Emergency Preparedness (year's supply of food, 72 hour kit)

Note: Utah wrote this article and posted on FR 9-15-2001. I believe it is timely to present this as I have had some disturbing informations regarding what the short and long future may look like in respect to the economic condition of our country.

The LDS Church who believes strongly in self reliance. Spencer W. Kimball, one of the deceased presidents of this church said, "No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family's well-being to someone else... Maintain a year's supply. The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year's supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days... I am not howling calamity, but I fear that a great majority of our young people, never having known calamity, depression, hunger, homelessness, joblessness, cannot conceive of such situations..."

I just wanted to share some things that my church and family has done to be prepared. This is a list of a year's supply of food storage that can be gathered in one year. It is very flexible. I have the basics in my home, along with some "luxuries" in my food storage and preparedness are. If a calamity strikes, I think I will be prepared and will also be able to share with others. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'm going to try to post once a month (or sooner if requested) on this preparedness topic.

The Relief Society in my ward (it is the women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) has a lesson once a month on the first Tuesday of each month. The first part of that meeting is Family Preparedness. We cover many topics such as food storage, financial preparation, disaster awareness, first aid, etc. The lady in charge gets information on storing food, how to read dates on cans, where to buy in bulk. Usually every month she will make arrangements so that we can buy something in bulk (beans, dry milk, dried potatoes, etc.) In November we will be canning salsa and jumbleberry jam at the local cannery. Anyway, here is the list.

And a couple of other suggestions that I have found helpful. Make sure to buy food that you and your family will eat. Rotate through the food, don't just buy it and store it. When I go to the grocery now, I'll buy a case of something (fancy fruit cocktail, ravioli, beets, sweetened condensed milk.) If you don't have the money monthly to follow this plan, just pick up an extra can of something. Try to do what you can within your financial resources. NOTES: Personally I don't recommend buying those dehydrated foods for your whole food storage. You'll need a heck of a lot of water, plus how will you know if you like them until you've tried them? And it is extremely expensive.

Provident Living Goal---review your retirement goals. Are you putting enough aside to be able to support yourselves and to do the things you want to do when you retire? Also change the batteries in your smoke alarms.

Storage Goal: 24 cans of meat or fish per person 1 gallon bleach per person can opener garbage bags laundry detergent

72 hour kit: Gather a change of clothing including underwear and shoes for each family member--include warm coats and boots, or have them immediately accessible. ax, shovel and bucket utility knife $20.00 cash $5.00 in change for phone ********************

Provident Living Goal---plan and carry out a family meeting on home fires. Include planning an escape route and practicing it.

Storage Goal: 100 pounds (total) pasta & flour per person hand grain mill thread, needles, buttons, and zippers

72 hour kit: 1 gallon water per person scriptures (Bible) personal documents--genealogical records, wills, passports, insurance, contracts, birth certificates, etc. $25.00 cash

Provident Living Goal---Learn a new skill or read a book pertaining to your career.

Storage Goal: 50 cans of soup, stew or chili per person 5 pounds of salt per person 20 pounds fat, oil or shortening per person aluminum foil, plastic wrap, storage bags, etc. At least 5 gallons water per person--recommended is 14 gallons / person for 2 weeks

72 hour kit: 1 pound dried fruit or trail mix per person (can use fruit leather) 1 package soda crackers per person (4 per box) 1 package graham crackers per person (4 per box) 2 liters tomato or orange juice per person (Note: these items will be rotated every 6 months-see Sept) ALSO make a goal to always have the fuel tanks on ALL vehicles at least half full. ***************************

Provident Living Goal---If you normally do not grow a garden, plan to grow at least one vegetable this year. if you already have a garden either 1)grow a vegetable you haven't tried before OR 2) try a new method or technique this year.

