Emergency long term food storage

[AWCHIEF]

Not sure why you quoted me, but good post from you.

[CaddyGrn]

About 30 years ago we were in a serious earthquake...a good part of the little town we lived in (which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere) literally went down. All the water mains were damaged, no water, bridges weren't safe to drive over, natural gas lines were shut off.... and all stores were closed. You can't imagine the pickle and ketchup isle when the glass (then) bottles all fell to the floor.... However, at the time we had a motorhome (not an AS) and it was full of water and supplies , even cold beer! While we weren't able to leave town, we had propane to cook with, water to drink, etc. The townspeople rallied, however. All the grocery stores that had meat (power was off too...) donated it to a huge barbeque that was arranged to have it cooked and folks ate well. It was free. The National Guard came and set up a tent and cooked 3 square meals a day to the entire town. They were fabulous, the food was good and really helped the community. Budweiser Beer donated truckloads of canned water to the city... this went on for over 2 weeks until the power and water could be used.

We were glad, however, we could take care of ourselves with our little motor home, and ever since that time we have had some sort of trailer or "escape pod" just in case...

So, all in all I think having a trailer is a good thing for emergencies... and for fun!

[rmkrum]

Yup. Certain supplies, water, MREs, etc. Radio gear and tools. Always in our rig ready to go...



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[DHart]

We've always considered our RV to be a significant asset should a major emergency situation arise. Preparedness is something we strive for much of the time. Keeping a good stock of essentials is a very smart thing to do. And having an Airstream as an emergency get-away pod/shelter is a blessing.

This type of scenario is where having a beefy solar system on the Airstream can make s HUGE difference. Generators run only so long as you have fuel to feed them. With solar, a good inverter, and excellent batteries, at least whatever electrical needs one might have (probably not to include AC) can most likely be met. The fridge can be run, water can be heated using the inverter, without depleting propane. And the furnace's blower can be run, as well.

[Fly at Night]

I am sorta prepared, but am always haunted by something: what if it comes down to this?.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOccKTbUznk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQEIhOp5Zc

[slowmover]

There's enough stress to go around. As a condition of work I know how necessary these things are. And how one copes.

But full fresh water, propane and a pantry with canned or dried foodstuffs could make a difference. A bridge over the worst of things.

Same for a very good first aid kit. The type for which I'd need some training to use. Better to have it. Might even buy a book to go with it.

Sort of like cold weather rain gear. Takes up room I'd rather have for something else. Sits there for years. But there is no substitute when needed.

(No, I'm not biting on the panic humor he says with a smile).

[AtomicNo13]

I've said it before and I'll say it again....
Spam/ Velveeta, man will survive!

[slowmover]

Vienna sausages and canned nuts. Coffee concentrate. Bottled water. Canned soup. What I keep in the big truck for emergency. And appropriate for the tow vehicle.

But better quality, better nutritionally balanced meals are available. Packed for use a decade later. The quality one should have. And not necessary to have refrigeration or cool weather.

[Jim & Susan]

What is it that they want to shave every day? And how did Ray Milland get connected to a movie like that?? Life's little conundrums.....

Jim

[Wolf Alaska]

Chief, I think you are doing the prudent thing.

I expect you know that temperature affects the useful life of stored food, but since I didn't see it mentioned by other posters, I thought I would.

I'm not sure how much freeze dried food is affected by temperatures above 70, but maybe it is. I know that MRE-like food is stored best at 60 with the recommended storage life decreasing as the temperature increases.

Maybe its better to keep long term stored food in a somewhat temperature controlled environment and then move it to the RV when the time comes. Or, in cooler weather, the food could go into the RV for say, October to April. Most food boxes warn against letting the food freeze. I keep the interior of my RVs above freezing even though they get winterized for winter temps when I'm not using them. But I don't keep much more than a couple of food items on board. Any other non perishable food is handy but not on board.
I keep the propane bottles and tank full, and the fresh water tanks full, too.

Would like to be a "Minute man", but I'm more like a "One or Two hour man". Ideally, give me until in the morning to go and I'll do a better job !

[garybair]

Our license plate states how much we feel about our 28 as an escape pod.. :-)

We keep about ten #10 cans from our freeze dried food storage goods in our trailer, when not in use, and for the shorter trips. On longer trips when we are stocked up with a bunch of food anyway, we take the food storage out to save the weight.

[cwf]

Perhaps "rotate" your stock which is "timing out"... Keep the most recent.. Just make sure you have enough Tabasco or "Flaming Flamingo" around to try to make it palatable.

[garybair]

Rotate stock? Ah, you mean like the fruit cakes. ;-)

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by cwf

Perhaps "rotate" your stock which is "timing out"... Keep the most recent.. Just make sure you have enough Tabasco or "Flaming Flamingo" around to try to make it palatable.

Hurricane season is six months long, June 1st to November 30th. That's all the amount of time my emergency food stocks have to last. Buying foods with a shelf life measured in years does me no good because I'm not preparing for the end of civilization as we know it, just an interruption in essential services due to a storm event.

So before June 1st every year, I buy stocks of nonperishable foods that have a "sell by" or at least "use by" date sometime after November 30th, enough to last me at least a solid week. If a storm event happens, I use up the stuff with the earliest "use by" date first. Then come November 30th, anything that hasn't been used yet gets used. The rest of the year, I don't bother with emergency food stocks because outside of hurricane season, power outages are seldom city-wide and I can usually get by with one or two days' worth of nonperishable food just in case.

There is never a single food item in my pantry that is more than six months old. Period.