“If we are to be saved in an ark, as Noah and his family were, it will be because we build it.” —Brigham Young
How much food should you have to be prepared for an emergency? The Mormon Church tells its members to store a year’s worth. You might think this excessive, but food in storage is like money in the bank– maybe better. It will sustain you not only in case of natural disasters or structuiral failures, but in times of financial emergency like job losses or illness. Considering the uncertainty we face in our future, stockpiling food may not be so crazy.
How much food does it take too feed your household for a year? Check out this handy food calculator. Also check out this page for another method of calculating. For two adults, they recommend 300 pounds of wheat, 100 pounds of rice, 80 pounds of sugar, 120 pounds of legumes, 120 pounds of dry milk (ick!), and lots more.
If, like my wife and I, you’re wondering where to put it all, see “Where Do I Put It All?“. Â Yep. they’ve thought of about everything.
I think with 80 pounds of sugar you’d need dental equipment as well. I’d go for dehydrated vegetables, sea weeds (great mineral source), brewers yeast, Quinoa instead of rice as it’s a complete protein, nitrogen packed seeds, nuts, and dried fruit. Also learning to wildcraft foods is a great idea. It’s amazing how many of the “weeds” that grow, even in the middle of a city are not only edible but highly nutritious.
OK, say you have a year’s supply of food. That is too much to transport, so if the situation is such that you have to flee, will you be willing to abandon your cache?
Good point. As Richard commented, dehydrated veggies are a good way to go. For a 72 kit (or even a week), backpacking food is all dehydrated now and quite good. Not cheap, but tasty. Some doesn’t even require heat, just water.
If you have to flee, you’d be abandoning your cache. And one preparedness site makes this point: A person who flees without a planned destination is called a refugee.
OTOH, in many of the most likely emergencies, that cache can help you stay put: job loss, bank failure, etc.