If a disaster hits, what is your strategy? How will you survive without water and power for several days? The average individual has less than a week's worth of food inside his or her home; many of those items are perishable. As a result, each individual, especially those in disaster-prone areas, needs to develop a preparedness strategy including an emergency food supply.
On a basic level, an emergency food supply nutritionally and calorically sustains an individual for several days to several weeks. As a result, an emergency food supply list needs to begin with grains, beans for protein, powdered milk, oil, sugar, salt, and seeds. While not all items should be purchased at once, aim for having a year's supply before a disaster hits.
Emergency food kits, on the other hand, allow you to diversify your diet in times of emergency. No longer dependent on rice and beans, an individual can include vegetables, fruits, other proteins, and dairy and subsist off 1,200 to 1,800 calories daily. Emergency food kits, such as those by Mountain House and Wise Foods, consist of various freeze-dried and dehydrated items. No matter if the kit is designed to last a month or a year, all items inside just need water to rehydrate. To have a meal prepared, a serving of freeze-dried food is combined with water, which also needs to be part of your disaster preparedness plan. The food, then, rehydrates and is ready to eat in minutes.
Emergency food supply kits present several packaging and meal options. Cans or pouches are used for supply units, and both have benefits. While cans can last multiple decades unopened, pouches contain just two servings and are easy to grab in the event of an evacuation. However, smaller cans combine both of these qualities.
All basics and freeze-dried items should be kept in one place. Light and moisture, however, adversely affect freeze-dried foods. To keep all items in good condition, choose a dark, dry, and cool location for food storage; a basement, crawlspace, or closet is ideal. Make sure chemicals are not present in the storage area.
Able to last more than two decades, #10 cans contain several servings. So, after you create a meal, what do you do with the leftovers? Not all freeze-dried food should be cooked at once, yet you want to keep the remainder in good condition for the next year. Much like the #10 can, the container for the freeze-dried food must be air tight. Three strategies can be taken. First, to keep the can, equip your food storage with a commercial re-sealer. After you take out a portion, reseal the can with the leftovers.
If you cannot find this type of re-sealer, make sure your food storage contains air-tight containers – enough to hold all leftovers. As a third option, freeze the rest of the food, and thaw it later for use.