their own food storage? The more people that plan ahead, the better off everyone will be in the event of a disaster, which will lessen the number of hungry and desperate people.
You purchase insurance for many things in life, why not add food insurance, since you can’t live without it.
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I enjoyed reading your post. It surely has some thoughts to think about. I have been writing about back to basics in my blog. You are right that we need to know how to grow food etc. I grew up in the last years of the great depression and I think we may end up needing to know things that were done back then. Unfortunately, I live in a suburb of a small town so a long time incident like you mention would be hard for me to prepare for. But I am doing what I can.
@survival sue; Don’t despair, being in a small town, if far enough away from lg metro areas can be an ideal survival sit. As a gardener in training I can say that it isn’t just plant seeds and harvest and I’ve been trying this for 5 years now. I am getting better, though. If you have enough sunlight in your yard and don’t mind what the neighbors think you can start a garden. A small, well kept, productive garden is a lot easier to use and raise than a very large, time consuming and energy intensive garden. If you have the magic touch you can grow soooooo much, you wouldn’t believe. There is a man in the Detroit inner city that grows $50,000.00 worth of vegetables a year in green houses on 3 acres!!! @Ken, I like the graduated approach, but I would caution against settling for a short term survival store. Yes, you are right, the most likely scenario is 3-6 months. However, in poker you have what is called pot odds and entire books are written on the subject. The simple explanation is that if there is a large enough pot on the table versus what you have to bet to get into the pot, then you should bet, no matter what you have because of the potential return. A cheap bet. Some food storage is better than none and we all know that actually getting started is the hardest part, so don’t quit too early. The pot on the table is your survival(life) and the difference between the money spent for 3-6 mos versus 2+ years is what you have to bet to get into the pot. In either case the pot is your survival. If all you did was go to Sam’s/Costco and bought cases of canned goods, easy fix items and rice and beans, 3 mos might cost $500. So logically, unless money is really that tight, it makes sense to keep on storing food once you have started. It is still a CHEAP bet. It’s not like you aren’t going to eat it at some point in time. Obviously you have to have the money and the space to have the food storage. Being creative and changing priorities could probably fix even those two problems. JMO Enjoy.