# what the heck is a years worth of food, anyway?



## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

I see lots of chatter, usually in spurts from old and new preppers alike debating just what is a year’s supply of food. Some people want a list to follow, others have special dietary needs to consider, and quite a few folks are just confused by conflicting information from different internet sites. Food supply company lists obviously favor their own brand and give the impression that they are the best for everyone. But when you add up what storage foods can cost, it increases the confusion. Nobody wants to make an expensive mistake, but nobody wants to be missing something critical. Quite honsestly, what worked for me was considering what other preppers in the real world were doing. It broke down into several less commercial and hence more affordable for me guides.

First, I found excellent advice on the internet by consulting the original preppers, the Mormons, or Latter Day Saints. As part of their religious practices they are encouraged to keep a years supply of food in their homes in case of emergency. They have many years of research, and have discovered many less expensive do it yourself ways to obtain, and preserve that years supply safely. So the first place I recommend new preppers looking for food information go is to the LDS websites. You can download a free version of their LDS Preparedness Manual. It is heavy with time tested, researched and accurate food storage information (plenty of lists too, for those that like a checklist) as well as other preparedness information that goes far beyond just food. Over 500 pages long, it is a prime FREE information source. You do not need to be a member of their church to download it, and it is an extremely popular prepping manual.

To outline their food supply plan is quite simple

THE MORMON BASIC FOUR was an early food preparation guide. It is very austere, but it will keep you alive if need be. It was based on the most basic foods that kept the maximum length of time. They were: 

1.Wheat
Select hard red winter wheat packed in Nitrogen
200-365 pounds per person per year
Keeps indefinitely

2. Powdered Milk
60-100 pounds per person per year
keeps 1-5 years

3. Sugar or Honey
35-100 pounds per person per year
Keeps indefinitely
Keep dry in a tight container

4. Salt
1 - 12 pounds per person per year
Keeps indefinitely
more if food preservation is planned

These are the rock bottom ultra inexpensive basics. Recommended additions were some form of fat or oil, and some kind of vitamin supplements. Most find it too austere, and want to expand on it.

A more expanded LDS Preparation Food List is the following:
400 POUNDS GRAINS: Whole grain wheat and corn are prime examples, but it also includes barley, rice, popcorn, rolled oats, white flour (stores longest), various cereals, pasta, and even popcorn!

90 POUNDS OF BEANS/LEGUMES: any kind of dried beans, southern peas, split peas and the like; it also can include canned beans which take up more room and are heavier but are ready to eat without further processing. A mixture of both kinds is nice to have.

75 POUNDS OF MILK – Nonfat dried milk, that is. There are dried whey mixes for those that prefer them, and flavored dairy beverages are popular too. You can count dry sour cream, yogurt, and cheeses in this area as well. Mac & cheese, anyone?

MEAT OR SUBSTITUTES: meats canned or dried (watch shelf life on jerky), TVP in various flavors, dried eggs in various ways, cheeses dried and/or canned. All are available reasonably priced but may take some searching to find something specific. 

20 POUNDS FATS: You can store oils if desired, or solid fat like “Crisco”. You do need to rotate it regularly as fat goes rancid in time, even unopened. You can make soap, candles or oil lamps with it at that point. I find about 6 months is as long as I can store fats. Peanut butter is a prime fat, it also provides an extra protein bonus. 

60 POUNDS SUGARS: white, brown, or confectioners sugars; honey, molasses, corn syrup or maple syrup. They also include regular fruit gelatin in this group as sugar is its main ingredients. Pure sugars store indefinitely. Extra is nice for home canners.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: 90 pounds. This comes out to 90 pints of canned. If you dehydrate or purchase dried foods you will get more food, but you will need extra water to rehydrate and cook it.
The 90 pints of canned foods comes out to 360 half-cup servings of fruits and vegetables…a little light in my opinion. Choose carefully for maximum nutrition.

EXTRAS AS NEEDED: These are the things that help turn the basics above into “real foods”
Leavenings such as baking powder (limited shelf life) or baking soda (unlimited shelf life) for biscuits; spices and extracts to increase flavor options; vitamin pills to add that little bit of extra insurance; bouillon powder to amp up soup flavors; cocoa, coffee….well you can get the idea.

