Enter people, days, and calorie target. The calculator turns that into pounds of food and a shelf-life plan so you are not guessing from a #10 can aisle.
Bottom line: calories × people × days. Start at 72 hours, then two weeks, then 30–90 days. Rotate what you actually eat.
Use 2,000 calories per adult per day as a planning floor unless you have a better number. A family of four for 14 days is 112,000 calories — not a single bucket of freeze-dried 'servings.'
It is FEMA's minimum, not a plan. Storm restoration taught me outages run long. Build 72 hours first, then two weeks.
White rice, dry beans, rolled oats, pasta, honey, salt, and properly packed freeze-dried meals. Canned food is fine if you rotate it. Skip mystery buckets you will not eat.
Yes. Count every stomach. Toddlers eat less calories but need familiar food. Pets are not optional in a real outage.