Storage Goal: 2 pounds yeast per person 2 pounds baking powder per person 1 pound soda per person 1 gal vinegar per person 10 cans evaporated milk per person 10 pounds peanut butter per person spices, condiments and vanilla

72 hour kit: 4 granola bars per person 2 sticks beef jerky per person 1 package chewing gum per person hard candies or lollipops--at least 12 per person (note these items will be rotated every 6 months--see Oct.)

Storage Goal: 100 pounds variety of cereal grains-rice, oatmeal, cornmeal, etc. per person 24 rolls paper towels per person 24 packages flavored gelatin per person garden seeds At least one month prescription ahead for all doctor prescribed medication.

Provident Living Goal---Make a goal to have 6 months wages in savings for emergencies. Write out a realistic plan to make it happen.

Storage Goal: First aid kit--should include scissors, knife, thermometer, measuring cup, medicine dropper, hot water bottle, triangular bandages, soap, matches, razor blades, needles, safety pins, adhesive tape, elastic bandages, sanitary napkins (excellent compresses), paper bags, gauze bandages, bicarbonate of soda, Ipecac syrup (induces vomiting), ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, calamine lotion (insect bites and sunburn), rubbing alcohol, diarrhea remedy, antibiotic ointment, first aid instruction book, prescription medication, waterproof matches.

72 hour kit: Container for holding kit. Large garbage cans with wheels OR a back pack for each family member recommended. Find a place in your home that is easily accessible for storing the kit. You need to be able to grab it at a moment's notice to leave your home. Note: Your first aid kit is also part of the 72 hour kit. Note: your 72 hour kit is also part of your general storage, but your general storage CANNOT be part of your 72 hour kit. When you need it there may not be time to gather it together for transport.

Provident Living Goal---Make a goal to eat healthier. For example: less sweets, more fresh fruits and veggies, less meat, more fiber etc.

Storage Goal: 50 pounds sugar or honey per person 10--#10 cans (35 pounds total) powdered milk per person 2 toothbrushes per person toothpaste mouthwash infant needs-formula, baby food, diapers, Tylenol etc.

72 hour kit: Prepare blankets (the silver foil ones) gather items to entertain your family and include in kit--UNO cards, coloring books and crayons, x-stitch kit etc. Be sure to include paper and pencils. camp stove or portable BBQ and fuel mosquito repellant $25 cash

Provident Living Goal---Learn to preserve food in a way you haven't tried before.

Storage Goal: 100 quarts fruit and or vegetables per person 24 pints jam or jelly per person feminine needs school supplies pet supplies

72 hour kit: 1 can tuna per person 1 can pork and beans per person 1/2 pound dried milk per person 2 packets hot chocolate mix per person (or 1 large can per family). 2 instant soup packets per person (these should be rotated every year) disposable plates, cups, bowls and flatware pet supplies-be sure to include dishes, leash and extra water

Provident Living Goal---Review your will if you have one. Make any needed changes. If you do not have a will, make arrangements to get one. EVERY Adult should have a will. Plan and carry out a FHE on the importance of preparedness.

Storage Goal: 10--#10 cans (35 pounds total) powdered milk per person 25 pounds canned or dried potatoes per person 50 quarts fruit or tomato juice per person

Provident Living Goal---Make a goal to read 30 minutes/day to your children or grandchildren. If you have not children to read to, make a goal to read at least 30 minutes/day just for pleasure.

Storage Goal: 50 cans soup, stew or chili per person 10 pounds cheese--dried or bottled per person shaving supplies dish soap

Provident Living Goal---Make a goal to reduce your family garbage by recycling more.

Storage Goal: 100 pounds wheat per person 1 #10 can juice mix with vitamin C per person Hand/shower soap light bulbs At least one month prescription ahead for all doctor prescribed medication.

72 hour kit: soap toothbrushes and toothpaste shaving supplies infant needs feminine needs disinfectant aluminum foil

Provident Living Goal---Review your insurance coverage, life, household, vehicle. Do you have enough? Could you replace your vehicle or household foods with the coverage you have?

