Target
2,200+ kcal/adult/day. Build to: 2 weeks → 3 months → 1 year. Strategy = deep pantry of cheap staples + rotation of normal food + production + preservation.
Stage 1 — the £150-250 "calorie backbone" (feeds 1 adult ~3 months)
Per adult, from any supermarket/bulk store:
| Item | Qty | ~Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| White rice | 25 kg | £30-45 | ~90k kcal; stores 25–30 yrs sealed (brown rice goes rancid in 6 mo) |
| Dried beans/lentils | 15 kg | £30-45 | protein partner to rice = complete amino acids |
| Rolled oats | 10 kg | £15-25 | 25+ yr sealed |
| White flour/pasta | 10 kg | £10-20 | 5–8 yrs sealed |
| Sugar & honey | 5 kg | £10-15 | honey never expires |
| Salt | 5 kg | £5 | preservation + electrolytes; effectively infinite shelf life; top barter item |
| Cooking oil/lard | 4 L | £10-15 | densest calories (9 kcal/g); shortest life (1–2 yr) — rotate |
| Peanut butter | 3 kg | £10-15 | calorie-dense morale food |
| Canned meat/fish/veg | 40+ cans | £50-80 | eat-from-can if fuel is scarce; 2–5+ yrs past date if undented |
| Multivitamins | 1 yr | £10-15 | scurvy is a real Phase-2 risk |
| Spices, bouillon, coffee/tea | — | £20 | appetite fatigue is real; flavour is function |
Long-term packaging (~£40 does your whole pantry)
Stage 2 — production
- Sprouting (£10: jar + mesh lid + seed): dried lentils/mung beans → fresh vitamin-C greens in 3–5 days, indoors, zero soil or sun. The single cheapest fresh-food insurance there is.
- Garden (seeds now, ~£20-40 for a heirloom/open-pollinated pack — you can SAVE seed from these, unlike hybrids): calories-per-m² winners: potatoes (grow in stacked tyres/sacks), squash, beans, kale/collards (cut-and-come-again, frost-hardy), Jerusalem artichokes (plant once, near-indestructible). Start compost today — soil takes a year to build.
- Chickens (if space): ~£50-150 coop DIY + £5-10/bird; 3–4 hens = 2–3 eggs/day, eat scraps, make compost. Rabbits: fastest legal meat, silent, feed on greens/hay. Fishing kit (£30-50): rod, hooks, line — plus (where legal, survival context) trot lines and gill nets catch passively while you do other work.
Stage 3 — preservation (loop-closers)
- Water-bath canning (£30-60: pot + jars): high-acid only — fruit, pickles, tomatoes+lemon juice, jam.
- Dehydrating: £40-100 machine now; sun/rack or car-dashboard drying later. Jerky, fruit leather, dried veg for soups.
- Fermenting (near-free): salt + cabbage + jar = sauerkraut/kimchi — preserves AND makes vitamins. 2–3% salt by weight, keep submerged.
- Salt-curing & smoking: salt box for fish/pork; cold smoke over hardwood. This is why your salt stockpile is huge.
- Root cellaring: any consistently cool (4–10 °C) dark space — buried barrel/dustbin, crawlspace — keeps potatoes, carrots (in damp sand), apples, squash for months.