Food and Nutrition Requirements: What Your Family Actually Needs

By GoldBlock WorkshopPublished Updated

The short answer

Work out four things for each person: calories (their own number, not a generic 2,000), protein (the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines’ goal is 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day), water (one gallon per person per day for drinking and sanitation), and the nutrients stored food tends to miss, especially vitamin C. Then plan for anyone with special needs: infants, pregnancy, older adults, medical diets and allergies.

Key numbers

  • 1.2 to 1.6 gprotein per kilogram of body weight per day: the Dietary Guidelines' "protein serving goals" (the text names no age group)Source: Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030
  • About 42 to 45 gprotein per day in one 4-week, 2,000-calorie emergency food kit we checked (manufacturer figures)Source: My Patriot Supply product page, read 2026-10-07
  • 1 gallonwater per person per day for drinking and sanitation, for several daysSource: Ready.gov

Step 1: Find each person’s calorie number

The current U.S. Dietary Guidelines do not give one calorie number for everyone. In their words, “the calories you need depend on your age, sex, height, weight, and level of physical activity.” The 2,000 calories on food labels (and used by many emergency food kits) is, in the FDA’s words, “a general guide for nutrition advice,” not a requirement.

How to get a real number: the USDA’s free MyPlate Plan estimates a daily calorie level and food-group amounts for each person, using formulas based on age and body size, with adjustments for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Run it once for each member of your household and write the numbers down. The Guidelines name “level of physical activity” among the things calorie needs depend on, so the number changes when the work does.

Step 2: Work out protein for each adult

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 set protein serving goals at 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, “adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements.” To use it, divide body weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms, then multiply by 1.2 and by 1.6. For comparison, the long-standing Recommended Dietary Allowance set by the National Academies, the amount that meets the needs of nearly all healthy adults, is 0.8 g per kilogram (about 56 g a day for a 154 lb adult); the Guidelines’ goal is higher, and this page plans to the Guidelines.

Body weight Protein per day (1.2 to 1.6 g/kg) For 14 days
110 lb (50 kg) 60 to 80 g 840 to 1,120 g
154 lb (70 kg) 84 to 112 g 1,176 to 1,568 g
198 lb (90 kg) 108 to 144 g 1,512 to 2,016 g
242 lb (110 kg) 132 to 176 g 1,848 to 2,464 g

Why this matters for stored food: one 4-week, 2,000-calorie kit we checked (sold with the same contents by My Patriot Supply and Ready Hour) supplies about 42 to 45 grams of protein per person per day: its nutrition labels add up to about 42 g, and the brand’s stated total of 1,258 g works out to about 45 g. At the Guidelines’ goal, 45 g covers a body weight of about 37 kg (45 ÷ 1.2 = 37.5 kg, about 83 lb); a 154 lb (70 kg) adult’s goal is 84 to 112 g. Other kits differ, so check each one. The Guidelines’ protein foods are “eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat” and “beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy”; canned and dried forms of these are the shelf-stable options.

Children and teenagers grow, so their needs are figured differently. Use each child’s MyPlate Plan result and your pediatrician’s advice rather than the adult formula. The Guidelines note that adolescence is “a rapid growth period with increased needs for energy, protein, calcium, and iron.”

Step 3: Cover the nutrients stored food tends to miss

The NIH names fruits and vegetables as the main food sources of vitamin C, and the kits compared on this site contain little fresh produce.

  • Vitamin C. The National Institutes of Health recommends 90 mg a day for adult men and 75 mg for adult women (more during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and 35 mg more for smokers). In its words, “People who get little or no vitamin C (below about 10 mg per day) for many weeks can get scurvy,” and “Scurvy is fatal if it is not treated.” Check the vitamin C line on the label of any stored food or drink counted toward it. The FDA says “Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems” “should avoid eating raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind.”
  • Fruits and vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines’ goals are “Vegetables: 3 servings per day” and “Fruits: 2 servings per day” on a 2,000-calorie pattern. Stored produce counts toward it, as does a garden or perennial food plants (see Home Food Garden).
  • Sodium. Check sodium on every label. One Ready Hour (My Patriot Supply) entree, Chili Mac (its label reads Chili Beans and Mac), lists 580 mg per serving (label read 2026-10-07; manufacturer figure), about a quarter of the adult daily limit in one serving (580 ÷ 2,300 = 0.25). The Dietary Guidelines: “The general population, ages 14 and above, should consume less than 2,300 mg per day of sodium”; “Ages 9–13: less than 1,800 mg per day”; “Ages 4–8: less than 1,500 mg per day”; “Ages 1–3: less than 1,200 mg per day.” They add: “Highly processed foods that are high in sodium should be avoided.”

