When disaster strikes and your family, friends, and neighborhood need your help, the last place you want to be is stuck in a food line. A backup food supply that's easy to manage and won't break the bank is a cornerstone of disaster prep. The biggest question: How much food is enough?

FEMA and the Red Cross suggest a two-week supply. On its website, the Mormon Church advises a more world-weary approach, advising its flock to keep a three-month supply of food "that is part of your normal daily diet" on hand. It's not a bad goal, but the commercial food grid is usually up and running in much less time, so we suggest starting with a month's backup. How much is that?

"We need to debunk the one-size-fits-all solution to how much food you need," says survival instructor Cody Lundin, author of the excellent disaster-survival manual When All Hell Breaks Loose and pony-tailed star of Dual Survival. "Age, sex, weight, height all factor in.