[dunewalker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', '.')..Cornmeal formed a big part of the diet in the 30's, and cornbread has a lot more food value than store bread, besides being dirt cheap...

[JJ]

if you get the chance buy jasmin rice as it tastes much better (realize that anything will taste good when starving, though)
also vitamins
and coconut oil (stores forever)
and spam (if you can stand it)
a fifty pound sack of pinto beans is 20 dollars (here)
25 pound sack jasmin rice 18 dollars (here)
all kinds of canned stuff
spices
grits
oatmeal
ramen
baking powder
baking soda
calcium hypochloride to sterilize water (bleach goes bad in six months)
flour sugar honey

just keep adding whenever you can...

[seahorse]

Based on the naysayes who add nothing but can't be done, I've modified the original post for people to come up with plan to design a year supply of food on a $500 budget. Again, the plan has to say what to buy, in what quantities, and give storage life. Further, the plan is limited to items that can be bought in any store, and items that do not require anything to store them but putting them on a shelf somewhere in store bought condition, meaning, no canning. Further, this has to be a plan that any urbanite can use, meaning, no gardening, no animals. This is a $500 store bought plan.

When you DETAIL your plan, make sure you think out the calories and servings per day. Don't just say this and that. A person should be able to print your list and use it like a grocery list.

[pedalling_faster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', '7')68 calories a day? That's starvation.

Double all of your figures in order to get something survivable.

[seahorse]

You guys may not like my plan, but your plans have zero calories, because you offer the people nothing. If people follow my advice, they have 800 calories for $220, and with the remaining $180, they can buy at least 100 lbs of rice, 100lbs of beans, and a few extras.

Further, they will have something to barter, if necessary.

For those of you who are concerned and want to do something, follow my plan. You will not go wrong.

[seahorse]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', '7')68 calories a day? That's starvation.

Double all of your figures in order to get something survivable.

[Laurasia]

I like your plan (love Ramen noodles!). With some of that leftover money, I would buy raisins, and other dried fruits, which do not take up as much room as their "moist" counterparts. These are already in boxes or packages, and can be obtained at regular grocery stores. Also packages of dried milk, if no one else has mentioned it. But that is getting expensive and would be reserved as a special treat.

Regards,

L.

[seahorse]

Tyler, Pedalling Faster, where are your $500 food plans? I want to see you produce a grocery list.

[Dawn]

seahorse, I'll give it a try, but I'll have to and look at the calories of everything we have. Too bad we can't include online products... for one person a #10 can of powdered eggs would go a long way. Plus, you can buy fortified powdered milk.

I buy large quantities at Costco, Gordon Food Service, Aldi, Phoenix Earth Food Co-Op and many more... I think my list would be close to what JJ posted, but I like basmati rice (jasmine is good too).

[patience]

seahorse,

Good thread. I don't have it together yet, but will try to get there soon. Some starter ideas for them to get going:

Victorio Grain mill
That's about $80 delivered. You'll make it back on the grain vs flour/meal cost, and grains store longer.
Next, find a farm feed store, and buy:

100 lbs of wheat, about $12 to $15.
100 lbs. of yellow corn, about $$10 to $12.
50 lbs. of rolled oats (sold for horse feed), about $15.

Put the above, sold in bags, into doubled heavy trash bags, and tie shut with minimal air inside. Leave these bags in an unheated area when the temp is below freezing for a month or more, to get cold through and kill any bugs. Then, stuff 'em under the bed. Scrounged drywall mud buckets, from construction sites, are free. Just ask. They are better than trash bags at keeping out mice, but you'll spend a wet day soaking them and scrubbing clean. Using buckets, this will store for a year, easily. You have spent about $120 to $130, and have enough grain to feed a working person for a year, and then some.

Now go to WalMart, Costco, or Sam's Club and get:

5 lbs. of iodized salt, ($2) and 5 gallons of the cheapest vegetable oil, sold in a bucket. ($28)

Put 20 lbs. each of dry pinto beans and 20 lbs. of white dry beans in the cart. ($18) (Store the salt in a dry place, and put the dry beans in the freezer for at least a week, then take out and let them naturally come to room temperature. This kills weevils and other bugs which will make these store for a year or more.) Our total is up to $178.

Also at Sam's/Costco, get a couple cans of baking powder, ($1) a pound of black pepper, ($6)and shop for powdered milk by price, later checking Kroger, etc,, for the best deal by weight. Get enough to make 32 gallons, reconstituted. It costs about $2/gallon here, which brings our total to $249.

