On survival and preparedness websites, there are lots of posts related to food storage. Topics include subjects such as what is the best survival food, issues related to growing/harvesting your own food, how best to preserve food, etc.
But what about this… how much is enough?
Survival food storage is an insurance policy of sorts, against emergency, disaster, or worse.
The amount of food that any one person chooses to store is a wide ranging thing, and is related to one’s risk tolerance, one’s resources, one’s perception of a disaster’s likelihood, one’s motivation to store food, and more…
Common sense tells us that short term disruption scenarios, or ‘garden variety’ emergencies, are probably more likely to occur than some of the greater disaster scenarios, so one might think that preparing for ‘ordinary’ disaster is good enough.
On the other hand, although a SHTF scenario may seem more unlikely to some, the fact is that should it occur, it will impact you in a much more severe way. And having not prepared for that, will or could be life threatening.
So, how much is enough?
——————–
For a car-kit, a 72-hour-kit, a bug-out-bag kit, the generally accepted rule-of-thumb is 3 days worth of food, for each person.
The idea with this, is to have enough food that would cover the reasonable amount of time that it might take for you to get from point-A to point-B. The presumption being that point-B will have the food and supplies that you may need.
——————–
For a food supply at home to ensure against most of today’s ‘expected’ disasters that might come your way, a good round number is a solid 30-day supply for every member of the household.
The reason I say ‘expected’ is to cover things that would not surprise us terribly, like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, winter snow/ice storms, and other geo-physical events. These events are regional, and recoverable generally in a reasonable amount of time.
——————–
For a food supply at home to ensure a greater supply for those disasters which may not recover in a reasonable amount of time, the next step up is a solid 3-month supply for every member of the household.
While a 1-month supply is very easy to collect, a 3-month supply will require a little bit more effort. However it’s still very easy. When you’re building your food storage, concentrate on bulking up on the foods that you normally eat. I’ll leave it at that for this category (up to 3 months).
——————–
The next step is a big one.
Once you’ve stocked up a 3-month supply of food (at least 2,000 calories per day per person), and if you feel the necessity, you need to focus on 1-year.
A 1-year food storage plan will cause you to start thinking more seriously about shelf life, the types of foods, how they’re stored, how they’re preserved, the variety of food, the foods that are more fitting for long-term storage, a balanced approach, food rotation techniques, and more…
Stepping up to a 1-year plan is more difficult in that it will require you to do some research to decide what will be successful for you, and the right way to go about it.
So why would anybody want a 1-year supply of food? Isn’t that way over-the-top?
Unfortunately, many people today will think that you’re a bit ‘crazy’ if they know you’ve stored a 1-year supply of food. It’s too bad that this is how it is… sad really. By attempting to be responsible for yourself, you’re potentially looked at as a nut case.
So… don’t tell anyone.
Again, why would anyone need a 1-year supply?
…to survive a SHTF scenario.
Could it happen?
…absolutely yes.
Is it likely to happen?
…maybe, maybe not.
The question you should be asking yourself instead is,
“Is my life worth a 1-year supply of food?”
Well, is it? What’s your life worth?
You might ask, “What is a SHTF scenario, and how would it affect my ability to get food from the grocery store or from an organized relief effort?”
A SHTF scenario is one where some, or many, of the interwoven systems that enable our modern-day living, will break down to a degree where life as we know it becomes social chaos. It is a collapse scenario where food will run out of the grocery store, not to be re-stocked. A scenario that affects more than just a local region, and is sufficient in magnitude to last for a long time… long enough for people to starve and become desperate.
It may seem very unlikely that a SHTF scenario would ever occur, and one would never need to keep a 1-year supply of food. But the thing is, we get lulled into a sense of security because it’s never happened to us before. Therefore, it will never happen to us…
It is a risky proposition to assume that everything will always remain as it is.
So, is 1-year enough?
