Preppers: You Won't Eat Then, What You Eat Now

 It is my goal to have at least six months, and eventually a year, of food and some other necessities laid aside for me and my animals. But when I thought about how to go about it, I realized that I can't have a year's supply of food on hand, exactly as my diet is now.
Most of the food I eat now comes from the refrigerator and freezer, not the cabinet. I would need many more freezers just to store a year's supply of food, as I eat it now. (Some things don't even freeze well, either.) And that would require a lot of energy, just to store it. And I would also be screwed if the power is shut off because of finances, or otherwise unavailable.
So I have to think in terms of a year's supply of food, if I didn't have a freezer to store anything--in other words, non-perishable food.

Starches, such as rice and oatmeal, are cheap and easy to store. But protein is more expensive, so it would be more scarce if something happens. If you are hurting for food, carbs and sugars are not going to be your biggest concern. They are the most cheaply and easily available.
 Protein is especially important to hoard, maybe even more so for vegans and vegetarians--and especially those with carnivorous pets such as cats. Don't be so much of a minimalist or vagabond that you can't do this, and take care of yourself.
I could eat beans for protein, which are very cheap and easy to store. But my cats will not eat beans. So I must get meat and high-quality kibble for their health. But at the same time, I know that I will eat some cans of mackerel, if that is what I have to eat, even if it is reserved for my cats. (Mackerel is the cheapest canned meat in my area.) So I must get enough cans of mackerel, for six months' or a year's supply, if that was the only meat I had to eat.
Sounds overwhelming, doesn't it? But I work towards this goal steadily, little by little each week.
I am not sure how much I, my cats, my disabled chicken, my two big dogs, and my family, will go through each day, if it was the only thing we had to eat. We like to feed our cats lots of meat now, though they occasionally get tired of it and stop eating it.
But I don't want to have to resort to killing and eating one of my non-disabled chickens. (I would feed Antonio meat and fish, because I am more strict with his diet than with the other chickens, because of his disability. Mackerel is also supposed to be good for his joints, which is what is disabled about him. And, well, he's my special pet, so I would kill another chicken first, if I had to kill one.) I can boil rice and beans for the chickens, and they can eat bugs in summer. But the carnivore pets are what worry me most.

 I am still calculating and figuring out how much would be six months, and then a year's supply of non-perishable food, especially meat protein. And I am also figuring out where to store it, even as I steadily increase my supply, little by little. But protein, especially meat, is my number one priority. It is easy to take care of my goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and chickens. And carbs for humans are also cheap. But meat is harder to come by.
Jerky is expensive, and even if I made it myself, would I eat it, when fresh meat is available? Canned chicken and tuna are expensive, so that leaves fish, and mackerel is a better deal for my area than sardines, though they taste roughly the same to me.
 We already feed mackerel to our animals, and occasionally I eat it too. How much we feed to our cats varies from week to week, depending on their health and preferences, so it is hard to say how much we would feed them--how many cans we would go through a day--if we didn't have money for other meat. And since my dad isn't good about stocking up for his own huge dogs, they might be eating mackerel instead of canned dog food, which would deplete our stores much quicker.
But I do know that "six months worth of mackerel," in bad times (if they come), is not the same as "six months worth of mackerel" in these good times. So my "six -month" supply of mackerel, if nothing happens, would probably last me much longer than six months.
My goal, for now, is about 360 cans--a six-month supply if we go through two cans a day--and maybe, eventually, even more. I am still experimenting with where to store them, though I suspect they would do just fine in a box or plastic tote on a porch or patio.

Just remember to include in your calculations what you and your household would eat, if you had to rely only on non-perishable and canned food. And don't be afraid to figure things out as you go along--that's exactly what I'm doing, and it's good enough for me. The important thing is that you get started, even in some small way. And be sure to continue, even if your progress must be slow or halting at first.
You will feel so much better, if you know that no matter what happens to you or the economy or the food distribution system, you and your family will eat. And your slow but steady progress towards that goal will just make you feel better and better.