I don't begin to think that this constitutes a complete diet, but I believe that these are the FIRST basic essentials to store, and is the most bang for the bucks. From here, add whatever you can afford, but start with these. Greens and vegetables may be scrounged or raised, and are necessary for health. Meat and other protein sources need to be found. With a dietician's advice, some scrounging, and another $100, this could be fleshed out to something like a complete diet I think.

edit: My numeral eight comes out as a smiley for some reason. No smiley intended.

[uncarve_db_lock]

potatoes, milk, and oats


Irish Style

[kpeavey]

I'll go with the Wal-Mart base:
-they are everywhere
-the stores are in a close range of price
-while some regional variations exists the product selection is mostly consistent.

Ramen noodles, store brand. Beef is running something like 16 cents/package, chicken 14 cents. You can pick up a case of 24 for less than 4 bucks. Bring the things to a boil, stuff your face. Comes with a small packet of powder bullion. Use half of the bullion, reserve the rest to add to another dish, perhaps rice. Helps keep appetite fatigue at bay. Looking at my shelves, I've got 3 and a half cases. I wail on a package once a week either as a lunch or a side dish. I've used it for spaghetti and meat sauce. I would urge picking up a few cases. You never know if or when someone will land on your doorstep hoping to be taken in. You can always drop them off at a soup kitchen if civilization holds on. If it does not, and you get sick of the things, they would surely be handy for barter.

Corn meal is one of the cheapest foods on the market. Compare price per pound, price per calorie, price per serving, its so cheap they are practically giving it away. Here's how to make corn mush.
3/4 cup of water on the stove
1/4 cup of water in a cup or bowl
1/4 cup of corn meal, add to the water in the bowl, stir
when the water on the stove comes to a boil, stir in the mix
let it boil for a couple of minutes, then turn it down to simmer for a couple of minutes.
Eat it. It will put something in your stomach.
Butter sure does help, as do salt and pepper. This recipe is about 100 calories. 5 pounds will last you a while, run you a couple of bucks. Add milk and a sprinkle of sugar, you have a hot breakfast porridge. Not too far from grits or cream of wheat, which are also cheap and prepared in much the same way. The package probably has a recipe for cornbread.

Split peas running I think 79 cents/pound. Put a pound in a slow cooker with 3 pints of water, simmer it until the peas turn to mush. Stir it now and then. You'll get nearly 2 quarts of pea soup. It will also put something in your gut. I think the flavor is excellent, being a pea eating fool. Just about anything can be added to give it more character. Onion, shredded carrot, bread crumbs, crackers, butter, fatty meat, herbs and spices, salt and pepper.

Dry beans are available in wide variety and will range from 79 cents/pound to $1.50. 1 pound of dry beans will grow to 3 pounds of cooked beans. Cook some today. Cook them once a month, decide what you like in the pot with them. Dry beans have the advantage that you can plant them, they will grow. I've done it. You get green beans, then dry beans if you let them run their course. Get hungry enough, you'll eat the plasti bag they came in.

Potted meat, vienna sausage, spam, sardines, tuna. Cheap meat is available. Pick some up, find out what you like and dont like. Want more diversity in meat? Try the canned chili (barfbarf), roast beef, ham, chicken breast, salmon, Chef Boy R Dee, soups and stews. Hormel has some ready to eat meals, some are palatable, but the price is a couple bucks. I read an article today about hogs in the Philipines. The people eat a daily average of 61 grams/day of meat per person, with pork making up half of that amount. 61 grams/day works out to a pound of meat in the course of a week. There are people on here that had that much last night . The article mentioned a plan to EXPORT pork to the US. Like we need it and they don't.

Canned vegetables. you are looking at 50 cents for a can. not a whole lot of calories and you get better nutrition from fresh. Still, the cans will hold up and offer diversity to your menu. Walmart must have 2 dozen different kinds of canned vegetables.

Flour is such a simple thing, yet there is so much you can do with it. Breads, rolls, dough, perogi, dumplings, biscuits...the list goes on and on. Learn to use it, and be sure to have coingredients available such as baking powder and yeast.

Here is how to make hard tack:
put some flour in a mixing bowl
mix in just enough water to make a good stiff dough
roll or squash it flat, cut it into squares
bake at 250 until the sun goes down or you get up in the morning
take it out, let it cool, then bake it again the next day. The stuff is pretty hard, but its a whole lot harder when there aint none of it. This is what fed troops on both sides in the Civil War. No wonder they boiled their shoes!