Maybe. But in a worst-case scenario, I do not believe so. Here’s why…
If we had to become truly self-reliant (for whatever reason – which is beyond the scope of this article), a major source of food will be whatever we can grow ourselves. I wonder how many people who have stored 1-year of food will be successful the following summer growing a garden of food which produces enough to keep them going for yet another year? If they fail, in any way, they’re potentially in big trouble…
It seems to me that in order to provide yourself a cushion for problems like this, a 2-year supply of food should be quite adequate. This is why it is so important to start experimenting with gardening (and its problems), and food preservation techniques, BEFORE you need to rely on it for survival. Don’t expect that your first crop is going to be entirely plentiful.
So we’ve come from a 3-day supply of food, all the way to a 2-year supply of food. How much survival food is enough? It seems to me that 2-years will be enough to store ahead of time. If you can’t manage to procure enough of your own food during the 2nd year following SHTF, then perhaps you weren’t meant to be part of the recovery 😉
Top Pics:
you are so right about experimenting with your first garden. Mine turned out good for my first garden this year, but then a 3 week heat wave hit here and poof. Most of it was gone. I admit some mistakes were made, but Hey it’s my first try. We have to remember practice and then Mother Nature may not co-operate with your plans from year to year. 2 year food supply, Oh Yeah.
Hi Maggie.
I do a garden in several raised beds. Less weeds. Mostly to learn how things work. Some plants don’t thrive here. Some, like the squash varieties would grow in the middle of the street if the cars were gone. Got cantelopes and small water mellons this year, Yum.
Actually I feel 3 years is a safer estimate. Chances are the first year your garden may not be as prolific as you would like, then yes the weather can wreak havoc as it is in Peru right now. There is going to be problems whether its mother nature or varmits two or four legged variety. That first years garden will go to supplement what you have in your stores but I believe that with most people it will take a couple of seasons to get around that learning curve. Even if you garden already mother nature can wipe out your harvest, so it would be nice to have a buffer. I am probably around 1 years storage myself right now, and I add to it every month. If you remember your history the dust bowl years was several years running. We could have several years of floods or droughts, so unless your plans include a green house you might want to think longer term on the food stores.
I agree, “3 years is a safer estimate.” Although I feel pretty good about a 2-year supply, chances are that during year-2, there will still be mistakes made, etc. Also, by having plenty of extra will enable you to take in more contributing members if you choose to…
Read “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven and then decide how your food supply will last. Good book, gives you an idea of survival against nature/people.
I agree. It is one of the many survival novels that I have on my shelves…
Lucifer’s Hammer
A great read. Has some ‘reality’ issues. If you need fiction, try the Rawles books. They also have some ‘reality’ issues. Unless you are independently wealthy. There is a *lot* of good fiction and non-fiction books on the topic. Many are more useful than either Lucifer or the Rawles books.
Now if you *really* want a cool BOL, build a Ringworld.
Definitely have a 3 year at least. It gets so hot here, burns everything up. And also bugs. This year we had so many that ate the tomatoes and squash up. Even Seven dust really didn’t help that much and after shtf, I am sure Seven dust will not be available. The organic stuff does nothing.
Which brings up an interesting and important issue regarding gardening after TSHTF… potential non-availability of ‘helpers’ such as fertilizers and insecticides. It will be truly organic gardening with alternative solutions to problems. Better to start learning some of that now…
Fertilizers just might have other uses. Not suggesting.
Actually Fertilizer not that hard to come by you just have to think about it for the moment. You can use a combination of old leaves, lawn waste, as well as human waste to help make Fertilizer. Thats exactly what septic tanks do.
I didn’t know that there was such a thing as “enough food” in survival?
…that’s a fair enough statement 😉
I bring it up in the context of what may be a reasonable amount, in general. For discussion…
Not saying that one would stop accumulating at a given level, but at what point would one consider it to be ‘enough’ to get back on one’s feet –
Of course you *could* become part of the Guv. Lots of shelters and the like.
You speak of SHTF type events but there are personal types of disasters where a 1 year supply is appropriate. I had a friend that had about a year supply of food and when he was out of work the family ate from it for 6 month until he found work. It’s not just the natural disasters and SHTF events that we need to prepare for. The personal ones may be more likely.
