A modest achievement

Polibious

Polibious

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Ok, so I think I made a modest achievement in survival prep. I managed to hole away 3 months worth of food (and fuel to cook with), water and medical supplies (This was the hard part with my medical history, I'm a transplant recipient.) On the easy side was overall cost of food with a long shelf life, it was much cheaper than I initially thought. So, this is a start...Still have a long way to go.
 
Good job. Sooooo, where do you live? You know, just in case. [wink]

Actually, my wife shocked the crap out of me last weekend. She was listening to some commercial on WBZ 1030 that talked about the pandemic and having 12 weeks of food stored up. She looks at me and say. "We need to do this". [shocked] Almost drove off the road. Would seem that she's not thrilled to be eating the MREs and bottle water I currently have. [thinking]
 
Good job! A lot of my friends say that once you have the initial stockpile you start buying more foods in bulk and when on sale so you actually start saving money (which then gets used to stockpile more things).
 
Polibous,

If you don't have the ammunition, manpower or hardware to properly defend said location, I would recommend letting a limited number of trusted people know the location and that you have food, water and medical supplies stored. In the event of an emergency, these trusted friends should be instructed to gather the required ammunition and hardware and make their way to your location to support this noted deficieny.

If you have the space, but not the financial means, you could even ask these trusted friends to assist in expanding your supplies to increase your support to include them for the said period in exchange for providing the necessary additional equipment and welcoming them to your location in the event of an emergency.

If I had the means, I would very much want to establish supplies for me, my family and several trusted friends who lack the space to store such supplies at their current residence. It would also be easier to maintain a secure location with a moderate number of people while also ensure I am aware of the safety of those I truly care about.
 
Good advise ShadeWPI, I prioritized food and medical befor ammunition / hardware; planning to start that process soon. I've been thinking about how to approach a couple of friends about your point, but I'm not quite sure how. I mentioned that I was stocking up in the event of an emergency and some people thought I was a bit looney.
 
learn the word OPSEC and don't tell anyone you are stocking up.....when the SHTF, they'll suddenly remember what you said, and come looking for their fair share....

a post in Survivalblog.com from a few days ago had an interesting list:

Two Month Supply for Two People of Shelf Stable Grocery Store-Purchased Foods:

Starches (daily: 6 servings, 2 people/60 days: 720 servings)
12 boxes (10 packets ea.) instant oatmeal (120 servings)
6 lbs. rice (120 servings)
8 lbs. pasta (120 servings)
3 boxes instant potatoes (60 servings)
60 cans starchy vegetables (beets, carrots, corn, lima beans, sweet peas) (180 servings)
15 lbs flour (for baking bread) (120 servings)

Vegetables (daily: 4 servings, 2 people/60 days: 480 servings)
160 cans non-starchy vegetables (or 120 cans veggies & 20 jars spaghetti sauce)
(artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green beans, yellow beans, wax beans, mushrooms, okra, spinach, tomatoes)

Fruit (daily: 3 servings, 2 people/60 days: 360 servings)
120 cans fruit (no sugar added)

Meats/Legumes (daily: 4 servings, 2 people/60 days: 480 servings)
30 (6 oz) cans tuna (90 servings)
12 (15 oz) cans salmon (90 servings)
15 (12 oz) cans chicken (90 servings)
15 (12 oz) cans turkey (90 servings)
15 (5 oz) cans ham (30 servings)
30 cans (or 7 lbs. dry) beans (90 servings) (kidney, navy, great northern)

Dairy (daily: 3 servings, 2 people/60 days: 360 servings)
6 (25 oz) boxes non-fat dry milk (enough to make 12 gallons)
or 16 (12.6 oz) cans NIDO brand dry whole milk (can be found in ethnic foods section)
6 lbs. Velveeta cheese
12 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk

Other:
10 lbs. sugar
20 packages active dry yeast
4 (26 oz) containers salt
2 lbs. popcorn
4 jars peanut butter (40oz)
4 (32 oz) bottles vegetable oil
shortening
syrup/molasses/honey
jam/jelly
nuts
dried onions, garlic & other spices
large bottle of Multi-vitamins
 
NavyRedneck said:
Good job! A lot of my friends say that once you have the initial stockpile you start buying more foods in bulk and when on sale so you actually start saving money (which then gets used to stockpile more things).
Click to expand...

