Hopefully things would never come to this, but the Church of the Latter Day saints believe in storing food for emergencies. Preferably for a year, there’s several reasons why they do it both scripture based and a general teaching to be not too reliant on others in times of need.

Of course, not everyone lives next door to a family of Latter Day Saints, and it’s a bit rude to assume they’re going to share all that stockpiled food with you. So, if you’re thinking of starting to stock up a bit visiting a few LDS websites is a good place to start. Ok – lets get on with that food calculation..

Container Packaging and standeyo both have identical calculators. Stockupfood.com actually has a login system so you can track how much you need and how much you use. If you’re planning shorter requirements then simplylivingsmart.com has a good adjustable calculator. The majority of the calculators don’t include fresh fruit or veg – so don’t forget to add plenty of vitamins into those calculations too.

I put in 1 year for a single adult and this is what you get.

• Grain: 400lbs (wheat, oats, barley – cereals)
• Legumes: 60lbs (beans, split peas, lentils etc.)
• Dairy: 30lbs (powdered milk, and cheese etc.)
• Sugars: 60lbs (honey, syrup, brown/white sugar etc.)
• Leavening agents: 6lbs (powdered eggs, yeast etc.)
• Salt: 6lbs
• Fats: 30lbs (butter, vegetable oil etc.)
• Water: 14 gallons (2 week supply in storage)

If your looking for a calculator that includes fruit use this one from thefoodguys.com.

Of course as far as water is concerned you’d  need a filtration / purification system. Of course with any food storage you need to regularly rotate stock to avoid spoilage, and to keep the shelf life current. Storing by age, keeping the newest stock at the bottom of the store. Then there’s the other side of storage – for those super wealthy food storage types who can afford freeze dryed ready meals. Mountainhouse.com or AlpineSurvival and Nitro-Pak all have freeze dried food with a 25 year shelf life. They do boxed 72 hour sets of food, or can even provide a full years supply.

SurvivalDigest.com also has some further links and reading over here.