Saturday, September 3, 2011

Emergency Food Supplies for a Family of Four

Hubs and I have a lot of food stored for an emergency. We watch the grocery store flyers carefully so that we can stock up on needed food items when they are on sale. Every family should have at least 3 months of food on hand in case of a disaster or emergency situation.



Sometimes families want to start stockpiling food but they are overwhelmed by the challenge and don't know what to get and how to store it. We aren't experts but we've done a lot of research and a lot of trial and error so we have a pretty good idea of what nutritional value is in certain foods, which foods have the longest shelf life and which are best value for the money (in terms of shelf life, ability to extend the ration, variety of meals possible, and cost)



I've already given you the list of 7 basic essential foods which will keep you alive. I explained how much of each you need for one adult for one week. I know you can do the math but let's look at how much of these basic essential foods an average family of 4 needs for 3 months.



It is going to shock you. But it's doable! An important fact to remember is that any child over the age of 7 is considered a adult in terms of food storage.



I am using mostly metric measurements but you can convert for a fairly accurate measurement by using the following:



1 liter = 0.26 US gallons

1 kg = 2.2 pounds

1 US cup = 236.6 ml but you can convert using 250ml=1cup and remember that 1,000 ml or 4 cups is pretty close to 1 L







ITEM




1 ADULT 1 WEEK




4 ADULTS 3 MOS


SHELF LIFE


Grains


3.5kg


168kg


20-30yrs


Legumes


1/2kg


24kg


20-30yrs


Oils


3/4 cup


36c (9L)


forever if vegetable oil


Salt


2/3 c


32 c (8 L)


forever


Water


7-21L


336-1008L


forever


Sugar


1/2kg


24kg


forever


Milk


1c


48c


20yrs if powder

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