The Emergency Preparedness Calculator
Seriously, who would have thought this type of calculator would be needed? So in keeping with providing all the calculators you never knew you needed, this emergency preparedness calculator will provide suggestions on the quantities of food you might want to purchase prior to an emergency, pandemic, or natural disaster such as a hurricane arriving in your community.
The data to calculate the foods to have on hand is based on the USDA’s food intake dietary surveys, which is grouped by age and gender. The survey includes daily food intake information provided by approximately 8500 respondents. So keep in mind that the average daily intake from these respondents might not necessarily match your family’s daily food consumption for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just adjust accordingly.
To use the Emergency Preparedness Calculator, enter the number of people by age and gender in your household for each category. The results will be broken down into food groups, then further broken down into food items. If there’s a food item your family does not routinely consume, substitute it with something comparable in the same category that your family does consume.
Ready.gov (link) recommends having a two week supply on hand, but you can choose whatever length of time you prefer.
Purchase as many of the items in non-perishable form as possible. For fruits and vegetables, buy dried, canned, or frozen versions. There are even powdered milk and butter products available. For meats, maybe substitute with canned versions.
