Thinking about food storage, etc.
What would you get? (types of food)
Where would you but it?
where would you store it?

30 days — we have that much on the shelf to eat next. Freezer, refrigerator, on the kitchen shelf/pantry. How about food for the subsequent 6 months ...

I have some of the packaged items stacked in my bedroom. I'm short on space. Therefore, four months is what I can realistically prepare.

Jeanette Isabelle

Unless you're planning on carrying it on foot, canned food IMO is the way to go, and plenty of variety to find something you like.

Shopping locally at restaurant supply, warehouse...
house brand
the best deal I can get on dry people food
regularly advertised year round
stable prices
best deal per buck
easily lasts 1-2 years on shelf without special storage

• 50 pounds of all purpose flour, enriched, unbleached
  ~$13 , 3.8461538 lb/$
  
  corn meal, rice, corn, oats... all work
  
  pressure cooker? 40lb for $6 deer corn...
• 25 pounds of pinto beans or black beans
  ~$13, 1.9230769 lb/$
  
  second best deal is soybeans, then peas...
• 1 gallon canola oil
  ~$4.86, .6460905 lb/$
• 7 lbs sugar
  ~$3.36, 2.0833333 lb/$
• 60 pills multivitamin
  $2
• calcium
  $1
• 1lb iodized salt
  $1

and rounding prices up
13 + 13 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 39$

I believe this is achievable anywhere in continental USA


39$/60days = 0.65 $/day
39$/90days = 0.43333333 $/day


weight
50+25+8+7+1 = 91lbs

volume
16.00426gal = 2.1394584 ft3


this is just part of my regular pantry
(though not always in these quantities)
the flour goes transferred from paper bag into plastic "tupperware" box
everything else goes on a shelf or drawer as is

for extra months storage/coverage
18 gallon plastic tote
34 gallon plastic tote
placed in pantry, closet, under bed ...


for stored cooking fuel,
40 lbs wood pellets for ~$6 (~10 gal volume)
boil/simmer ~40 gallons ... 80 gallons if you use haybox
and there is always free wood , actual wood chips , to be found around the house/neighborhood/city

stored water is ~$1 per gallon
1 gal square jug or 6 bottles

eating well for $1 per day (fuel included) is possible
bump it to $2 and you're in luxury


how do you eat it?
bread
bread
no need to knead bread
fermented for at least a day
yeast or yoghurt
delicious sour/alcohol flavor
lasts a week on the kitchen counter

can also cook it as porridge
cook as ugali (thick thick thick porridge)

beans sandwiches
bread sandwiches
pancakes/frybread...

dip it in herb/onion flavored oil
flavor goes great with salty butter / margarine , ketchup, peanutbutter...

flour
50lb/60 = 13.333333 oz = 3.0239491 cup
50lb/90 = 8.8888889 oz = 2.0159661 cup

beans
25lb/90 = 4.4444444 oz = 0.65283875 cup
25lb/60 = 6.6666667 oz = 0.97925814 cup


canola oil
1gal/90 = 1.4222222 floz = 8.5333333 tsp = 2.8444444 tbsp
1gal/60 = 2.1333333 floz = 12.8 tsp = 4.2666667 tbsp


salt optional (no need to max out)
1lb/90 = 0.17777778 oz = 0.82621561 tsp
1lb/60 = 0.26666667 oz = 1.23932340 tsp

What about nutrition?

60 days
90 days

Its basically Fameal
Actual fameal is more affordable,
but not a lot of places to buy

kids version (milk)
Supercereal (CSB+) 10% sugar/BAG-25kg
indicative price $16.63
55lb = 25kg / 16.63$ = 3.3142252 lb/$

Google

mormon 1 year food supply

or something close. There are numerous posts/docs/etc that I have run across to show how to save a 12 month supply of food in a reasonable period of time.

No affiliation, just this question has been answered before.

Another canned food devotee - stable, wide variety, and quick to prepare. We easily have a 30 day supply of food available in our normal food stock. I like dehydrated food for backpacking and situations where water is available, but in an emergency, water may be critical, as well. If weight is not a factor, canned food is the best choice..

You can store the caans anywhere. Just be sure to use up your older stocks first.

my short term supply (3days to 30 days) is the larger "chunky" style of canned soups augmented with rice or pasta vacuum sealed in 1 quart canning jars using the jar adapter to my vacuum sealer... the canning jars are stored in their original shipping boxes under my bed

I store about 25 gal of water, and have a Sawyer .1micron bucket filter and access to a fresh water river in addition a shallow well on site

cooking is with an Asian style butane burner with propane hose adapter, or double burner Coleman propane stove... bulk to 1# adapter... 3 bulk tanks

if food distribution is only disrupted a pressure canner and dehydrator

I donate my near to expire "good by date" to local food bank

EMP's link to Fameal connects to UNICEF.

The UNICEF website offers a whole bunch of things besides Fameal, apparently for sale to anyone: it is worth perusing.

Thanks for all - Some very useful ideas...

This subject can be simple or complicated! If you want simple, you can store dry beans and dry rice. Brown rice is much more nutrient dense but it also spoils faster. Beans are one of the very few non-animal products that contains complete proteins (ie you could live long term on them). If you store brown rice, just rotate it and use it. Storing oils (something with a good shelf life) is also a good idea, preferably something not hydrogenized nor soy or corn oils.

The more complicated is that survival and enjoyment are not the same. You may well be pretty miserable at the end of the first week just eating beans and rice! I don't know dogs do it, happily eating the same dry food day in and day out.

Probably the better way is to store some staples (eg beans, rice, flour, sugar, and especially salt) alongside some canned or convenience items. Of course, this is assuming ahead of time that you've considered how you were going to cook your food! If you don't have a way to cook food then canned, freeze dried and MRE foods might be the best options. You're not going to eat rice and beans if you can't cook them while canned ravioli can be eaten cold in a pinch.