Food

What happens if the food distribution chain is interrupted or just plain gone?

For most of us food is much more than nutrition. It facilitates social entertainment, therapy and craft and we view it as downright fun. In reality, it is one of the basic elements of survival. Throughout most of history the acquisition and preparation of food dominated our lives. All but the very upper classes devoted most of their waking hours to hunting and gathering food and preparing meals that were at best barely palatable by today’s standards. Today most of the population thinks the food chain is the line at McDonald’s or the grocery store. Acquisition of food is totally dependent on our gigantic infrastructure of manufacturing, power, transportation, distribution and retail. So what happens when any or all of that is interrupted?

While most of us can survive three weeks without food it is also true that we get cranky if lunch is over an hour late after a morning of nothing more strenuous than holding the coach down and running a remote. In other words, stop the calories and our performance deteriorates fast. In a survival situation your ability to maintain energy and performance can mean the difference between life and death in dealing with the multitude of other problems and challenges you’ll face.

Food Shortage…while not prevalent in the US today one in six countries in the world will face food shortages this year due to drought, economic crisis, political unrest or infrastructure breakdown. Can’t happen here you say? Wrong…it happens every hurricane season somewhere on the US coast. We get little glimpses of the horror that is possible with every natural disaster. What happens when the economy collapses and brings our infrastructure (“The Grid”) to its knees? More importantly, are you prepared to take your family through a short term emergency? What will happen if a week goes by and the shelves are empty or the stores are still closed? Do you have a food plan that will take you through longer periods of structural breakdown?

We will look at the topic of emergency food preparedness at three levels:

· Short term – what should be in your Go Bag/BOB?

· Medium term – the energy bars in my Go Bag/BOB are gone but the stores are still closed. What’s next?

· Long term – We’ve bugged out, are living in the hills and the stores won’t reopen for the foreseeable future. What is our plan for sustainable sources of nutritionally balanced and pleasant foods?

Short term– 72 hours with our friend BOB. Generally considered enough time to drive/hike out of the emergency zone and get back to where the grid is active or aid is available.

Our BOB should contain highly efficient sources of calories and energy.
Emergency food bars – look for Coast Guard or FEMA approval. Require no prep other than open and eat.
- Below are a few of the most common brands. Curious about taste and texture? Here's a link which compares the first 4 in the list.
- - S.O.S.
- - Mainstay
- - ER Bar
- - Datrex
- - Mayday
- - Millenium
- - UST Food Bar
- - Soldier Fuel

· MREs (meals ready to eat) yummy!! – These sound really neat unless you happen to be retired from the military. Many MREs will require some heating of water or ingredients to prepare. Make sure your BOB has little emergency stoves, fuel and two Boy Scouts to rub together to make a fire (or maybe just water proof matches will do).

Plan rations so that you have about 2000 - 2500 calories a day available – remember that in a survival situation you are likely to be on the move and under intense stress.
Include a handful of sweet treats…no sense in suffering any more than you have to.

Medium Term – Weeks or months of grid shutdown with no practical options to get out of the predicament. This plan should be sufficient to not only tide you over until better times return but should also contain plans and resources to implement a long term renewable food plan.

Include a sufficient quantity of freeze dried/dehydrated foods to cover your family for one month with an ultimate goal of a one year stock.

· Most specially prepared long term storage foods have a shelf life of 15 to 25 years under proper storage conditions.

· Freeze dried foods are vacuum wrapped, desiccated and sealed in heavy duty plastic storage tubs.

· Long term food plans come already packaged with a selection of items that fit a pre-planned menu.

· Typical plans are 72 hour, 2 weeks, 30 days, 6 months and one year.

Balancing cost, taste, and quality can be different for each individual but our strategy is to have 10-30 days of very high quality food then use some lesser expensive options to build up our 6-12 months of stock. Remember that there are many different outlets that sell several of these brands so once you decide on which brand you like you'll still need to shop around for the best price and the packages that include exactly what you need.

When it comes to quality and taste here are some of the best brands in the business (their prices reflect the high quality as well):

- Mountain House

- Thrive (Shelf Reliance)

- Patriot Supply

- Wise Foods (vegetarian)

- Legacy Premium

- Lindon Farms

All of the above companies taste great and have many years of experience upon which you can rely. There are several other emergency food providers with lower costs but still offer good quality and good taste.

- Auguson Farms

- Chef's Banquet

- Mother Earth

- Mormon Home Storage Center (Carrollton)

· Preparation requirements are a primary consideration -

· Water requirements

· Stoves and ovens

Camp stoves: Coleman.com

Solar Ovens: Make-and-Use-a-Solar-Oven OR Sun Ovens

· Utensils, pots pans and plates

Plan for lightweight durable items to use in a bug out scenario.

Plan for cleaning and sanitation of preparation supplies.

· Medium term plan should include supplements and freeze dried fruits to make up for lack of fresh fruit and vegetables.

· Got goodies (sweets and treats)? I hope so otherwise meal time will get pretty boring and morale will suffer.

Long Term Food Plan

Not a hunter? It might be a good skill to learn. Hunting not only includes the use of guns but snares, traps and archery. Deer and ducks are not the only thing on the menu…think like Jed Clampitt and learn the species in your area and what is good (or at least decent) to eat. Remember squirrels are rodents, and so are a lot of other critters you might not normally consider in your dinner plans.
Same with fishing. Learn about trot lines, nets and jug lines. It isn’t about sport at this point…it’s about tasty protein. Focus on fishing techniques that yield the most fish with the least amount of effort
If you kill it you have to field dress and butcher it. Study this skill as doing it incorrectly will at best waste meat and at worse make you very sick after eating the results.
Remember that PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals. (J/K) Put another way… Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

Gardening

If you are not a gardener learn about it and become one. Part of our long term plans are a couple of good books on gardening, beginner to expert level.
Stock a supply of long term storage Heirloom Seeds. Heirloom seeds are open pollinated meaning you can harvest the seeds from your current crop to plant the next crop.

· http://www.anniesheirloomseeds.com/

· http://mvseeds.co

· Survival Garden Seeds

· Survival_Seed_Vault

· True Leaf Market

Canning skills will be necessary to maximize the output of any garden. Granny didn’t do it because it was fun…she did it because it was necessary to have vegetables and fruits over the winter.
Here is a great article on growing enough for a family of four on ¼ to 1 acre of land: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Long Term Food Storage Tips

Long term food stores should be kept in a climate controlled part of the house.
Coast guard approved emergency foods are very tolerant of temperature and humidity extremes.
Don’t open factory sealed storage tubs until you are ready to begin using the foods inside.
Begin a structured rotation cycle on foods with shorter shelf lives. For example we have started using our powdered milk as our regular stock so the supply is in constant rotation. (They’ve come a long way–this stuff is VERY good!)
Excellent articles on storage of foods and supplies:

· FEMA http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf

· https://urbansurvivalsite.com/beginners-guide-to-emergency-food-storage/

· https://rurallivingtoday.com/prepping/survival-food/

· https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-store-food-for-long-term-survival/

· http://www.ehow.com/way_5261155_long-term-food-storage-tips.html

Learn about which foods can be stored for longer periods of time.

Sugar, honey, and palm shortening are just a few of the items that have an indefinite shelf life

9 Foods That Last Forever

11 Emergency Food Items That Can Last a Lifetime

Base cooking ingredients with a long shelf life:

· Buckwheat.

· Dry Corn.