The 2014 Plan: A year (or two) of survival food

My goal for 2014 is to live on $5/day per person.
This is the equivalent of the food expenditures on minimum wage.  However, I want this amount to not sacrifice nutrition.  It should be super healthy due to making everything from scratch!  We have spent the past year getting used to cutting out processed foods, so the transition should not be too painful, considering that I will have a lot more time on my hands to cook more creative meals.

I changed plans a bit after more research.  Long term storage for the win!

1. I added in sugar and organic oils since the last post, for cooking and baking.
2. Switched from steel-cut oats to oat groats for the price and sproutability.  Not too much of a change in texture, and frankly, I love the extra chewiness.
3. We are now going with Rainy Day Foods for most items.  HOWEVER, we will probably be buying 2 years' worth at once to get cheaper freight shipping (otherwise Honeyville is a better deal).  One year's worth will just be in bulk, and the other will be in 6-gallon "super pails" that keep fresh for about 25 years since it comes sealed in mylar bags and airtight buckets.  The super pails will be our long-term emergency storage.  If freight shipping somehow ends up costing over $120, we'll head back to Honeyville, and look into making our own super pails.*
4. Rainy Day Foods saves us $77.5 over Honeyville Grain.  I mostly negated that cost savings by adding in 25lb of red beans, 25lb of green split peas, and 50lb of popcorn (which will keep 5+ years without special oxygen-free storage).  Popcorn!  I'm fully expecting us to not go through this food in 1 year now, unless we throw lots of "bulk food" parties.
5. We will eat some of the legumes and oats in the form of sprouts (which we love to do, but I just haven't been taking the time for it).  This greatly increases the amount of protein, vitamin C, potassium, and other vitamins... and also greatly reduces the fat, sodium, soluble fiber, and vitamin E.  We're not counting it as a vegetable, but I am used to eating lots of living foods and it'll improve the nutrition of the diet enough for me to be totally on-board for the plan.  Lentil sprouts are so freaking delicious!

How much dried/preserved food?
Here's the rundown of the dried food I'm planning on getting, for a year's supply for 2 people (not counting the extra year's worth in super pail form). 

               Food                                          Calories             Cost       

• Oat groats 50lb                               86,400                 $37.5
•  Flour 80lb                                      130,960              $35                 
•  Basmati white rice 60lb                   90,000               $51                         
•  Black beans 50lb                            77,064               $54
•  Small red beans 25lb                                39,550                  $25
•  Garbanzo beans 25lb                       40,768              $29.5
  
•  Lentils 50lb                                      80,004              $39
  
•  Cornmeal 50lb                                 81,648              $20
•  Popcorn 50lb                                              80,000                 $34.5
•  Split green peas 25lb                                  42,210                 $19
•  Quinoa 12lb                                     20,352              $30
  
•  Pasta 13lb                                       21,879              $13
• Coconut oil 2 gallons (1.4T/day)        60,128               $120
• Olive oil 2 gallons (1.4T/day)             61,056               $60
• Sugar 15lb (2tsp/day)                       26,325               $10  
• TOTALS                                          938,344             $577.5
• Totals per person per day                  1,285               $0.79

Whoa, I think that nearly counts as a year's worth of vegetarian survival food!
... Well, maybe just for some really inactive vegans on a diet, but still.

These things will keep for at least a year without losing flavor/nutrition, especially if I store the flour, oats, and cornmeal away from oxygen.  I'm planning on portioning them out into airtight containers, adding a few ounces of dry ice until the oxygen is flushed out, and then sealing them. 

Now we need 560 grams of fruits and veggies per day per person, or 912 pounds per year total.  I tend to buy these items at an average of $1/pound (carrots are super cheap, bok choy not so much).

I am sure the garden will help with a few pounds of veggies though!

I am estimating that the daily budget per person will look something like this:

                Food Category                                                       Cost                  

• Fruit and veggies:                                                       $1.25
• Meat, organic (mostly whole chickens):                        $1.00
• Egg, organic (2):                                                         $0.60
• Yogurt, homemade, full-fat, organic (1C):                      $0.30
• Rice milk, organic (1C):                                              $0.29
• Bulk-purchased sprouts, carbohydrates, oils, sugar:      $0.79
• Other (tea, alcohol, coffee, ingredients, etc.):                $0.77
• TOTAL                                                                       $5.00

Stuff that will not count toward the year's food expenses:

• Already stockpiled
• Salts.
• Dried herbs and spices... this will have to be another post!  My herb storage in quart mason jars is ridiculous.
• Garden supplies.  May need a little new seed though?
• Canning supplies.  Thanks for the new lids Grandma!
• Ziploc bags, plastic wrap, foil, containers.
• 5-gallon buckets and gamma lids for airtight dry food storage.
• Husband's free meals at work:  My food budget estimate is at least 15% too high, considering the time he'll be away. 
• Prescribed vitamins:  prenatal multivitamin, vitamin D, omega-3s, calcium, magnesium.  My medication causes vitamin deficiencies, and we're trying to start a family, so these are going in the medical expenses category.

*I have emailed Honeyville Grain to ask if their legumes can be sprouted, and whether they plan on getting bulk popcorn back in stock this year.  I've also contacted Rainy Day Foods to see what the freight shipping cost may be.  Haven't heard from either company in 2 weeks, so it may be time to call them.

Whew!  So what do you think of this plan?  Did I leave out anything vital?