It takes time to settle when moving off the grid. But do you need to stockpile a six-month food supply? The answer is yes.
You just don’t know how long it will take you to get everything going. Learning how to build a six-month food supply is one of the skills you will need to make your lifestyle change a success.
You need a food supply in case things do not move as quickly as you expected them.
There are uncertainties that you should prepare for when moving to a new location. Growing your vegetables, hunting, or even keeping livestock might be unsuccessful.
Apart from food and water, you also need to have a diary and power storage for lighting. Don’t just be busy stocking food and forgetting to build a battery bank that can help you store electricity generated by solar.
Also, do not forget a compass or a satellite phone if you are relocating to an unfamiliar area.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of a food supply.
Also, we will focus on how much food you need to store to take you and your family all the way through the first six months and how to build a food supply. Keep reading to find all the details.
Contents
Why Should You Learn About Food Supply?
Building a food supply is crucial and you have many reasons to learn how to go about it. If you are planning to go off-grid, a six-month food supply will guarantee a successful switch.
Here are some of the reasons why you should do it:
It Takes Time To Have A Complete Off-Grid Life
Going off-grid can sometimes mean relocating to a place that you are not familiar with. That makes survival in the first few months a real challenge.
Some people have abandoned the mission of becoming an off-gridder because of food scarcity and general hardship.
It will take you time to finally adapt to your new home and the surroundings. Meanwhile, you and your family need something to eat.
A good food supply is handy as you get used to an off-grid lifestyle, which might take longer than you had anticipated.
Storm, Winter, Natural Disasters
Natural disasters and extreme weather conditions can make it nearly impossible to grow vegetables and crops, keep livestock, or go out hunting.
If you move off-grid just before winter, then this harsh season might find you when you are yet to settle, which might put your life on the line.
Natural disasters such as floods can also destroy what you planted in the fields. There might also be an unexpected attack from wild animals that can ruin everything you had banked all your hope on.
Your food supply should see you through even the most challenging situation.
The Coronavirus Pandemic we still talk about today came as a surprise to many of us. Nobody expected it to last over a year, crippling many economic activities.
Authorities suggested a lockdown, however, the strategy was nearly impossible to implement because of a lack of food supply.
A six-month food supply can save you from the adverse effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and any other that is about to come. Just keep your food supply in preparation for any eventuality.
An Extended Period Of Social Distancing
Social distancing and stay-at-home strategy to fight Coronavirus Pandemic clearly cut the food source. It has bought an extended time when you cannot get to a store regularly to stock up.
And even if you manage to go, most food stores are closed, and food prices nearly doubled at the operational ones.
Whether you are an off-gridder or not, a food supply is crucial. The Coronavirus pandemic has proved it to everyone.
How Much Food Storage Do You Need For Six Months?
You should really need to make the calculations when stocking a six-month food supply. That is determined by the size of your family and diet.
The information presented in the table below has average values and is meant to be a guide. You can adjust it as appropriate.
| Food Supply | 6 Month food supply for 1 person | 6 Month food supply for a family of 4 |
| Grains (Wheat, Rice, Flour, Oats, Pasta, Corn Meal, etc.) | 196 lbs | 784 lbs |
| Canned or Dried Meats (Bacon, Freeze Dried, Beef, Jerky, Spam, fish, chicken, etc.) | 10 lbs | 40 lbs |
| Fats and Oils (Vegetable Oil, Peanut Butter, Shortening, Salad Dressing, etc.) | 14 lbs | 56 lbs |
| Beans (Dried Beans, Soy Beans, Split Peas, Dry Soup Mix, etc.) | 36 lbs | 144 lbs |
| Milk and Dairy (Powdered Milk, Evaporated Milk, etc.) | 44 lbs | 176 lbs |
| Sugars (Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Powdered Drink Mixes, etc.) | 30 lbs | 120 lbs |
| Cooking Essentials (Salt, Baking Powder, Yeast, Vinegar, Jams, etc.) | 5 lbs | 20 lbs |
| Fruits & Vegetables (Dried) | 45 lbs | 185 lbs |
| Fruits & Vegetables (Canned) | 160 qts | 640 qts |
| Water Storage | 92 Gallons | 368 Gallons |
How To Build A Six-Month Food Supply
Building a six-month food supply cannot be done overnight. You need time and resources to put everything together. There are also things you should consider before stockpiling food.
Follow the following steps to successfully go through the process:
Make Your Food Plan
Planning is the only way to succeed in everything that you have set out to do. A food plan is like having a menu. In this case, you are creating a menu for a whole six months.
A properly formulated food plan should consider the following factors:
- Plan To Put the Meals Together and Create a Meal Rotation
- Healthy Diet and Calorie Count
- Methods Of Food Preparation
- Storage Conditions
- Restricted Foods In Your Diet
Have A Shopping List And A Menu
If you have been to a business class, you surely understand the importance of having a shopping list.
It helps you save money by not buying in excess or buying what you do not need. Avoid impulse buying as much as possible.
Also, a shopping list can act as a checklist. It will ensure that you have stocked all the foods you need and in the right quantities.
Having a menu will help you create a meal rotation schedule to ensure that you do not have an excess of one particular food.
