how many people do you expect to feed?

In my household its me, my husband, a shiht-zu, a bichon frisee, then my son and his girlfriend, and my daughter 16, may be her boyfriend too.  My sister is thinking about joining us but she is in another country..so the numbers are growing.

Two people and 13 cats (!!!). But my sister-inlaw and her husband live close by and her two college-age kids will be coming home, I'm sure.

She has quite a bit of food and has storage room; I'm working on her. Her attitude is - once I know it's here I'll go to Costco. Well, HELLO, so will everybody else!!!!!!!

she has the ideal set-up: big home by a major river, swimming-pool, her own garden, HUGE storage room, wood-burning fireplace in both the kitchen and living-room.

She actually did suggest that we move in with her, if TSHTF. What about my kitties?? Maybe I'll move them in her garage. Hmmmm

I was just thinking about this today, ha!

Folks with family nearby are in a good position (provided the people have common sense and get along for the most part).  If you are the only one prepping, think about the extended family.  Maybe they have things you don't - like a chainsaw, a pickup truck, guns - that will be useful if the pandemic pans out in a worst-case-scenario sort of way.  Maybe you will just happen to be the one who thought of food and water.

Having several nuclear households combine to live and work together has the benefits of "economies of scale" for instance, it's more efficient to cook one meal for six people than to cook 3 meals for 2 people each in terms of energy and dirty dishes, etc.  If personal safety becomes an issue, it might be wise to have someone up all night, armed, keeping an eye and ear out.  Between them going to bed late and someone else getting up early, that pretty much covers the bases.  Call that "posting a watch" if you want to feel "tacticool".  Let's face it, two people trying to provide this sort of coverage will be dragging by the 3rd night.  Six people taking turns will fare much better.  Think about manpower - two people at 3 different houses digging their own latrine, versus a crew of 6 digging a single  common latrine.

Americans especially have fallen into an "every man an island" frame of mind.  That's why we drive cars instead of carpooling or taking public transit.  It's a luxury that many of us have come to consider a necessity.  If times get tight and dangerous, we may find it's a luxury we can ill afford.

The pitfall here is "common sense" and "get along".  Cockatiels drive me bananas.  Cooped up in a house with the constant "screeeeech!!" at earsplitting intensity I would be getting really irritable after about day 3.  The cage would have to go outdoors.  Would that cause the person who owned the bird to become sullen or antagonistic?  What about smokers/non-smokers?  Some people need a certain amount of "space", will they get claustrophobic and cranky if they don't get it?  What about people who act without thinking - say you invite your sister-in-law and her kids to hunker down with you... will you wake up late some morning and discovered she's let her kids out to play with the neighbor kids "because they were getting hyper, and besides, what's the harm?"  Will she freak out when you insist the kids now have to be quarantined in a tent in the back yard until your're certain they haven't been exposed to the flu?

Loved your post bruss!

I have considered many of these points and have shared my honest opinion with those who I told to prep b/c they would not be welcome in my home because I may have many myself to contend with. Told them to "go prep and don't come a knock'n"! "You have the opportunity to do it now" .....my concience is clear.

Right now it's just hubby & me but will get my son from college before I do anything else. (or send "Cookie" aka hubby). I told him he could bring home any of his friends who may live across the country. May regret that one if many take him up on it. 

Anyway, I have made a prep partner in our long time friend, Tom, who's single,a bodybuilder/Gen. Contract. who can build, make, repair,move, lift ect. anything!! He and the cookie built our extensive preps storage shelves in the basement - quite impressive. Tom can require alot of food but worth his weight in benefits. We have the cookie's cousin (whose diabetic -type 1 and has no $, alone/divorced) probably coming,told her to get her meds and she listened for a change. Then there's my best friend & her family. They're 5 althogether and her & her oldest (18) are both type 1 diabetics as well. (they have tons of meds, I made sure) She also has a 16 y.o. son & a 12 y.o. daughter. I told her I will take them all but only after they (& Tom & the cookie's cousin too) stay at home for 3 weeks under thier own quarintine. Anyone should be able to hang out for 3 weeks. I think it's after that when it's gonna get sticky. Tom lives the furthest so if he wants to quarentine here with us it's ok by me. During those first three weeks we will all wear masks when hanging together and maybe eat in solitary shifts when wearing a mask is quite impossible.