You are absolutely correct. Thanks for your comment.
The food I have stored back is nothing but a “complement” to my real food source and that is wild game. I have no problem with gathering food from the wood and eating wild animals. Most people have never eaten wild food and to tell you the truth I doubt they will adapt to killing “Bambie” to survive. I cannot say that my group will do any better than the next because almost nobody in my group has eaten rabbit, turtle or any other kind of animal. But I do believe after they tried my soft shell turtle and biscuits they will flip. The problem with having tons of food in cans or jars is the fact that you will have to move them and the more you have the more you have to carry. You would be very surprised at the natural food that can be found in the wood. I can come up with a good meal in just a few hours of forging the wood. Most of my stored food is fruits and vegetables that will be hard to find in the wild but what I have put back is nothing compared to what you can find in the wood. Think of it like this: Once your stored food is gone then what will you do? I think it will come to the very real fact that once the stored food is gone and they themselves that “thought” that storing food was enough they will become just another zombie trying to scrounge up what food they can. As far as how much food should be put back per person I would say this : No matter how much food you put back and what ever it is you put back should NOT be your primary food source. The food you put back should ONLY be used if you cannot forge for what you are looking for and not a primary food source. I guess that is why they call it “emergency” food. No, I use my food stored as nothing but a supplement to what I can gather in the wood as I don’t want to “depend” only on what I have on the shelf.
I understand what you are saying about not being totally dependent on food stores. Its great that you can go out and forage for your meals. However if you know your history, you know that crops can fail as in the year 1816. It was known as the “year without a summer”. Spring came then it got cold again. There was even snow on the ground in July. There was widespread crop failures and food shortages. Even foraged foods would be affected by the weather. Then during the great depression deer were hunted to extinction in 19 states. Some of thoses states didn’t see a return of deer for over 30 years. Your right that most people would not adjust to eating turtles, rabbits, snakes and other critters that they have never eaten. However some people would adjust and start eating anything they can catch, so even in your neck of the woods certain critters are likely to become vary scarce. If you look up about the tent cities in California that started popping up after the housing collapse you will see that people had adjusted and were eating cats and dogs as they were probably easier to catch and I am sure that other critters also started finding there way to the dinner plate. Even though most people are unlikely to eat these foods today, I believe that a good number of them will eventually change their diets as times get worse. Also, what if you broke you leg and could not get out to hunt or forage? So sooner or later you may just find yourself more dependent on what you do have on your shelf.
Mountain House #10 coffee cans are great for longevity, if stored in a cool area,avoiding long term storage above 72•f/22•c. Have read they can be stored for 20 to 25 years. They really do taste great, and even better if some Mexican hotsauce is added)! the small packs last 5 years. O.k., nothing new you all know this, or should. Now, being a Canadian, living in northern Alberta, we have some extreme weather. I will only say “usually”, things warm up to be hot,(for us), which can be up to 30•c in summers. And can get to an easy-30 to-50•c in winter. trying to live out of a backpack on and off for years, living out of my truck, using different things: wood sides/with tarp, canopy/ 5th wheel,etc.in my mostly nomadic lifestyle, is not easy, and not for everyone. All this talk about bugging out has to have some Major things considerd in my humble opinion. Things like, health/age, number of people/ children/ babies. now, stocking number ten coffee cans is good. But, and i quote; “once open, contents should be used immediately. However, product resealed using plastic recloseable lid has been found to be acceptable up to one week”. So, i have only me to feed, just became single, no children,(yet). I tell you opening this #10 can will be a waste as there is no way i can eat rice and chicken every day till can is finished. the smaller packs are great, 5 year shelf life, dont freeze but up north we do need to melt water! So i am very reliant on the small packs. Pemican lasts for way over a decade frozen or not. now being reliant on canned foods/tuna/ham/ chicken etc. is all good and fine but the cans will freeze and explode! And in summer kept in truck/ truck box etc. they can get very hot! So, in my humble opinion folks, 3 things recomend in bug out plan. 1). Collect 5 or 7 gallon, or smaller food safe plastic containers. Load up on mylar bags, silica gel and oxygen absorbers. And make assorted small sized “compartments” of individually assorted foods. Use gama lids, and if you/ when you crack a tub, you have a variety of small foods to choose from that will not go bad easy. you can also cache, OR plan to cache your buckets, an depending on situation, you should hide things, and map it out! #2). re-inforce/customize a small/ medium to large size utility trailor, for storage and emergency living. Small ones are cheap, and if you already have many different caches hidden in your area/ region, if you lose what is in yourvehicle/ trailor, you still have your cache system! #3). have a bicycle/ trailor/ cargoe bag sytem, and awalking/ hauling trailor if winter or no bike. you must be able to haul and carry more than just what can be carried in a bob. a bob should be a army type belt/ bags, a web belt with small bags and a waterproof load carrier, cascade designs, see msr’s website ha good quality baja type load carriers lile their pro pack. i am from vancouver island originally and use baja bags/ pro pack/ pelican cases/ army surplus web belts. keeping things dry is number one. thanks hope this helps.
