03-05-2020, 06:44 PM
I will preface this by saying I don't believe that the coronavirus is going to blow up in to some huge world wide emergency that breaks down infrastructure. I think like similar cases in the past it will fizzle out over time. That said if you had to remain home for say a few weeks do you have the basic needs to do so? I'm not a prepper like in those TV shows with an underground bunker, an arsenal of weapons, etc. But I do keep enough supplies to survive for at least a month on my own if I had to. In general I think that is a good idea for everyone to have some emergency supplies.
I'm not and expert by any means but I thought I would share a few things researched and I do to stay somewhat prepared.
Food, you will need about 1200 calories per person a day:
Canned foods are your friend. They don't have to be cooked before eating and many have an almost indefinite shelf life if stored properly in a dry place. In most cases canned foods only become compromised if the can itself is damaged, rusted, exposed to high levels of heat or cold, etc. Canned meats tend to have a longer shelf life from what I know.
One of the best foods to store for calorie needs is Spam (not the email type). It has an almost indefinite shelf life if stored properly. One can has 180 calories per serving with a total of 6 servings. So 1,080 calories a can, almost an entire day worth of calories. Of course it is a lot of fat and sodium and isn't very healthy. So not something you would want to eat daily over a long amount of time. But when you are hungry and need calories it is a good supplement.
Cans of Dinty Moore beef stew, again shelf stable for years. Pull the tab back and eat straight from the can if needed. 200 calories per serving, 2.5 servings per can, so 500 calories per can and from personal experience it doesn't taste too bad eaten straight from the can.
Other canned meats like tuna and chicken stay stable for years under proper storage conditions as well. However one can of chicken for example only has 120 total calories. A can of tuna is even less at 80 calories. But while needing more per person, they are healthier.
You can also add to your emergency supplies on the cheap with Chef Boyardee products. They sell for about $1 a can where I live, and have a best by date of over 2 years from purchase, and again probably stable longer than that if stored properly. 320 calories per can and decent amount of carbs for energy.
For food that isn't meat, canned black beans can fill an important role. About 360 total calories per can, stores for years and has a decent amount of nutritional value. Per serving (1/2 cup), 3.5 servings per can: 21% of Fiber, 10% of potassium, 7g of protein, 4% of calcium, 10% of iron, and 8% of carbs. Canned black beans are one of the most nutritional items you can keep in supply.
Filler: If you meet the needed calorie intake from for example a can of Spam and a can of black beans, you might still find yourself feeling hungry. Ramen noodles are super cheap, have fair amount of carbs, stay shelf stable for at least a year, and don't really need to be cooked. You can just soak them in water for about a half hour in the event you can't heat the water. They won't be the most tasty thing in the world but they will help fill your stomach up and quell hunger.
Vitamins: You might notice that the foods above don't really have a lot of nutrients like vitamin C, Magnesium, and vitamin B. This is easily solved by keeping a large bottle of multi vitamin and a container of iodized salt. Foods containing vitamin C like fruits are harder to store long term and you don't want to get scurvy. :) You can add to your supplies by including canned fruits if you have a taste for them but for the space they take up they don't add a lot of nutritional value, they are mostly sugar.
Spices and other flavors: One thing that would suck about living off the above foods for an extended period of time is how bland the diet is. In times of duress a little flavor and some novelty items can boost your morale. So as above store some salt but also pepper, other spices and honey. They all store for a very long time as well and can improve your survival dining experience. Also store some treats like hard candy and even Pringles. I picked up a few cans of Pringles today and they have a best by date of March 2021. I'll eat them and rotate more in well before then. Also consider storing some coffee and tea. If it is your thing store some alcohol like vodka, rum, bourbon etc as they never go bad. Vodka is also a good choice because it can also be used as a cleaning agent in a pinch.
Water:
This is a huge one. You won't live long without it. Depending on where you live, the time of year, and the circumstances you may or may not have access to clean water. You will need at least 1/2 gallon a day depending on your activity.
