# How many pounds



## airborne (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm buying bulk food and trying to find out what's the average amount in pounds that a grown man would eat in a month. I have pinto beans white rice carrots apples macaroni oats onions potatoes


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

It depends on the caloric density of the food... :dunno:


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

The Mormons suggest that 400 pounds of grain/yr is the minimum to store per person. Search the site for the Mormon Preparedness Manual someone posted this year.

Your intake will also depend on your activities. Hard physical work = more food.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Emergency Essentials website has an 'Insight Articles' tab, click on the food storage articles for some great getting started ideas.

Yes, the Mormon preparedness manual is a great guide. A book called A Year Supply, author last name Crockett is great if you can find a used copy somewhere.

Another way to calculate is to keep up with how much food you use in a week by category (grains, meats, legumes, vegetables, etc) and multiply the basic quantity times 4 to roughly give you a monthly estimate.


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## Jerry D Young (Jan 28, 2009)

This sounds familar.

It depends on the level of activity. If sitting in a shelter, you might not need more than 1,200-1,500 calories. But if it is for the PAW, where you will likely be doing some physical work much of the day, you're looking at 3,000 - 5,000.

My research indicates about 5 1/2 pounds of appropriate foods per day for the later to maintain good health long term.

Just my opinion.


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

I know this sounds dumb but get as much as possible. If I gave you $1000 bucks today and told you in 12 months it would have the same buying power then of $20 bucks today what would you get? Well thanks to QE3 I believe hat is almost a certainty. I like lots and lots of rice and beans and wheat berries. During the depression my grandma lived in a small ranch in New Mexico. They ate beans, chile and tortillas damn near every day with a few eggs and chickens. I asked my dad if they ever got tired of that. He said what you really get tired of is not eating every day!! So I had a party earlier this week. I made refried beans. These beans have been sitting on my shelf for 5 or 6 years. They weren't freeze dried or sealed, just sitting in the plastic bag they came in. They were delicious!! Rice and beans can be boring but not as boring as not eating. Buy as much as you can because our dollar is dropping. If buying preps is hard now imagine how hard it is when your dollar is worthless. In the depression most people lived on farms and could feed themselves. Now %1 live on farms and produce all our food. Listen to stories of city dwellers and no food and no way to get any. Now imagine that today and the hell it would raise. Just my opinion but cheap rice and beans and grains is a great start.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I add the date I place an item into my stores someplace on that item. When I use it I know how long it has been in storage. First in first out so nothing goes bad. If it has been a short time I increase my store of that item. I also factor in the fact that I will not be able to acquire some items so I will have to replace those items with others. Right now I am approaching the two year mark so I can probably manage a year with the mooching friends that I can't turn away. 

To answer your question as to how much to store, more and then more after that. Friends and family will fall back on you and you will not turn all of them away. Don't just store the big items. Salt, spices, condiments, and all the small items we take for granted will be sorely missed. Some cinnamon and sugar would be real nice on those oats of yours. Your beans and rice will be pretty bland without flavoring. I picked up a few canned hams to flavor my beans with. I found strike anywhere matches on sale and bought all but one box, I have been kicking myself for leaving it on the shelf. Candles, lanterns, tools, the list is endless. Prepping is a journey not a destination.


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