Vancouver island= Land of the rain gods… no matter what the climate here in Canada, water proof your gear! Thank you! From Brearbear ,Si Vis Pacem Ara Bellum. Be Prepared!.
First build a bunker house, then store water and food, then a lot of weapons and ammo, then diesel, solar panels, medical needs, good tools and a good solid car to move if necessary.
SHTF events can be global war, meteor impact, IMP attacks, nuclear attack, social unrest etc. Ask yourself if your 3 months, 1 year, 3 years or 5 years worth of supplies can survive if not properly stored in a bunker like house.
I am among the group in society referred to as “the working poor”. In the face of a SHTF even, even though we have eyes to see and ears to hear…we’re screwed.
Sandy,
As they say in CB lingo, “negatory-negatory-good buddy”. My grandparents on my mother’s side were the poorest of the poor during the great depression. Hard work, doing mostly unskilled jobs in trade or exchange for food and an occasional nickel or dime in cash, plus growing a garden using every square inch of available soil on his small lot, fed and clothed his family. He and my grandmother raised 6 kids in their 3 room home. Gardened with hand implements (hoe, rake, spades, etc.).
Hard work? Yes. Easy? No. Impossible? No. Are you screwed in a SHTF scenario? Only if you give up without a fight. Stick around this site and learn. It’s all about knowledge, attitude, and intestinal fortitude. Don’t give up without a fight.
@ Sandy
As a “not so rich working stiff” myself I have learned through the years it’s not always how much food, how much water, or “stuff” you may have stored under the house or in the trunk of the car. In your own words “even though we have eyes to see and ears to hear… we’re screwed” NO YOU ARE NOT…Knowledge is one of the most important things any Prepper or Survivalist can ever have. If you use your eyes to see what may be coming and have the knowledge to react properly, and you have the ears to listen to what your “gut” feeling and other things are telling you, you’re so far ahead of others you have no idea. The simple fact your reading this Forum says you’re miles ahead of others. Let me ask you, can you build a fire without using matches or a lighter? If not, you can learn and once you do, you can do something that 95% of the others out there cannot. And guess what; it cost nothing to learn hundreds of “tricks” that WILL help you survive a SHTF.
Prepping and Survival have very little to do with the actually “stuff” and 99.999% to do what you can with what you do have. Learn how to open a can of beans without a single tool, no opener, or knife, nothing but the concrete sidewalk you walk on, Learn how to cook without a fire, Learn how to purify water from the gutter if that’s all you have, If you do those things…… you’re a Prepper/Survivor.
Lastly, This Blog of Ken’s has so much information it’s unbelievable, read the articles, ask questions, participate in comments, I will guarantee nobody here will care if you’re a “the working poor” I DO KNOW that the people here will help in every wat we/they can.
NRP
PS; hopefully you get back to read this…. And do NOT give up.