You should have a healthy diet with all the essential nutrients the body needs to perform various functions.
Calorie Content: How Much You Should Buy?
Calories are a very essential part of any diet but should be in appropriate proportions. Too much of it in the food can make you gain weight because our body converts excess calories (energy) into fat and stores them under the skin.
Your food supply should contain enough calories that the body will need for both normal operations and physical activities.
An average man should take about 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) of calories in a diet per day, while a woman should take 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day.
These values vary, depending on the age and physical activities the person does.
Learn all about calories and quantities in each food. That way, you will know how much of each food type you need to buy for a healthy diet. Remember, too many calories in your diet will make you gain weight.
Methods Of Food Preparation/ Learn How To Cook Food Off-The-Grid
An essential skill for everyone to learn before going off the grid is food preparation. You need to understand the procedure or recipe of cooking all the food types you include in the six-month food supply.
As mentioned, undercooked foods can cause digestion problems and pre-expose you to diseases.
Long-term use of canned food is not healthy. You will be putting your life and that of your family in danger.
Most of the food recipes for an off-gridder are not complex. Just make an effort to learn a few or at least find a reference.
Know Your Food’s Shelf Life
Foods have a varying shelf life. Some can last a few days, while others can go for years.
Usually, cereals are known for their long-shelf lives. Provided you store them properly and protect them from pest attacks, they can last more than six months.
Fruits, vegetables, beef, and fish can spoil quickly if not properly preserved and stored appropriately. So, you need to know what you should stock for the entire period from their shelf lives.
Storage Conditions (Refrigerator, Freezer, Containers, Bags, And Shelving)
Storage conditions can significantly affect the shelf life of many different foods. You should know the food types you should store in a refrigerator, freezer, containers, bags, or shelves.
Foods that spoil faster when exposed to light should be stored in a dark place, somewhere in the pantry.
ReadyWise Emergency Food Supply
- UNPARALLELED EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Elevate your readiness with the ReadyWise Emergency MRE Meal Supply. This life-saving kit, packed in a convenient bucket, boasts 84 gluten-free servings designed to sustain you for 9 days. When disaster strikes, you'll be equipped with the ultimate nutrient-packed solution.
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Poor storage can encourage bacterial and fungal growth on the food, leading to damage and food poisoning. Cereals should also be kept pest-free.
Check out the storage conditions and ensure you provide only the best for the different types of food you stock.
Fresh foods and vegetables are effectively stored in refrigerators or freezers. However, electric power can be a challenge when living off-grid.
So, think of other alternatives such as dehydrating the food if you are unsure of constant electricity.
Restricted Foods In Your Diet
Allergic and diabetic persons can be restricted from eating some types of foods. You need to list all the foods you and your family are not supposed to eat to avoid stocking what will not help you.
It will save you money and create room to buy appropriate products.
4 Tips For Long Term Food Supply
To successfully create a long-term food supply, you need to follow four tips. These include first in-first out, store what you eat and eat what you store, always store quality products, and supplement the food reserve by growing some.
These tips will ensure that your six-month food supply supports you for that long.
Always Use the First In – First Out
The phrase “first in -first out” means you eat food that was the first in the stock. That tells you the need to organize the food storage to encourage the habit.
People are used to taking the first thing they find, but that behavior should be discouraged.
First-in first-out will ensure no food goes bad before it is eaten.
Airtight Food Storage Container Set
- Kitchen Storage Containers - 24 BPA free food storage canisters included. These airtight food storage containers come with reusable chalkboard labels, a chalkboard marker, and a measuring spoon set.
- From Small To Tall - This storage jar set comes with 6 extra-large (11.83 cups/2.8 liters,) 6 large (8.45 cups /2.0 liters), 6 medium (5.92 cups /1.4 liter), and 6 small containers (3.38 cups /0.8 liters)
- Keeps Food Fresh - These clear four-sided dry food storage containers have locking lids that are perfect for storing flour, sugar, coffee, cereal, pasta, nuts, soup, juice, and any other leftover food item. Stores liquids, solids, and granulated powders
Store What You Eat And Eat What You Store
First thing first, only store what you can eat. There is no need to stockpile food that is not part of your diet. Also, you should eat the food you stored before it reaches the end of shelf life.
Doing so will ensure that the stock is cleared before the food goes bad.
Always Choose Quality Products
A quality product is likely to have a longer shelf life and is free from pests and diseases. It is healthy and can be stored for a long time as opposed to low-quality products.
Don’t Just Store Let’s Grow
Cultivate Food
You need to supplement your stored food with fresh vegetables and meat. It is not recommended to depend on stored food for a long time because some of them lose their nutritional value.
Learn How To Grow Your Own Survival Garden + The 5 Best Livestock For Off-Grid Living for a fresh supply of vegetables and meat.
Learn New Skills
If you cannot cultivate food, you can learn hunting and fishing skills. Whatever you hunt or fish can supplement your food supply, but you should first check local regulations if such practices are allowed.
Some Thoughts
Building a six-month food supply is the way to prepare for any uncertainties. Any disaster or pandemic that strikes can last longer than expected, posing a threat to people who do not have a food supply.
Follow the tips and other information provided in this article to successfully build a food supply.
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