|
Food
Have at least a three-day supply of nonperishable food on hand. Focus on high-nutrition foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water. Your foodstuffs might include:
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables
- Canned juices, milk, soup
- Staples, including sugar, salt, pepper
- High energy foods, including peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix
- Vitamins
- Foods for infants, the elderly or people on special diets
- Comfort/stress foods, including cookies, hard candy, instant coffee, tea
Optimally, a two-week supply of nonperishable food is recommended. Though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supply for that long, such a stockpile can relieve a great deal of inconvenience and uncertainty until services are restored.
Have a supply of cooking and eating implements that can be used in the absence of running water or electricity, including:
- Plastic utensils, paper cups and plates
- Manual can opener
- Bottle opener
- A heating source, such as a camp stove or canned heat
- stove, and extra fuel
- Cooking pans and utensils
- Grill
If your water supply is limited, avoid foods that are high in fat and protein, and dont snack on salty foods, since they will make you thirsty. Try to eat salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.
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. In a well-filled, well-insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centers (meaning the foods are safe to eat) for at least three days. However, do not refreeze defrosted foods once power is restored.
- Use nonperishable foods and staples last.
- For emergency cooking, you can use a charcoal grill or camp stove outdoors only. You also can 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.
Related stories
|
