I'm writing this as a crude guide from the perspective of "how can you prepare with the bare minimum amount of $ so that you (generally) could stay home w/o having to leave your house for an extended period of time."
TL;DR: a bare minimum shopping list ~$130.
Food and water for 1 person for 30 days...
or 2 people for 15 days or 3 people for 10 days.
This is meant to be a bare-bones, cheap list to give you ideas. Not a balanced diet, but it will keep you alive. I wrote this to show how inexpensive it could potentially be. I checked prices and labels at Walmart and on Amazon for the following numbers:
$30 – 30 gals of water
$10 – (3x) 117oz cans baked beans (11,700 cal)
$12 – 20lb bag of rice (32,320 cal)
$20 – 36oz Butter powder (7650 cal)
$38 – 4lbs Dry whole milk (9065 cal)
This will give you just over 2000 cal, 55g of protein, and 45g of fat (per day) for 30 days for 1 person.
Or a family of 3 for 10 days. The math is easy.
Why buy extra food NOW?
Because based on the QClock it is very clear that 'something,' some society-disrupting event could come, maybe even this week. I have no idea what. But do I know that "major society-disrupting events" and food shortages could go hand-in-hand.
Weeks before the July 13 'attempt,' I posted that that date was one of the days that was a BIG deal on the QClock. (Unsure why exactly at the time.)
Two days ago I posted that the QClock pointed to HUGE happenings this coming week.
(Update: it was the August 6th Ukrainian invasion of Kursk, Russia. Russian territory invaded with NATO weapons & tanks.)
Based on my research I believe things will go in this order:
-1 Market plunge & War
-2 Dome of the Rock (mosque) destroyed
-3 (Chemical?) weapon/plague
-4 Sleeper cell activation - 'Drones' or...?
-5 More fuckery
-6 More fuckery
I'm giving my opinion here because if you see some of the above events, you will remember you read this on GAW and you will have a better idea of "what might come next."
That tiny bit of information, a few days in advance, can be life-saving for you and your family.
WWG1WGA!
Edit: By "society disrupting" I meant on the level of (although different than) Covid's "two weeks to flatten the curve" etc...
Edit 2: This post is mainly for the people who's morale gets hit whenever they look at the prices of food and don't think they have enough money to food prep.
If you have a bunch of people to feed and virtually no money; get jugs of water and bags of rice.
To my knowledge rice is by far the most calories per dollar you can get.
$.75 = 1 pound of rice is 1600 cal. That and any cheap vitamin C supplement to prevent scurvy and you could stay alive for months. Add butter (fat) and beans (protein) if you can afford it. Don't skimp on the water.
A $15 camping stove and some propane.
Please look in your refrigerator and ask yourself how long your family could realistically go. Grab 20 jugs of water and a 20 pound bag of rice from Walmart on your way home tomorrow. That's $33 and 10+ days you and your spouse could eat for.
Food security is extremely important and IF you find you are NOT prepared, DON'T come home from work tomorrow without something, anything.
#AugustHeat
If I may offer some food suggestions:
Dried beans. If you don't know how to cook them, now is the time to learn.
Spices: Bulk and good quality. You can divide them up and barter with them. Pepper, salt, pepper flakes, cinnamon, cumin, hot spices, chiles oa all kinds, anything really. People need stimulation.
Yeast: Large bulk amounts for yourself and to trade. Being able to make bread is a big deal. If you don't know how to bake a loaf, now is the time to learn.
Dutch oven: if you don't have one yet it is time to get one. Sourdough starter: Now is the time to buy starter, keep it going and bake / share with others. About $15 or so. Baking is your new hobby.
Quick reminder - the body DOES NOT require any bread or carbs for that matter. Only essential nutrition comes from protein and fat. Avoid spending $$ on worthless carbs. Buy dried meat, canned meat, tuna and salmon. Buy bags of dried bacon, powdered eggs, peanut butter, powdered butter and cream. Get your protein and fat and let the rest be a “ filler” like canned vegetables or rice. It will make the meal go farther but should not be the basis for your meals. Secondly you do not require 2000 calories a day. Eat one meal or two small meals to preserve supplies. Buy Meal ready to eat (MRE). You can buy gallons of water or pick up a Berkey water filtration can. 400 gallons can be run through that system.
One could live off pb alone. 🐸❤️ Also iodine tabs for clean water
Came here to say iodine to purify water ☝️😸 Supplements, essential Rx, pet food & pet meds, first aid supplies, solar power HAM radio, extra fuel, gasoline, propane, firewood...
Armor of God. ✝️☦️
Excellent post John 👏
Excellent advice u/2224522
Thank you for sharing.
I completely agree with you that protein and fat is by far the better food and carbs are completely unnecessary.
I was mostly directing this post to people who may only have $100-$200 to prep in which case it's hard to beat rice at $.75 per pound.
Rice and beans keep you from being hungry.
When the SHTF last time, I was buying what what was important. SPAM, SPAM and more SPAM. Vienna sausages, chipped beef, etc. Lovely stuff, it will keep you alive. Cold or hot, cooked or not. If you have connections to the last 2 states you'll get it.
ALSO, everybody should have a P-38 on their keyring. I give them out every Christmas. Nice stocking stuffer.
If the electricity goes out then folks will have to learn to cook and bake over a fire pit. It sucks if you are new to that skill set, so now is the time to put your Eagle Scout cap on and get busy being prepared.
My FIL was 84yo, Eagled at 16, still referred to his scouting handbook to remember how to tie a certain knot.
Cast iron skillet & pot...
And Pasta of all kinds along with KNORR makes 3 types of bouillon seasoning. Beef, Chicken and Tomato. They make large plastic jars of the powdered type. You can use this to season pasta, rice or just about anything.
How is knorr? Is it "omg I cook with that stuff 3 times a day" or is it "it's fine, better then some for the price"
My husband makes himself a cup of either of the broths at night before he goes to bed, but we bought extra for when SHTF and we may need to use some to make, chicken and pasta along with half can of cooked carrots and a can of chicken and a bit of cooked onion. I use the beef bouillon powder when I cook frozen string beans with a little sauteed onion and then a cup of the bouillon for flavor. No need for salt. And if you are running low on tomato sauce, you can make some up for yourself by simply adding more teaspoons of the powder to the desired thickness you wish to make.
At least you have some spices to enjoy if power is out. Emergency food doesn't involve cooking