Mylar bags have a variety of uses, but they are most commonly used for long-term food storage and emergency preparedness. That being the case, one of the most frequent questions around Mylar bags is, “How many bags/kits do I need?”
This is a question with so many correct answers because it is based on your individual goal. How many people are you storing food for? How long would you like your stockpile to last? How much do these people eat? Which foods are you planning on storing?
It’s nearly impossible to answer, but it is possible to give some guidelines and some examples.
Habitual Heart Mylar Bag Kits are designed to provide a variety of bag sizes, ideal for common storage items in common package sizes. (Check out this article for more on that.) And to get a general idea of what you might need, let’s look at a scenario.
Scenario: one person aiming to have 2000 calories daily for a month-long emergency. Let’s assume that we can store most of these dry items in mylar. Here’s how you could use the 100-bag kit (30 gallon bags, 40 quart bags, 30 half-pint bags).
Grains and Cereals:
- 5 quart size bags = 10-15 lbs of rice
- 5 quart size bags = 5-8 lbs of pasta
- 3 gallon size bags = 15-20 lbs of flour
- 2 quart size bags = 2-3 lbs of oatmeal or other hot cereals
- 2 gallon size bags = 2-3 lbs of cereal
Legumes and Beans:
- 4 quart size bags = 5-8 lbs of dry beans (such as black beans, pinto beans, or lentils)
Canned Foods (or Freeze-Dried Equivalents):
- 3 gallon size bags = 10-15 cans of canned vegetables (such as green beans, corn, or peas) or 1-2 #10 cans of freeze-dried vegetables
- 3 gallon size bags = 10-15 cans of canned fruits (such as peaches, pears, or fruit cocktail) or 1-2 #10 cans of freeze-dried fruits
- 5 quart size bags = 10-15 cans of canned meat or fish (such as tuna, chicken, or salmon) or 1-2 #10 cans of freeze-dried meat or fish
- 5 quart size bags = 10-15 cans of canned soup or chili or 1-2 #10 cans of freeze-dried soup or chili
Dry Goods:
- 10 half-pint size bags = 2-3 lbs of powdered peanut butter or other nut butter
- 1 gallon size bags = 2-3 lbs of nuts or trail mix
- 3 quart size bags = 2-3 lbs of crackers or other snacks
- 1 gallon size bag = 2-3 lbs of granola or other snack bars
Beverages:
30-45 liters of bottled water (aim for at least 1 gallon per day)- 1 gallon size bag = 5 lbs powdered milk
- 5 half-pint bags = 10-15 packets of powdered drink mix (such as Gatorade or Crystal Light)
Other:
- 5 half-pint bags = 1-2 lbs of salt
- 10 half-pint bags = 1-2 lbs of seasoning/spices
- 1 quart size bag = 0.5-1 lbs of sugar
0.25-0.5 gallons of cooking oil
In total, this scenario uses about 2/3s of the 100-bag kit in the form of 14 gallon bags, 29 quart bags, and 30 half-pint bags. This scenario is a generous calorie allotment and does not consider other sources of food and storage methods. If those factors are considered, you could use the whole 100-bag kit and store enough for 2 adults for one month.