It's very important for us as human beings to be self-reliant. Included in this folder is a program to assist you to get a years supply of emergency food, 72 hour kit, spiritual goals and provident living goals. ********************************

You can live for quite a long time without food, but only about 3 days without water. The Fema (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recommends 14 gallons of water per person for a two week period. That may seem like quite a lot, but it is only a gallon a day for drinking, cooking, and washing needs. The agency recommends at least 14 day supply.

There are some hidden places in your home that have usable water. One is the hot water heater. Turn it off and open the drain at the bottom of the heater. Make sure the gas is off, and the pilot light is out! Another source is the toilet tank. Not the bowl, the tank of water that goes into the bowl in a flush. You can use that water as long as you don't use an automatic bowl cleaner in it. I would still add bleach to it, just to be on the safe side.

There are many ways to store water. There are containers that you can buy especially for storing. These can be found in some super markets, and hardware stores. Try on line if you can't find them in your area. They come in different sizes. The ones that I have seen are galloon, 15 gallon, and 55 gallon blue barrels. The barrels work best with a pump, purchases separately, for about $10. You can use heavy plastic juice containers, washed well with hot water and soap. You can use liter pop bottles as well. Do not use glass containers, bleach bottles, metal containers, milk bottles, or water already in milk bottle like containers. These are made to decompose and will leak all over your storage room (personal experience!).

ALL water obtained from out of doors is subject to contamination for dirt, bacteria or other nasty things. First it must be clarified and then cleaned of all physical impurities such as dirt and debris. Then it must be disinfected or made safe from biohazardous materials. No home method of water treatment can guarantee safety of the water. Certain water treatment methods described below can deduce the risks involved, but emergency treatment of water cannot guarantee safety of the water. Devices that are sold with a claim that they can purify any water should be avoided because they will not work as claimed.

Settling: This is the easiest method to remove most debris, including radioactive fallout from water. To let water settle merely let it stand in a container, totally undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. This will allow any sediment to sink to the bottom of the container. A handful of clay soil in each gallon of water will help speed this process. Since it takes so long to settle it is advisable to use a large container for this purpose, like a tough tote. After settling is complete pour, dip or siphon the clean water to another container, being careful not to stir up the sludge at the bottom. Discard the sludge and then purify water.

Take a six or eight foot section of garden hose and stuff two cottontails in one end. Place that end into a container of your dirty water. Then suck on the other end until water starts to come through. Then place the that end into a container placed below the dirty water. Gravity will pull the water from the higher container into the lower container while trapping sediment in the cotton balls. When the balls are clogged simply remove and replace. This will clean about one quart per thirty minutes. However, if the water is really muddy the cotton balls will have to be replaced very frequently.

Place three or four filters (one inside the other) into a mason jar and let the edges stick out over the mouth of the jar. Then screw the lid on over the edge of the filters. Pour the water into the filters. The water will drip into the jar. When the filters become clogged, replace them. This type of filter will clean approximately one quart of very dirty water per two hours.

Boiling: Water sterilization by boiling is preferred over any method of chemical disaffection because disease causing microorganisms cannot survive the heat of a sterilizing boil. If water is cloudy, only heat sterilization can be fully relied upon to assure complete destruction of these organisms. Bring the water to a rolling boil for *10 minutes, then adding one minute for each 1000 feet of elevation.

Chlorine: Liquid household chlorine bleach can be used to purify water provided the label says that it contains hypochlotie as its ONLY active ingredient. Do NOT use granular or powdered forms of household bleach, they are poisonous!! Add 2 drops of bleach per quart or 8 drops per gallon and let stand for 30 minutes. If the water doesn't taste and smell of chlorine at that point, add another dose and let stand for 15 minutes. If the water is cloudy you may double the dosage. Liquid bleach loses strength over time. In one years storage you must put in double the amount of bleach as new bleach. Two year old bleach must not be used. It is not potent enough to kill bacteria. After adding bleach to water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. Bleach is totally ineffective against GIARDIA and other hardy forms of protozoa. USE BOILING TO REMOVE THESE if they are suspected.