SALT 12 POUNDS. Extra for canning & pickling, hide curing, or drying & smoking meats.
Iodized is best for table use, but canning & pickling salt or kosher salt (no iodine) are best for preserving foods. If you are lucky, you can find “Morton’s Tender Quick” for making homemade sausage and meat curing. I also store equal amounts of salt substitute as I have table salt; mixing them keeps my sodium intake at a more reasonable level and my doctor happy.

The LDS folks recommend multiplying these amounts by the following factors to allow for different needs: For males, multiply by 1 (leave as is). For females, multiply by 75% (0.75). For children,
Ages 1-3 multiply by 30% (0.3); ages 4-6 multiply by 50% (0.5); and ages 7-9 multiply by 75% (0.75).
For adults doing hard physical labor, multiply their share by a factor of 1.25 to 1.50.
Example: one housewife, one male office worker, a teenager, and a 5 year old would total up factors of .75 + 1.0 + 1.0 + .5 =3.25 total factors. You would multiply each total amount by 3.25 to feed this family.

My second source of good reliable (inexpensive) DIY information is from the internet at grandpappy.org
Grandpappy (Robert Atkins, P.E.) gives cogent, practical analysis of the whys and wherefores of economic disaster prepping, and experienced in frugal ways to prep and live off the land and the fruit of ones own labors like our forebears did. In particular, his section (Chapter?) titled “How to Survive Hard Times” is a compendium of self reliance directions for food, water, housing, traditional skills, hard times technology, survival retreats, and similar items. Section 10 is specifically titled “An Affordable One-Year Emergency Food Supply and A Really Cheap One-Year Emergency Food Supply” gets down to the real life nitty gritty of how to procure (and afford) a yearly supply. He revises his writing regularly, and GIVES PRICES for comparing food pantry plans. I particularly like his plans because they are based on common grocery store foods that are easy to find and very affordable. 

Another section of Grandpappy’s site gives top quality “Hard Times Recipes” using very basic foods. I downloaded much of the site when I discovered it, and the recipes are down-home basic country cooking at its finest. I use them all the time. Not just because I am frugal; I am not ashamed of that, but because they taste good.

The third source of information was gleaned from those who say you should “store what you eat and eat what you store”. Now how the dickens do you figure that one out? Here is how.
1. Make up a set of menus for one week using your usual foods. Make two weeks worth for
dinners so you can alternate them to give more variety.
2. Make a list of the ingredients for every item. This will be a loooooong list, but you want to
Write down every ingredient used in making these meals, down to how many scoops of
coffee in the pot, or how many pats of butter or margarine used. In my case I even wrote
down the ingredients for my twice a week bread baking, and dessert bakings as well. But
wait….it gets even more interesting!
3. Add up all the ingredients to figure out how much you need for each week of breakfasts,
Lunches, and dinner. Don’t forget snacks (I almost forgot about my popcorn!)
4. Multiply breakfast and lunch ingredient totals by 52 (for 523 weeks in a year) and each dinner
week totals by 26 (half a year). Then total the totals and you will know how much it will take
to feed you over the course of a year.
This option is a good one for those who like the idea of rotating their foods to keep fresh supplies coming in and older ones getting used in the regular course of things. This is also a good option to those who require special dietary adjustments such as wheat free, diabetic, vegan, and such. Since you are planning on foods you already use regularly, you do not have to worry about a mutiny if your emergency supplies need to be used. And rotation occurs naturally, so foods stay good. You can even work in seasonal canning and foraging and hunting as sources of replenishment since it is simply an extension of what you already do.

So there is no need to panic about what you need to put by for food in a preparedness program. Instead sit down, take thought, and do a little research and you will find it naturally falls into place. You can buy a little at a time, and by stocking up on items when on sale, you find it is easier on the budget than buying according to a hard and fast plan, and finding out in an emergency that you do not like, or cannot tolerate foods you have put aside, when you can least afford to replace them. Look at what others have done and start a recipe collection of foods you plan to store or can get easily in your area. 

