Self-Sufficiency Calculator
Calculate your household food self-sufficiency based on garden space, fruit trees, laying hens, and dairy animals.
Inputs
sq ft
Results
Overall Self-Sufficiency
99.1%
Calorie Sufficiency
45%
Vegetable Self-Sufficiency100%
Fruit Self-Sufficiency100%
Protein Self-Sufficiency97.7%
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Family Size and Garden Sq Ft — the calculator estimates vegetable production at ~0.5 lb per sq ft per season.
- Input Fruit Tree Count and the number of Egg-Laying Hens and Dairy Animals (goats, cows, etc.).
- Review Vegetable Self-Sufficiency (%) and Fruit Self-Sufficiency (%) to see which categories need expansion.
- Check Protein Self-Sufficiency (%) from eggs and dairy to determine if you need more laying hens or dairy does.
- Review Overall Self-Sufficiency (%) as a weighted composite across all food categories.
- Use Calorie Sufficiency (%) to understand whether your homestead is producing enough caloric energy to meaningfully reduce grocery dependence.
How the result changes with Family Size
| Family Size | Overall Self-Sufficiency | Calorie Sufficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 2.9 | 100% | 62.1% |
| 7.65 | 71.8% | 23.5% |
| 13 | 48.9% | 13.9% |
| 18 | 35.4% | 10% |
What each input means
- Family Size
- Number of people to feed.
- Garden Space
- Total productive garden area (200 sq ft per person minimum for some veggies).
- Fruit Trees
- Number of mature fruit-bearing trees.
- Egg-Laying Hens
- Number of hens for egg production.
- Dairy Animals
- Number of milking goats or cows.
What each result means
- Vegetable Self-Sufficiency
- Percentage of vegetable needs met by your garden.
- Fruit Self-Sufficiency
- Percentage of fruit needs met by your trees.
- Protein Self-Sufficiency
- Percentage of protein needs met by eggs and dairy.
- Overall Self-Sufficiency
- Weighted overall food self-sufficiency score.
- Calorie Sufficiency
- Percentage of caloric needs produced on your homestead.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersFamily Size = 4, Garden Space = 2000, Fruit Trees = 8, Egg-Laying Hens = 6 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Overall Self-SufficiencyOverall Self-Sufficiency99.1 = 99.1%
- Calculate Calorie SufficiencyCalorie Sufficiency45 = 45%
- Calculate Vegetable Self-SufficiencyVegetable Self-Sufficiency100 = 100%
- Calculate Fruit Self-SufficiencyFruit Self-Sufficiency100 = 100%
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