FOOD

How This List Works

This list is broken down into four categories: "Must Have," "Highly Recommend," "Recommend," "A Good Idea," and "If You Have the Money."  You should start at the top, work down, and only purchase those things you are able to afford and store. 

These suggestions are for a survival kit, not an evacuation kit.  The supplies listed are clearly too bulky and heavy to easily transport and should therefore be stored wherever you plan on evacuating to.  If you live in a major metropolitan area and plan on hightailing it to a family member's home on the outskirts of town, the supplies should be stored at his or her home.  Your evacuation kit, on the other hand, should contain both 3-14 days worth of food and a means of purifying and storing water, in the most compact, lightweight forms available.  Basically, your evacuation kit should be a compact, lightweight version of the "Must Have" category, minus the big bags of salt, rice, and beans. 

These are the MINIMUM rations of food and water for ONE PERSON.  This list is designed to keep one person relatively comfortable for about two weeks and then keep him or her alive, though considerably less comfortable, for two to four weeks more, while aiding in the transition to living without access to traditional supply lines.  The items in the "A Good Idea" category (extra salt, books, jars, seeds) are designed to help with long-term survival needs. 

Remember, most of the items on this list need to be replaced AT LEAST once every five years.  These items will last longer if they are stored in a cool, dry place.

WATER

15 gallons of ready drinking water (Save some old juice containers--anything with a screw-on lid, NOT milk containers--Wash them, and fill them with HOT water, straight from the tap.  It's estimated that people need about one gallon of water per day, for drinking and washing.  Dehydrated foods, such as ramen noodles, require additional water.)
1 bottle of unscented liquid bleach for water purification (8 drops per gallon of clear water, 16 drops per gallon of murky water)
1 water filter (A camping filter, designed to filter bacteria, is best, but even a Brita style filter will filter fallout).
1 bottle of water purification tablets (preferable to bleach but more quickly depleted)
1 canteen

FOOD

Must Have:

28 packs of ramen noodles (The noodle cups have more calories and protein than the soft packs.)
14 cans of SPAM or tuna fish
7 cans of mixed vegetables
7 cans of fruit cocktail
25 boxes of table salt or a 25 lb. bag of table salt (preferably iodized)
1 large tub of peanut butter
1 box of saltine crackers
1 - 10 lb. bag of rice
1 - 10 lb. bag of pinto beans
1 bottle of multivitamins
1 can opener
1 mess kit (1 pot, 1 pan, 1 plate, 1 cup)
1 set of eating utensils (knife, fork, spoon)
1 laminated printout of the universal edibility test for plants (http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/survival-use-of-plants_s1.htm)

Highly Recommend:

1 large bottle of honey
1 large bag of hard candy
1 box of energy bars (Power Bars, Marathon Bars, etc.)
1 large bag of flower
1 large bag of cornmeal
1 large bag of sugar
1 large bottle of cooking oil
1 box of instant powdered milk
1 box of individual yeast packets
1 box/bag of instant (just add water) pancake mix
1 bottle of pancake syrup
1 large bag/box of granola, trail mix, or dried fruit

Recommend:

1 bottle of food tablets (http://www.campingsurvival.com/surtabnewcon.html)
1 tub of whey protein mix (found on the diet/nutrition aisle at your grocery store)
1 pack of beef jerky (too expensive to be a cost effective survival food but still a good thing to have)
1 large can of instant coffee
1 can of powdered Gatorade or other sport drink
1 box of hot chocolate mix

A Good Idea:

1 additional 25 lb. bag of table salt
Books featuring instructions on hunting and trapping without contemporary weapons
Books listing edible plants in your region, with color photos
Books on survival cooking, canning/preserving, salt curing of meats
Cantaloupe seeds
Turnip seeds
True potato seeds
Tomato seeds
Watermelon seeds
Cucumber seeds
Pea seeds
Corn seeds
Strawberry seeds
Bean seeds
Mustard seeds

If You Have the Money:

Surplus military MREs or freeze dried camping meals (MREs taste better than freeze dried camping meals and don't require water for preparation.  If you're planning on feeding a lot of people, you can buy the MRE tray packs--feed about 9-18 people—more cheaply than the individual MREs.  Gun shows and eBay are probably the cheapest places to find MREs.)

COST

You should be able to purchase the items in the "Must Have" category for about $75.  You can save a little money/storage space on the "Must Have" items by purchasing less salt.  Salt is a vital ingredient for survival, so having a lot of it, for food preparation, food storage, or trading, is a very good idea, but if you can't afford it or can't store it, there's no point in buying it. 

You should be able to purchase the items in the "Highly Recommend" category for about $100.  You can save money/storage space on the "Highly Recommend" items by buying smaller quantities of flower, cornmeal, sugar, and cooking oil.  Those things would be good to have for preparing food, during the first few months following the disruption of supply lines, but if you can't afford them or can't store them, there's no point in buying them.

The items in the "Recommend" category can be purchased for about $75. 

The items in the "A Good Idea" category can be purchased for about $75. 

The MREs mentioned in the "If You Have the Money" category typically cost about $50 (including shipping) on eBay, for a pack of 12 individual MREs.  The tray packs cost about $35 (including shipping) on eBay, for a tray that contains a single meal capable of feeding up to 18 people.

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