I even have an extensive collection of game recipes using less recognized meats, and rough fish in my area, coupled with a calendar of what is legal to hunt/fish/take and their bag limits. Many hunters (and anglers) have found that some game or game fish fill the tag, but others (especially those with no season or bag limit) are the ones that reliably put meat in the dinner pot. _Those_ are the ones to search and keep recipes for, simply because they will be most likely to be available when times get tough. 

May your prepping be fruitful and your needs fulfilled!


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## Tuxpen (Aug 3, 2021)

Thanks kappydell, I printed out the food supply lists at grandpappy's, I've never been good with buying bulk beans and grains and the grinders and so on. Seeing a list of regular items that you can fit into a regular shopping trip in an already hectic schedule is very useful.


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## Dolf (Aug 13, 2021)

kappydell said:


> I see lots of chatter, usually in spurts from old and new preppers alike debating just what is a year’s supply of food. Some people want a list to follow, others have special dietary needs to consider, and quite a few folks are just confused by conflicting information from different internet sites. Food supply company lists obviously favor their own brand and give the impression that they are the best for everyone. But when you add up what storage foods can cost, it increases the confusion. Nobody wants to make an expensive mistake, but nobody wants to be missing something critical. Quite honsestly, what worked for me was considering what other preppers in the real world were doing. It broke down into several less commercial and hence more affordable for me guides.
> 
> First, I found excellent advice on the internet by consulting the original preppers, the Mormons, or Latter Day Saints. As part of their religious practices they are encouraged to keep a years supply of food in their homes in case of emergency. They have many years of research, and have discovered many less expensive do it yourself ways to obtain, and preserve that years supply safely. So the first place I recommend new preppers looking for food information go is to the LDS websites. You can download a free version of their LDS Preparedness Manual. It is heavy with time tested, researched and accurate food storage information (plenty of lists too, for those that like a checklist) as well as other preparedness information that goes far beyond just food. Over 500 pages long, it is a prime FREE information source. You do not need to be a member of their church to download it, and it is an extremely popular prepping manual.
> 
> ...


First a word on motivation - what bemuses me is people who say "I can't afford it on my budget".
Starvation is a slow terrible death.
Those who can't afford it best procure a cheap means of suicide (2 feet of rope).
If you want to not starve you best get on the stick and find a way to afford it.

I enjoy tracking down the "2 for $1" items in the dollar stores or any item $1 or less.
15oz Mini Ravioli - $.85
Vienna Sausage - $.60
Pork & Beans - $.85 - beenie weenie is one of my faves w Tabasco (vienna sausage and p&b)
15oz Chili w Beans - $1

Variety is important - (all canned)
1. ravioli
2. beenie weenie - (2 part)
3. tamales
4. beef stew
5. chicken surprise (50 cent cream of chicken soup and 50 cent mixed vegetables) 2 for $1
6. chili
7. CS 2 ( canned chicken $1 and spanish rice $1)

Seven dinner entrees - divide 365 by 7 = 52.1 - buy 52 of each and it's a year supply - if you manage 2 for $1 that's $365.

Breakfast - instant oatmeal - regular oatmeal - fruit bar - fruit cocktail - poptart - buy these in bulk sizes like 6 poptarts for $1 and you easily beat the $1 a day so under $365 per year. I wait for sale prices and buy in bulk.

Lunch - canned soup - I've found 2 for $1 tomato, chicken & rice, chicken noodle and mushroom. Also Ramen is cheaper than canned.

Rice - optional but can stretch the dinners - a one can entree added to a pot of rice can feed four rather than just one. A steel garbage can packed with bags of rice is affordable. 100 lbs (20 5lb bags) comes out to 2 cups of cooked rice per day. A can of chili watered down to 4 cups would work out to 1 cup chili and 1/2 cup rice or 12oz servings for four.
NOTE - all packaged rice, pasta, potato, or flour contains insect eggs so on a rotation freeze all of these for 3-5 days to kill the vermin.
NOTE - a study using mice revealed that mice on a reduced diet lived longer than mice allowed to eat as much as they liked - when the gluttons were doddering old wrecks the diet controlled mice were active lean and healthy. So eating less will make you lean and mean and not do you any harm.

