Radios, maps, firearms; many of us have been lately considering preparedness items. I now submit my humble food and water stores, in an attempt to motivate folks who haven't considered it, and get feedback and new ideas from folks who have. This list represents what I have isolated, separate from our day-to-day pantry, and designated as emergency sustenance items. It's imperfect, but growing, and becoming more refined.

Where the seeds are concerned: I am no horticulture expert, but I have maintained a garden as an adult. I don't have one this year, and don't necessarily plan on making it a habit in the future either, outside of the crisis context.

The hygiene and first aid segments are more recent additions, and have some growing to do.

I think that folks would do well to do something similar, to whatever degree they can afford. I recently wrote a piece to the local paper, in an attempt to motivate some folks in my community, which I'll paste into a follow-on post, for your consideration.

I constantly update this inventory, to keep a live reference for myself. Many things have expirations, but most are quite far off.

Where the water is concerned, I also have a nearby creek and a filtration/sterilization kit. I also have access to a well with an "off grid" power supply. I think having a decent bit on hand is important, even considering those access points.

My household consists of myself, my wife, and our young daughter. Unique medical items are, so far, not a big concern (knock on wood). Where duration is concerned, I haven't really figured it up. I'd like to think this could get us done for a couple weeks.

FOOD
12 MREs
~10 cups freeze-dried eggs
64oz dry milk
4X 4oz devilled ham spread
4X 15oz pear halves
16X 5oz tuna
20LB rice
2X 26oz iodized salt
3X 30oz oatmeal (in envelopes)
10X 1LB spaghetti
16X 12oz chicken chunks
1LB tomato sauce
14oz sliced pears
10X 15oz sliced peaches
10X 1LB peeled whole tomatoes
10X 15oz mandarin oranges
10X 15oz fruit cocktail
10X 15oz black beans
10X 15oz kernal corn
2x 4LB sugar
3x 2LB peanut butter
3x 27oz 3600 calorie emergency ration bar

WATER
~12x 60oz bottles
2x 3oz electrolyte drink additive

MEDICAL
1x 50ct Goodys powder
BandAids
Triple antibiotic ointment

HYGIENE
3X deodorant
8x soap bar

SPICES
Parsley
Cumin
Garlic salt
Paprika
Oregano
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
Rosemary

Heirloom seed assortment

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,

You need more beans and grains.

Someone who could be considered politically conservative likely thinks that liberal-minded Americans and politicians are damaging our country; folks who could be labelled politically liberal almost certainly think conservative Americans and politicians are guilty of the same.

Regardless of how you politically align, we seem to all be in agreement that our current state of affairs, here in America, and potentially the world over, has found itself in an unsustainable condition. In other words: something's gotta give. When it gives, how are towns like _____ and _____ going to be affected? What can we do as a community to better weather the storm? Coordination and cooperation on the community level is indeed daunting; heck, a lack of cooperation among Americans is an aspect at the root of our country's current problems. Cooperation is not easy, though it will come with time. To start, citizens can take action at the individual and household level.

A prepared household can go a long way toward easing the collective strain on the community during dramatic events. If we consider even something as recent as the combination of COVID and the unrest of 2020, it is clear that folks are prone to a degree of panic, when it comes to household sustainment; those basics of human survival, food, water, and shelter (and, oddly, toilet paper), jump to the forefront of our minds. Every dramatization of a societal collapse in literature or film has everyone in a big hurry to pillage their town's grocery store. Interactions with each other, in that atmosphere, will vary in degrees of intensity, depending on how an individual perceives his extremity of need in comparison to his neighbor's. In a truly extreme scenario, which is the context in which the suggestion of this article is posed, it's highly likely that someone who has three young children and a spouse that requires a steady supply of some medication would be willing to do something potentially terrible, in order to secure that last bottle at the pharmacy and what food might be necessary to keep the household fed.

Now that I've painted the stereotypical picture, I'll get to the point: have an amount of food, water that doesn't rely on a well or utilities, medicine, fuel, etc. set aside and designated as emergency reserves. Try not to get distracted by aligning such practices with some paranoid "doomsday prepper" mindset. Doesn't it seem prudent to be prepared in such a way that your family is able to make it through a week without having to go to the store? That seems a reasonable goal of self-sufficiency, without getting into the "doomsday" weeds.

I will here clarify that I mean make it through a week at any time. Most folks likely do their shopping for the next one or two weeks; if circumstances grow dire on the second to last day of the second week of your grocery cycle, you're not going to be sufficiently stocked. Now it bears mentioning that, if you're reading this thinking "I can't afford to do all that": this message isn't one for you to act on, but to benefit from. Those who can afford to act on this message enable you to have more available when that dire moment arrives. Our community can work together in the uncertain future by taking action on the individual household level right now. To those who can afford it, but are bent around the axle thinking "why should I pay so someone else potentially doesn't have to?", you can consider it one of two ways (or both): appeal to your Christian charity and/or consider the benefit of not participating in the crisis-onset grocery store melee.

Something I've heard more than a few times, when considering these circumstances, is "I'll just go kill a deer". We'd do well to consider how many other folks are having the same thought; the atmosphere in the woods could likely become much like the grocery store. Also, if you're patting yourself on the back while you read all this, because you've already made the effort to prepare, please encourage friends and family to follow suit. The more households that are prepared, the easier it will be on everyone: prepared or not. Food for thought.

quote:

You need more beans and grains

Roger that. Thank you.

