Store It Foods

Emergency preparedness is receiving a lot of attention these days, and with good reason.  Government officials and other experts are certainly stressing the need to prepare for emergencies.  It is no wonder so many people are wisely and actively engaged in food storage programs, making sure every family member has access to a 72 hour kit, preparing for power outages, and doing their best to get ready to cope with storms, floods and all sorts of other natural disasters.

An important question needs to be posed, however.  Are you ready to act upon those preparations?

For instance, consider that brand new chain saw you’ve placed in the garage in case you need it for clean-up purposes after some sort of a severe storm.  You may know how to gas it up and turn it on, but do you know how to safely remove a tree that may end up leaning upon your house? How about felling a tree?  Do you know how to make certain that it falls exactly where you want it to fall?

Perhaps you’ve purchased a gas generator to help in the event of power failures.  Where is a safe place to store the gas for it?  How much gas should be stored?  Is the generator itself securely locked down?  Unfortunately, a generator can provide a tempting target for thieves during an emergency.

Speaking of emergencies, how about those emergency survival kits, the 72 hour kits.  Have you personalized them?  Have you made important medications a part of them?  Have you checked with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure you know how long those medications can safely be stored?

Do you know how to use some of those other components?  How do you put together that emergency shovel?  Do you know how to pitch the tent that’s in the backpack?  If you’ve got a fire starter, how does it work?

You may have stored some important documents on a flash drive.  That’s a great idea.  Have you made certain, though, that it is password protected?  Does it need to be password protected?  Do you need to worry about identity theft should that flash drive somehow fall into the wrong hands?  Do you know how to implement password protection?

If you have started a food storage program, are you actually storing foods that you are actually going to eat? In other words, do you like the food you are storing?  Have you avoided foods to which family members are allergic?  Do you know how to cook using all of those delicacies that you have so carefully dehydrated?  If you are planning on grinding wheat to produce flour, do you have the wheat?  Do you have the grinder?  If you have a grinder, do you know how to use it?  You’re expecting to bake your own bread, but have you actually baked bread before?

We could go on and on.  The point being made, of course, is that it is wise to be prepared, but it is even wiser to be prepared to know how to use what you have prepared.  During the emergency itself is really not the best time to start the learning process.

So how do you start the learning?  Well, there are probably all sorts of sources available to you.  You may know a fellow at church who is well versed in emergency preparations.  Someone you work with may be a true outdoorsman who is handy with chain saws and many similar tools.  A neighbour down the street may be a good friend who has been canning for years, or may bake bread on a regular basis.  They’ll probably be quite willing to share some of their expertise with you.

You may also want to consult with somebody from your community’s emergency measures organization.  As well, there are lots of guides and guidance on-line.  There are also likely to be lots of tips and “how to’s” in the manuals that came with your grain mill, chain saw or gasoline generator.  What’s at the local library?  What can you find at the book store?

You’ll need to analyze your own situation.  You are aware of how much you already know.  You likely have some idea as to who the local experts might be.

Just take the time to do it.  Be prepared to be prepared.

There’s nothing more important than keeping your family safe and secure in any given situation. It’s why we lock the doors when we leave the house. It’s why we agonize over choosing the right baby sitter. The bottom line is that responsible parents take every step to be prepared and responsible in issues that concern the safety of their children. That’s why every parent should designate a time to discuss your family’s plan should any kind of disaster strike.

During this time, let everyone in the family know where the flashlights, first aid kit, and other emergency gear are located. It’s a simple fact that emergency preparedness is the best way to keep harm from befalling your family if the unexpected happens. That’s also why every fridge should have a reserve of frozen water, and every pantry should have plenty of canned food and dehydrated snacks. In a major disaster, this supply of food can truly be a life saver.

The story is told of a young buisiness woman who moved to a small community, and having just moved was unfamiliar with many of the services available there.  Anticipating a major social event, for which she would like to rent a limo, she did some checking and was dismayed to find that there wasn’t very much available.

It then dawned on her that funeral homes often had limousines, and she wondered if there were any rental possibilities there.  The first home she phoned told her that, yes, they had a limo, and, yes, they would be willing to make it available if there was no business need for the vehicle.

Much relieved, she then asked if she could rent it for the day of June 15th, a date two or three months in the future.  During the awkward pause that followed, she suddenly realized what she had just asked.

Just as the funeral home could not know whether or not there would be a need for funeral services and the consequent requirement of a limousine for the bereaved family, we cannot be sure just when (if ever) that emergency might arise for which we are preparing. 

Nevertheless, it is wise to be prepared, and if, for instance, we have established a food storage program there is no rule that says we cannot take food from that program and use it in day-to-day situations.   In fact, that is exactly what should be done.  It is wise to “rotate” that food.

It wasn’t forecast, but we had a rather spectacular thunder and lightning show last night.  There wasn’t much rain, but there was lots of noise.  There was also a bit of a  power outage.  It didn’t last long, mere moments in fact, but it did last long enough to affect my computer.

Upon awakening this morning I found that it had been shut down.  Not having anticipated this storm, I had not taken the precaution of shutting down and unplugging. Mind you, with surge protectors, etc. you wouldn’t think that would be necessary.  Still, now it was off, and I worried a little when I had trouble turning it back on.  Fortunately, past experience in similar circumstances had revealed to me that my computer has a strange tendency of sometimes not paying attention to the on-off button on the front.  Instead, I have to go the power switch at the back, turn that off, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on.  With a feeling of relief, I found that this had once again worked.

