No one likes to think of history repeating itself, but the truth is, it happens all the time. That is why we can learn things from the events of the past like the Oregon Trail. They add to be prepared for just about anything, just like every prepper needs to do today.
Knowing how much food they carried will help every prepper know if they have enough food in their stockpile to last as long as possible!
Food Carried On The Oregon Trail Included:
We know a surprising amount of the Oregon Trail experience because so many travelers wrote journals, sent letters home, and even wrote books and newspaper articles. True Accounts of Life in a Covered Wagon and Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail are vivid, first-person accounts of this harrowing journey.
Packing food for the Oregon Trail
From historical documents, the following was the recommended amounts of food per adult
The recommended amount of food to take per adult was 150 pounds of flour, 20 pounds of corn meal, 50 pounds of bacon, 40 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of coffee, 15 pounds of dried fruit, 5 pounds of salt, half a pound of saleratus (baking soda, baking powder leavening mix), 2 pounds of tea, 5 pounds of rice, and 15 pounds of beans.
These provisions were usually kept in water-tight containers or barrels to minimize spoilage. The usual meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along the trail was bacon, beans, and coffee, with biscuits or bread. The typical cost of food for four people for six months was about $150. In today’s dollars, that would be about $3000.
The amount of food required was lessened if beef cattle, calves, or sheep were taken for a walking food supply. In general, wild game could not be depended on for a regular source of food, but when found it was relished as a welcome change in a monotonous diet. Travelers could hunt antelope, buffalo, sage hens, trout, and occasionally elk, bear, duck, geese, salmon and deer along the trail.
As you can tell, the pioneers on the Oregon Trail had to carry tons of food for their families while keeping their wagon load as light as possible. This is the same thing every prepper today needs to do. We need to pack as much food as we need for as many people that are in our group.
If we run out of food or if food runs low, we need to take hunting and fishing into consideration just like they did on the Oregon Trail.
Knowing how much food they took with them will help us prepare enough food in our stockpiles for when SHTF!
To find out more what food was carried on the Oregon Trail, please visit Preparedness Advice.
Ok I understand the need for food and water stockpiles. I have a pretty good supply for my family of six. My concern is after things start getting more scarce. I am a fairly proficient hunter of local animals and can prepare them for eating. When things start getting more scarce I feel like the best bet is to go mobile. Like cross country. Probably to more remote areas. Is there any sort of guide book for preparing animals I am not as familiar with? I am in northeast iowa. I can clean and cook fish and the critters native here. So can my wife. (Shes actually a better shot than me so hunting is covered. ) We have given our kids a love for fishing and the older 2 are about big enough to hold and accurately fire a rifle or shot gun. But if we head toward the rockies we will encounter things unfamiliar to us. Is there a guide book for cleaning and cooking these types of animals. More specifically is there a guide to storing the meat without proper refrigeration?
Most of them caused dysentery.