How long can you sustain your family on your stored food? And tips how to rotate

[grenfell]

To be honest I'm not really sure how long we could last on what we have stored. Possibly three or four months but if we were looking at that sort of period I would think something has gone radically wrong. So that probably means loss of electric so the freezer gets emptied first. If we are in the middle of a heatwave I'd expect some of that to spoil. Then if I take into account that everyone including nearby relatives are in the same boat but with precious little stored then the point of running out could come much quicker . It would be a very hard hearted person who would deny close relatives a meal I think and doing so could easily cause animosity and grievance and all that stored food just ends up as a target. If the brown smelly stuff has seriously hit the big whirry thing it's likely that all services are affected , water and sewage could become a bigger problem than whether there's enough tins of beans. A years supply sounds nice but if that ever comes into play the world will have gone to hell by then and I doubt you'd ever get the chance to eat through it..
Edit
Again thinking about it a little more I think the question is perhaps slightly wrong in that it assumes food suddenly disappearing from the shelves. That's not a scenerio I feel will ever happen . Sure we might find certain lines don't appear again and choice becomes more limited but not everything will suddenly disappear. I tend to believe the crash is already happening and it's a long slow one so rather than suddenly having to rely on preps I think it'll be more a case of using preps in a sort of dribble to augment what is availble in the shops...

[Medusa]

I think that I have about 3 months worth of food in the store room in addition to the cupboards and freezers but we might have to get a bit creative further down the line with meal ideas. I had a big sort out about a month ago and did throw about 8 tins away, a couple looked to have failed and the others because I really didn't fancy them out of date. I also found a few packet things which had fallen down the back of the shelves and were quite out of date. Everything is labelled with permanent marker on the top and on the front. I am quite proud that we rarely run out of anything at this house and if I do find something I am getting low on it is added to the shopping list immediately.

[Frnc]

I tend to believe the crash is already happening and it's a long slow one so rather than suddenly having to rely on preps I think it'll be more a case of using preps in a sort of dribble to augment what is availble in the shops...

It's certainly already happening for some people. I was just reading about baby banks (I didn't even know they existed) having to ration formula milk, and people such as midwives and social workers having to use them. And I remember a thread not long ago about how little savings a lot of people have. I checked online just now, 34% of adults have < 1K, and 65% don't think they could last 3 months. Personally I hit collapse when I was unable to work, but was refused ESA. Meanwhile the public think benefits fraud is 34 times more than it is.

[Frnc]

I do find something I am getting low on it is added to the shopping list immediately.

I get stuff when it's on offer. If it's a good price, I get as much as I can. If it's not, I probably won't buy it. Eg I only buy frozen salmon or tins of tuna if it's £1 off. Obviously I have to buy milk and bread regardless. But the bread I buy is pretty cheap. Not the very cheapest, as that seems to have shorter best before dates.

[Forager]

Depends on the circumstances faced for us, full on Mad Max, about 6 months. Plus whatever I can grow in the time in my garden. If it's just us in a mess, I could add some time to that by hunting, fishing, and foraging. If everyone else is trying to do the same, then that's going to be difficult.
If I was driven out of the house, and was forced into bugging out, about a month on what I have cached. That is one of my nightmares though. I also have a guerilla garden which could add some time at the right time of year.

[Frnc]

If I was driven out of the house, and was forced into bugging out, about a month on what I have cached. That is one of my nightmares though. I also have a guerilla garden which could add some time at the right time of year.

That's loads. I have 3,700 calories in my EGB, enough for 3 days. You can live several weeks without food, if you're lucky, but you need water and salt. If I thought I was evacuating for more than 3 days I would try to gather some extra food from my supplies, stuff that doesn't weigh much, not too bulky, has plenty of calories, and needs minimal cooking. Pasta only needs hot water, it does not need to be cooked as such. I normally use a flask, but a pot will work, with a bit of insulation. Tuna Fridge Pots in plastic resealable tubs, minimal water in them, oil is better actually. Cheese powder. Nido. I intend to get some egg powder. You can buy peanut butter powder, but I try to avoid high oxalates.
Anyway, I'd try to forage some wild plants, and if possible, catch some fish.
Depending on the circumstances, I might be able to beg for some food or trade for it. There might be something in farmers fields. Or maybe in an abandoned house. Or maybe I could even buy some somewhere. You could be forced to evacuate a certain distance, but life is pretty normal in the next town.
For cooking I have enough gas for my three or four freeze dried meals and a bit of pasta. Half my food is ration bars. When my gas runs out I have a hanging chain for my pot over an open fire. If I took my "longer than three day" bag of extra stuff, it has a folding twig stove. I might also grab an extra, larger gas cannister or two.

[Stonecarver]

I despise that phrase 'you can live weeks without food'. It is normally called dying of starvation. One of the worst ways to die. Slow and agonising. Our normal stocks last min 6 months. Stored much more.You just have to look at what your £s bought only recently and what you get now. Not too far fetched to think of worse ahead

[Frnc]

I despise that phrase 'you can live weeks without food'. It is normally called dying of starvation. One of the worst ways to die. Slow and agonising. Our normal stocks last min 6 months. Stored much more.You just have to look at what your £s bought only recently and what you get now. Not too far fetched to think of worse ahead

I did say if you're lucky. It's not guaranteed. Plus, you would be unwell. But if you are ever in a situation where you have little or no food, it might be good to know that you might survive, if you get adequate food eventually. Partly it depends how much body fat you have. However, if you are in recovery, too much food can cause refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal. Lean people can usually survive with a loss of up to 18% of their body mass. Obese people can tolerate more, possibly over 20%. Females survive longer than males.

[GillyBee]

Some religious groups will fast for up to 40 days on just water while carrying out daily activities.
Far from easy and the risk as time increases is loss of heart muscle which can kill.
Partial fasting is lower risk. Look at all the people doing 5:2 to lose weight. And I am certain some are also doing that now because of lack of funds.
I did hear that one African greeting is "What's your number?" This is politely asking whether you have eaten today or not.
Three meals a day is not a given. We can survive on much less but may not be very happy doing so.

[Frnc]

Some religious groups will fast for up to 40 days on just water while carrying out daily activities.
Far from easy and the risk as time increases is loss of heart muscle which can kill.
Partial fasting is lower risk. Look at all the people doing 5:2 to lose weight. And I am certain some are also doing that now because of lack of funds.
I did hear that one African greeting is "What's your number?" This is politely asking whether you have eaten today or not.
Three meals a day is not a given. We can survive on much less but may not be very happy doing so.

Living on 1200 calories a day isn't very difficult. I know, because I spent a year on that (excluding alcohol). I lost three stone. I felt fine, could do cycle rides of over 10 miles and not feel tired. I'm on a bit more now, and only put a couple of pounds on.

I weigh everything I eat. So in a shtf, I would be automatically rationing food from day 1. In an extended evacuation, or even long term bug in, food would be a big issue though. Hence why I try to learn which wild plants are edible, and there are many. They won't keep you alive forever, but they would be better than nothing.