Emergency preparedness isn't about getting ready for an end-of-the-world scenario. Rather, it's bracing yourself for any type of disaster: a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, or a power outage, to name a few. Although you may leave the area during a disaster warning, the aftermath is still left after the storm. Help might not always come quick enough, and for the times you find yourself isolated by a disaster, be prepared with emergency food storage.
If you check your cabinets right now, you probably have a less than a week's worth of food. Because help may not arrive for two weeks or more, having the supplies to last you this period is crucial. In addition to a supply of water, your food storage needs to include staple items and non-perishable foods. As this supply may be your only source of food for the next few weeks, having the basic supplies to prepare it, such as water and a heat source, is also necessary.
Food storage, on the other hand, should not be done at the last minute. With everyone rushing to the stores to pick up emergency supplies, how much will be left? Instead, building up food storage needs to be part of your lifestyle.
If you are new to creating food storage, your basics include grains, beans, dehydrated milk, sugar, salt, oil, and seeds. Each supply should last you at least a year. Equipment for preparing the food, such as a grain mill, also needs to be available.
Living off grains and beans for several weeks, however, can be dull. Incorporating freeze-dried or dehydrated emergency preparedness foods is one common approach to varying your diet in emergency situations. Two common brands of freeze-dried foods, Mountain House and Alpine Aire come in kits to last several weeks to a year. Inside each are several #10 cans or pouches filled with individual freeze-dried foods, breakfasts, or entrees, and only water is needed to rehydrate a serving.
Kits of Mountain House or Alpine Aire foods have enough servings for an individual or a family to live off 1,100 to 1,800 calories per day. Your basics, such as grains or beans, can supplement a kit's caloric amount for a full day of nutrition.
The length of time a Mountain House, Alpine Aire, or any freeze-dried food kit lasts is a significant concern. In general, if unopened cans or pouches are not exposed to light, the emergency food kit can last 10 to 20 years. After this point, the food inside may start to deteriorate.
Your food storage, which should include your basics plus a Mountain House or Alpine Aire food kit, needs to be in a controlled area in order to last many years. Ideally, this space is 50°F to 60°F, free of chemicals, and dark. A dry, temperature-controlled crawl space or basement in your home is the perfect spot. Food, however, must never be kept underground or in a trash container.
After a can or pouch is opened, the food has been exposed to light, but the full #10 can does not need to be consumed at once. Instead, the container may be resealed in order to preserve the freeze-dried food inside. Options for storing already-opened cans include resealing with a commercial resealer, freezing the leftovers, or storing them in an airtight container. In any case, the remaining servings in a pouch or #10 can need to be consumed within a year.
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Dehydrating is the oldest form of food preservation. While this was once done by drying foods in the sun, food dehydrators, such as those by Excalibur, are preferred for modern preservation. |