Very true. In my experience (my wife and I don't run a huge stockpile, about a month's worth) having it has cut our food budget by 20%, thanks entirely to making bulk purchases less frequently.
 
hikerlt said:
learn the word OPSEC and don't tell anyone you are stocking up.....when the SHTF, they'll suddenly remember what you said, and come looking for their fair share....

a post in Survivalblog.com from a few days ago had an interesting list:

Two Month Supply for Two People of Shelf Stable Grocery Store-Purchased Foods:

Starches (daily: 6 servings, 2 people/60 days: 720 servings)
12 boxes (10 packets ea.) instant oatmeal (120 servings)
6 lbs. rice (120 servings)
8 lbs. pasta (120 servings)
3 boxes instant potatoes (60 servings)
60 cans starchy vegetables (beets, carrots, corn, lima beans, sweet peas) (180 servings)
15 lbs flour (for baking bread) (120 servings)

Vegetables (daily: 4 servings, 2 people/60 days: 480 servings)
160 cans non-starchy vegetables (or 120 cans veggies & 20 jars spaghetti sauce)
(artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green beans, yellow beans, wax beans, mushrooms, okra, spinach, tomatoes)

Fruit (daily: 3 servings, 2 people/60 days: 360 servings)
120 cans fruit (no sugar added)

Meats/Legumes (daily: 4 servings, 2 people/60 days: 480 servings)
30 (6 oz) cans tuna (90 servings)
12 (15 oz) cans salmon (90 servings)
15 (12 oz) cans chicken (90 servings)
15 (12 oz) cans turkey (90 servings)
15 (5 oz) cans ham (30 servings)
30 cans (or 7 lbs. dry) beans (90 servings) (kidney, navy, great northern)

Dairy (daily: 3 servings, 2 people/60 days: 360 servings)
6 (25 oz) boxes non-fat dry milk (enough to make 12 gallons)
or 16 (12.6 oz) cans NIDO brand dry whole milk (can be found in ethnic foods section)
6 lbs. Velveeta cheese
12 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk

Other:
10 lbs. sugar
20 packages active dry yeast
4 (26 oz) containers salt
2 lbs. popcorn
4 jars peanut butter (40oz)
4 (32 oz) bottles vegetable oil
shortening
syrup/molasses/honey
jam/jelly
nuts
dried onions, garlic & other spices
large bottle of Multi-vitamins
Click to expand...

When talking SHTF I won't expect to eat more than I do now. That's ridiculous for someone to think that list will only last 2 months for 2 people. Look at all that. 2 people could probably get by 6 months on that. That's a xxxxing nutritionists SHTF list. It looks like its been perfectly engineered to meet the updated food pyramid standards.
 
Operational Security, got it without looking it up (I read The Patriots). And...yes...thats a LOT of food. Re. powdered /canned milk, the ones I find don't seem to have a very long shelf life.
 
Last edited:
How active do you think you'll be if SHTF? Will you be carrying water from a stream to distill? Working a garden by hand? Cutting lots of wood? Working long days outside in the cold? Walking long distances? You may well need MORE quality calories then than you do now. During the ice storm we put in 8+ hour days of manual labor outside, and that was with a chainsaw.
 
I think I'll be pretty active, but I'm active now so, I'm not too concerned about calories. Now if it was very cold, that could change of course. Water is my biggest concern, I don't live near any streams / rivers and getting to the nearest that is clean enough to filter is 2 miles through neighborhoods and rural areas. I'm counting on my stored water lastiong for a while...Of course I need more.
 
Good to hear Polibious. I wasn't trying to rain on your parade, but rather to make sure that 4000 calorie a day couch jockeys don't think they can make it in an active state with 1500 calories or something. :D No comment intended for you in particular, particularly since I don't know you. I've just seen that mindset before and it seems to be a setup for failure.

Personally, if I see a X month supply that looks like too much it will probably be enough. Some might be wasted in one manner or another, or you may try to make it stretch for a longer time period. If we need more than a 2 week supply (longer ice storm) then I'm in the mindset of extending already, without sacrificing the nutrition I need then.
 
My ultimate goal is at least a whole years worth of food. Although now I have to add for sons girlfriend and her two kids.[wink]
I use every opportunity to learn from each power outage, etc. It helps you look and see what more you may need.[grin]
 

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