In the Event of Natural Disasters...

[chubbyalaskagriz]

...what food items do you all keep in your blizzard/tornado/earthquake/tsunami/volcano emergency-kits?

I keep bottled water, a first aid kit, & a flashlight/batteries of course. Along w/ canned pull-tab soups, granola bars, peanut butter & cheeze whiz and shelf-friendly pilot bread... Canned milk, tuna, sardines, pull-tab canned fruit...

 

[Mama Mangia]

of course, batteries, batteries, batteries, candles, candles, candles -
I always have tons of canned goods and plenty of hand-crankers (manual can openers)
and crackers; I usually have some bread in the freezer - if everything thaws due to a power outage at least the bread can still be eaten
also dried fruits and nuts are a staple here - best snacks ever

 

[jglass]

I do not have a disaster kit. I guess I should.

 

[jfain]

I have so much food in my cupboards and my freezer it's hard for me to think how long I would have to be walled in before I would starve to death. I think I could last a year.

 

[CanMan]

I have two 72-hour BOB's (Bug Out Bags) in different locations, plus a stockpile of food and supplies to go for (hopefully) a year. Water is the hardest since you need a minimum of 1 gallon/day per person just to consume and it does not store for long periods without going stale. I have a specially ordered water tank that fits in a bathtub that will hold 100 gallons and can be filled in less than 20 minutes.

For the 3-day kits, packets of water were made with FoodSaver bags (sealed only) since they are very flexible, some high energy protein foods, first aid supplies, change of clothes, shoes, foul weather gear, crank radio/flashlight, rope, knife, matches, candle, 2-wheel radios if more than one of you.

The stockpile is just excesses of what is used normally in the household and is rotated so everything remains as fresh as possible. I 'can' a lot of food which helps also. Things like Toilet Paper get stored in those blanket bags that you can seal with your vacuum so it doesn't deteriorate over time.

One thing many people forget to put with their disaster supplies is a 'church key', aka can and bottle openers. Canned goods galore and nothing to open them with.

 

[The Ironic Chef]

I have 4 cases of CRations left from my Army days. I pray that there will never be a disaster cause eating them things would probably be worse off.

 

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Oh IC I love C-Rats & abhor MRE's, there is a difference of day and night between the two in my opinion!!! I laughed when you said you do not like them, I had them as a kid when the Firefighters gave them to us kids when they were fighting a huge wildfire in the Everglades! I did not have the refined palette then that I do now, so I wonder if I would still love them! But as I remember them I can still feel the excitement and enthusiasm I felt getting and eating them way back when

Now CanMan if a disater hits I feel you are the best prepared! I am similar to you only I include Sterno, Water Purification tablets, water proof matches, and I keep lots of bottled water for the initial week following the disaster.


During Hurricane Katrina we lived perfectly comfortable lives due to excellent preparation, and a terrific supply of needed items in our Hurricane Kit I put together. The only inconvienience was the lack of A/C, due to no electric. But we ate and drank and used the "facilities" and slept in our own comfy beds and had my son and his family were there with us as their home was lost to the flood waters. I believe in being prepared. If you are all electric my goodness purchase a generator for emergency use (which we did not have) or at the very least have a kerosene heater and some kerosene available to keep warm with if the lights go out in the winter.

***PLEASE NOTE***
There are many good reasons to be perpared and no good reason not to be. If cost is the reason you do not have one, please just purchase a little along every now & then until you complete your kit. It does not have to be anything fancy...use items you may already have on hand for instance I used a little fondue stand to hold my sterno and cooked over that. Save empty gallon milk jugs that you have thoroughly cleaned to hold extra water if need be, etc...... Use your head, think things through and plan knowing that stores will be closed, gas pumps will be down, and you ARE going to be roughing it for a while, and you will have to be self-reliant and self-dependant for a while. People do come together after natural disasters and help each other and everyone kind of looks after the other, but if no one prepares in advance who is going to be able to help another?

P.S. My Eddie has his original military issue P-38 or nicknamed "John Wayne" any of you guys remember what that is??? I know CanMan does!

 

[Mama Mangia]

where I live - during the winter months you need an emergency kit in the car - a couple warm up suits, extra tees, long underwear, extra socks and gloves, canned goods, water, pillows, blankets - you name it - and that is just for those that go to work everyday!

25 minute commutes here can be several hours long when the weather hits - one year - 20 minutes to work and 7 days to get home!

 

[The Ironic Chef]

I still wear my p38 on my dog tags chain to this day. You can never tell when a stray can of peaches may need opening, lol. We also nick named the chocolate in the c-rats a John Wayne bar and the crackers, well, you ate one of them and they would suck whatever moisture you had in your body right out.
Just a note. Chef Boy R D got his start making his spaghetti for those C Rats. He wasactually awarded a Medal Of Honor for it. If you look close at a picture of him you can actually pick out the medal.

 

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

I still wear my p38 on my dog tags chain to this day. You can never tell when a stray can of peaches may need opening, lol. We also nick named the chocolate in the c-rats a John Wayne bar and the crackers, well, you ate one of them and they would suck whatever moisture you had in your body right out.
Just a note. Chef Boy R D got his start making his spaghetti for those C Rats. He wasactually awarded a Medal Of Honor for it. If you look close at a picture of him you can actually pick out the medal.

Man can you imagine a medal just for canning something decent? I got some ribbons and a little cash from the County Fair one time for my called goods, and I was ecstatic!!! I was like 9 months pregnant and jumping up and down and so happy I am surprised I didn't go into labor right there But he was born on 10/31 Happy Halloween!!!! The County Fair was always held in October I will never forget that as long as I live, a Big City girl came into a Po-Dunk Alabama one-horse town and taught myself how to can and make jelly and then went to winning some ribbons, and boy was my sis-in-law mad and jealous as a wet-hen!!! Hee-Hee

 

[CanMan]

Now CanMan if a disater hits I feel you are the best prepared! I am similar to you only I include Sterno, Water Purification tablets, water proof matches, and I keep lots of bottled water for the initial week following the disaster.

I guess I've gone beyond the "if a disaster strikes" thinking to knowing it "will" occur and preparing for it as if there is no tomorrow and I know a disaster is going to last a lot longer than a week or so.

And of course our current world economic situation is a "disaster" of sorts and it will be getting a lot worse in the coming months and years and, no, it is not all going to be fixed and be back to 'normal' by next year. As businesses and supply channels dry up, so does our instant gratification way of life. Food and supplies are going to be getting very expensive and in short supply. Yes, depression and probably worse and different than the first one, but that isn't the 'disaster'. The next 12-24 months will be interesting.

And I also get very nervous when I know that soon people are going to be deprived of things they dearly love, including jobs and income. Here in Los Angeles we have experienced it far too many times and it is becoming evident in other countries. Soon to be seen in your own home town.

 

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

It is NERVE wracking thinking about the economy and the state of affairs that we are in right now CanMan, but I hope it is just a phase and that it will in a few years correct itself as all phases do!