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Emergency Preparedness

Guide Book

PREPARING AN EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY

Food:  Preparing an Emergency Stockpile

     If activity is reduced, healthy people can survive on half their usual food intake for an extended period and without food for many days.

     Food, unlike water, may be rationed safely, except for children and pregnant women.

     If your water supply is limited, try to avoid foods that are high in fat and protein, and don't stock salty foods, since they will make you thirsty.  Try to eat salt-free crackers, whole-grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.

     You don't need to go out and buy unfamiliar foods to prepare an emergency food supply.  You can use the canned foods, dry mixes and other staples on your cupboard shelves.

     In fact, familiar foods are important.  They can lift morale and give a feeling of security in time of stress.  

     Also, canned foods won't require cooking, water or special preparation.  Following are recommended short-term and long-term food storage plans. 

Short-Term Food Supplies

     Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supply for two weeks, you should prepare a supply that will last that long.

     A five day supply can relieve a great deal of inconvenience and uncertainty until services are restored.

     The easiest way to develop a two-week stockpile is to increase the amount of basic foods you normally keep on your shelves.  Remember to compensate for the amount you eat from other sources (such as restaurants) during as average two-week period.

     You may already have a two-week supply of food on hand.

     Keeping it fresh is simple.

     Just rotate your supply once or twice a year.

Nutrition Tips

     In a crisis, it will be vital that you maintain your strength.  So remember:

• Eat at least one well-balanced meal everyday, including some meat, beans or nuts/nut butter, milk products, vegetables or fruit, and crackers, cereal, granola bar, or other grain product.

• Drink enough liquid to enable your body to function properly (two litres a day).

• Take in enough calories to enable you to do any necessary work.

• Include a vitamin/mineral supplement in your Disaster Supplies Kit in case you cannot get the nutrients you need from food.

Special Considerations to Keep in Mind

     As you stock food, take into account your family's unique needs and tastes.  Try to include foods that they will enjoy and that are also high in calories and nutrition.  Foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking are best.

     Individuals with special diets and allergies will need particular attention, as will babies, toddlers and the elderly.

     Nursing mothers may need liquid formula, in case they are unable to nurse.  Canned dietetic foods, juices and soups may be helpful for the ill or elderly.

     Make sure you have a can opener and disposable utensils.

     Don't forget non-perishable foods for your pets.

How to Store Your Short-Term Stockpile

     Keep canned foods in a dry place where the temperature is fairly cool - not above 70 degrees Fahrenheit and not below freezing,

     To protect boxed foods from pests and extend their shelf life, store the boxes in tightly closed cans or metal containers.

     Rotate your food supply.  Use foods before they go bad, and replace them with fresh supplies, dated using a pen or marker.  Place new items as the back of the storage area and older ones in front.

     Your emergency food supply should be of the highest quality possible.

     Inspect your reserves periodically to make sure there are no broken seals or dented containers.

Storage Tips

• Keep food in the driest and coolest spot in the house - a dark area if possible.

• Keep food covered at all times.

• Open food boxes or cans carefully as that you can close them tightly after each use.

• Wrap cookies and crackers in plastic bags, and keep them in tight containers.

• Empty opened packages of sugar, dried fruits and nuts into screw-top jars or airtight cans to protect them from pests.

• Inspect all food containers for signs of spoilage before use.

How to Cook if the Power Goes Out

     For emergency cooking you can use a fireplace, or a charcoal grill or camp stove outdoors only.  You can also heat food with candle warmers, chafing dishes and fondue pots.

     Canned food can be eaten right out of the can.  If you heat it in the can, be sure to open the can and remove the label first.

Storage and Preparation of Food Supplies

     Store wheat, corn and beans in sealed cans or plastic buckets.  Buy powdered milk in nitrogen-packed cans.  Leave salt and vitamin C in their original packages.

     If these staples comprise your entire menu, you must eat all of them together to stay healthy.

     To avoid serious digestive problems, you'll need to grind the corn and wheat into flour and cook them, as well as boil the beans, before eating.

     Many health food stores sell hand-cranked grain mills or can tell you where you can get one.

     Make sure you buy one that can grind corn.

     If you are caught without a mill, you can grind your grain by filling a large can with whole grain one-inch deep, holding the can on the ground between your feet and pounding the grain with a pipe.

Ways to Supplement Your Long-Term Stockpile

     The above staples offer a limited menu, but you can supplement them with commercially packed air-dried or freeze-dried foods and supermarket goods.  Rice, popcorn and varieties of beans are nutritious and long-lasting.  The more supplements you include, the more expensive your stockpile will be.

Following is an easy approach to long-term food storage:

• Buy a supply of the bulk staples listed above.

• Build up your everyday stock of canned goods until you have a two-week to one-month surplus.  Rotate it periodically to maintain a supply of common foods that will not require special preparations, water or cooking.

• From a sporting or camping equipment store, buy commercially packaged, freeze-dried or air-dried foods.  Although costly, this will be your best form of stored meat, so buy accordingly.

Shelf Life of Foods for Storage

     Here are some general guidelines fro rotating common emergency foods.

Use within six months:

• Powdered milk (boxed)

• Dried fruit (in metal container)

• Dry, crisp crackers (in metal container)

• Potatoes

Use within a year:

• Canned condensed meat and vegetable soups

• Canned fruits, fruit juices and vegetables

• Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals (in metal containers)

• Peanut butter

• Jelly

• Hard candy, chocolate bars and canned nuts

May be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions):

• Wheat

• Corn

• Salt

• Rice

• Condensed milk in cans

• Dry pasta

• Vegetable oils

• Instant coffee, tea and cocoa

• Canned soft drinks

• Bouillon products

If the Electricity Goes Off

     First, use perishable food and foods from the refrigerator.

     Then use foods from the freezer.

     To minimize the number of times you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it.  Ina well-filled, well insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centres (meaning the foods are safe to eat). for at least three days.

     Finally, begin to use non-perishable foods and staples.

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