Food - Getting Started

Taking Stock
You don't need MREs (meals ready to eat) or survival rations to prepare for an emergency. While those items do have their place, and I'll talk about them below, the first thing to do is go home and see how many days worth of non-perishable food you have that doesn't need to be cooked. If you can live for 3 or 4 days off your current food supplies without cooking then you're doing ok. My ideal is being able to go a week without cooking. Food in your fridge that doesn't have to be cooked counts, but you'll have to use it within a day. Being able to cook, especially if you have frozen food, will extend your food supply but for now assume you can't cook. Cooking will come in a later post.

Canned Food
Canned food is cheap, has lots of variety, doesn't have to be cooked, and lasts a really long time. The downside is that it's heavy and most items aren't calorie dense, meaning for their size and weight they're not as high calorie as rations. If you have to evacuate you don't want to throw a bunch of canned food in your backpack, but if get to stay in your home then canned food is an ideal way to stock up and make sure you always have something to eat when you need it.

On your next trip to the grocery store pickup 3 cans of food. I would do something like a can of beans, a can of mixed veggies, and a can of fruit. Whatever you get, make sure it's something you would eat even if there wasn't an emergency. On your next trip to the grocery store, pick up 3 more cans, adding a little variety to the mix. After three trips to the store, these cans combined with whatever food you normally have in the house will be enough to last you at least 3 days. With subsequent trips to the grocery store, increase your stockpile of canned goods to last about 5 days. As your canned goods get close to expiration, eat them and buy more.

Calories
You should plan to eat at least 1,200 calories per day. If you're short on food it's ok to ration it out but if you skimp too much you'll make yourself sick. Depending on the situation, you may need more or less calories. If you're taking shelter in your home and there is little damage you won't need as many calories as if you are forced to evacuate and be on the move.

Know your body and your habits. I have a fast metabolism and need over 2,000 calories per day to function well. I can eat less than that but it'll leave me tired and probably a bit cranky. During an emergency, a major earthquake for example, I'll probably be relatively active, out helping neighbors or looking for people who may be trapped. Knowing this, I'm planning my kit with at least 2,400 calories per day.

Eat Perishables First
If the power goes out, the first thing to do is eat what you have in the fridge. It will keep cool for about a day but past that your food is going to spoil. After that, work on what you can from the freezer. You can also stick things from the fridge in the freezer so since the the freezer will stay cooler longer. Try to open either as little as possible. After that, work on items off your shelves. Save your canned foods for last.

Rations
Rations are great if you need to evacuate. They're compact for the number of calories you get so you can fit a lot more calories in an emergency bag, with much less weight, compared to canned foods. If you don't have a lot of storage space in your apartment, these can also be an alternative or supplement to canned food. I keep 3 3600 calorie emergency rations in my evacuation bag but two would be pretty good for most people. The rations I get are good for 5 years and they are non-thirst provoking, meaning they are low in salt and won't make you thirsty.

The rations I use are Mainstay 3600 calorie emergency bars. They run about $8 to $10 per 3600 calorie pack but if you buy a case of 10 you can get them for a little less. If you don't need 10, split the case with friends or coworkers. Have some ziplock bags on hand so that once you open it you can keep it clean and contained. The entire bar is like a giant cookie. When you buy your rations, make sure it's still vacuum sealed, I had to exchange one that had lost it's seal.

If you're just starting out with your emergency kit and are trying to keep your costs low, don't worry about buying rations yet. That can come a little later. If you can afford it, get two.

Recommended Items to Purchase
- 3 Cans of food x 3
- Can opener (if needed)

Cost: < $5 per trip to the store