Amount of food to store

[ColoradoKevin]

I tried to do a search but it wouldn't work. So, does anyone have ideas on the amount of food, in pounds, that you should store for survival in a bug-in type of situation. what I am wondering is, I am about to order some of those 10 pound cans of Mountain house meals, and I am wondering how many I will need total. I am not really sure how long a pound of food would last me, or once you add water to cook these, how many meals you get out of a can? Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

[500grains]

1 person = 2500 calories per day

4 people = 10,000 calories per day or 300,000 calories per month.

Now look on a can of Mountain House and see what it contains, then do the math.

That Mountain House stuff will add up to a bunch of money. I would think about a couple of months of Mountain House then lots of those 50 pound bags of dried beans at Sam's club which are 56% fiber. You can store them in garbage cans. With that much fiber, you are not likely to get plugged up, and it is much more affordable on a per calorie basis than Mountain House.

[ColoradoKevin]

thanks for posting, I assumed (wrongly) the #10, meant 10 pounds, there is approximately 2000-2500 calories per can. I am glad you helped me catch that before I bought them. It look like a case of MRE's are more bang for the buck. The mountain house jsut look to have a longer shelf life.

[NoveskeFan]

MRE's also dont require the addition of water.

[Rmplstlskn]

I like the MH #10 cans to be the "always there" backup to my NORMAL pantry inventory.

But if you are just starting out and staying PUT, then you would do best to build up your PANTRY, then add MH as you go... Can goods last a lot longer than the expiration dates, so they are good to stock up on and rotate through them...

For example, I had for lunch yesterday some Sam's Club chunk white chicken in a can I bought in 2008 with an expiration date of March 2010 (last year). No bulges and it tasted fine... No butt explosions...

So start with pantry items (can goods) & staples (beans, rice, wheat, etc...)... Best bang for the buck...

Rmpl

[500grains]

I have eaten 10 year old canned corn and it was just fine.

[Rmplstlskn]

I have eaten 10 year old canned corn and it was just fine.

Umm, your avatar tells us otherwise... LOL!

Rmpl

[500grains]

Some of it got stuck in my craw.

[hatidua]

How long do dried pinto beans realistically last if you simply leave them in the plastic bags they are sold in at Costco? -or rice for that matter?

[JStor]

Due to the possibility of insect infestation, you don't want to store your rice and beans in plastic bags, unless it's in the freezer. Use sealed plastic buckets, and for daily use at my house, it is either in a sealed glass jar or the freezer.