The cookie is a smoker (been trying to quit since we met) so I will get patches but not cigs cause I'm an ex-smoker and can't breath around smoke at all. If he wants cigs let him prep 'em is my thinking. Too much money for crap that's slowly killing him anyway. We will definitely need to prep more booze!

I'm going on and on here but the only other people in my life (actually I have literally dozens of friends and close aquaintances who may come my way for help but I have to draw the line in my mind somewhere!) are my aunt/uncle, their 3 kids w/2 spouses & their 5 kids = 12! They don't live that close and I have told them to prep but I know it's just not in their nature. This group is really an open-ended question for me. They will not be coming to stay here but they could end up needing our assistance for sure. Since I have taken this on all by myself b/c I seem to be the only one that is concerned. This fact only makes me more anxious, not mad. People I love who I talk to do hear me but are only moderately motivated to make preps b/c it requires too much change in lifestyle. I don't think they are bad or stupid but just not capable of this way of thinking. Can't teach a fish to fly I guess. Just unfortunate. :>{

Thanks for listening to me rant.

Fourteen!!!! A clean supply of water has me the most concerned. There's  simply no way to prepare for that.  Part of me thinks I need to continue prepping, but part of me thinks, "Do I want to survive in a world where most of my friends, relatives and neighbors don't survive?"

Two, My girlffriend and I humans and 3 cats. Her cats are not very big eaters so we are buying only 100 pounds of cat food.  We are buying more meat and canned fruit too.  The big problem is of course my parents and sister and her kids.  They are unprepared for this crap and we are not going be living with them. I think the only issue is the  water supply. we dc have the 35 gallon tank of water. We do think that the power will go out within a month of the flu outbreak. At some point the supply of energy won't last and it could turn nasty.  We do need to keep our heads screwed on right. we have enough for us and us only.....

I just joined tonight.  My first problem was water and I posted that and this is the second.  I can't afford to stock up enough food for all the people who are going to need it if this pandemic comes.  And I am going to feel terrible knowing I have food and my friends and neighbors don't.  I realize that there is nothing that I can do about it; but I have always been taught to share.  But people are not taking this seriously.  And I think if I really start screaming from the rooftops STOCK FOOD & WATER people will remember that and come to my house when they run out.  It is a serious moral and ethical problem I have never had to think about.  I have been looking survival food (just add water) and found three companies, 'Alpine Aire', 'Pleasant Hill Grain', and 'The Survival Center' that seemed to have good freeze dried food.  Has anyone dealt with these companies before?

3 people, no inlaws, 6 months....unless I have to do the roadtrip to hell and stay with the inlaws in the back woods sticks up north then 5-10 folks minus me because I will volunteer for ambulance work if the fl emt-b lic transfers.

My whole family is here in AZ, we had a family meeting a few months ago to plan...of course I've done the shopping (99% of it) but I'm not complaining - I'm the one that has the means to do so and I love my family.

Let me see I actually haven't counted....started out with 14 of us and we rethought it through and decided we'd kill each other after a few months, so we split into groups of 2, so there will be 7 in each household.  My aunt and her kids are staying at their house, as is my other aunt.  I've been very blessed with my family being receptive about this - there are 2 of us staying on top of news and reporting to the rest of the family. 

Yes Marjo - be very careful...maybe you should prep for 2 and if/when if does happen invite a very dear friend to stay.  You'll be safer in numbers.

I'm sorry about your parents - that is hard to accept, as long as your mom is at peace....