I’m not an expert at all, but was dealing with the supply chain of food and goods during Covid. It was down to a one day supply for a while. Have a backup water filter, and plenty clean buckets for hauling dirty water, and food grade for storing filtered. I would also invest in a crank powered well pump, if your surface water ever runs low. I would increase canned protein whenever it’s on sale. Canned tuna, beef, chicken, salmon, and sardines for variety. Of course only stockpile what you eat, so it won’t go to waste. I started stocking Jif peanut butter heavily. It’s shelf stability, even when open, is great. I would also increase hygiene items. Include baby wipes. For medical, tape, rolled gauze, and various sizes of gauze pads. Wound dressing supplies are not stocked very heavily in regular drug stores, probably a weeks worth for one person. Also iodine and ace bandages. Do you have a stand alone cook surface? A couple butane stoves and a bunch of butane cans is pretty cost effective.

quote:

Do you have a stand alone cook surface? A couple butane stoves and a bunch of butane cans is pretty cost effective.

I have access in the greater family equipment, but none in this dedicated inventory. I'll add it to the notes.

Sardines are already on the to-get list; anchovies too, for that flavor punch!

Thank you for the medical and hygiene recommendations. Like I said: that's a young segment of the inventory at this point, and I don't count trauma-related items that are stored elsewhere.

The manual well pump is a good idea, though one that is unlikely to be implemented anytime soon.

Finding the balance is going to be different for everyone. In my written piece, I do recommend water that is independent of a well or utilities, but that's not to say that the intent of my inventory is to survive a prolonged total infrastructure outage. It's perhaps more about avoiding nasty social climates in town for a period.

Since you've got off grid power:

You can download field and survival guides to your phone for free from both the Android and Apple app stores. Most people don't have encyclopedias nowadays. A couple of GB of storage on your phone can provide a wealth of knowledge if needed.

The ones I have from Android are:
Offline Survival Guide
Outdoor Survival Guide
Survival Manual
Mini Medical Wikipedia Offline

I haven't finished eating and drinking through my Y2K stash yet.

I've got double the canned tuna you have. That alone will supply good protein for two weeks for my wife and I.
I like it so can eat that right out of the can.

I also have an external battery to power my phone; it has a built-in solar panel to allow charging from sunlight.
Might be handy for an extended power outage for those who do not have a generator.

I used to have a vet that took an annual fishing trip to Canada. He hired a pilot with an amphibious aircraft to fly him and his buddies to a remote lake. After a week the pilot would return to pick them up.

He always took bags of dry cat food for emergency rations. He said that kibble had the best nutrition/weight, and would keep good for long periods. Water was no problem, of course.

Probably palatable too, although I’ve never tried it myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Exodus:
You can download field and survival guides to your phone for free from both the Android and Apple app stores.

In the event that the OP needs to rely on his food/water stores to survive, his iPhone will most likely be useless.

They have these old-fashioned things call books and they require zero power to run. I'd recommend picking up a few.

Thank you, drabfour, for that link. I do recall that thread. This topic is one that doesn't hurt to revive every so often, IMO.

I was hoping, in sharing my beginner effort, I'd motivate others who haven't put much thought/effort in to it yet.

Not to mention the feedback I'd get on my inventory would be more specifically catered to me, which is helpful.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
They have these old-fashioned things call books and they require zero power to run. I'd recommend picking up a few.

Specific recommendations might be useful.

In the SciFi book "Lucifer's Hammer" there is a segment where a character (a genius-level scientist) wraps books in his library in plastic bags and "hides" them in a septic tank to preserve their content. A number of volumes are named by the authors, might be a good place to start a list. Yes, it is more intended as information that would help restart civilization, but you've got to live to get to that point (and know which septic tank to mine, not to mention being able to read, something that might be lost in a single generation should things get bad enough).

I have at least 6 weeks worth of canned/dried food. Literally thousands of the freeze dried mountain house meals. A outback water purifier and enough spare filters to make 5,400 gallons of drinkable water, have a very deep/clear pond about 100 yards from my house plus I can collect rain water. Two camping stoves and a gas grill with plenty of propane. I can always walk out on my back porch and drop a doe if it gets really bad. Also plenty of dried dog food.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I used to have a vet that took an annual fishing trip to Canada. He hired a pilot with an amphibious aircraft to fly him and his buddies to a remote lake. After a week the pilot would return to pick them up.

He always took bags of dry cat food for emergency rations. He said that kibble had the best nutrition/weight, and would keep good for long periods. Water was no problem, of course.

Probably palatable too, although I’ve never tried it myself.

With everthing available why in the world would he choose that? Doesn’t seem too wise to me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mrvmax,

quote:

download field and survival guides

quote:

They have these old-fashioned things call books and they require zero power to run

I do have one (paper) book on wilderness survival. I'd do well to get one on homesteading.

The mentions of dog and cat food are interesting. Not something I've thought of; and likely not something I'll pursue. I guess the high-calorie ration bars I have are there with the same idea in mind.

I mentioned the dog food because I have a dog. I'd probably eat the dog before the dogs kibble.

Hahaha! OK. So just the one mention of pet food then.

Where is a good place to buy heirloom seeds?