Iodine Tablets-- these are very effective against all forms of bacteria, however they are less effective against GIARDIA. Iodine tablets usually have a relatively short shelf life, losing 20% effectiveness in just six months. They are also sensitive to heat and light. They turn color from gray to yellow as they become less potent. The usual dose is one tablet per quart of clear water and two for cloudy. Let stand for 30 minutes before use.

Regardless of the method of chemically disinfecting water, always double the dosage for cloudy water. If the water temperature is cold, below 45 degrees, let it stand for one hour before using it.

Be sure to have some water on hand in case of any emergency. You will need it mostly for drinking, but also to wash up a bit and keep utensils clean. Be sure to at least to have 1 gallon per person and a take week supply of actual clean water is recommended. You can live for much longer without food than without water.

NOTE: Water is the hardest thing to store. I have 3 55 gallon containers of water, plus about 20 2 liter pop bottles of water. Not enough, but room is a concern. Just make sure to have enough bleach or iodine on hand to sterilize the water. Any time I get an empty soda bottle, I rinse it out, and fill it with water. I don't drink soda pop, but at family parties or work parties, I'll gather up the empty ones to use.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, if someone is living in a 450 square foot “studio” apartment in Encino — where should he store this?

In your underground winter cellar.

(LOL. Grew up in Tarzana.) All seriousness, you could have a pantry shelf filled with tuna, and a boxed case of sealed bags of turkey or beef jerky in the closet, and you could get Arrowhead delivery, and thus always have one or two huge bottles of water in your apartment. You are on a fault line - Encino was pretty hard hit in 1994.

Re the club card - when I was in grad school I joined up w/a friend on the card. She was a single and it was me and my grown son. It was certainly worth the membership for 3 people. Our apartment had a storage room on the patio, so it was easy to stack cases of stuff. Even though I always ended up spending more than I planned, I think in the end we saved money because the prices were cheaper than the local store and we bought non-perishables, so I didn’t have to worry about using things before they spoil, which can be a problem with a small family.

You might want to do one shopping trip as a guest and see if it works for you.

I don’t care what bones other Christians have to pick with the Mormon religion, this philosophy is an excellent one. Rely on yourself because depending on other people to help you in disastrous times is extremely selfish. I don’t have a years supply of food but I am working on it, just having money isn’t always the way to go. Money can end up being worthless, food may not be available at any price. I would also advocate a years supply of ammo for what ever weapon of choice a person might own( a years supply could fluctuate quite a bit depending on who you are and what you do with the ammo)

“Tammy8 ,,, this site may help on some of the old time medical cures.
http://www.geocities.com/loralmc/cures.html#Burns_";

I would like to remind people to look at their bookmarks and favorites on their computers that are related to this topic and then print out the pages that they don’t want to lose when there is no electricity.

My guess is that a few of us here might have a great supply of information on how to do all the survival stuff, but have forgotten that the computer isn’t a book and it won’t be available when the old forgotten information is needed.

“If you have pets or livestock, you can check the farm supply store.

All farm supply stores have a wide variety of antibiotics and antiseptics you can buy without prescription.

But do it only if you have pets.

(Wink, wink...)”

*************
We own a company that supplies broad spectrum antimicrobial topicals to the animal (equine & canine) market - brought over from the human industry. .. I can’t peddle it here.. but a little of this stuff replaces a lot of soaps and sanitizers. Remember, broad spectrum antimicrobials are typically used for surgical scrubs because they kill most forms of bacteria, fungus & viruses. hint: find a non-toxic, gentle one that ‘penetrates’. .. it makes a huge difference. There’s also a huge difference between antibacterials, narrow spectrum antimicrobials and broad spectrum antimicrobials.

I use the UHP boxed milk because there are only two of us and even a quart of fresh milk can go bad. Look for the expiration date on the top. It is usually good for 3 months, unopened and another week or so in the fridge. However, for longer term storage, I stock small cans of evaporated milk for coffee and dried skim for drinking milk, cereal, baking or cooking. I rotate my stocks and even the canned evaporated milk only lasts 6-8 months or so, IMO.

