Ensuring that your family stays well-nourished may appear uncomplicated, but it becomes more challenging once the possibility of emergencies is taken into account. This includes various situations such as natural calamities like earthquakes and hurricanes, uncertainties in supply chains, global conflicts, and even inflation.
One might argue that our current era is marked by uncertainty, but uncertainty has always been a part of human existence. Even a century ago, a family would not face the winter without sufficient food to sustain them, whereas nowadays it is not uncommon for us to find ourselves with insufficient food to prepare dinner.
Thanks to the advanced planning of our ancestors, emergency food supplies have allowed numerous generations to prosper in challenging circumstances, and this is the reason for our existence today.
EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY CONSIDERATIONS
Determining the most suitable emergency food supply is contingent not only upon your family’s requirements but also the nature of the emergency situation. Do you face a limited-duration emergency such as a temporary power loss hampering cooking, or are you confronting a prolonged emergency that will leave you devoid of provisions or services for several days or even weeks?
- Calories – The first consideration for most people, will this emergency food provide enough calories to fuel your body? The average person needs 2,000 calories when not active, but as much as 3,500 calories during times of stress and exertion.
- Nutrition – Beyond just straight calories, it’s important to consider both macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat) as well as micro nutrients like vitamins. You can live on hard tack and basic provisions, but you can’t thrive on it.
- Flavor – Is it something my family will eat? There’s no sense in storing things you’re family just won’t (or can’t eat). The flavor is incredibly important, and while you may say “I’d eat anything in an emergency,” you’re planning ahead so you don’t find yourself eating rats.
- Cook Time – Is the meal already prepared (just add water) or “heat and eat” like an MRE, or will you need a whole kitchen on hand (pots, pans, stove, etc) to get the meal on the table?
- Effort – Not just effort to cook, but effort in terms of meal planning in the midst of a crisis. Pre-packaged ready-made meals are low effort, and cooking from a deep pantry of flour and beans is high effort. Packing away pantry staples yourself also involves a lot of planning and effort, not to mention the cost of packaging.
- Cost – Generally higher effort homemade emergency food supplies (ie. stored beans and rice) cost the least. You’ll need to pack them yourself, and they’re more work to prepare, but they’ll save you money initially.
- Packaging – If you’re just keeping a deep pantry and cycling your ingredients, then packaging can be anything that keeps insects and rodents out on a day-to-day basis. If you’re putting away a long-term food supply to seal until you desperately need it, packaging becomes incredibly important to prevent spoilage.
HOW MUCH EMERGENCY FOOD DO YOU NEED?
The quantity of food to store per individual relies heavily on the nature of the emergency at hand. When it comes to short-term planning, it is simpler and could suffice to maintain a well-stocked pantry or keep a selection of freeze-dried meals or MREs accessible.
Planning for longer-term can be challenging, so it is advisable to stock up on more supplies than you initially anticipate for the emergency situation. (If you believe you’ll require a two-week food supply, consider planning for three or four weeks instead.)
I recommend keeping a few convenient meal kits available, even if you primarily focus on long-term pantry supplies. Regardless of the unexpected circumstances that may arise during an emergency, having a fast, effortless, and nourishing option could make the distinction between having a meal or facing a cold and hungry night.
If your intention is to endure a nuclear winter, you will require numerous years’ worth of food. However, many individuals lack the ability to engage in such extensive preparations. Nonetheless, it is more feasible to set aside an emergency food stock that can last for a few days, weeks, or even months.
Previously, it was advised to always have a supply of food lasting 2 to 3 days, but this recommendation promptly changed to a minimum of 2 weeks in early 2020.
In the present scenario of supply chain shortages and global uncertainty, it is advisable to have a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks worth of emergency food supply to guarantee sufficient provisions.
For how much time would your family be able to be sustained by the contents of your pantry/kitchen at present?
According to Josette Sheeran, the ex-Director of the UN World Food Program, a staggering 80% of the global population lacks any form of food security. In times of crisis such as economic downturns, unemployment, natural disasters, armed conflicts, and poor governance, these individuals have no support system to rely on.
The significance of food storage planning is often underestimated by many individuals, as they hold the belief that they will easily acquire, cultivate, or procure food during times of crisis. However, each of these alternative strategies is precarious and reliant on a delicate system.
