how much is enough?

**Ole WV Coot** · 01-09-2010, 03:03 PM

I'm probably like most folks. If the wife and I just used everything in the kitchen cabinets, not just the stuff in front we could make it well over a month without getting into anything stored for emergencies. It's a shame but I buy and don't finish the food and feed the dog or garbage disposal better than some people, need to do better.

**Rick** · 01-09-2010, 03:08 PM

Only the mods have access to the poll. We can change anything in the poll but we don't see how a member voted. Members cannot access the poll. Otherwise it would be hosed all the time with folks playing around.

**Pal334** · 01-09-2010, 03:21 PM

We are at about 3 months. Dried beans, rice, tuna (cans and the mylar type packages), spam and canned meats (spam, ham, turkey and chicken). The normal canned fruits and veggies and pancake mixes.They are general staple of our normal diet so they get rotated frequently, first in, first out. And there are 4-5 cases of MREs. We store the stock in the basement in milk crates, one advantage being they can be stacked on a hand cart and hauled through the exterior basement door to the truck quickly of needed.

**Sourdough** · 01-09-2010, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

We store the stock in the basement in milk crates, one advantage being they can be stacked on a hand cart and hauled through the exterior basement door to the truck quickly of needed.

Good Idea, My move was a labor nightmare, with not enough boxes, and just putting stuff unpacked on the living room floor here, and going back for more.

**crashdive123** · 01-09-2010, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by Sourdough

I wish this food subject garnered a lot more interest, but it just ain't sexy like survival knives and survival guns (I can believe I said that in public).

I am not into wild edible plants, but I like hearing about different store bought foods that mix well, and will keep one alive.

I like experimenting with mixing foods, Like: Powered Milk, Raisins, Peanut Butter, and thicken it up with Cornbread mix, and oatmeal. I have found that any food can be folded into pancake mix and eaten. I throw away ZERO Food.
OK, I throw away coffee grounds.

Actually, for those that are concerned about rising costs - food storage IMO is one of the best hedges against inflation.

**Pal334** · 01-09-2010, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by Sourdough

Good Idea, My move was a labor nightmare, with not enough boxes, and just putting stuff unpacked on the living room floor here, and going back for more.

Seemed to work. I just thought, what was the end purpose? So figured why not do it the way I would move it. My Grand Father said"work smart, not hard", my wife says it is being a "lazy a**". I prefer my Grand Fathers view

.

Also, I may have mentioned in a previous post, having an extra full width pick up truck tool box filled with appropriate "stuff" mounted at the rear of the garage / workshop on a truck bed level bench with a salvaged rope pulley to swing it into the truck. Saves the old back an allows me to panic over other things.

**Camp10** · 01-09-2010, 05:06 PM

When our union went through its last contract I decided I should be prepared for dry times. I worked then to keep a 6 month supply and have, for the most part kept at that level. This is dry foods, meat, canned food, water and about anything else that I might need to live.

**rwc1969** · 01-10-2010, 11:19 PM

I voted on month or less. That's how much we have. We actually have onough for two months, but it would be stuff we don't normally care to eat. After that, I could find food for another three months or more. Any longer than that and I guess I better pack it up and move, cuz all the critters around here will be dead.

**wareagle69** · 01-11-2010, 07:53 AM

how do you know you will be able to find food?

**rwc1969** · 01-11-2010, 12:59 PM

Good question! I would scavenge, gather, hunt, trap and fish for it. Most likely by illegal means which would make harvest easy and almost effortless. It would depend on the scenario though and the duration of it. In a short term scenario I could use legal hunting and fishing methods and do well. If there was a pathogen or chemical release that killed much plant and wildlife I'd be bumming. Also, if it went on for long others would surely be doing the same and there'd be fierce competition. Fights, people killing you if they saw you on what they considered their hunting or fishing grounds, etc.

If I were to store food I may not be able to retrieve it due to gangs or who knows what. The area may be too hostile or contaminated with dead bodies and such for me to get to it. My house and entire neighbrhood may be overrun with hostiles.

