Posted By: Anonymous
Emergency Food Procurement - 03/19/2009 10:45 PM
I recieved the following email from a friend. Pretty good info on stocking up on food when short on funds. RD6
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Reflecting on the concerns expressed to me in a couple survival & political internet forums I moderate (which is why this is BCC'd as they
get it as well), I put this together. Do with it as you wish.
With times getting like they are, more and more people are getting more concerned about the reliability of a supermarket. I recall one woman
saying a few years back that during some kind of a disaster (I don't recall what it was, but it was in California) the local supermarket,
Safeway, I think, was empty within hours. So if there is an event that cuts off the supply, how long will your supermarket last? So as I
openly share my experience and advice, people come to me asking "what do I do now?" Well, the first thing is to think. Then start asking
yourself the same questions I have been asked, and you will find that the answer lies within you.
Let me explain.
Exactly what is an emergency food supply? Well, it's a food supply that you rely upon in he event of an emergency, right? Right! But, what IS an "emergency" Ah! Good question, now start thinking. What happens if you lose your job, and you can't find work? Oh boy! Can't pay the rent! Utilities! FOOD! Now back up for a moment.
There are Churches, some are Christian and some aren't, that will help you for a month or two. In fact I recall one I attended for a while
that had a deal. If you worked for the pastor doing odd jobs with him, he covered your rent. Well now, that rules out having a 5 bed 3 bath
condo in Aspen, for sure! And if housing was lost because of the situation, he had brokered deals with several motels for housing.
Motels suck when it comes to housing, really. But if you have no where else to go and the manager is willing to trade a litle bit of your work in exchange for a month or two, who's to complain, right? Right! And the same for utilities, in fact every utility company I have had accounts with in the past 20 years had a program that would help people in times of crisis like that. So that's a no-brainer.
But now #3- food.
Today I went to Saturday's, a store on the extreme south end of Leadville, and after getting gas found a couple nice deals on food. 12 pack of Kraft Macaroni & cheese for $10.99, a pint of dehydrated hash browns for $1.79 and two boxes of rice for $1.25. Total cost, $14.03 and total suggested servings, 77. Now think about that for a minute and set it in the back of your head, please.
The most common question I am asked is "What do I buy", "Is thee a special type of food? Special tools?" The biggest message I here is "I
don't understand". So how do you figure it out? What do you get? Now this goes over to what I learned when I learned wilderness survival.
And THE biggest key to surviving is all psychological. When you have a bad situation arise, don't treat it like it's a disater. Like it's the end of the world. Actually, make the situation as stress-less as possible. In the wilderness that means knowing what to do and having the skills to utilize it. In the urban setting, it means make it no different than ordinary life.
There are no special foods to buy for a crisis. Instead, buy what you normally buy, but keep in mind that perishables do very poorly in storage. So I suggest you do what I do- buy dry packaged & canned foods. Canned foods have a long life span. Dry packaged foods, even longer. And it does not take up a lot of space, either.
Now reflecting back on the purchase I made earlier. $14.03 plus tax. 77 suggested servings. For me that means more like 48-50 servings, as I'm a pig. I eat to live and live to eat. But, how many meals comes from that 48-50 servings? Honestly, for me, around two weeks in a crisis, three if I push it. And you know what I did? I bought exactly what I use already.
Right now, how much can you spare out of each paycheck? Can you cut down on smoking (if you smoke)? What about the beer? Lots of stuff you
can cut back on. Me, I don't drink or smoke, and I can get around $50-75 per month I can throw into stocking up. And reflecting back on what I desribed in today's purchase, you can see that you can get an awful lot, you just have to look around to find it.
So let me give you these keys to a better-than-expected emergency food plan.
1. Mix & match. Make sure your diet varies. Very few people can live a long time on one type of food. Mine has macaroni & cheese, shells & cheese, sweet peas, cut green beans, sliced green beans, cream corn,
whole kernal corn, and I even have rolls of beef summer sausage. Also have ramen noodles, dried pinto beans, dried split peas, cubed & granular chicken broth, and essentials like salt & pepper and other spices to take the monotony from the same repetitive diets.