Rice is nice. If you don't know how to cook it, now is a good time to figure it out. 1 unit of rice, 3 units of water, boil. stir it now and then.

Staples!

Don't forget salt-very important. At 30 cents a pound, you can afford to have a few pounds on hand. Figure on a half pound per person per year. If you don't get your salt, you will be in trouble.

Oil. without it all your food must be boiled. You'll need more energy/fuel to cook dinner as well as potable water. Look at price per calorie, oil is cheap. A little bit goes a long way.

Spices. Some are fairly cheap, some not so cheap. Just a dash of the right spice can bring new life to your meal.

Sugar will last forever and I think is the single cheapest calorie money can buy.

Hard candy. Even if its just one piece of cinnamon candy now and then, it can add great comfort to you when facing hardship.

Seed-look in the yard and garden section. Buy some seeds, plant them, see what happens, try eating what grows.

If finding the money to buy all this stuff is a hardship, take action:
-Go hunt for another job, and fast.
-on your next grocery trip, buy some of these items instead of the things your normally buy, you will probably save money
-go through the couch cushions, look under the seat of your car, take back some bottles and cans
-ask around to see if there is a soup kitchen in your area, eat there instead of at home
-go to your brothers house at dinner time at least once a week
-move in with your brother
-remove all but 1 light bulb in the entire house
-sell your computer, use the one at the public library, cancel your phone and internet service

We are facing a future which will demand sacrifice and deprivation for nearly everyone on the planet. To continue to maintain the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed invites hardship upon yourself. Changing your ways now, in a controlled manner, will soften the blow versus having change forced upon you when you are unprepared for it.

[HeckuvaJob]

Wow. No good deed goes unpunished.

Seahorse - you must have read my post where I state how intimidating it is to even get started. I was looking for some guidelines to help me start my food stash. I needed a rough draft shopping list that I could fine-tune for my own needs. I finally found what I was looking for in "When Technology Fails". I was that frog!

It's a lot easier to edit someone else's novel than to write your own.

[seahorse]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'd')o have a suggestion, though. Someone mentioned vitamins. It's true you can get vitamins/minerals by foraging and from a garden. However I think spending $15 on a bottle of 300 high potency multi-vitamin/mineral supplements at a chain store is a worthwhile investment as part of a food storage plan. Especially one that's on a low budget so might be lacking in variety and nutrition. It's just cheap insurance.

[seahorse]

Everyone here, the regular posters, have thought about these issues for a long time. So, I do appreciate everyone that will try and come up with a $500 grocery list of store bought items that anyone, virtually anywhere in the western world, at least, has access to.

[seahorse]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HeckuvaJob', 'W')ow. No good deed goes unpunished.

Seahorse - you must have read my post where I state how intimidating it is to even get started. I was looking for some guidelines to help me start my food stash. I needed a rough draft shopping list that I could fine-tune for my own needs. I finally found what I was looking for in "When Technology Fails". I was that frog!

It's a lot easier to edit someone else's novel than to write your own.

[emeraldg40]

Great post and thanks. Ive been getting most of these things in smaller quantities, I go to the Dollar Store every Friday and buy rice beans etc. Have been stocking up on soaps as well. How soon do you see it, tshtf? Ive been doing this every Friday thing for a few monthes now.

[seahorse]

TSHTF today for 150 factory workers that just got laid off here locally. I say that to point out that when you lose your job, it sends you scrambling. Even if you draw unemployment, the benefits and the time they are paid are limited. Food shelters are running low for this very reason. Go watch the movie Cinderella Man, pay attention to the scenes where they simply don't have enough food. My grandma, still alive at 90, said during the Great Depression that even though her dad was one of the lucky few with a job at the railroad, they were always hungry and would have starved without a garden. Food is a consideration in a depression.

[Blacksmith]

A really good post, excellent starting point.

If I might suggest adding couscous, and bulgar which require little cooking and whole peas rather that split.

I have made Civil War naval hardtack and stored it for some considerable time, has more oil in it than regular hardtack and is much better tasting.

[Lumpy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse', 'B')ut, I'm not writing this thread for the people posting here who like potato chips. I'm writing it for the benefit of all those who are concerned and "visit" this site, but may never post.  I hope that you all will follow this plan, modify it if you must, but take action.