In order to succeed, growing your own food demands a significant amount of time, continuous physical effort, and the harmonious alignment of various factors.
During regular situations, hunting serves as a useful strategy for planning food reserves. However, the scarcity of ammunition in early 2013 demonstrated how a single highly publicized tragedy like Sandy Hook can rapidly result in empty store shelves and significant price hikes. Another factor that should be taken into account is the potential devastation of animal populations.
It is crucial to have a well-thought-out strategy for storing sufficient food before a disaster occurs, and there are several reasons supporting this. When considering food storage comprehensively, I believe that three levels of nutritional preparedness are essential: immediate, extended, and the preservation of vitamins and oils.
We will examine each one extensively to ensure that you are adequately equipped and fully prepared.
Week 1: Short Term Food Storage Planning
The Initial Stock Phase
The quickest option, of course, is what is stored in the refrigerator. These perishable items have a limited shelf life and can become unsafe to consume within a few days, so they should be prioritized. Similarly, a freezer without electricity will become non-functional in a span of five to seven days.
Canned and vacuum-sealed food can be stored for several months and can be combined with other long-term food options. Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) are an excellent option for short-term storage. They can be stored at different temperatures, but maintaining a stable temperature will ensure the highest nutritional value in the long run. The optimal temperature range, as indicated by most food studies, for storing such items is between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make sure to always keep in stock the food that you enjoy consuming, and opt for products that have a prolonged period of expiration.
Weeks 2-4: Long Term Food Storage Plan
Once you finish eating your short-term food reserves within the first week, the potential disaster situation should start to stabilize in the following week, allowing individuals to heat water. Consequently, you will have the opportunity to prepare freeze dried and dehydrated foods, which are a great option for long-term food storage. These foods only need dry and cool surroundings and can remain edible for at least 15 years or more!
Numerous US corporations provide food in both #10 cans and pouches. Pouches are ideal when it comes to portability, but due to their flexible nature, they are susceptible to punctures. On the other hand, #10 cans are more spacious, enabling them to be organized neatly in boxes and stacked.
If you are a DIY enthusiast, you have the option to dehydrate and store various foods like beans, grains, and livestock food in food grade buckets along with oxygen absorbers. Nonetheless, it is essential to take into account the fuel required for cooking dried beans. Consuming raw beans can be detrimental to the digestive system, and cooking beans necessitates heating them for 8-12 hours. Similarly, if you intend to convert whole grains, like wheat berries, into flour, you will need to pass them through a mill. In case you prefer this approach, we suggest using manual hand mills, as power outages are common during most emergencies.
The previously mentioned ready-to-eat meals, similar to camping meals that only require hot water, may be more expensive, but they provide convenience and quickness in return. It is important to carefully review the labels because it is challenging to store sufficient calories for active and stressed individuals in just three meals. Consider storing additional snacks, such as freeze dried fruit.
Consumers should be reminded about the significance of properly reconstituting freeze dried foods with water before consumption. Failure to consume sufficient water while eating dried foods may lead to the extraction of water from the bloodstream, potentially resulting in intestinal obstruction in the most severe cases.
When there is a partial return to normalcy but shortages of trucked supplies (such as food, medicine, clothes) still exist, the freeze dried individual foods serve as the other element of long term storage. This allows for the preparation of more complex recipes and actual cooking. By combining these foods, one can recreate the appearance of a typical American meal consisting of meat alongside two or three side dishes.
It’s important to note that many offers labeled as a ‘one year supply for one person’ are calorie-restricted and lack nutrition, often consisting of excessive amounts of staples, sugar, and flour. Instead of actual meat, textured vegetable protein (TVP) is often used, which may pose digestion challenges. Hence, I recommend purchasing a few cans or pouches to try the product before committing to a larger supply.
EMERGENCY SUPPLIES (BEYOND FOOD)
Although food may be one of your initial priorities, it is crucial to remember that it is not the sole aspect that needs to be prepared for during an emergency. Depending on the type of emergency, it is highly advisable to make arrangements for having access to water and maintaining sanitation as a bare minimum. Additionally, having a source of energy for cooking, heating, and charging devices can prove to be extremely beneficial.
Having a supply of appropriate medication may be necessary in certain emergency scenarios, and it is always wise to consider the safety of your family.