2. Have a safe place to store them. Keep them dry & keep them cool. And be cautious of rodents. Poisons are a very bad idea to have around food storage. So what I do is if there are rodents expected, dump an entire box of flaked mashed potatoes on the floor. Mashed taters? Yep. No poison to it, the rodents will eat their fill, and you can guess what happens next. Always worked for me.
3. Consider who will be using this storage. Is it just you? You and your wife? You, your husband and kids? Plan the menu around that.
4. Reflecting on #1, write down what you eat at each meal, how much, and do that for a month. There's your purchase list right there.
5. Be cautious in buying specialized foods. If you are not already used to the diet, a switch
"on the fly" can be deleterious to your crisis.
You can get sick from it.
6. Emergency supplies is more than just food. Make sure you have medications, personal care items, spices, seasonings, female hygiene
products if you're a woman or will have a woman there, and one thing you should never run out of is toilet paper.
So to reflect again on my experience, a year and a half ago I lost more of my food supply. I had a lot. So in th past year that I have been
working on this, and I have accumulated 14 months of supplies. It was done easily, as my diet never changed. It was done economically, as I
was willing to stick money back for the local sales. In such cases I was saving up to 75%.
Now lets go back to the third paragraph. You lost your job. You can't find one. You go to a church and get help for two months rent. Your
power company gives you a break for three months so you can get back on your feet. And now, with your emergency food supply, food isn't an issue. Your three biggest problems are taken care of. Now, utilizing these, and the resources you get elsewhere (like unemployment) life hasn't really changed much, and you can use the public aid to help you find work.
Amazing, isn't it? Such a complex problem, with such an easy solution. The next time you go grocery shopping, spend an extra $10. Get maybe a couple cans of beans, or flaker potatoes, or even macaroni & cheese. It won't seem like much at first, but it'll grow.
In closing I want to share one of my favorite quotes, bu Dr. Louis Pasteur- "Chance favors only the prepared mind."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflecting on the concerns expressed to me in a couple survival & political internet forums I moderate (which is why this is BCC'd as they
get it as well), I put this together. Do with it as you wish.
With times getting like they are, more and more people are getting more concerned about the reliability of a supermarket. I recall one woman
saying a few years back that during some kind of a disaster (I don't recall what it was, but it was in California) the local supermarket,
Safeway, I think, was empty within hours. So if there is an event that cuts off the supply, how long will your supermarket last? So as I
openly share my experience and advice, people come to me asking "what do I do now?" Well, the first thing is to think. Then start asking
yourself the same questions I have been asked, and you will find that the answer lies within you.
Let me explain.
Exactly what is an emergency food supply? Well, it's a food supply that you rely upon in he event of an emergency, right? Right! But, what IS an "emergency" Ah! Good question, now start thinking. What happens if you lose your job, and you can't find work? Oh boy! Can't pay the rent! Utilities! FOOD! Now back up for a moment.
There are Churches, some are Christian and some aren't, that will help you for a month or two. In fact I recall one I attended for a while
that had a deal. If you worked for the pastor doing odd jobs with him, he covered your rent. Well now, that rules out having a 5 bed 3 bath
condo in Aspen, for sure! And if housing was lost because of the situation, he had brokered deals with several motels for housing.
Motels suck when it comes to housing, really. But if you have no where else to go and the manager is willing to trade a litle bit of your work in exchange for a month or two, who's to complain, right? Right! And the same for utilities, in fact every utility company I have had accounts with in the past 20 years had a program that would help people in times of crisis like that. So that's a no-brainer.
But now #3- food.
Today I went to Saturday's, a store on the extreme south end of Leadville, and after getting gas found a couple nice deals on food. 12 pack of Kraft Macaroni & cheese for $10.99, a pint of dehydrated hash browns for $1.79 and two boxes of rice for $1.25. Total cost, $14.03 and total suggested servings, 77. Now think about that for a minute and set it in the back of your head, please.
