Posted: 10/14/2006 6:54:13 PM EDT
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This post was inspired by Gonzo B’s post about the weather in Buffalo and preparing for an emergency. I am not talking about bugging out... how self sufficient are you with food and water??? In other words, if there were a disaster and you couldn’t shop, how long before you run out of food and water??? I don’t think I keep that much on hand, but I do try to keep at least a couple dozen tins of tuna on hand at all times in addition to at least another dozen or so canned goods such as beans, corn, soup, etc. If power was out and things looked tough, I could eat out of the fridge/freezer for at least four or five days. Then, I could go at least two more weeks with canned goods. Water would be my main concern…. I usually keep several gallons of water on hand, (beer, wine and soda, too), but if no water was available, that would be a problem after about two weeks. If water was available (or rain), I suspect I could go a month or more with the rice, beans and pasta on hand. Granted, after the first two weeks, the food would start to be pretty boring (and I might be fighting zombies). How about you??? |
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A good long time, my family's preparations are based around being ready for an H5N1 avian flu pandemic. If you're ready for something big, you'll be "readier" for something small. Rice is cheap by the 10-pound bag (and would have been even cheaper if we could have found the 50-pound ones, but oh well). I made a little calculator in Excel for this purpose, based off several major items that make good "staples." Canned goods and such aren't included, they vary too much. Here it is ETA: If you're really serious, make an Excel sheet of your own and start calculating calories. Number of servings in a can * number of calories in a serving * number of cans for each item; I think you'll find that canned goods aren't as calorie-rich as you may think. They're certainly easy to buy, easy to store, and easy to eat, since heating is nice but not essential, but as far as calories versus bulk (and price) goes, you're paying for a lot of water. Dried bulk foods (rice, oatmeal, pasta, beans - especially lentils) will take you much further, but those items require cooking in water. Speaking of water, you need to budget at least half a gallon per day just for drinking; one gallon per day is a safer estimate, including some for cooking and such. May be even higher depending on your local climate and the amount of exertion you'll be performing. |
