Set aside $10 a week to buy the specific items each week for your long-term food storage. Take an envelope and that becomes your "food kitty". Use a zippered bank bag envelope, that way you don't have to worry about losing the change. Put in the $10 and don't use that money for anything but purchasing your one year supply of food.
One Year Supply of Food
After buying the items for the week from the one year supply of food list, put the remaining change back into the envelope. Because two cans of tuna don't cost $10, there will be change left over. That way when the week where you are to buy 10 pounds of powdered milk arrives, you will have enough in the envelope to make your purchase. Weeks 38 and 44 you will have "off" to replenish the kitty. By the end of the 52 weeks, you should have a one year supply of food, that includes: 700lbs of wheat, 240 lbs sugar, 40 lbs of powdered milk, 13 lbs of salt, 10 lbs of honey, 5 lbs of peanut butter, 45 cans of tomato soup, 30 cans mushroom soup, 15 cans tuna fish, 10 macaroni and cheese dinners, 500 aspirin, and 730 multiple vitamins.
It is suggested that you add 6 lbs of dried yeast and 6 lbs of shortening to your one year supply of food and this should be enough to sustain 2 people for a year.
Only buy food that you will eat. Just because lima beans are on sale, doesn't make them a good buy if you can't stand them!
For every 2 people you have in your family add $10 more and double or triple the amount of whatever you are buying that week. Also it is possible to speed up your preparations. instead of taking one year to complete, spend $20 per week, and accomplish it in 6 months, or $40 per week, and accomplish it in 3 months. With a permanent marker write the date purchased on the can or box. When stacking the items on the shelves, always put the newest items to the back and on the bottom. That way it will be easier to rotate the foods out, in the order they were bought after accumulating them. The first item purchased in your one year supply of food is the first to be used.
- Week 1: 2 cans tuna fish, 2 boxes salt
- Week 2: 5 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese 4 cans tomato soup
- Week 3: 3 cans mushroom soup,1 2.5 lb peanut butter
- Week 4: one bottle 365 count multi-vitamins
- Week 5: 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 6: 1 bottle aspirin (500 tablets)
- Week 7: 1 100 lb container wheat
- Week 8: 1 5 lb powdered milk
- Week 9: 1 5 lb honey
- Week 10: 4 cans tuna, 4 boxes macaroni and cheese
- Week 11: 1 10 lb sugar, 1 box salt
- Week 12: 4 cans mushroom soup
- Week 13: 1 bottle 365 count multi-vitamins
- Week 14: 1 100 lb wheat
- Week 15: 1 box macaroni and cheese
- Week 16: 1 5 lb honey
- Week 17: 2 cans tuna, 4 can tomato soup
- Week 18: 1 10 lbs sugar
- Week 19: 1 100 lbs of wheat
- Week 20: 2 10lbs of sugar
- Week 21: 1 10lb powdered milk
- Week 22: 1 can mushroom soup, 1 10 lb sugar
- Week 23: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lbs sugar
- Week 24: 1 10 lbs sugar
- Week 25: 2 cans tuna, 2 cans mushroom soup
- Week 26: 1 100 lb wheat
- Week 27: 3 10 lbs sugar
- Week 28: 1 10 lb sugar
- Week 29: 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 30: 2 10 lb sugar
- Week 31: 1 can tuna, 3 cans mushroom soup
- Week 32: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup
- Week 33: 1 100 lb wheat
- Week 34: 2 cans tuna, 1 box salt
- Week 35: 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 36: 2 10 lb sugar
- Week 37: 4 cans tomato soup, 2 boxes salt
- Week 38: Stash $10 in the kitty
- Week 39: 1 100 lb wheat
- Week 40: 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 41: 3 10 lb sugar
- Week 42: 2 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb sugar
- Week 43: 2 cans tomato soup, 2 cans mushroom soup
- Week 44: Stash $10 in the kitty
- Week 45: 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 46: 4 cans tomato soup, 4 cans mushroom soup
- Week 47: 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 48: 4 cans mushroom soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk
- Week 49: 7 cans of tomato soup
- Week 50: 7 cans of mushroom soup
- Week 51: 2 10 lbs sugar, 1 box salt
For items like flour, powered milk and other powered items can be stored in large five gallon buckets and sealed using those oxygen-removing packets, to increase the storage time. You may also want to add some dehydrated foods to your one year supply of food. When you have purchased your year’s supply of food, move on to other necessities like soaps, detergents, toilet paper, toothpaste, vitamins, etc. etc. Don’t forget to store some water. 55 gallon drums are relatively inexpensive and will sustain your family for a couple of weeks if needed. Even if all you have room for is a couple 5 gallon jugs, that’s better than nothing and will sustain you for a few day s in a survival situation.
Feel free to spend your $10 weekly allowance any way that you feel is appropriate for your family. Buy foods that you will eat, but always remember the main sustenance items, like wheat, rice, beans, etc. They are cheap and will keep you alive and well nourished for quite a long time. Freely interchange other items as you see fit.
If you don’t think you have enough room, always remember that you can store items in closets, under beds, behind sofas, and other similar areas. If you can’t afford, or have the room for a year’s supply, start with a 3 months supply.
