I believe you are correct; few people are prepared for living more than couple of weeks out of their pantry.
Here is a suggestion sent to me by another FReeper :
" How to Stock Your Kitchen for the Coronavirus Era (and Other Emergencies) - Epicurious (foodie magazine)
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-stock-kitchen-for-coronavirus-and-other-emergencies-article?utm_term=hero-p&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=epi&utm_mailing=EPI_FIG%202020-03-03&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5c3393aa2ddf9c392a6f895e&cndid=49722145&esrc=cnidEPIundefined
“two weeks of food is quite a lot of food, and it requires a lot of storage and cash on hand. So three days of food feels much more manageable for people.”
No, it doesn’t require a lot of storage or cash. IOW, we should expect folks banging on our doors come Monday morning. Sorry, this drawbridge was raised yesterday.
Hey, Epicurious, such elitists. Our store doesn’t stock olive oil or organic peanut butter much less shelf-stable smoked fish. Several years ago, I had to do what felt like a back alley drug deal just to get some frozen fish which caused the cashier and bag boy to call people over to see it in my cart. Frozen spinach and kale? Snort, I bought the only can of spinach on the shelf yesterday.
I think our fridge came brand new with more food inside. Ok, not true. Let’s see, that’s at least 5 days worth of meals for a single person. One egg, 2-3 slices of bacon, a piece of cheese and a citrus fruit for breakfasts. One fourth of each cabbage, one carrot, yogurt and a squirt of lemon would make a big bowl of coleslaw which will last several days. Do a stir fry with more cabbage, carrots, the last egg and what looks to be a mystery meat on top of the bacon. Use a second portion of that mystery meat with saute’d apples and a side of boiled carrots. Last portion of mystery meat with boiled cabbage and roasted carrots. Carrot sticks and yogurt dip for snacking. Act like a kid by snacking on a lemon sprinkled with salt. Use the 2nd apple sliced with another yogurt dip sweetened with the jelly. Wine, cheese and the last apple sliced. If there’s any bacon left, wrap it around cheese and finish off the wine. Plenty of leftovers.
If they are like me, they can starve for a few weeks (I need to dump about 70 pounds, according to the CDC).
But most kids can’t. They have little to no fat reserves. At least my littlest. And my oldest is a teenager, and while he has a few extra pounds, it would be dangerous beyond a week.