A Year's Supply on $5 a Week

Have you seen the food storage plan called, “A Year's Supply on $5 a Week"? This program has been circulating for quite a few years and should now be changed to read $10 a week. The premise is that you buy the recommended items each week spending $5-$10 a week and at the end of the year you will have a complete supply of food for 2 people. So, for every 2 people you are storing food for, you add another $5-$10 a week. At the end of the 52 week period this is what you’ll have:

500 pounds of wheat
180 pounds of sugar
40 pounds of powdered milk
12 pounds of salt
10 pounds of honey
5 pounds of peanut butter
45 cans of tomato soup
15 cans of cream of mushroom soup
15 cans of cream of chicken soup
24 cans of tuna
21 boxes of macaroni and cheese
6 pounds of yeast
6 pounds of shortening
12 pounds of macaroni
500 aspirin
1000 multi-vitamins

This should be enough to sustain 2 people for 1 year. For every 2 people in your family, add $5.00 more and double or triple the amount of the item you are buying for that week.

This is an interesting concept. If you are just starting out you may want to try this. If you have some or most of your basics, you could amend this plan to additional food storage items each week. My only problem with this is that you miss out on many important food storage items such as rice, beans, and oil, and have included things that you may not need such as aspirin and boxed macaroni and cheese. There are no canned vegetables or fruit. Notice that this list does not include things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies

However, this just may motivate you to really do something each week and we all know what happens when you really start working on your food storage: you get excited and become committed to getting a really good food storage.I am going to include the basics of this program with a few suggestions of my own.

First: Get an old wallet or zippered make-up bag or coin purse and decide how much you are going to spend each week. If you are storing for 2 and can afford it I would do $10. Add an additional $10 for every 2 members of your family. Put the amount in the purse each week and the change that you get back also. There will be some weeks when you spend more and some when you spend less.

Second: Be diligent. Put the money in every week even if you don’t purchase the specific items that week. Don’t borrow from the cash stash for other things.

Third: Keep a running list of things that you want to purchase that may not be on this list. When you have purchased all the things on your list, you can then work on getting the other things on your list. You may want to include dehydrated foods as well; add them to your list.

Fourth: If possible, speed up your preparations; instead of taking one year to complete, spend $20 per week, and accomplish it in 6 months, or $40 per week, and accomplish it in 3 months.

Fifth: Anytime you use something that you have purchased for you supply, replace it immediately. It is very easy to use it up as you go and not have much more when you finish than you did when you started.

Sixth: Try this! If not as it is written, write your own $5 - $10 a week plan and see what you can get this next year. Maybe you have most of your basic items and want to work on dried or freeze dried foods. Maybe you have lots of canned goods but not many essentials like wheat, beans, rice, pasta etc. Come up with a plan of your own. I'd be interested to hear what kind of a plan or goals you set up for your own situation.

Week #:
1. 6 lbs. salt
2. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
3. 20 lbs. sugar
4. 8 cans tomato soup
5. 50 lbs. wheat
6. 6 lbs. macaroni
7. 20 lbs. sugar
8. 8 cans tuna
9. 6 lbs yeast
10. 50 lbs. wheat
11. 8 cans tomato soup
12. 20 lbs. sugar
13. 10 lbs. powdered milk
14. 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
15. 50 lbs. wheat
16. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
17. 1 bottle 500 multi- vitamins
18. 10 lbs. powdered milk
19. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
20. 50 lbs. wheat
21. 8 cans tomato soup
22. 20 lbs. sugar
23. 8 cans tuna
24. 6 lbs. shortening
25. 50 lbs. wheat
26. 5 lbs. honey
27. 10 lbs. powdered milk
28. 20 lbs. sugar
29. 5 lbs. peanut butter
30. 50 lbs. wheat
31. 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
32. 10 lbs. powdered milk
33. 1 bottle 500 aspirin (if you use these)
34. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
35. 50 lbs. wheat
36. 7 boxes macaroni and cheese
37. 6 lbs. salt
38. 20 lbs. sugar
39. 8 cans tomato soup
40. 50 lbs. wheat
41. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
42. 20 lbs. sugar
43. 1 bottle 500 multi-vitamins
44. 8 cans tuna
45. 50 lbs. wheat
46. 6 lbs. macaroni
47. 20 lbs. sugar
48. 5 cans cream of chicken soup
49. 5 lbs honey
50. 20 lbs sugar
51. 8 cans tomato soup
52. 50 lbs. wheat