Just wanted to recommend the book Independence Days: A guide to sustainable food storage and preservation by Sharon Astyk. It was recommended elsewhere on the forum (Rezdent, I think it was you, so thanks!) and it lots of interesting stuff about pantry eating, emergency preparedness and sustainability in general. She states that most likely emergency for any given person is a household economic crisis: job loss, health issues, et al.
Chapter four is dedicated to the poorest among us, those who cannot afford to order 50 lbs of wheat tomorrow and an electric grain grinder to go with it. The basic suggestions from the chapter, which I don't think she'd mind me sharing, are as follows, although I recommend reading the book for greater detail about how to get this all done on $5 a week over a period of weeks.
Phase 1:
Can opener
Matches, if you have a gas stove
Multivitamin (30 day supply)
Water (30 day supply)
Phase 2:
Rolled oats - 15#
Canned beans - 30 cans
Canned tomatoes, maybe diced - 30 cans
Canned fruit, probably applesauce and something else - 30 cans
Phase 3:
Raisins
Cooking oil
Dry skim milk
Herbs and spices (e.g. oregano, cumin and chili powder for the beans, cinnamon for oats)
Brown sugar for the oatmeal
In case anyone is interested in the book, these are the chapter headings:
1. Nine Meals from Anarchy and the Theory of Anyway
2. Local Eating, Pantry Eating
3. How Much Food Should You Sore
4. Food Storage on the Cheap: How Food Storage and Preservation Can Keep You Eating When Times Get Tough
5. Eating from Food Storage--Every Day
6. The Mechanics of Food Storage
7. Energy Conscious Food Preservation
8. Root Cellaring and Season Extension
9. Dehydration
10. Canning
11. Fermentation
11. Replenishing Stores: Gardening, Seed Saving, Raising Animals
12. Putting Tools in Perspective
14. Medicines, Health Care and Special Diets
15. Now What?--Making Space and Managing Food Storage
16. Creating and Using Community Resources
17. Bringing It All Together--Living Independently in a Better World