The most common question I am asked is "What do I buy", "Is thee a special type of food? Special tools?" The biggest message I here is "I
don't understand". So how do you figure it out? What do you get? Now this goes over to what I learned when I learned wilderness survival.
And THE biggest key to surviving is all psychological. When you have a bad situation arise, don't treat it like it's a disater. Like it's the end of the world. Actually, make the situation as stress-less as possible. In the wilderness that means knowing what to do and having the skills to utilize it. In the urban setting, it means make it no different than ordinary life.
There are no special foods to buy for a crisis. Instead, buy what you normally buy, but keep in mind that perishables do very poorly in storage. So I suggest you do what I do- buy dry packaged & canned foods. Canned foods have a long life span. Dry packaged foods, even longer. And it does not take up a lot of space, either.
Now reflecting back on the purchase I made earlier. $14.03 plus tax. 77 suggested servings. For me that means more like 48-50 servings, as I'm a pig. I eat to live and live to eat. But, how many meals comes from that 48-50 servings? Honestly, for me, around two weeks in a crisis, three if I push it. And you know what I did? I bought exactly what I use already.
Right now, how much can you spare out of each paycheck? Can you cut down on smoking (if you smoke)? What about the beer? Lots of stuff you
can cut back on. Me, I don't drink or smoke, and I can get around $50-75 per month I can throw into stocking up. And reflecting back on what I desribed in today's purchase, you can see that you can get an awful lot, you just have to look around to find it.
So let me give you these keys to a better-than-expected emergency food plan.
1. Mix & match. Make sure your diet varies. Very few people can live a long time on one type of food. Mine has macaroni & cheese, shells & cheese, sweet peas, cut green beans, sliced green beans, cream corn,
whole kernal corn, and I even have rolls of beef summer sausage. Also have ramen noodles, dried pinto beans, dried split peas, cubed & granular chicken broth, and essentials like salt & pepper and other spices to take the monotony from the same repetitive diets.
2. Have a safe place to store them. Keep them dry & keep them cool. And be cautious of rodents. Poisons are a very bad idea to have around food storage. So what I do is if there are rodents expected, dump an entire box of flaked mashed potatoes on the floor. Mashed taters? Yep. No poison to it, the rodents will eat their fill, and you can guess what happens next. Always worked for me.
3. Consider who will be using this storage. Is it just you? You and your wife? You, your husband and kids? Plan the menu around that.
4. Reflecting on #1, write down what you eat at each meal, how much, and do that for a month. There's your purchase list right there.
5. Be cautious in buying specialized foods. If you are not already used to the diet, a switch
"on the fly" can be deleterious to your crisis.
You can get sick from it.
6. Emergency supplies is more than just food. Make sure you have medications, personal care items, spices, seasonings, female hygiene
products if you're a woman or will have a woman there, and one thing you should never run out of is toilet paper.
So to reflect again on my experience, a year and a half ago I lost more of my food supply. I had a lot. So in th past year that I have been
working on this, and I have accumulated 14 months of supplies. It was done easily, as my diet never changed. It was done economically, as I
was willing to stick money back for the local sales. In such cases I was saving up to 75%.
Now lets go back to the third paragraph. You lost your job. You can't find one. You go to a church and get help for two months rent. Your
power company gives you a break for three months so you can get back on your feet. And now, with your emergency food supply, food isn't an issue. Your three biggest problems are taken care of. Now, utilizing these, and the resources you get elsewhere (like unemployment) life hasn't really changed much, and you can use the public aid to help you find work.
Amazing, isn't it? Such a complex problem, with such an easy solution. The next time you go grocery shopping, spend an extra $10. Get maybe a couple cans of beans, or flaker potatoes, or even macaroni & cheese. It won't seem like much at first, but it'll grow.
In closing I want to share one of my favorite quotes, bu Dr. Louis Pasteur- "Chance favors only the prepared mind."