The transitional guides gave me the following basic survival food list: rice, beans, bancha tea, seaweed, and chicken soup. This diet is both nutritious and frugal. It is preferable to supplement with fresh vegetables, fruits, and other foods when they are available. You should have 3 months of food supplies from this basic plan stored in a safe place in your home. Storage containers should be thick plastic and/or glass to reduce the invasion of household pests and keep the food safe.

The monthly basic dietary needs per adult are as follows. Children may require 1/4 to 1/2 of the amounts listed for adults.

The basic diet is rice, beans, bancha tea, seaweed, and chicken soup. Your needs will vary according to your appetite. However, as a basic guideline the average adult will need the following amounts in reserve to cover a 3-month period: 20-30 lbs. of beans (pinto, black, adjuki, and northern beans) and 20-30 lbs. of rice. Seaweed can be purchased in Asian food stores very inexpensively and integrated into soups and salads. (The Japanese hijiki salad is my favorite and a tasty way to include seaweed in the diet. I found a large block of wild laver in an Asian market for $5 which can be reconstituted in water for addition to soups.) Bancha tea is a roasted green tea; you will need approximately 1 box per month or 3 boxes per person (teabags can be reused for a yield of two cups per bag). Chicken soup should be eaten daily and bought in cans to sustain the timelines needed. You will need approximately 80 - 90 cans of soup for a 3-month period. Remember, more or less as you wish and additional foods are okay.

Growing a garden can be fun and can be a major source of food for you and your family even if you live in an apartment. Some vegetables and herbs are easily grown in planters on a deck or in window boxes. Some can even be grown indoors in a sunny location. There are a multitude of books and videos that can teach you the basics. Don't delay. The most nutritious foods that sustain health are the green leafy variety so you will want to start with them. It's time to purchase seeds.

To be prepared, know where your local food banks and soup kitchens are. And don't forget to feed the food banks through your donations when you have money. Feeding America (aka America's Second Harvest) is an unbrella organization for hundreds of food banks that optimize the amount of food purchased with a dollar. You can donate to them online.

Many people have expressed a concern for what to do when you have food but your neighbor does not. The answer may be to feed the food banks. Food banks can negotiate with local restaurants, grocery stores, and food manufacturers extending the purchasing power of $1. So make sure you are supplying them with the cash they need to care for your community.