Disaster Preparedness-Food Storage

[tenfairytoes]

Fry cook I am liking this that you put on there
http://www.berkeyproducts.com./

We just bought 3 rain catchers this past weekend. I wish I had a farm like you!

[Secret Agent]

I live in a townhouse but we have a nice little yard that is fenced in and a great big 8-man spa full of water. All we need to do is filter it. So here is what I think should be on an Emergency Preparedness List. Start with 72 hours of emergency supplies and add to it to expand as many days or weeks as you can.

Water. 1 gallon a day per person for drinking, cooking and sanitation and don't forget the pets. We have huge water storage thingies in our pantry which we dump and fill periodically and we have water storage in our upstairs so hopefully we can get to one area or the other. Our pantry/storage room is huge, about 500 sq ft so space is not a problem. Keep a case of water in your car. Try to get some water filters. Don't store purified water in a big tub. You should only store water that has been sealed or chlorinated. Change the water out regularly. Keep jugs of Clorox to purify water. Yep, my family lived on clorox water for three years when we were in Africa. That was over 50 years ago and here I am - still alive. We even washed our food in it.

Prescription drugs and first aid. Sanitation products too.

Emergency bags for each person and one in your car and don't forget the pets - a change of clothing, shoes, meds and first aid, hand sanitizer, think about what you need every day. Plastic bag everything.

Freeze dried and dehydrated foods. DH bought me an Excalibur dehydrator and it is getting a workout! I named it Black Beauty.

Swiss Army knife, can opener, camp stove, grills, extra propane, generator, lanterns, emergency radio. My pantry and storage are downstairs and I think about earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions in our area so I am trying to plan for just about everything.

Cell phones. If the cell towers go out you can almost always text. A text message takes about 15 seconds of time and a lot less battery than a call. Keep a list of contacts and numbers. Often when the cell towers are out you can actually contact someone long distance who can then contact people local to you to relay messages. Keep the list in your cell phone case or tape it on the phone and keep the phone charged.

We have arrangements with our friends to check on each other in case of a disaster. DH works in the city so if a quake or eruption or tsunami happens and he's at work he may not be able to get home.

Don't forget to pack a deck of cards or something to keep the kids busy and comforted if there is an extended power outage.

Invest in a generator. We had a three day power outage last year and it came in handy.

Kerosene heaters are nice and you can cook on top of them.

Extra fuel for whatever you use for cooking and heating.

Flints, waterproof and windproof matches in your emergency bags, pantry, car. Duct tape, flares, sleeping bags. Did you know that one of those big chunky candles can keep an entire car warm? Those new all-season blankets look pretty nice and are lightweight.

A pop up tent. Just unpack it and it sets up in a minute.

Cash. If the power goes out the plastic won't work. Ones and coins, maybe some 5's. If you only have big bills you may not get change.

When you get as much stored as you think you need for you and your family think about your neighbors.

If Beefaroni goes on sale and you hate Beefaroni - don't buy it. I could tell you a story about Spam and a typhoon... but anyway, buy what you will actually eat. Condiments especially salt and pepper will help. Buy some treats too. Get a dehydrator and dry fruit and veggies.

I know I am rambling but we have been cautioned so many times to be prepared for disasters and having lived in different parts of the world I know what worked for my family and what didn't. Spam and Beefaroni.

Think about a potty seat that goes onto a bucket and some enzyme tablets. They are on sale online and in your sporting goods store.

Hope this helps. DH would have done a better list but he's not available.

Just a word about children in disasters. They can suffer guilt. Yes, it's true. Please be extra comforting, encourage them to talk about their fears, and be reassuring to them. Little treats, story books, teddy bears and favorite foods can help. I remember my mother telling us stories about the 'Olden Days', about her grandparents and parents and it made us kids feel comfortable. My dad told us tales of Conestoga wagons

SA

[slightlyparanoid]

A lot of people like to dehydrate and store their own food, but I personally prefer to buy the preparedness food kits. That being said, a lot of them are really expensive. I suggest www.EmergencyDehydratedFood.com They have great tasting food and it is really inexpensive. They also have ties to a non-profit that feeds the hungry around the world with their profits. (I am pretty sold on them if you can't tell) Anyways, it is a lot easier for me to buy the kits from manufacturers than it is to manufacture my own preparedness supply.

(I'm hoping this won't be viewed as spam since I am only "Linking to commercial content related to the current topic." Just trying to give a response with the information that has helped me.)

[Mom of 3 hungry boys]

I live in Florida and every year before hurricane season starts, I use my vaccum sealer to preserve dry goods, such as oatmeal, rice, etc. Then I store my emergency food supplies in covered totes. It is also important to make sure you have at least a two week's supply of medication.
I also make sure to have an extra full tank of propane for my gas grill - it came in very handy when Charlie, Jean, and Francis all hit just 1-2 weeks apart. I also filled jugs of water to put in my deep freezer to fill any empty spaces (helps to keep it cold as well as having a supply of water).

[paulawylma]

That's great. Not everyone can afford to be "lazy" and prepackage kits don't work for me because they always contain milk--and I'm milk sensitive. I am truly glad for you though. If I didn't have food sensitivities. space and the money, I might well do the same.