Extras
Grated Cheese - mixed with rice improves flavor and nutritive value. Get a dozen large cheap jars.
Crushed Red Pepper - besides being analgesic and antibacterial just love that tang.
Bullion Cubes - one added to rice provides flavor.
Salt - don't neglect this critical item.
Hard Candy - a few peppermints or lemon drops for the kids gives them energy.
Tea - controls diarrhea (BIG important) get a bunch of cheap teabags. 
Micronutrients - tea brewed from pine needles provides vitamin C but magnesium deficiency in common so stock up on Mag.
Aspirin - get a good supply of NSAIDS - and tincture of Iodine for cuts to prevent infection.
Gravy - when you see cheapo Chicken, Pork or Turkey mix packets on sale buy a BUNCH.
Seed - for sprouting - this is your "salad" that provides living food, nutrients, and variety. you need sprouting trays as well and large bags of any available seed (rye, alfalfa, flax) as well as for a garden (heirloom).

Storage - canned goods last years if they don't rust or freeze. Don't store them where they will freeze. Place the cans in double bagged trash bags, leave airspace for expansion and contraction then place in storage containers to prevent rusting. Do this and your canned goods will last years - but that isn't really critical because you should ROTATE your stock. Not for freshness sake, but because it is a SMART thing to do. You have amassed a year supply of food, and a year has passed - inflation will have made that same amount of supplies more expensive. However you have been rotating your supply and basically have been eating food at the pre-inflation price. This reduces your inflation loss when you restock.

Water
Food isn't much good without it. For potable water buy some large tarps - when its clouding up, spread the tarps on flat ground and prop up the edges with stakes. Place rocks to keep the wind from whipping it away and dig a sump (a hole under the tarp that forms a small well in the tarp) so you can scoop the rainwater out more quickly.

Humanity
If two starving orphan children show up at my door they are family - what does it profit a man to have a full belly but lose his soul. So I keep more than 1 year.

the Crapper
An outhouse. Plywood seat bench with a toilet seat attached. Non metallic drop catcher. Bucket of clean sand and a scoop - to flush you pour a scoop of sand over your caca so flies can't land on it and to control odor. He who draws the S Detail pulls the drop catcher from the back of the outhouse, and dumps it on to a pile of leaves, mixes it in and covers it with leaves (flies). Each person has 3 personal use washcloths folded into quarters that provide four safe wipes each (12 total) and a sealable container for used ones. Every 12 days He Who has angered the Gods of the Outhouse collects the soiled cloths, boils them in a large container, adds soap when the mixture cools and washes them. A little soap on a bum rag is a good thing.

If you have a Well
Get a length of pvc pipe that will fit easily down your well pipe (3" for a 6" pipe).
Cap off one end and drill two holes for a rope at the open end - attach a long enough rope.
Pull the pipe, wiring and pump out of the well pipe.
Drop the pvc "bucket" down the well (sploosh) and pull up your water - put a cap on the well pipe.
The time I tried this my pvc bucket brought up over a gallon each time - 5 gallons took a few minutes.

ACEDIA
This can kill you.
It is a despair that comes on people who are confined with little or nothing to do - they go mad and commit suicide or waste away.
The cure for acedia is activity, so put a little boot to fanny and don't allow anyone to sit and mope.
This means having a JOB - doesn't matter if it's weaving baskets from grass or making charcoal or lime from limestone. Make them do pushups, situps, and run in place. Have some simple music instruments (flutes, cigar box banjo) whatever, and make the kids practice and hit the books as well.

Survive and prosper or become ejecta from a buzzards' bunghole.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

I've learned that just because a certain amount of food is a year supply for one person, don't make it a year supply for me.the meat's in my freezer will last me 2 or 3 months.but it might not for someone else. Because of all of that. I'm having to buy store bought canned food to stock up on.and home can some as well.


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