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Traditional Food Storage 101 Part 3

 

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Discussion thread on this article at the CTF Forum

 

How much to store


Here is a listing of what would typically be consumed on traditional foods diet in a month for one adult male:

· grains- 30-35 pounds

· beans- 5 pounds

· fat-1 quart or more

· salt- 10 or more ounces

· meat- 17 pounds

· dairy- 3-4 servings per day
 

How much do people eat?
 

Based on the stocking amounts listed above prepare for
 

· an adult male to eat the listed amount

· a female adult to eat .8 times as much

· a male teenager to eat 1.4 times as much

· a female teenager to eat .95 times as much

· a male child to eat .95 times as much

· a female child to eat .75 times as much

· a 1-3 year old to eat .50 times as much

 

The spreadsheet above automatically calculates all of this and puts it into an ‘at-a-glance’ format for 1, 3, 6 and 12 months to help with easier planning.

 

What else to consider
 

Don’t forget to take into account other household needs, such as a way to grind the grain or cook if the power is out.  Having several days worth already prepared foods or heat and eat meals on hand is a smart idea if your area is prone to power outages from hurricanes or ice storms.  Consider having a variety of manual hand tools available, such as a mandolin for slicing in lieu of a food processor, a rotary egg beater and whisks, and a mini hand chopper and/or mixer such as a salsa maker instead of a food processor.  

 

A water filter is a very wise investment if you have the possibility of needing to filter water from a local lake or stream in the event of a power outage or other disaster.  We use a Berkey to filter the cooking and drinking water.  The filter cartridges last for approximately a year and are an excellent value compared to other comparable water filtration systems.  A fluoride and arsenic filter is available if you are on city water.

 

Consider your personal care and cleaning needs, such as laundry, feminine hygiene, shampoo, soap and the like.  We keep Charlie’s Soap, baking soda, washing soda, borax, vinegar and essential oils on hand for laundry and cleaning.  If you order some Charlie’s Soap, please tell them that KerryAnn Foster sent you.  Out of all of the pre-made laundry detergents I have tried, Charlie’s has been the best at cleaning clothing without leaving a build-up or residue and it works incredibly well in my front-loading washing machine.  I have used Charlie’s to get crud out of clothing that no other detergent could get out, and it often works in just one wash instead of having to do multiple washes with other detergents.  Charlie’s is great with cloth diapers, too.  For personal care, we keep Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, natural bar soaps and baking soda on hand, as well as lotion from Tropical Traditions.

 

I hope this article has given you some direction and organization to your food storage planning.  If you would like to discuss this article with others, please join our discussion thread on this article at the CTF Forum.

 

 

Page 1  Page 2

Discussion thread on this article at the CTF Forum

 

Coming articles:  Storage and Rotation

Strategies for storing perishable items

Adjusting to a rotational diet in season

Fine-tuning amounts of storage

True food security- gardening and building community

What food storage can’t do

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