Yes barter items are always desirable. Guns and quality tools are good hi end compact items, but if you are like me you can't afford to store many of the hi end items. So food and fuel could be used for barter. When storing basic food I like to store a complete protein like Rice and beans together. Or beans and cornmeal etc. Of course good food is desirable too, and better food (something good to go with the beans and rice) has a dual benefit of having a highly positive psychological impact to go with filling your stomach. I go by the recipe on say a bag of flour to calculate amounts needed, and then use one of the formulas above t o know how much I would need for a period of time. For other menus just pay attention to what you use in a meal then its easy to calculate what you will need on a per year basis by can or weighted measure. My goal is to have enough meals for myself and mine for one year min. If and when that is accomplished three years is ideal. My problem would be rotating the food, however I own and operate a (modest) humanitarian mission, so the grub will find good use somewhere, I am sure! : }>
Another thing to keep in mind when calculateing the amounts you will need for a given time is your habits. If you have a fairly sedimentary job then if SHTF (such that its hunker down and do for self at home) then the amount you eat/appitite will very likely go up as you start haveing to go out and chop wood, turn soil for a garden (by hand unless you have a tiller and fuel), do a lot more walkig places and general manual labor. Add to that increase that if you have a spouce and 2 kids for instance and the kids eat lunch at school 5 days a week, mom and dad eat out for lunch then the whole family grabbs pizza or burgers or whatever while on the go 2-4 times a week. Now SHTF and everyone is doing all the eating at home all the time so that will add around 30 meals being eaten each week. So if 1 loaf of bread lasted a wek before you may well need 3 loaves a week in that situation. On the supplies untill the next harvest, keep in mind also that virgine soil (not previously used for a garden) generaly wont produce as well for a few years AND its real easy to have bugs, bad weather, critters and so on ruin a harvest, ESPECIALY if you havent been gardening before to learn first hand what works best to deal with the problems as well as what grows best in YOUR soil. I know there are various plants that grow well for FalconDance for instance that dont grow worth a squat in our garden and she is only about 5 miles from us. So dont count on any bumper crops for 3-5 years if you havent already been gardening the area.
MM I have said this same basic thing over and over. Some people think just because they have their stored stored seeds that they will just add water and be instant homesteaders. You don't know what will work in your soil untill you have grown it. The seed catologes say wounderful things about all the seeds they sell but they may or may not work in your soil/area. OGM
Yup, I know we had to go through a learning curve especialy for the first 2-3 years and I had even grown up with a garden. Then theres the fact that soil takes a few years to become good for a garden after breaking sod (tilling it for the first time). Then theres the deal Like I mentioned that surprised me a bit when we started that even in the same area the same plants dont always grow the same. We have even noticed that in the same 50'x50' plot and all in full sun some plants wont do well in some areas of it but do great in others. We still dont grow enouph to take care of all our needs but it at least suplements for now and makes sure we are ahead of the learning curve if/when we have to crank it up and fully provide for our selves. I figure thats the biggest thing could say for anyone on WHAT to get to prep would be experience. I recognize that liveing in the city or burbs and trying to do enouph to make much difference on produceing your own currently isnt practical and for a lot of folks even liveing ore rural but even if you have a couple bunnies and breed them for sale or an occasional meal and a 10'x10' or so garden plot where you grow a few tomato plants, a few gren beans and so on it will give you a bit of a feel for it and let you learn hands on lessons that you cant get any other way and that experience will be a HUGE benifit if you ever have to rely on it. No different than in buying guns, you may have read and studied them a LOT and 'know' all there is to know about them and how to use them but if you have never fired them and used them (no experience with them) and wind up haveing to count on them in a gun fight or to hunt your food then your chances are going to be VERY slim compared to a person who has the experience at useing them.
