Provident Principles and Practices: Storing Food in a Disaster Supply Kit

Provident Principles and Practices
© David Edwards, 2009

PRINCIPLES: On page 7 of Essentials of Home Production and Storage, published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1978, it says that every individual or family ought to have on hand a container that can easily be moved holding foods requiring no refrigeration or cooking.

Likewise, the American Red Cross suggests storing in a disaster supply kit a three days worth of foods that can be stored without refrigeration and eaten without preparation or cooking. Foods should not be very large or heavy. (See American Red Cross, Charter Oak Chapter Web site, 2009).

PRACTICES: Essentials of Home Production and Storage recommends storing such items as tuna fish, pork and beans, nonfat dry milk, dried apricots, canned orange juice or tomato juice, and peanut butter. The American Red Cross recommends similar items and also adds soup, sugar, salt, pepper, jelly, crackers, granola bars, vitamins, food for infants, food for elderly people, food for people on special diets, and foods to alleviate discomfort or stress.

Need for food. Most adults can survive up to several weeks without food. However, a prolonged lack of food can severely diminish energy levels, judgment, strength, endurance, mental alertness, ability to regulate internal body temperature, and contentment. All of these may be important for your survival in an adverse emergency situation requiring evacuation.

Storage. Store foods having a relatively long shelf-life. Avoid foods that may only last days, weeks or a few months. Put an approximate expiration date on a food’s packaging if it is not already present. Check foods in your kit twice a year, such as around General Conference time, and rotate out foods about to expire. Keep kit foods at temperatures above freezing and below 82 degrees, but preferably cooler. Keep foods in secure, airtight containers to protect them against pests and oxidation.

Specific Foods for Consideration. Two 40-oz containers of commercial peanut butter, with a shelf life of two years, contain about 500 g of protein, 1,100 g of fat, 500 g of carbohydrate, and 13,000 calories. With this alone, a person could get almost 2,200 cal/day for 6 days. US Coast Guard approved survival bars, with 5-yr shelf lives, come in 2,400 and 3,600 calorie sizes, and they are compact and modestly priced. Flavors include apple cinnamon, dutch apple, and lemon. Most canned meats and fish can be eaten directly from the can without cooking. Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods are lighter to carry than other foods, but they require water and time to rehydrate. Do not eat them without first rehydrating them. Some people also like MREs (meals ready to eat). Natural dry foods, such as raw almonds, can be stored in freezer bags.

Special Needs. In your disaster supply kits, you want to account for special dietary requirements for each member of your family. Consider allergies and food preferences. Don’t forget baby needs, such as formula, if needed. If you have a pet that will be going with you, you may also wish to include pet food. You most likely will also want to include a can opener and utensils in your kit.

More: http://charteroak.redcross.org/media/Your_Family_Disaster_Supplies_Kit.pdf