[Mimi in Maine]

Secret Agent wrote:
I live in a townhouse but we have a nice little yard that is fenced in and a great big 8-man spa full of water. All we need to do is filter it. So here is what I think should be on an Emergency Preparedness List. Start with 72 hours of emergency supplies and add to it to expand as many days or weeks as you can.

Water. 1 gallon a day per person for drinking, cooking and sanitation and don't forget the pets. We have huge water storage thingies in our pantry which we dump and fill periodically and we have water storage in our upstairs so hopefully we can get to one area or the other. Our pantry/storage room is huge, about 500 sq ft so space is not a problem. Keep a case of water in your car. Try to get some water filters. Don't store purified water in a big tub. You should only store water that has been sealed or chlorinated. Change the water out regularly. Keep jugs of Clorox to purify water. Yep, my family lived on clorox water for three years when we were in Africa. That was over 50 years ago and here I am - still alive. We even washed our food in it.

Prescription drugs and first aid. Sanitation products too.

Emergency bags for each person and one in your car and don't forget the pets - a change of clothing, shoes, meds and first aid, hand sanitizer, think about what you need every day. Plastic bag everything.

Freeze dried and dehydrated foods. DH bought me an Excalibur dehydrator and it is getting a workout! I named it Black Beauty.

Swiss Army knife, can opener, camp stove, grills, extra propane, generator, lanterns, emergency radio. My pantry and storage are downstairs and I think about earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions in our area so I am trying to plan for just about everything.

Cell phones. If the cell towers go out you can almost always text. A text message takes about 15 seconds of time and a lot less battery than a call. Keep a list of contacts and numbers. Often when the cell towers are out you can actually contact someone long distance who can then contact people local to you to relay messages. Keep the list in your cell phone case or tape it on the phone and keep the phone charged.

We have arrangements with our friends to check on each other in case of a disaster. DH works in the city so if a quake or eruption or tsunami happens and he's at work he may not be able to get home.

Don't forget to pack a deck of cards or something to keep the kids busy and comforted if there is an extended power outage.

Invest in a generator. We had a three day power outage last year and it came in handy.

Kerosene heaters are nice and you can cook on top of them.

Extra fuel for whatever you use for cooking and heating.

Flints, waterproof and windproof matches in your emergency bags, pantry, car. Duct tape, flares, sleeping bags. Did you know that one of those big chunky candles can keep an entire car warm? Those new all-season blankets look pretty nice and are lightweight.

A pop up tent. Just unpack it and it sets up in a minute.

Cash. If the power goes out the plastic won't work. Ones and coins, maybe some 5's. If you only have big bills you may not get change.

When you get as much stored as you think you need for you and your family think about your neighbors.

If Beefaroni goes on sale and you hate Beefaroni - don't buy it. I could tell you a story about Spam and a typhoon... but anyway, buy what you will actually eat. Condiments especially salt and pepper will help. Buy some treats too. Get a dehydrator and dry fruit and veggies.

I know I am rambling but we have been cautioned so many times to be prepared for disasters and having lived in different parts of the world I know what worked for my family and what didn't. Spam and Beefaroni.

Think about a potty seat that goes onto a bucket and some enzyme tablets. They are on sale online and in your sporting goods store.

Hope this helps. DH would have done a better list but he's not available.

Just a word about children in disasters. They can suffer guilt. Yes, it's true. Please be extra comforting, encourage them to talk about their fears, and be reassuring to them. Little treats, story books, teddy bears and favorite foods can help. I remember my mother telling us stories about the 'Olden Days', about her grandparents and parents and it made us kids feel comfortable. My dad told us tales of Conestoga wagons

SA

Great tips about food you just WILL NOT eat---don't buy it. There are enough other things to purchase. Also, tips about kids are wonderful. They would need your support and old stories are fun, especially true stories.

[Kosher Kook #2]

Dare to Prepare by Holly Deyo is a wonderful resource. It contains a plethora of information and likely has the answer to any question regarding preparedness.

[emergencyguy]

I use a bunch of different methods for my Emergency Food Storage. There is the short term stuff (and by short term, I mean food that will last up to 10 or so years.)

For this, I have found that a good sized deep freeze will do. I have three in my converted basement. The key is to freeze food that is small but packed full of nutriment. It sounds ridiculous, but things such as sunflower seeds, lentils and beans are perfect for this.

Don't waste space on large meat products. They do not contain all of the vitamins, proteins and minerals that you can get from basic plant-based food.

It is also worth heading down to your local health food shop an stocking up on A-Z vitamin supplements.

The only problem with the freezer option is, of course, you are relying upon a power supply and, unless you live somewhere that has snow all year round, this is not the best preparation.

The other option is freeze dried food, which has the benefit of a long life as well (often up to 25+ years). The problem is that this can often be a pretty expensive option.

I found a pretty good article about food storage which is worth a read... there a lots of very good tips by some people who know much more about it than I do!

http://emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/pages/Advice.html

Let me know if anyone thinks I've missed anything... would be very interested in hearing some other people's suggestions... this is a bit of a hobby of mine!

What a great forum!