How long can you survive on the food already in your house?

[YT2095]

just from the house alone the 3 of us could do 6 months easily, if I`m allowed my land (where I grow veg on anyway) then indefinately.

 

[Alix]

I guess that would depend on whether we would be eating just to survive or whether we would be eating as we do every day. If it is a matter of survival, well then a couple of months. If we are to eat as we do every day, well then not long. Weeks perhaps. I have been emptying things out a bit in preparation for our holiday so we have little in the way of fresh things at the moment.

 

[Constance]

Sparrowgrass, are you in the Ozarks? That's beautiful country. We used to camp and canoe a lot on the Current River when we were younger.
I'm not that far away from you, in Franklin County, Illinois.

I guess it's the old Girl Scout in me, but I'm pretty well prepared for the tornadoes and ice storms. We have enough food to last a long time.
At one time I had emergency packs for an earthquake, but those got picked through and disassembled a long time ago. I really need to re-stock them, I suppose. If we have an earthquake, our house will probably end up in the abandoned coal mine underneath us. Nearly everything in this area is undermined.

 

[Sararwelch]

I am in the process of trying to use up everything in the freezer so that I can restock, so right now I'd say 3 weeks. Normally it would be more like 6 weeks to 2 months.

 

[BreezyCooking]

A little bit off-topic, but a former neighbor of ours used to clean out their freezer once a year & cook everything up for their Mastiff dog.

One year they invited us over to enjoy whatever they weren't going to give to the Mastiff. I don't think you'll be surprised to find that not only did we not attend the "freezer cleanout feast", but we rarely have any contact with these folks anymore - LOL!!!!

 

[sparrowgrass]

Constance, I am in Iron County. My folks used to live in Benton, and my brother and wife live just on the edge of town, on Rt. 37 North.

 

[sattie]

4 to 6 months... well stocked freezer and plenty of dried and canned goods. After about the first month or 2, things will start to get pretty redundant.

I did not shop prior to the ice storm that hit Texas, so things like milk and bread are looking pretty skimpy!!!

 

[texasgirl]

Gosh, I feel so inadequate. I only have enough food for about a week. I guess we would be the first to starve.

Hey, we can starve together then

 

[imcory]

I have enough in my freezer and pantry to last for about 4 months but I would have to leave home before then in search of fresh onions for the stir fry. I have found that onions do not freeze well, or maybe I haven't found the right company that does the job well, and therefore, I don't buy them frozen.

Hmmm...is bartering allowed?

 

[skilletlicker]

Imcory, I'm with you. Fresh onions would be the most painful sacrifice.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

A person really needs very little food to live, and your body will slow down to preserve itself in the event of food shortages.

I don't have extra freezers or shelving filled with surplus levels of dry goods, but with the grains I keep on hand I'm guessing that I could live quite a while. Most people can go a lot longer than they think on no food at all (including me).

Now shelter and water are whole other issues...

 

[carolelaine]

6 months or more, I really, really need to be eating out of my freezer and pantry. I was thinking of trying to go without the grocery for a week or two. I would run out of eggs and milk and a few things, but I need to use up some stuff before garden season rolls around.

 

[JohnL]

I could probably go 5 or 6 months, but it sure would be boring after the 1st month

 

[Harborwitch]

If I could get the big freezer, the xtra fridge, and the pantry cupboard stored in the old garage on the boat we'd probably be good for 5 or 6 months. Our next project is to flush out the water tanks on the boat, and get the water pump working. We bought a generator and we're getting ourselves geared so that we could spend a couple weeks out on the hook if we had to.

We're going to have to eat out of the freezers, etc. for a while - we're not going to have an easily accessed place to keep the freezer, etc. any more.

 

[jpmcgrew]

The real question is how much food can you store without fridge or freezer? The Mormons have been telling families to store at least 1 year for as long as I remember.{ Im 49} Here is a site on what they do it involves rotating stock to keep it updated but also to store water.
Food Storage - Make A Plan

 

[luvs]

couple of months, probably. plentiful canned items, pastas, only we often lack beverages 'cause i drink them so often.

 

[bethzaring]

can't even begin to answer this question, but a long time for sure. To begin, we have over 400 pounds of fresh irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and Long Island Cheese squash in the basement, and a 50 acre woodlot if no other source of fuel was available. And 50 acres of trees would be over a 10 lifetime supply of firewood. If freezers were available, then we have a couple hundred pounds of meat plus assorted vegetables, fruits, cheeses, nuts, flour and soups and stocks. In the pantry is over 50 pounds of oats, 81 quarts of potatoes (recently canned them), 100 quarts of tomatoes, green beans, corn and peaches, plus 50 pints of raspberry jam and apple sauce. The first item I would really miss is the whole wheat hard flour, only have 15 pounds on hand. But I think I have 40 pounds of ww soft flour in one freezer, so would have to switch from bread to pancakes and biscuits. In the garden we still have celery (but the cold snap is arriving today so will drag out the bed clothes again) spinach, kale, carrots and lotsa parsley. And the garlic crop is in. Think we would last quite a while.

 

[pdswife]

We might get tired of eating the same things over and over but I bet we could get by for at least a year. No fresh veggies would hurt though....

 

[Claire]

Good grief, Beth, I think I know where to go when armegedon hits.

 

[bethzaring]

Good grief, Beth, I think I know where to go when armegedon hits.

, Come on over! My philosophy has been to always share when you have it, because it is very difficult to share when you do not have any