How much do I need to stock? When I initially got started prepping last spring the goal was to add a six month supply of extra food to our pantry. For everyone that number is going to be different based on size of your family and your eating habits. In order to know how much we would need to stock we literally sat down and did the math with each item I purchased.
Take rice for instance. While right now I rarely eat rice my daughter eats a fair amount and if we were ever in a situation where I needed to I would certainly be eating it more regularly. So we sat down with a calculator and determined how many of servings of rice we would likely eat in a week and multiplied that by 26 to figure out a six month supply. We did that with pretty much everything and once we had acquired that much I decided to go for a year supply and began a gain.
Most preppers will tell you a two year supply is best practice. Some will say more and some will say less but most say two years and that is what our end goal is going to be. That means I will need to employ a variety of different food storage methods in order to obtain that much usable food and I've done that with freezing, canning and store bought canned goods, dry and dehydrated foods, vacuum sealing, etc.
There are quite a few items I've stocked that I don't normally buy simply because they are shelf stable. So I have to be okay with modifying our diet somewhat in order for this to work. While right now I try to steer clear of foods with a lot of sodium and preservatives, in the event of an emergency I know I won't be able to be quite as picky. I can tell you right now that if I am hungry I'm not going to turn my nose up at a granola bar or a pasta packet. Instead I'll be grateful that I have a granola bar or a package of pasta.
So my advice to you as far as how much you need to put up is to do the math. Figure out the size and number of servings you would eat of that item, determine approximately how many times a week you would eat it and multiply it by the number of people in your family and then the number of weeks you are stocking up for. Then go for it.
I have also been stocking up on things I don't normally buy. I'm not a fan of boxed potatoes or canned mushrooms, but have added it to my stockpile in case I can't get fresh.
ReplyDeleteRight now it looks like I've gone crazy with stockpiling, but I've always preferred being prepared. I'm doing my regular weekly stockpile shopping and also adding whatever items are on sale that I know we'll use. My main focus is food, because we have more than enough HBA and household items.
I can say I have never stocked this much stuff before but my gut tells me this is important. I listen to my gut. It never lets me down.
DeleteI am up to two years on some things, up to six months on other things. As sales come along, i try to stock up then. Today, i bought $200 worth of food and stuff, most of it stock up.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful. Good job!
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