If you plan to use vitamins or supplements to fill gaps, store them as carefully as food; see Supplements.

Step 4: Count water as part of the food plan

Ready.gov advises storing “one gallon of water per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation.” Dry and freeze-dried food needs water on top of that: the 4-week kit above calls for about 9 gallons just to prepare its meals. Plan water and food together; see Water Preparedness and Water Needs.

Special dietary needs

The sources below give separate guidance for these groups.

  • Infants. The Dietary Guidelines: “For about the first 6 months of life, feed your baby only breast milk,” and “When breast milk is not available, feed your baby iron-fortified infant formula.” Ready.gov: “Use ready-to-feed formula. If you must mix infant formula use bottled water or boiled water as a last resort.” The CDC: “Powdered infant formula is not sterile”; “Use prepared infant formula within 1 hour from start of feeding and within 2 hours of preparation”; if it will not be used within 2 hours, refrigerate it and use it within 24 hours; “Always use the exact amount of water and formula listed on the instructions of the infant formula container. Adding too much or too little formula can make your baby sick”; and “If your baby is less than 2 months old, was born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system, it is especially important to use ready-to-feed infant formula in any emergency.” The FDA “is advising parents and caregivers to not make or feed homemade infant formula to infants.”
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding. The NIH’s vitamin C amounts rise in pregnancy (85 mg) and breastfeeding (120 mg) against 75 mg for other adult women, one example of higher needs. The Guidelines: “Women should talk to their health care professional about taking a daily prenatal vitamin during pregnancy.”
  • Older adults. The Guidelines note that some older adults “need fewer calories but still require equal or greater amounts of key nutrients,”
  • Medical diets and food allergies. Ready.gov’s food guidance: “Remember any special dietary needs.” The allergen statements found on the kits compared are in Storable Emergency Food Compared.

Feeding animals in a food plan

Daily feed amounts come from the feed label or a veterinarian; water figures for animals are in Water Needs. Keeping animals through a disruption is covered in Raising Animals for Food.

Putting it together: a worked example

For one 154 lb adult over 14 days:

  • Calories: their MyPlate Plan number × 14. At the 2,000-calorie label reference that would be 28,000 calories, but use their real number.
  • Protein: 84 to 112 g a day, so 1,176 to 1,568 g for the two weeks.
  • Water: at least 14 gallons for drinking and sanitation, plus whatever their food needs to prepare.
  • Gaps to check: a daily vitamin C source, some fruit and vegetables, and sodium for each person under their own limit (2,300 mg a day for adults; children’s limits are lower, see the Dietary Guidelines). A household average under the adult limit does not mean each child’s portions are.

Repeat for each person, and add it up; that total is the target the other pages in this section measure against.

Common questions

Is 2,000 calories a day enough?

The FDA describes 2,000 calories as “a general guide for nutrition advice,” and the Dietary Guidelines say needs depend on age, sex, height, weight and activity. MyPlate Plan gives each person’s own estimate.

Can my family live on emergency food kits alone?

Compare a kit’s daily calories, protein, ingredients and preparation with each person’s needs, allergies and medical diet. The 4-week kit checked above supplies about 42 to 45 g of protein a day against a 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg goal, one entree in it lists 580 mg of sodium per serving, and its contents are freeze-dried and dehydrated meals, not fresh produce (Storable Emergency Food Compared).

Do children need the same amount of protein as adults?

The Guidelines say adolescence is “a rapid growth period with increased needs for energy, protein, calcium, and iron,” and MyPlate Plan gives age-based estimates for children; this page’s gram-per-kilogram arithmetic is shown for adults.

How much water should I store with my food?

Ready.gov advises one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation, plus the water any dry or freeze-dried food needs to prepare. Check the preparation water on each product label.

Which nutrient is most likely to run out on a stored-food diet?

Vitamin C is the one this page covers: the NIH names fruits and vegetables as its main sources and says “People who get little or no vitamin C (below about 10 mg per day) for many weeks can get scurvy.”

Where to go next

Sources