Food Calculator

[Dee]

This is enough for me to know I'll never have too much on hand but again I doubt I'll ever have enough either.  I just keep trying.  It's what we do.

 

Food Storage Calculator – Provident Living Family Preparedness

[Virginia]

DH keeps telling me "we have enough",  but how can we know.  Times are getting worse, and even total strangers stop me in the store to discuss what may be coming, in vague ways.  Thanks for the calculator.

[Mother]

I agree, Virginia. How can we know.  I had a non prepping acquaintance call yesterday in a panic.  She didn’t know how or what or how much.
 

 I sent her the link this morning.  Thanks Dee.  

[themartianchick]

This is really helpful, Dee! I usually use the following formula for prepared goods:

 

1) Go through your pantry and check the nutrition panels on each package. Multiply the number of servings listed by the number of cans/jars/ boxes for each type of food that you have. (Make a note of the number of servings listed on your inventory sheet for future inventory reference!)

 

 2) Add up the total number of servings in your pantry/freezer, etc...

 

3) Divide by 3 to account for 3 servings per meal to determine the number of meals in your pantry

4) Divide by 3 again to account for 3 meals per day.

5) Divide again by the number of people in your household to find the number of days worth of food you have.

6) Divide by 7 to determine the number of weeks worth of food that you have on hand.

 

Example: 

 

I have 150 servings of food in my pantry.

I divide by 3 to account for 3 servings in a meal = 50 meals total

I divide by 3 again to account for 3 meals per day = 16.67 meals total

I divide by 2 to account for the 2 people in my household = 8.3 days of food

I divide by 7 to determine the number of week's worth of food in my pantry = 1.19 weeks of food

 

If these numbers were accurate, then on day 8, my hubby and I would have very little to eat and by day 9...There'd be nothing left!

[Mother]

TMC,  I just want to add:::::  The size of servings suggested on the item is not always the size a person would normally eat.  Let’s just say a can of vegetables has approx. 3.5 servings which are supposedly half cup servings but that includes the liquid in the can. Lately the cans have held more liquid than normal.  You really need to know your family’s serving sizes and wether they include liquid.  You also may be doing more work and/or have temperature extremes you are not accustomed to and require more food/calories in a SHTF situation.  Assess the people you will be feeding and adjust the charts accordingly. 

[Annarchy]

…unless you are like my MIL… 2 Tbs. is too much…. 

[Mother]

That really stretches the preps and keeps her girlish figure. 

[Ambergris]

I calculate each can as two servings.  Saves on the reading because I just count cans/retorts/jars.

[Ambergris]

This one is from ezprepping.com

 

Food Storage	Food Per Person Per Month	Food Per Person Per Year
Grains (Wheat, Rice, Flour, etc.)	32.5 lbs	390 lbs
Canned or Dried Meats (Freeze Dried, Beef, Jerky, Spam, fish, chicken, etc.)	1.6 lbs	20 lbs
Fats and Oils (Vegetable Oil, Peanut Butter, Shortening, etc.)	2 lbs	25 lbs
Beans (Dried Beans, Soy Beans, Split Peas, Dry Soup Mix, etc.)	5.8 lbs	70 lbs
Milk and Dairy (Powdered Milk, extra dairy) add about 2 cans of Evaporated Milk per month to the est. lbs	7.25 lbs	87 lbs
Sugars (Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Powdered Drink Mixes, etc.)	5 lbs	60 lbs
Cooking Essentials (Salt, Baking Powder, Yeast, Vinegar, Jams, etc.)	.7 lbs	8 lbs
Fruits & Vegetables (Dried)	8 lbs	90 lbs
Fruits & Vegetables (Canned)	27 qts	320 qts
Water Storage (Drinking Water Only)	16 Gallons	183 Gallons

[Darlene]

ezprepping's monthly/yearly amounts sound like an awful lot Ambergris. I've been doing grains for decades and I have never used that much in a month so it makes me wonder what they're basing some of the amounts on. 

 

There's also the added component of foods prepared from that level of scratch are more substantial, have more vitamins and nutrients, which translates into the body registering that the daily needs are met. For example, a few slices of home ground grain bread vs a few cups of commercial potato chips would satisfy a person's nutritional needs, therefore they might find that they eat less because the needs have been met. I see that all the time with the produce grown in my garden from heirloom seeds. The produce is often smaller, but the taste and flavor is through the charts, therefore less is needed to flavor, and I have found I eat less because I am satisfied more quickly.

 

Interesting stuff.

[Ambergris]

Provident Living's chart for one month (4.3 weeks) one adult has essentially the same amount in grains, legumes, fats, and sugar, with much more water.  Ezprepping triples the dairy and adds categories with the food in them.  I guess there are reasons to do that.

In the spreadsheet I accidentally destroyed, however, I used a chart with categories like ezprepping's, but the food in the extra categories counted against the pounds on the provident living chart.  Fruit counted as sugar.   Dairy and meat counted as grain and/or fat, depending on what it is.

 

[Jeepers]

I like your chart Ambergris. Simple and to the point. I figure if I strive for that amount then I won't starve to death and everything else I have will be...gravy. Not literally. But that list will have the basics covered. 

 

I have a more comprehensive list of things I have/want/need etc. but I want to make sure I have the basics first. I think I'm nearly half way there except for the canned fruit and veggies.