Bottled water is good to store similar to canned goods in space not exposed to direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. So stock up. This would be your clean supply to drink, brush your teeth, etc. For example, a 32 pack of Kroger 16.9oz bottled water is 4.225 gallons, so about 8 days of water. So store 4 of them for roughly a 30 day drinkable water supply per person. A 32 pack cost me $3.50 at Kroger today, so $14 for a roughly a month of emergency water for one person. Not a bad idea if I say so myself.
Water storage. You can buy 5 gallon BPA free water containers fairly cheap. (Edit: I just looked up the ones I bought on Amazon because I wanted to link them for those interested and they are currently sold out. So maybe I'm not alone on preparing). In the event where it looks like the water supply might become compromised fill them up beforehand for extra supply.
Emergency water purification. Let's say you only have access to a water source like a creek or pond. You will want to filter that water through a few layers of cloth or similar to filter out larger derbies. Then you will want to purify it. Boiling is the best method. You will want to boil it for at least 15 minutes. In the event you don't have access to heating water enough to boil it you can use bleach. Again filter out as many derbies as possible and then add 2 drops of bleach per quart of water, or 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water. Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dose. Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Note do not use scented bleach, only pure bleach.
Also, to sanitize containers and utensils, mix 1 tablespoon bleach with one gallon of water. Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in sanitizing solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.
Other tips: Keep a backup supply of soap and other cleaning supplies including bleach (see above), dry goods like toilet paper (you will really miss TP once you no longer have it), paper towels, batteries for flashlights, matches and or lighters, candles, basic first aid items, and of course a can opener.
But George, what do you do with all that food you don't use over the years because you didn't need to eat it? While most of the canned goods I store are probably safe well beyond the best by date I either eat them and rotate them out or donate. Anything I don't eat within 6 months of the best by date I donate to a local food pantry. It works well, I keep my supplies fairly fresh and give back to the community.
Anyway I know this is a long post. But I hope I have added some tips and ideas for people to plan in the event of an emergency. If anyone here has other knowledge, ideas or even corrections based on what I posted, I would find it helpful and maybe it could help others as well. :)
I'm not and expert by any means but I thought I would share a few things researched and I do to stay somewhat prepared.
Food, you will need about 1200 calories per person a day:
Canned foods are your friend. They don't have to be cooked before eating and many have an almost indefinite shelf life if stored properly in a dry place. In most cases canned foods only become compromised if the can itself is damaged, rusted, exposed to high levels of heat or cold, etc. Canned meats tend to have a longer shelf life from what I know.
One of the best foods to store for calorie needs is Spam (not the email type). It has an almost indefinite shelf life if stored properly. One can has 180 calories per serving with a total of 6 servings. So 1,080 calories a can, almost an entire day worth of calories. Of course it is a lot of fat and sodium and isn't very healthy. So not something you would want to eat daily over a long amount of time. But when you are hungry and need calories it is a good supplement.
Cans of Dinty Moore beef stew, again shelf stable for years. Pull the tab back and eat straight from the can if needed. 200 calories per serving, 2.5 servings per can, so 500 calories per can and from personal experience it doesn't taste too bad eaten straight from the can.
Other canned meats like tuna and chicken stay stable for years under proper storage conditions as well. However one can of chicken for example only has 120 total calories. A can of tuna is even less at 80 calories. But while needing more per person, they are healthier.
You can also add to your emergency supplies on the cheap with Chef Boyardee products. They sell for about $1 a can where I live, and have a best by date of over 2 years from purchase, and again probably stable longer than that if stored properly. 320 calories per can and decent amount of carbs for energy.
For food that isn't meat, canned black beans can fill an important role. About 360 total calories per can, stores for years and has a decent amount of nutritional value. Per serving (1/2 cup), 3.5 servings per can: 21% of Fiber, 10% of potassium, 7g of protein, 4% of calcium, 10% of iron, and 8% of carbs. Canned black beans are one of the most nutritional items you can keep in supply.