The problem was solved, but it served as a great reminder of the reason for which I had purchased a external hard drive.  What if I hadn’t been able to reactivate my machine?  What if the internal hard drive had somehow been corrupted?  What would I have done about all of those files and pictures in “My Documents”, “My Pictures” and “My Videos?”  There are some irrplaceable things there and I would hate to lose them.

That external hard drive, however, can be used for “backing up.”  Done frequently enough, I probably wouldn’t have lost much if the computer itself would have failed me.

So, do I advocate having some sort of an external storage device for your personal computer?  You bet I do.  I also advocate the following of advice provided by emergency preparedness experts, and having vital documents and files backed up onto a thumb drive or something similar that could be stored away from your home office.  In fact, it might be a good idea to have two or three copies made, with at least one being stored off site.

Yet, they too need to be kept current.  If time, circumstances and documents change, fresh copies need to be made.  We’re probably all aware of that, but doing it “when I get around to it,” or “when time permits” may not suffice when those emergencies strike — when you no longer can get around to it, or when time has run out.  Perhaps we need to make that time.  It could certainly translate into some peace of mind later on.

If you are planning on purchasing a grain mill so that you can grind your own wheat and other grains, you’ll soon find that there are lots of options.  One of the first choices that needs to be made is whether or not you want to go with a manual grinder or an electric powered model of some sort.

For some of us, though, both are needed.  This would certainly be the case if you wanted the speed and convenience of an electric mill, but needed the capability of continuing to produce your own flour even in the face of power outages.  That could be a part of your family’s emergency preparedness planning.

If that is the case, you would, of course, then want to limit your searches to machines that have both options — normally run using electricity, but with the option available of converting to hand operation.  Or would you?

Such machines certainly exist, but they tend to be rather costly.  Surprisingly enough, it is often more economical to buy two instead of one.  Select a good quality electric grain mill, and choose, as well, a manual grinder that would also meet your needs.  You might actually save money by doing so.  In any case, it is certainly worth investigating.

It has been mentioned in these pages that food storage means more than just the storage of food.  If you are thinking of long term needs, it is wise, of course, to have an ample supply of storage foods on hand.Other needs might include methods of preparing and cooking that food, water sources, and all sorts of other things that are necessary to cope during an emergency.   “Prepare” is an important part of the phrase “emergency preparedness.”  Planning ahead just might be crucial. 

And make sure you give some thought to that planning.  In other words, we need not only to have materials on hand, but we need also to be able use those materials.  When it comes to food, food storage should consist of foods that we will actually eat.  You may want to have a manually operated can opener available in the event of power outages, but if arthritic hands make the operation of a standard can opener difficult, a ratcheting can opener might be just a little easier to use and a better choice for that storage.  A propane barbecue could become a very important and useful appliance to have on hand when the electric range is non-functional, but a lack of porpane could end that usefulness.    Similarly, a flashlight or two or three or more should be available in every home — just in case.  Yet, if they batteries, and batteries are not to be had, what good are they?

Yes, a little planning  and a little thought should also be made a part of our emergency survival and food storage preparations.

The use of bottle water has become quite a controversial topic as of late.  Plastic water bottles are filling landfills as they are being discarded in their millions.  Can carcinogens leach from the plastic into the water they contain?  Debate rages over that as well.

And how good are they for long term water storage if you want to use them that way?  The rule of thumb is a maximum one year storage life.  Yet, one government agency has this to say, “Like many other food products, bottled water normally contains low numbers of harmless bacteria. However, if stored for prolonged periods at room temperatures, these bacteria can multiply rapidly. A 1988 Health Canada study of bottled water kept at room temperature for 30 days showed a substantial increase in the bacterial count.”

A safer bet might be to consider the keeping of something like Aqua Literz, a sterilized product in a sterilized container that has actually been designed for such long term storage.  With a five year shelf life, and with the approval of such agencies as the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Red Cross, it can also provide you with peace of mind.

Shelter in Place is the practice of going or remaining indoors in the event of a sudden emergency.  This is done as opposed to evacuating the area, something that might be found necessary due to the release of an airborne hazardous material, or, in the case of schools and offices, when confronted with armed intruders.

In other words, evacuation is not always an option.  For that reason part of our emergency preparedness planning should also include the possible need to stay indoors, perhaps in a single room which could quickly be made ready to seal us away from deadly fumes or smoke — airborne pollutants that could quickly overcome anyone remaining outdoors and unprotected.

Have on hand duct tape and plastic sheeting that could be used to seal non-airtight windows.  Use that same tape to seal the cracks around doors.  Have water on hand, not only for drinking, but for soaking a large towel that could be used to block the airspace below those doors.

In case the danger persists for more than one or two hours, it would also benefit you to have a bit of food and drinking water readily available.  Emergency toilet faciltities might also be in order.  Prepare your own supplies, or see what is commercially available.  Shelter in Place kits do exist.

You should also research the subject.  Be aware of what dangers might exist in your particular community.  It may never happen, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Do you ever find yourself throwing away those little balls of cotton that occasionally come with pill or vitamin purchases?  Well, you’re not alone.  Most people do that.  After all, other than providing packing for pills and vitamins, what use are they?

Truth be told, though, they can be useful.  Insert them along with a few wooden matches into a waterproof container of some kind, and you have a compact fire starting kit for inclusion in your emergency survival kit.  The cotton makes great tinder.

Make sure, however, that those matches are not safety matches.  A regular match can be lit by striking against almost any rough surface.  A safety match cannot.