I went to the grocery store last week for our bi-monthly resupply. It seemed to me that some shelves were barer than before. Meat was almost all gone but the pasta, soups and cereals were pretty well picked over. We know the meat supply is disrupted because of outbreaks in the processing plants.
Overall, the ripple effect is just starting in the food supply chain. Also, the second wave of the pandemic, and there is always a second wave, is just beginning. The stunning images from Memorial Day weekend show how misinformation and lack of leadership endangers lives. Many people think the worst is past with over 100,000 dead. The strange thing is that two months ago those same people were mocking predictions of 100,000 dead. People came to this blog and insulted me for posting those predictions from those folks called scientists. Now they’re believing lockdown is over. I do think we have to relax lockdown but going to the beach, a bar, the pool, having parties is just plain stupid and not rebooting the economy.
Regardless, let’s discuss food and what you need to be prepared for.
Every time I go into the grocery store, I’m amazed at the amount and variety of food. Actually, I’m like the guy at the end of Hurt Locker, staring at all the various types of cereal in utter confusion. When the checkout person asks me if I found everything, I tell them “No, and my wife will let me know when I get home.”
Having gone without food for eight days during survival training and parachuted in with all the food (and ammunition and other gear) I was going to have for the next 30 days on an operation, I am very aware of the importance of food.
I’m also aware of how quickly the food in stores will go bad and rot within a few days with no power or being replaced. Most people have several days to a week’s worth of food on hand in the refrigerator and pantry. If the power goes off, start on the food in the freezer first, then the refrigerator, as those will be good for only about three days.
In most situations after water, our next most urgent requirement is food. Actually, most people’s minds turn to food before they think of water, even though the latter is more critical.
How much food do you have stored in your house?
What is the shelf life?
Emergency food should be outside the normal rotation of food you use daily, except as you need to rotate the stored food to keep from spoilage. This emergency food should be stored in a different location than your normal food supply. Keep track of expiration dates on a calendar.
The easiest way to decide what food to get is to store the non-perishable food you normally eat, keeping in mind expiration dates. This requires you to have a rotation plan. Do not put your rotation plan on your iCal or other electronic device. It must be a manual plan. In fact, back up all information you will need in a survival situation that is currently on an electronic platform on a manual platform.
If you don’t want to invest a lot of time into this, there are numerous companies that make and sell bulk packets of long-lasting food supplies (25 years in many cases). These sites even have survival food spreadsheets where you can calculate what you need. While this might not be the ‘hard-core’ survivalist way, it’s a smart way. The upfront investment is worth the long-term comfort of mind. I have several of these buckets of food.
This is an important area. I believe you can do things the hard way or the easy way. Survival is hard. Preparing for it doesn’t need to be. Experts have done much of the preparation for you; you just have to use them. However, I’ve also learned not to go cheap on certain life-saving items.
Finally, after being sold out for months, the Mountain House bucket is available once more for sale. These meals are made by the same company that made the LRRP meals we loved in Special Operations. They take hot water to prepare and you can actually eat them out of the packets, so no dishes to wash. I also take these when I got camping.
In the next post, we’ll discuss emergency rations and other food items.
The Green Beret Pocket-Sized Survival Guide (same as above, minus the preparation part in order to be smaller in print)
The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide. Also in Kindle Unlimited.
Bob, could you explain the reasoning behind starting on the freezer food before you start on the refrigerator food? Wouldn’t the food in a chest freezer stay good a little longer than the food in the refrigerator, from which the cold air falls out every time you open the door? I’m one of those people who likes to understand the why of a recommendation. Thanks!
I found an FDA webpage on food safety that talks about how long and under what conditions food stays safe in the refrigerator and the freezer. It does not answer my question about which food collection to eat first and why, but it did have a lot of useful information. I’ll share the link, since others besides me might find it of interest.
https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods
I have info about expiration dates in the guide and I’ll post it in a post this week. Thanks!
The reason is your freezer food will go bad faster than the stuff in the refrigerator once it thaws.
Thanks for explaining! I’m a “why” junkie. 😀