Food storage calculator: how much to store for 1 to 12 months
Ready.gov's and the Red Cross's kit lists cover several days to two weeks. For a deeper pantry, months or a year, this calculator uses Brigham Young University's longer-term food storage plan, which its food science department says likely provides adequate calories and protein for an adult for a year. Pick your household and timeframe for a shopping list in #10 cans and pounds, with how long each keeps.
Your food storage list
Choose how many adults and how long. The amounts scale BYU's one-year plan for an adult, rounded up.
- Wheat12 #10 cans66 lb · keeps 30+ yr
- White rice6 #10 cans32.5 lb · keeps 30+ yr
- Rolled oats6 #10 cans14.5 lb · keeps 20 yr
- Pasta (macaroni, spaghetti)3 #10 cans10.5 lb · keeps 25 yr
- Legumes (beans, split peas, lentils)6 #10 cans31 lb · keeps 25 yr
- Nonfat dry milk18 pouches30 lb · keeps 15 yr
- Sugar or other sweeteners (honey, molasses, jams, syrups)6 #10 cans35 lb · keeps 30+ yr
- Iodized salt4 lbkeeps 30+ yr
- Baking soda0.5 lbkeeps 30+ yr
- Baking powder2 lbkeeps 30+ yr
- Yeast (in the freezer)2 lbkeeps 10+ yr
- Dried eggs (for baking)1 #10 cankeeps 3+ yr
- Cooking or salad oil (soy, olive)about 2 gallons a year; rotate yearly8.5 lbkeeps 1 yr
- Butter or margarine (in the freezer)3 lbkeeps 1 yr
- Peanut butter or other nut butters3 lbkeeps 1 yr
- Dried apple slices3 #10 cans3 lb · keeps 30 yr
- Freeze-dried strawberry slices (vitamin C)3 #10 cans1.3 lb · keeps 30 yr
- Potato flakes3 #10 cans5.5 lb · keeps 20 yr
- Dried carrots3 #10 cans8 lb · keeps 10 yr
- Dried onions1 #10 can1 lb · keeps 30+ yr
Water: 1 gallon per person per day is 182 gallons for 91 days. For long periods most households store some and plan a way to treat more. Shelf lives (“keeps”) are BYU's estimates for airtight, low-oxygen containers kept cool; a + means likely longer.
Before you buy
- Pounds of grains are interchangeable according to individual needs and preferences (BYU).
- Oils and fats must be stored for essential nutrients but rotated often (BYU).
- Store a source of vitamin C: BYU says less than 10 mg a day can cause scurvy within a few months. Vitamin C tablets store well for years.
- BYU's shelf lives are for airtight, moisture-proof, low-oxygen containers; foods kept hot, in attics or garages, keep much less time.
- BYU also lists can openers, a grain grinder and recipes that use only stored ingredients.
- Store what you eat and eat what you store. BYU suggests cooking one day a week from stored food, which rotates a supply about every 7 years.
How to keep it all fresh: our long-term food storage guide. Containers: mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and buckets. Bulk staples: wheat, rice, beans and dry milk. Grinding wheat: grain mills. For a few days to two weeks instead, use the kit builder.
Questions
How much food should I store for a year?
BYU's food science department gives one plan that likely provides adequate calories and protein for an adult for a year: about 132 lb of wheat, 65 lb of white rice, 29 lb of rolled oats, 21 lb of pasta, 62 lb of beans and other legumes, 60 lb of nonfat dry milk and 70 lb of sugar or other sweeteners, plus salt, oils, dried fruit and vegetables and baking basics. The calculator above scales it for your household and timeframe.
How much food do I need for 3 months?
A quarter of the one-year amounts per adult. A common approach, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' home storage guidance, is a three-month supply of the everyday foods you already eat, rotated as you go, with long-life staples such as wheat, rice and beans as a deeper layer.
Can I swap the grains?
Yes. BYU says pounds of grains are interchangeable according to individual needs and preferences, so you can store more rice and less wheat, for example. Wheat needs a grain grinder, which BYU lists alongside can openers.
How long does long-term food storage last?
BYU's estimates, for airtight, moisture-proof, low-oxygen containers: 30 years or more for wheat, white rice and sugar, 25 for pasta and legumes, 20 for rolled oats, 15 for nonfat dry milk, and about a year for oils. Foods kept in hot places such as attics and garages keep much less time.