# How long could you go without renewing your larder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612 "2017-04-02T21:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/41 "2017-04-03T18:20:08Z")
I buy loads of canned food when it goes on sale. I figure my family of 3 can probably survive on 3 cans a day (two adults and one 3 year old), meaning about 33 days of food on top of the easily 10 days we have in perishable and sort of-perishables. About 43 days until we start looking hungrily at the condiments and trying to figure out a use for the pickled vegetable salad we got for Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/42 "2017-04-03T20:25:22Z")
Now that I am in an apartment with little storage, I would eat well-balanced meals for 10-14 days and eat something for another 2 weeks. When I was in a house and had 2 fridges and a freezer, I could have lasted 3-4 months easily. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/43 "2017-04-03T20:27:29Z")
At least a couple of months, if I know at the outset that it’s a “hold out as long as you can” scenario and ration accordingly. It’s not that I’ve got a lot of food in the house, it’s just that I don’t need much to get by. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/44 "2017-04-03T22:36:47Z")
I’ll call it a month of balanced diet, followed by a month of a starch and protein diet, and a third month of almost all protein. We’ve be suffering from scurvy, but we’d be alive. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/45 "2017-04-03T23:20:49Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > If I carefully ration it? A month, maybe. If I eat just like I normally do under the assumption that the stores well reopen any day now? Two weeks, maybe. this is pretty close to how I would do. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/46 "2017-04-03T23:27:44Z")
Is the mail still being delivered? Because I could kill and eat the mailman and live for another week or so. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/47 "2017-04-04T09:10:48Z")
My fridge is filled with condiments and two bottles of beer. I wouldn’t make it to dinner tonight. In case of emergency, my plan is to get in my car and drive away. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/48 "2017-04-05T19:07:58Z")
Without electricity, not too long With, months…lots of burger. Just had a 1/2 cow slaughtered, freezer has a lot of meat. Would not last too long without electricity unless it was winter time I believe in being prepared for disasters but I think I have more non food crap built up than food with the exception of the cow. I’d go nuts if I ran out of chocolate, lots of deaths begin to happen while I kill one by one each person with chocolate once I run out!! Sugar too! :dubious:;):eek: ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/49 "2017-04-06T15:05:19Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > We could probably go about a week or so before we were eating ketchup-coated Doritos. Possibly another 4-5 days on shit like that. > > I have gone my entire lifetime not ever hearing the word “larder”. Initially, I assumed it was the jar of fat that momma used to keep near the stove. From the context clues within this thread, i realized that I was wrong. 🙂 I’m 56, and although familiar with the word, I’ve always thought of it as what old people say when they mean pantry. (Where old people is defined as my grandparents generation and older.) ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/50 "2017-04-08T08:33:12Z")
I’m a little surprised there are just a few of us represented here. The feller in Texas, and Aspenglow. It’s probably just that I’m surrounded here with serious preppers, along with Mormons that take their teachings seriously and keep a minimum of a years food on hand for each family member. If the world stopped tomorrow, I’d still be going for a decade or more just on the resources on hand. Like Aspenglow, we’d be busy trying to can everything up if the grid power failed, but even then, there’s enough gas and propane to keep us in power for months. I’m done with livestock, except a few chickens for eggs, but fresh meat on the hoof and wing can be had right off the porch. Until a few years ago, I even had water taken care of. I have a well now that depends on electricity, but the whole system is still hooked up to gravity water from the creek. The last few years, the upper creek has been drying up for a month or more in the summer. If any of you zombies survive long enough to get here, we’d be happy to have you over for dinner. We’re prepared! Note to Aspenglow… [http://food.honeyville.com/search?w=whey+milk](http://food.honeyville.com/search?w=whey+milk) You’ll be impressed. Even comes in chocolate and strawberry! minimum 25 year shelf life and you’d be hard pressed to tell it from fresh milk. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/51 "2017-04-08T13:26:35Z")
**bare**!! You are wonderful. 🙂 I will definitely add the Honeyville products to my stash. Thanks for the recommendation! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/52 "2017-04-08T19:58:29Z")
Since living through a time of extreme poverty and going hungry, I’ve stockpiled enough food for a month or more. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/53 "2017-04-09T21:13:03Z")
☹ Maybe a day… ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/54 "2017-04-10T11:53:48Z")
We have 6 people, Mama San and I and 4 children ages 15-25 living here. Basically 6 adults to attack the food supply. My daughter would starve long before the rest of us since she is really finicky and has less lard already stored on her frame than the rest of us. Oldest son works at a place that makes the Johnsonville brats and other sausage products. He put 6 cases in the freezer last week. 6 packs of 5-6 in each case. He also bought 2 scratch and dent boxes from the local grocer. 2 boxes cold cereal, instant oatmeal, 7-8 cans condensed soup, and several tomato and vegetable cans in each. We’ve been doing that for years. Last week we gave about 10 boxes of kids oriented cold cereal to the local daycare. Our pantry has one 6’ wall with 7 one foot deep shelves that are chock full of canned and boxed meals. Plus everything else in the freezers, we’d easily make 2 months. If we knew we needed to ration we would probably make 3 months. Fresh food, bread, fruits, coffee, alcohol, and dairy would be gone in the first few weeks though. We’d be awful tired of cream of whatever soup mixed with pasta and italian sausage for dinner and corn flakes with water for breakfast over the last few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/55 "2017-04-10T12:43:30Z")
4-5 weeks. Meals would get kind of weird after a couple weeks ('what’s for dinner, honey? Oh, blueberry pie, potatoes au gratin and yams. And tomorrow we’re going to have garbanzo beans with a side of popcorn…) ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612/56 "2017-04-10T13:00:15Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > … trying to figure out a use for the pickled vegetable salad we got for Christmas. Church school or office potluck / family reunion dinner in a disposable container without your name on it. Unless people like it then you can fess up. Back to topic on hand. To late to add, maybe we can finally figure out what Tahini tastes like and what it is good for. Two jars came in the aforementioned boxes. Also the lack milk and of eggs especially will put to death any baking ideas in short order. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-you-go-without-renewing-your-larder/783612.md?page=2)