What If?

Last month we began covering the topic of long term food storage. How much do you need of what? How should it be stored? And where do we store it? We are going to continue with this topic but from a different angle.

We know that if a real disaster strikes like a tornado, hurricane or earthquake a three-day kit just isn’t going to get us very far. We are much better prepared if we have planned and stored food, water and other necessary items that will last at a minimum one week. Even though FEMA, the Red Cross an other agencies will rush to help, they can only provide a minimum of supplies, and lines and waiting times for those supplies could be VERY long. With a one week supply at least you would have enough food, water and other supplies to avoid the initial crunch at these sites.

OK, let’s do a “what if” situation. What if you and your family are involved in a devastating earthquake? Your house isn’t inhabitable, but thank goodness no one is hurt. You have developed and stored an emergency preparedness kit that will comfortably last your family for a week maybe a little longer. You pitch your tent and set up your temporary home. Your next door neighbors are in the exact same situation as your family ONLY they don’t have an emergency kit that will sustain them for more than one day. They see you are much better prepared then they are so they wander over just to see how you are doing. They ask if you would be willing to share your food and water with them. What do you do?

The reason I bring this up is because there is a very good possibility this scenario will happen to you. Thinking about this possibility now will make it much easier to deal with during a crisis situation. My recommendation would be to include a few extra cans of beans, fruit and such so you have something to share with them. Have an extra 5-gallons of water set aside just incase. However, you shouldn’t put your own family into jeopardy. I feel this is something that only you can come up with the best answer for you, your family and any neighbors involved. If you have a neighborhood association, you could ask to have this subject brought up and discussed. You could make group purchases. By purchasing in larger quantities and in bulk, many times you will all end up saving money on your items. Think about purchasing 50-pound bags of dried beans, flour etc… and pour them into 5-gallon buckets yourself. Be sure to add an oxygen absorber to help keep them fresh. You can purchase food-grade buckets called Life-Latch with a Super Seal. The lids twist on and off so you can easily reseal your bucket.

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