There are, as said, only two of us, and we love our Sam’s club membership. I buy whole cuts of meat and butcher to suit and repackage and freeze. Toiletries, vitamins, NSAIDS, TP, detergent etc are all cheaper there than at Walmart (except recently, the bone-in chicken breasts were much cheaper at Walmart than Sam’s, for some reason). You can usually find 4-packs of butter for under $2/lb. 8lbs of spaghetti for $2+. I am sure the $35/year is worth it. They have specials from time to time that are very good. I just got an enameled steel cooking pot, 1 1/2 gallon capacity, for under $40. They are usually well over $100.

Know the prices of items at the grocery store & Walmart, so you can compare. I have one store I use for produce and flavored water, another for meats and Walmart for dry/canned items, fresh dairy, cleaning supplies. Sometimes there are surprising sales.

I would add pasta & rice to your list, as they keep a long time. Yeast, cooking oil, trash bags and paper products like TP. Canned fruit and vegetables and some source of Vitamin C. If you have a toddler, some electrolyte replacer or enough sugar and salt and clean water to make your own. Clear broths can be soup base or food for someone who is ill.

Another must have for any survival situation is paraffin wax.

It's cheap, easy to store, lasts forever, and will start a fire even with wet wood.

Anyone that still uses it to seal jelly jars should always save it for fire starter.

It only takes about a quarter if a bar ( its sold 4 bars in a box for about $2) to light a campfire or BBQ charcoal grill.

Shave some off on the charcoal or campfire tinder with a pocketknife and light with some newspaper etc. The wax will melt quickly into it and stay lit better than the expensive charcoal lighter you buy in a can.

You can melt some to dip your stick kitchen matches in to make a lifetime supply of waterproof matches.

Plucking ducks and geese is always a chore to get all the tiny pinfeathers off, but the paraffin wax makes it a snap.

Pluck all the large rough feathers and fill a 5 gal pail with boiling water. Toss in two bars of paraffin wax that will melt on top.

Hold the duck/goose by the neck and dunk and swish it around. Lift the duck/goose out slowly with a slight circular motion. Hang up until cooled.

You can now peel the wax off like peeling an orange and every tiny pinfeather will come off with it.

You can melt and reuse it after its peeled off.

It can even be used to seal jelly jars!

Ignore the “tinfoil” detractors. There are those who get it, those who are beginning to get it, and those who will never get it. No point in wasting your time on the last group.

Sound advice. Some of the people I talk with today are still clueless. The "tinfoil" types are the ones who will be marauding in the streets looking for food, ANY food, when disruption occurs. (550-round .22 ammo boxes go a long way.)

"Food may well become a problem. My local supermarket has not been fully stocked for about three weeks. Everything is still available, just not as much of each on the shelves. Credit crunch maybe? I don't know but it makes me a wee bit concerned. "

Meltdown To Hit Agriculture, Food Shortage Looms

2008-11-12 18:50:00

NEW DELHI: As if the global meltdown and soaring food prices are not enough, now brace up for food shortage in the coming two years.

Even as the world is struggling to fight global market meltdown with companies sacking employees and Industries scaling down production, the world will also have to tackle food shortage and soaring prices in the coming days.

According to United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, the current financial crisis will adversely affect agricultural sectors in many countries, including India and other developing countries.

[snip]

wooden matches. .. good idea. I wonder how long a stash of lighters would last.

A long time ago, I read “Lucifer’s Hammer”.. fiction... albiet about survival after an event. I would think that the first thing people would want to do is to get OUT of the cities asap! The looting as more people get desperate will be over the top.

We’re way out in the country. .. the city family members (mom, son & sister’s family) are directed to come up here. It would probably be a good idea to get sis to start contributing to our stash.

We’ve got horses for transportation if no gas is available. .. the neighbor raises beef. .. guess we could eat horse meat if it gets to that.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.