From: Survival-Cache
From personal experience I know, when you first get into surviving/prepping the information thrown at you can be overwhelming. The Survival Food Pyramid will get you started stocking food in a logical, simple, and economical way. Everyone who has a basement full of canned goods and a survival garden started somewhere. We will help get you started.
The Concept
The top of the pyramid is for stocking the smallest amount of food for the shortest amount of time. The idea being that someone who is completely new to prepping can start with a cheap and easy goal and build (downward) from there. This pyramid will keep you from spending time and money on preps that, while they may be useful overall, are pointless to you right now. How much of a 50 pound bag of flour or rice will you use in a 3 day long power outage? Prepping in complete, logical steps is the smart way to go.
Immediate
If you are new to prepping, or you are experienced but find your supplies jump all over the map, start by stocking enough food and supplies for a 3 Day Emergency. This can be as simple as a single trip to the grocery store. Buy a 3 day supply of food for you household (be sure to get things with a long shelf life) and place it somewhere other than your pantry. (See our selection of Mainstay Food Bars – they have a 5 year shelf life and come in 1200, 2400, 3600 calorie packages)
If you have a typical local situation, such as a major snow storm or power outage, you won’t be one of the people raiding the grocery store. Be sure to include at least 1 gallon of water per day, per family member, and something to cook on, like a MSR Whisperlite stove, with fuel.
Extended
The extended food preps simply build on the immediate preps. On further trips to the store, add a few food items to your 3 day cache each time and you will soon have enough to survive for several weeks. Perhaps choose a dedicated closet or other area to stock your preps.
Remember that the extended survival food supply is going to need regular cooking supplies to be stocked, such as oil, flour, sugar, spices, etc. You will also need larger water containers to support not only drinking and cooking, but hygiene.
Long Term
Long term food preps mean there has been some type of major disaster and there won’t be any trips to the store for months.. This step moves on from basic stocking, to self sustaining.
You will have to have stocked bulk supplies of staple foods for cooking, like flour, wheat, sugar, and canned goods. A large fuel supply, or alternative cooking method will have to be used, and hunting if it is available. You will also have to have an alternative water source such as water collection, filtration, and recycling.
Perpetual
The perpetual food supply is for total collapse from which there is no coming back or voluntary off grid living indefinitely. You must have a self sustaining food supply, like a garden with heirloom seeds and large hunting area. You must also have a natural water source other than anything you have stocked.
All of the time periods and recommendations in the pyramid are general. There are no specific rules. You immediate preps might last you a week. Your extended preps might run out in a month. It all depends on your situation, and what you have stocked.