Filler: If you meet the needed calorie intake from for example a can of Spam and a can of black beans, you might still find yourself feeling hungry. Ramen noodles are super cheap, have fair amount of carbs, stay shelf stable for at least a year, and don't really need to be cooked. You can just soak them in water for about a half hour in the event you can't heat the water. They won't be the most tasty thing in the world but they will help fill your stomach up and quell hunger.
Vitamins: You might notice that the foods above don't really have a lot of nutrients like vitamin C, Magnesium, and vitamin B. This is easily solved by keeping a large bottle of multi vitamin and a container of iodized salt. Foods containing vitamin C like fruits are harder to store long term and you don't want to get scurvy. :) You can add to your supplies by including canned fruits if you have a taste for them but for the space they take up they don't add a lot of nutritional value, they are mostly sugar.
Spices and other flavors: One thing that would suck about living off the above foods for an extended period of time is how bland the diet is. In times of duress a little flavor and some novelty items can boost your morale. So as above store some salt but also pepper, other spices and honey. They all store for a very long time as well and can improve your survival dining experience. Also store some treats like hard candy and even Pringles. I picked up a few cans of Pringles today and they have a best by date of March 2021. I'll eat them and rotate more in well before then. Also consider storing some coffee and tea. If it is your thing store some alcohol like vodka, rum, bourbon etc as they never go bad. Vodka is also a good choice because it can also be used as a cleaning agent in a pinch.
Water:
This is a huge one. You won't live long without it. Depending on where you live, the time of year, and the circumstances you may or may not have access to clean water. You will need at least 1/2 gallon a day depending on your activity.
Bottled water is good to store similar to canned goods in space not exposed to direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. So stock up. This would be your clean supply to drink, brush your teeth, etc. For example, a 32 pack of Kroger 16.9oz bottled water is 4.225 gallons, so about 8 days of water. So store 4 of them for roughly a 30 day drinkable water supply per person. A 32 pack cost me $3.50 at Kroger today, so $14 for a roughly a month of emergency water for one person. Not a bad idea if I say so myself.
Water storage. You can buy 5 gallon BPA free water containers fairly cheap. (Edit: I just looked up the ones I bought on Amazon because I wanted to link them for those interested and they are currently sold out. So maybe I'm not alone on preparing). In the event where it looks like the water supply might become compromised fill them up beforehand for extra supply.
Emergency water purification. Let's say you only have access to a water source like a creek or pond. You will want to filter that water through a few layers of cloth or similar to filter out larger derbies. Then you will want to purify it. Boiling is the best method. You will want to boil it for at least 15 minutes. In the event you don't have access to heating water enough to boil it you can use bleach. Again filter out as many derbies as possible and then add 2 drops of bleach per quart of water, or 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water. Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dose. Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Note do not use scented bleach, only pure bleach.
Also, to sanitize containers and utensils, mix 1 tablespoon bleach with one gallon of water. Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in sanitizing solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.
Other tips: Keep a backup supply of soap and other cleaning supplies including bleach (see above), dry goods like toilet paper (you will really miss TP once you no longer have it), paper towels, batteries for flashlights, matches and or lighters, candles, basic first aid items, and of course a can opener.
But George, what do you do with all that food you don't use over the years because you didn't need to eat it? While most of the canned goods I store are probably safe well beyond the best by date I either eat them and rotate them out or donate. Anything I don't eat within 6 months of the best by date I donate to a local food pantry. It works well, I keep my supplies fairly fresh and give back to the community.
Anyway I know this is a long post. But I hope I have added some tips and ideas for people to plan in the event of an emergency. If anyone here has other knowledge, ideas or even corrections based on what I posted, I would find it helpful and maybe it could help others as well. :)
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