[Ambergris]

Food Storage	EZ Prepper Food Per Person Per Month	Provident Living Food Per Person Per Month (4.3 weeks)
Grains (Wheat, Rice, Flour, etc.)	32.5 lbs	33 lbs
Canned or Dried Meats (Freeze Dried, Beef, Jerky, Spam, fish, chicken, etc.)	1.6 lbs
Fats and Oils (Vegetable Oil, Peanut Butter, Shortening, etc.)	2 lbs	2 lbs
Beans (Dried Beans, Soy Beans, Split Peas, Dry Soup Mix, etc.)	5.8 lbs	5 lbs
Milk and Dairy (Powdered Milk, extra dairy) add about 2 cans of Evaporated Milk per month to the est. lbs	7.25 lbs	2 lbs
Sugars (Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Powdered Drink Mixes, etc.)	5 lbs	5 lbs
Cooking Essentials (Salt, Baking Powder, Yeast, Vinegar, Jams, etc.)	.7 lbs	2 lbs
Fruits & Vegetables (Dried)	8 lbs
Fruits & Vegetables (Canned)	27 qts
Water Storage (Drinking Water Only)	16 Gallons	28 Gallons

[Ambergris]

I tried to do these two lists as columns, but couldn't get the format to work.  Copy them and past them on your own page next to each other to see the comparison.  These are both from websites that only go by the year.  You can tell that either one is copying off the other or they are taking information from the same source.  Otherwise, where would some of these oddball measurements come from?

 

Wheat  200 lbs

Flour      50 lbs

Corn Meal           25 lbs

Oats       25 lbs

Rice        50 lbs

Pasta     25 lbs

Total Grains        375 lbs

 

Shortening          4 lbs

Vegetable Oil     2 gal

Mayonnaise       2 qts

Salad Dressing   1 qts

Peanut Butter    4 lbs

Total Fats            13 lbs

 

Beans, dry           30 lbs

Lima Beans         10 lbs

Soy Beans            10 lbs

Split Peas            5 lbs

Lentils                   10 lbs

Dry Soup Mix     10 lbs

Total Legumes  75 lbs

 

Vegetables         45 lbs

 

Honey   5 lbs

Sugar     40 lbs

Brown Sugar       3 lbs

Molasses             1 lbs

Corn Syrup          3 lbs

Jams      5 lbs

Fruit drink powder          6 lbs

Flavored Gelatin               2 lbs

Total Sugars       65 lbs

 

Dry Milk               60 lbs

Evaporated Milk               12 can

Other    13 lbs

Total Dairy          75 lbs

 

Baking Powder  1 lbs

Baking Soda        1 lbs

Yeast     0.5 lbs

Salt         5 lbs

Vinegar 0.5 gal

Bleach   1 gal

 

Water   365 gal

Wheat 150 lbs

Flour 25 lbs

Corn Meal 25 lbs

Oats 25 lbs

Rice 50 lbs

Pasta 25 lbs

Grain total 300 lbs

 

Fats 4 lbs

Oils 2 gal

Mayonnaise 2 qts

Salad Dressing 1 qts

Peanut Butter 4 lbs

 

Beans, dry   30 lbs

Lima Beans   5 lbs

Soy Beans    10 lbs

Split Peas  5 lbs

Lentils       5 lbs

Dry Soup Mix 5 lbs

Total Legumes 60 lbs

 

Honey 3 lbs

Sugar 40 lbs

Brown Sugar 3 lbs

Molasses 1 lbs

Corn Syrup 3 lbs

Jams 3 lbs

Fruit Drink, powdered 6 lbs

Flavored Gelatin 1 lbs

Total Sugars 60 lbs

 

Powd Milk 60 lbs

Evap Milk 12 cans

Other 13 lbs

Total Dairy 75 lbs

 

Baking Powder 1 lbs

Baking Soda 1 lbs

Yeast 0.5 lbs

Salt 5 lbs

Vinegar 0.5 gal

Bleach 1 gal

 

*Water 182.5 gal

[Ambergris]

(I know I sure use a lot more than half a gallon of vinegar in a year.  I use a gallon just for cleaning my kitchen.  That doesn't count the cooking vinegar or the bathroom-cleaning vinegar. And do these people not think any pickling will be going on????  And my gallon jug of molasses weighs about twelve pounds.  A pound of molasses is about a cup and a half.  How is that supposed to last a year?  But meanwhile you're expected to go through SIX POUNDS of KOOL AID powder???)

Edited April 12, 2022 by Ambergris

[euphrasyne]

I like my spreadsheet.  I put in the item i want to stock, how many i want, how many i have and poof: i can see what i need.   my menus very, but mostly by spice.  so is we eat a pound of chicken per meal 3x per week for 52 weeks... roughly 150 lb chicken. i may break that down into canned, frozen, nuggets, etc but i have a rough estimate on it.  Same with veggies.  lets say we eat 1 container per day stored.  365 containers.  break that up into canned, frozen, dehydrated, pickled, etc.  break it further by type.  Now in an emergency we would eat more stored and less fresh.  I have to decide how much more i want to keep on hand and add that to my list.  Same process with tp, soap, medicine, lightbulbs.  how many do i use in a week, month, year.  that isnt even prepping..its just knowing how many to buy when the sales are good for annual budgeting.

 

yes i am very, very OCD.  and typing with only left hand so terrible grammar.