# Calculating food storage...



## mp5girl (Oct 24, 2012)

Ok so I have a question. Everything I have seen in the way of food calculations are based on pounds. I don't know how one is supposed to calculate pounds of anything especially when it comes to canned goods. So what I did is a thorough inventory of my current stock including the calorie content and quantity. I discovered that what I thought was a several month supply was really 28 days based on 2000 calories a day per person in my family. Imagine my surprise! So my question is... Does anyone have any thoughts as to why/how this would be a bad way to calculate storage longevity? (Home canning excluded)


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Calculating calories is certainly a viable option. Even the home canned food can be calculated to a reasonable degree of accuracy. My method is this, I date everything as I place it in storage. I shop out of my storage and then replace what I use. Though I could probably eat for a couple months out of the pantry I do not count this as part of my reserves. This lets me track the consumption of each item. I have found numerous weaknesses when I went to storage only to come up empty handed. I then purchased the missing item for my pantry as well as additional for storage. As my storage reached one mile post it was easy to increase my targeted time frame. 

I conducted a test last summer while my wife was out of town on a family emergency. I lived, quite well, out of the pantry for seven weeks without a visit to the store or my storage. I had enough food left to feel confident that the two of us could have fed off the pantry for at least two months.


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

I'd skip the pound and calorie calculations altogether and just figure what you need to make a meal and do it that way.


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## mp5girl (Oct 24, 2012)

Caribou said:


> ... I have found numerous weaknesses when I went to storage only to come up empty handed.


What kind of weaknesses? Ingredients?


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## mp5girl (Oct 24, 2012)

PackerBacker said:


> I'd skip the pound and calorie calculations altogether and just figure what you need to make a meal and do it that way.


That was exactly it though. I was kinda figuring the same thing. I can make a meal off a bowl a soup and crackers no problem but if said bowl of soup is only 200 calories with 50 more in crackers, then I'm gonna be weak and losing weight pretty rapidly or minimally running out of juice pretty quick if I'm not consuming at least what I burn. And I think in the first 30 days of an event, we'll likely be needing even more than 2000 calories a day as we shift into 'oh crap' mode and start working 15 hour days to get preparations and securities under way. So my thought process has shifted from simply 'food/meals' to actual caloric sustenance. Know what I mean? It was an eye opener.


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

All you ever will be doing is estimating at this point anyway.

If you think you will need 10% more than you do now then just count your meals according.

JMO.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

PackerBacker said:


> I'd skip the pound and calorie calculations altogether and just figure what you need to make a meal and do it that way.


We calculate the number of meals for our family we have, too. So, for example, one 15oz can of beef, 2 cups of dry rice, & 2 15oz cans of veggies is one of our storage meals. That way, I know exactly what we have & exactly what we're going to make with it.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

mp5girl said:


> That was exactly it though. I was kinda figuring the same thing. I can make a meal off a bowl a soup and crackers no problem but if said bowl of soup is only 200 calories with 50 more in crackers, then I'm gonna be weak and losing weight pretty rapidly or minimally running out of juice pretty quick if I'm not consuming at least what I burn. And I think in the first 30 days of an event, we'll likely be needing even more than 2000 calories a day as we shift into 'oh crap' mode and start working 15 hour days to get preparations and securities under way. So my thought process has shifted from simply 'food/meals' to actual caloric sustenance. Know what I mean? It was an eye opener.


Handle the extra caloric requirements in snacks & desserts. With than can of soup, have a peanut butter sandwich/crackers & maybe dessert. Or you could store extra cans of beans to add to or eat with the soup. A good sized stash of snacks & desserts can serve as extra calories as well as comfort.


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## mp5girl (Oct 24, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> Handle the extra caloric requirements in snacks & desserts. With than can of soup, have a peanut butter sandwich/crackers & maybe dessert. Or you could store extra cans of beans to add to or eat with the soup. A good sized stash of snacks & desserts can serve as extra calories as well as comfort.


Well that makes me feel a little bit better! I guess in either case I've got some adding to do!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

mp5girl said:


> What kind of weaknesses? Ingredients?


Mostly condiments these days but really all sorts of stuff like canned meat or pasta. I have been working with a divided food storage for a few years so I can't remember everything. Early on I would run out of major items but now it is mostly increasing inventory or replacing what is used. Then there are the small items that you just don't purchase often. The basic idea is that my kitchen pantry is what we eat out of on a day to day basis. The long term storage contains all the non perishable items to replace what is used from the pantry. One current weakness I'm working on is pasta. I am addressing this weakness by purchasing a years worth every six months. In about eight months I should be at my goal. A recent inventory of spices prompted an order of 6 or 8 that we were low on. Food without spices can become depressing.

The idea is to continue for as long as possible without major changes to our diet. I like a varied diet for both my physical and mental health.


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

I created a prepper supply spreadsheet which does indeed use calories as the calculation and does so for multiple people with different caloric requirements. You put in what each will be taking in, how many calories to a serving and how many servings you have.

If you're interested it's on this forum elsewhere or you can get it direct from my site at http://www.culexpipiens.com/PrepperSpreadsheet.php


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

tsrwivey said:


> We calculate the number of meals for our family we have, too. So, for example, one 15oz can of beef, 2 cups of dry rice, & 2 15oz cans of veggies is one of our storage meals. That way, I know exactly what we have & exactly what we're going to make with it.


That is how I figure--meat, veggies, and a fruit.
It is just so much easier...we know we will add something to a can of beef stew or dumplings,,,like rice or noodles for a meal.
I even eat macaroni and canned tomatoes --it's simple for us here.


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