Where I'm at, in a long term scenario, there would be large amounts of pillaging going on. I would most likely continually head north in a long term situation and I wouldn't want a lot of baggage to weigh me down.

**TucsonMax** · 01-11-2010, 05:28 PM

There are 4 of us. I have 3 months now and will have 6 months soon. Right now it's all Walmart & Costco canned goods, peanut butter, dry goods and long term Honeyville and MREs, etc. I have a lot and will get more of what Cody Lundin calls: the Big 4: Powdered Milk, Salt, Honey and Wheat.

I just acquired clean buckets to store the rice, beans and wheat I will purchase, enough for the second 3 months.

The one thing not yet mentioned here is a garden. I'm in the process of converting about 2,000 sq ft to a small vege garden that I hope will produce plenty during our 3 growing seasons. Plus planting citrus tress that do well here to.

**Rick** · 01-11-2010, 05:55 PM

TM - Look for local edibles you can incorporate into your garden. I think having wild edibles in the garden not only improves the harvest but most folks won't know what they are or will consider them weeds and that might avoid plundering your garden if times were bad.

**Beo** · 01-11-2010, 07:26 PM

I say six months because everything I have read says store at least 3 months, then I have more than enough if the problem lasts longer, or I wanna pig out

anything more than six months and I'll steal it from you guys... lol...
But I dont plan for things like that soooo I picked more than I had read on.

**finallyME** · 01-21-2010, 10:56 AM

I said a year. I probably have 3 months right now. But seriously, am I going to stop storing when I reach my year goal....NO. I will keep storing until I can't anymore..be it a year, or 10 years supply.

**Rick** · 01-21-2010, 12:22 PM

Neighbor: "Why are you sleeping outside in the rain?"
FinallyMe: "There's no room in the house."
Neighbor: "How come?"
FinallyMe: "Too d@#$#d much food!"

**BENESSE** · 01-21-2010, 12:59 PM

We have 3 months but would have a year if we didn't live in a NYC apt.
Most of what we have could be eaten uncooked and directly out of the container since I'm assuming we won't have electricity and H2O would be scarce.

There are some things we can live without and for the most part do.
Sugar, for example--just use it in coffee and can do without.
Flower--don't use it at all.
Oil--don't have to fry stuff and then wash the pot, etc.

With the space at a premium and our modest eating habits & portion control, we are extremely selective in storing food with only high nutritional value.
(tuna, sardines, canned beans, dried fruits, nuts, PB, honey, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, etc., among other things.)

We tested this theory several times (at home and abroad) and for an entire week at a time we'd only eat what we think we'd eat in an SHTF scenario.
We were fine, didn't feel deprived, hungry or sluggish.
(In fact, it's more than anecdotal that a person generally functions better on a lower calorie intake as long as the nutritional value is high--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction)

I am much more concerned about water and hygiene, though--something yet to be tested.

**Mountaintrekker** · 01-22-2010, 05:33 AM

We move around alot at the moment, but still have about 6 months worth. Don't forget to balance your diet and make sure you have the proper vitamins. We use those powdered fizzing ones called Emergen-C. Been using them for over 10 years and they seem to do the trick.
In a high stress situation good nutrition keeps you from getting knocked on your butt and helps fight off depression, a survival killer. We also loosly plan on 7000+ calories a day in our food plan, just in case we are on the move or it's cold out and we have to physically exert ourselves during a crisis.
Foods that are easy to prepare should have there place as you may not have the time or energy or convinence of having a heat source. Mountainhouse meals saved us on more than one occasion when building our old homestead in Colorado. To exhausted to cook etc. just heat water and serve.
Make sure to have some feel good foods too! Jerky, candy, pop corn, peanut butter, tang or powdered lemonade drink mix, powered gatorade, hot coco and coffee and tea etc. all store well and handle a freeze well. Everything we store has to be able to handle a freeze without being ruined, so no water or low water foods.