"Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea."-- John Gunther
I have always struggled with how to determine how much is enough when it comes to storage foods. Some people use a total weight, others a square footage, and some count calories. To me, counting calories makes the most sense, but it also appears to be the hardest to accurately calculate and the most time-consuming method to manage properly.I keep a detailed inventory of everything in my “long & medium term storage”, but for me, it is difficult to convert the bulk storage quantity of all the different items into a “daily caloric count”. I like JG1’s “2000 calorie a day measurement” as a starting point, but I still worry that I don’t have enough stored. I would welcome more discussion about specific methods people use to determine how they calculate that have enough calories stored. Like others on the forum, I have had difficulty convincing select family members and neighbors/friends that they need to prepare. I don’t push it since I view this as a personal choice, but I also emphasize that everyone is individually responsible for taking care of themselves and their families. I have tried to convince the few people I have had these conversations with to be proactive, but I also told them in no uncertain terms that I will not be able to support them in a crisis. Regardless, I am afraid that some of them, and perhaps others that I don’t expect or prep for, may show up asking for refuge or succor. I have developed a plan to counter that eventuality. Unfortunately, I do not consider my suburban house to be a truly “defensible” structure, but it is where we live, and most of my supplies are kept. Like the man said, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”
Today I just ordered my second pressure canner. I plan to keep one at the Region 2 camp site just in case I need it. PS: A second canner may become a good barter item.