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3K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  Dragunov 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I am new to prepping, have started building my firearm supply plus alot of ammo( and still buying more) trying to buy food at the local grocery of stuff we eat all the time my question is a 6-8 month supply good to have on hand? I will buy as much as possible plus mre and freeze dried stuff just trying to get my head around all of this....have to budget everything and accomplish the prep, but when shtf I will have to hunt and grow veggies for the family to supplement our food supply, so is a inhouse supply of 6-8 months a good base? just feel that time is not on our side as far as a economic issue with the world
 
#3 ·
That would be a great start! I think a person should have a goal of 1 year plus in case the garden fails after TSHTF.

Not sure of your geographic situation, but the longer term plans should include an orchard, veggie garden, canning, chickens, pond with fish, bees, etc. My plan is to use the long term food for a buffer during winter and tough times.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
I think something around 18 months is good to shoot for. That way if the first gardening attempt fails, you still have enough to get you through the following winter *and* growing period of the second attempt at gardening.

But as a short-term goal, 6 months is excellent.
We always say start small. Put back a week's worth. Then two week's worth. Then work to a month saved up. Then three months, then six months, etc. Baby steps, and keep it balanced. Don't spend all of your money on 18 months of food all at once and then have no medical supplies, home defense, etc.
 
#8 ·
I think something around 18 months is good to shoot for.
My opinion, anything past a couple of months should be supplemented with a garden.

Stockpiling 18 months of beans, rice and oats is fine, but there comes a point when people need fresh foods.

As for the OP, this is part of my food stocks. Its 2 shelf units with a can rotation system.



My food stocks include:

Can goods
#10 cans
Superpails of beans, rice, oats
Food stored in mylar bags, such as pasta
Enough seeds to plant a well balanced garden for at least 2 years.
 
#5 ·
It all depends on what you're preparing for, and if you plan on bugging in or bugging out.

If you need enough food to survive, in a worst case scenario, until your garden / farm provides enough food for your family, you need two years worth to be on the safe side.

(Figure SHTF right at planting season and no planting can be done, so you wait a year, then plant the next year, then wait for the food to be ready for harvest)

If you're just worried about long term instability, then one year should do it, because it's highly unlikely that you'll be kept without food consistently for one year straight. You can replenish when supplies are available and supplement from your garden.

As for firearms, I once figured out the math that an inexpensive AK-47, plus mags and ammo cost about the same as one year of food staples for one person. So, watch what you're focusing on, because having a gun safe full of firearms and ammunition and insufficient food is not a good combination.

My two cents.
 
#7 ·
It all depends on what you're preparing for, and if you plan on bugging in or bugging out.

If you need enough food to survive, in a worst case scenario, until your garden / farm provides enough food for your family, you need two years worth to be on the safe side.

(Figure SHTF right at planting season and no planting can be done, so you wait a year, then plant the next year, then wait for the food to be ready for harvest)

If you're just worried about long term instability, then one year should do it, because it's highly unlikely that you'll be kept without food consistently for one year straight. You can replenish when supplies are available and supplement from your garden.

As for firearms, I once figured out the math that an inexpensive AK-47, plus mags and ammo cost about the same as one year of food staples for one person. So, watch what you're focusing on, because having a gun safe full of firearms and ammunition and insufficient food is not a good combination.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

Also consider: providing for one's defense with firearms is important, but in part they're to defend against someone taking your preps. Once you have enough to do that, IMO the focus should return to food and water.

And, of course, water is THE most important prep.
 
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#6 ·
Thank you folks! got a good supply of firearms over the last couple of years,I stayed with 308,12 ga ,20 ga 22 and 223 bushmaster we are in maine planting this spring and taking cannng classes plus getting chickens and am a avid hunter and fisherman,installing wood heat, will have bug out gear if it comes to that but would love to stay in place( wife and 3 kids) trying to make it so we would not have to get anything for a while from outside, have to admit it scares me what is going on and it keeps me up at night thinking about prepping gear....glad I found this forum!
All the best
Greg
 
#9 ·
In short term emergencies (hurricane/tornado/winter storms/personal illness etc., 2-3 weeks of food /water is more than enough.

Middle of the road: (temporary civil unreast, bank failures, disease) more like 6-10 Months

Long Term: (Governmental collapse/complete bank failures/War/invasions) I feel good with 2 years of food/water/supplies ALSO having plans to grow your own food if possible and the ability to raise animals such as chickens, rabbits, goats, cattle if possible.


Many people debate on how serious and how soon possible problems could arise, but one thing most can agree on is the fact we have plenty swirling around us and any one of them could cause us plenty of problems short term as well as long term.

With that said, I want to be as prepared as much as possible to feed and care for my family. For the price of a decent used car, I can do just that or at the very least make a heck of an effort based on what I do know!
 
#10 ·
I was harvesting brocclli in mid Dec. this year, so a good know how on the garden 6 months can get you there. All comes down to how good you are as a gardener. Mine gets better and bigger every year. Now if shtf and its your first garden you could be in trouble! We our probally at the 6-8 month mark and beans grain and pasta is a small part of the food.
 
#11 ·
I look at it this way, if I buy food today that I don't eat for a year then I am eating that food at last years prices. Since it seems that prices generally go up and not down, though there may be short dips, this means I am earning interest on that food I bought. This is a lot more than my bank gives me. There are exceptions, I won't be buying peanut butter until next years harvest hopefully drops the price down, but this is just buying low and eating high to paraphrase the old investment strategy. So food storage is a savings plan, of course supplemented with produce from the garden and protein from the coop.
 
#12 ·
I've always been an advocate of security FIRST. You have the firearms and ammo. You live in Maine where water is abundant, probably even in bad times. Locate ALL the water sources around your place, make a plan for aquiring it. Keep something around to boil it in.

If you live near the coast, You have an abundant water supply..... The ocean. It isn't difficult at all to process the sea water and make it potable. Sea water can be used to make soup with out any processing. Boiling it will render pathogens harmless. You don't have to worry much about parasites and you won't need to add any salt to your soup or mashed potatoes. You can make a still to extract fresh water from sea water. Not only that, salt will be a barter item. You can utilize the salt left from distilling sea water.

You should stock fresh water as a prep, but utilize other resources first.

Food, of course. Learn about the forage around your area. Use forage and game (Including cats/dogs) to supplement your food stores or use food stores to supplement forage if it is plentiful. This should get you by until your garden is harvestable.
 
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