A Year’s Supply of Food on a Budget

[Jonas]

I read the article below, today, and figured it was a good starting point for me. I even stole the title!

http://survivalblog.com/a-years-supply-o...et-by-j-h/

But my situation is different (as is everyone else's as well). In my case, I live in a retirement community. I want enough food to be able to hunker down and survive for three to six months, untill I can get out of here and back to Texas. I have a dog who I consider a primary means of protection, and a neighbor from Texas across the hall with whom I will partner for survival. That means that I want three to six months of dry food storage on hand for the two of us, plus enough "leftovers" for the dog.

I do want to even out the cash-flow on this project, so I don't have to purchase it all at once.

I really don't want #10 cans, since it will take the two of us quite some time to finish one once opened. I do want packaging that will keep the food safe from humidity and vermin. Since I've never heard of a mouse or insect that could chew through glass, I decided to pack my stores in 1 quart canning jars. Another advantage of the canning jars is that once emptied, these jars can either be reused or bartered.

I can also buy dried foods at the local discount grocery store, cheaply packed in plastic bags, so I'm not paying twice for fancy "storage" packing.

What are we stocking? Here's the current list:

Packing:
4 cases 1 quart canning jars with lids and rings - 48 jars
1 case 1 pint canning jars with lids and rings - 12 jars
Once these are filled, we'll get more

Food:
2 bags Black Beans - (2# bags) - 1 bag fills 2 quart jars
2 bags Pinto Beans - (2# bags)
2 bags Navy Beans - (2# bags)

1 bag Rice - (10# bags)
1 sack Masa - cornmeal - (2 kg bag)
4 bags Barley - (30 oz bags)
1 box Rolled Oats -oatmeal - (44 oz)

Dried Onions - (1# bag)
Dried Garlic Chips - (1# bag)
Dried Carrot Slices - (1# bag)

Whole Black Peppercorns - (1# bag)
Ground Cayenne Pepper - (1# bag)
Iodized Salt - (1# box)

About 1/2 of the jars are now filled.

Costs:
Jars - $53
Food - $102.00