A family of four needs about 8,000 calories a day, worked as four people at the 2,000-calorie reference figure FDA uses as a general guide. That is about 56,000 calories a week and 240,000 a month. Real needs vary by age and activity, so use 8,000 as a planning figure, then adjust for your own household.
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Where the 8,000-calorie figure comes from
FDA describes 2,000 calories a day as a general guide for nutrition advice and says individual needs can be higher or lower depending on age, sex, height, weight and activity (FDA, Calories on the Nutrition Facts label). My Patriot Supply builds its kits around the same 2,000-calories-a-day idea, so using it keeps the arithmetic on this site consistent with the kit data.
The working is one line:
- 4 people x 2,000 calories = 8,000 calories per day for the household.
Everything else on this page is that number multiplied by days. If you are shopping for the whole emergency food supply for family of four, this is the figure to start from.
Daily, weekly and monthly math
Servings and pounds below are approximations built from one partner kit, so you can picture the volume. They use the 4-Week kit's 250 servings for 56,460 calories (about 226 calories per serving) and its listed weight of 31.65 lb for about 7.1 family-days (about 4.5 lb per family-day). Other brands and other foods will differ.
| Days | Working | Calories | Servings (approx.) | Weight of kit food (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8,000 x 1 | 8,000 | 35 | 4.5 lb |
| 3 | 8,000 x 3 | 24,000 | 106 | 13 lb |
| 7 | 8,000 x 7 | 56,000 | 248 | 31 lb |
| 14 | 8,000 x 14 | 112,000 | 496 | 63 lb |
| 30 | 8,000 x 30 | 240,000 | 1,063 | 134 lb |
| 90 | 8,000 x 90 | 720,000 | 3,188 | 403 lb |
| 365 | 8,000 x 365 | 2,920,000 | 12,929 | about 1,635 lb |
Ready.gov, the federal preparedness campaign, tells households to keep "at least a several-day supply" of non-perishable food and does not name an exact number of days (Ready.gov, Build a kit). The rows above let you pick the length that suits your own plan and see what it takes.
Why your household may differ from 8,000
The 2,000-calorie figure is an average. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans publish estimates by age, sex and activity level, and the spread is wide (Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, Appendix 2, Table A2-2).
A worked example from that table: a 33-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman, a boy of 6 and a girl of 10.
- Mostly sedentary: 2,400 + 1,800 + 1,400 + 1,400 = about 7,000 calories a day.
- Moderately active: 2,600 + 2,000 + 1,600 + 1,800 = about 8,000 calories a day.
So 8,000 is a sensible ceiling for that family, and a sedentary one may need less. Other things move the number:
- Teenage boys aged 16 to 18 are listed at 2,400 to 3,200 calories depending on activity.
- Pregnancy adds 340 calories a day in the second trimester and 452 in the third for a woman at a prepregnancy weight in the table's reference range; breastfeeding adds 330 (first six months) or 400 (second six months).
- Infants, medical diets and allergies need their own planning; see the nutrition note.
Scaling to five or six people
The same line scales. Each extra person at 2,000 calories adds 2,000 calories a day.
| Household | Calories per day | Calories per week |
|---|---|---|
| 4 people | 8,000 | 56,000 |
| 5 people | 10,000 | 70,000 |
| 6 people | 12,000 | 84,000 |
A kit labelled "one person, 4 weeks" lasts a household of five about 5.6 days at 56,460 calories (56,460 / 10,000), not 4 weeks.
Water is part of the number
Ready.gov's baseline is at least one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation, and it says to store enough for several days (Ready.gov, Water). For four people:
- 3 days: 4 x 3 = 12 gallons
- 7 days: 4 x 7 = 28 gallons
- 30 days: 4 x 30 = 120 gallons
Freeze-dried and dehydrated food also needs water to prepare. My Patriot Supply lists 9.14 gallons to prepare the entire 4-Week kit, which is about a week of food for four. Read the water plan in emergency water for a family of four before you size a food supply.
What the numbers look like in kits
My Patriot Supply's kits are sold per person. Dividing each kit's published calories by 8,000 gives its length for a family of four. Prices were read from the company's product pages on 2026-10-14.
| Kit (one person, per the company) | Price | Calories | Family-of-four days (calories / 8,000) | Company's own family-of-four wording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72-Hour Sample Pack | $34.99 | 6,320 | about 0.8 | none |
| 2-Week | $147.95 | 28,020 | about 3.5 | none |
| 4-Week | $277.95 | 56,460 | about 7.1 | 1 week |
| 3-Month | $797.95 | 181,960 | about 22.7 | 3 weeks |
| 1-Year | $3,191.80 | 727,840 | about 91 | 3 months |
The company's wording and the arithmetic agree, so a single 4-Week kit is about a week of food for four, not a month. A Family of 4 Starter Pack adds a 4-week kit plus 4 survival straws, a solar power bank, a folding stove, Canned Heat+ and waterproof matches for $499.99 (regular price $576.51).
Price per 1,000 published calories, computed from each company's figures on 2026-10-14: My Patriot Supply's 4-Week kit is $4.92, its 3-Month and 1-Year kits $4.39 each. Be Prepared's 3-Month kit, at $569.97 for 169,950 calories, works out to $3.35. On published calories alone, that is a lower cost per calorie; kit choice also involves shelf-life claims, food variety and the terms of each seller. The buying guide lists the criteria.
My Patriot Supply states its food lasts up to 25 years when stored properly. That is the company's claim, and storage conditions change the result.
What this does not cover
These numbers are calories only. They do not cover infant formula, pet food, medications, or special diets, and they do not say what to eat for variety. For a short horizon, see the 72-hour kit guide. For a longer one, see the 30-day plan and the 1-year plan. The My Patriot Supply review covers the partner's lineup in detail.
FAQ
How many calories does a family of four need per day?
About 8,000, using 2,000 calories per person, the figure FDA uses as a general guide. A household with teenagers or high activity may need more; a sedentary one may need less. The Dietary Guidelines table gives estimates by age.
How much food is a one-week supply for four people?
About 56,000 calories (8,000 x 7). In My Patriot Supply's terms, one 4-Week kit at 56,460 calories covers about 7.1 family-days.
Is a 1-person 30-day kit enough for a family of four for a month?
No. A 30-day kit is built for one person. Divided across four people it lasts about a week. The company's own page for the 4-Week kit says it feeds a family of four for 1 week.
How much water goes with the food?
Ready.gov's baseline is one gallon per person per day, so 4 gallons a day for four people, plus the water freeze-dried food needs to be prepared.
Do children need less food?
Usually, but not by half. The Dietary Guidelines table lists 1,200 to 2,000 calories for ages 4 to 8 and up to 2,600 for ages 9 to 13, depending on sex and activity.
Sources
- FDA, Calories on the Nutrition Facts label: https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/calories-nutrition-facts-label (read 2026-10-14)
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, Appendix 2: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf (read 2026-10-14)
- Ready.gov, Build a kit: https://www.ready.gov/kit (read 2026-10-14)
- Ready.gov, Water: https://www.ready.gov/water (read 2026-10-14)
- My Patriot Supply product pages: https://mypatriotsupply.com/products/4-week-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day, https://mypatriotsupply.com/products/3-month-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day, https://mypatriotsupply.com/products/1-year-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day (read 2026-10-14)
- Be Prepared, 3-Month 1-person kit: https://www.beprepared.com/products/emergency-essentials%C2%AE-3-month-1-person-emergency-food-kit (read 2026-10-14)
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-14 | First published |