Food/Water Minimum For Civil Crisis

[Abraham]

I'm not a prepper, but I've been thinking about stocking a bit more than the normal week's groceries and stock up on our well water too - maybe a month's worth or even two months.

My wife and I are going to figure out what that'll amount to in the next few days. Rice, beans, pasta, tuna, sardines, or MRE's or what, containers for the water, I don't know yet. We'll figure it out.

If the world doesn't come back on line in a month or two, I not going worry about it.

That being said, what's your food/water plan - ah, assuming you have one...?

Yes, I realize there's much more to consider, i.e., medical supplies, cooking heat, how to perform an appendectomy, etc., but I just can't bring myself to become a hard core prepper.

[jmra]

If you have a well I wouldn't worry about water too much. I would have a generator and stock fuel in NATO style metal cans with a stabilizer added to the fuel. The other thing I would stockpile is propane. I have a 250 gal tank that stays at about 80%. I would use the propane for all my cooking. I would build a noise dampening box for the gen.
For food, I'd stock up on rice and canned veggies (these can be cooked/heated up without creating much odor). A canned meat that has a good shelf life is DAK ham available very inexpensively at Walmart. If you keep meat stocked in the freezer you can keep it frozen by running the freezer on the gen a few hours a day. Jugs of frozen water in the freezer also helps keep meat cool enough in between running the gen. If you have a well I assume you live far enough out you probably could shoot small game in your back yard. I live just outside city limits and we see squirrels and rabbits all the time. Air rifles are great for this as they aren't nearly as loud as other weapons. Compound bows and cross bows are great to have also. Remember, the more noise and odors you create the more people are going to come looking.
Most people will run out of both food and water in 3-5 days mostly because they aren't prepared and will not ration what they have properly. If you have neighbors you will very quickly have to decide if you are going to share. If you decide to share, there's not much reason to stockpile in the first place because you can't stock enough for everyone no matter how well you prepare. If you decide not to share, well things start to get ugly very quickly.
Ok, taking off my tin foil hat now.

[chuck j]

We keep about 3 months worth of food and water . Don't forget the pet food and toilet paper !

[Abraham]

jmra,

Thanks.

Good tips.

I hadn't considered the food aroma drawing unwanted attention. This could easily be prevented by eating the canned food cold. That may sound dreadful, but I had to do it as a kid and could adapt to it again. It's really not that bad. Better than going hungry.

chuck j,

Thanks for the tips.

I had considered the pet food, but not the toilet paper...

[jmra]

jmra,

Thanks.

Good tips.

I hadn't considered the food aroma drawing unwanted attention. This could easily be prevented by eating the canned food cold. That may sound dreadful, but I had to do it as a kid and could adapt to it again. It's really not that bad. Better than going hungry.

chuck j,

Thanks for the tips.

I had considered the pet food, but not the toilet paper...

Also consider how you will deal with waste and garbage. If you are on an old style septic system you're probably ok. If you are on a mechanical treatment plant or you are connected to a public sewer system you will have issues with waste.
Garbage should be buried, burning attracts too much attention.

[Abraham]

jmra,

More good tips, thanks.

We're on a rather new, chlorine bleach/sprinkler septic system.

[TomsTXCHL]

I hadn't considered the food aroma drawing unwanted attention. This could easily be prevented by eating the canned food cold. That may sound dreadful, but I had to do it as a kid and could adapt to it again. It's really not that bad. Better than going hungry.

Everybody has different ideas about this, and IMO the best "starter strategy" is to list those things you like to eat on a regular basis, see which of those has what kind of shelf life, and then simply start over-stocking on those items. So that you continue to work-thru your supply of stuff, and enjoy what you eat along-the-way.

Among our favorite things for example is the Cookwell line of products (from Austin, at HEB and online) especially the "two-step" soup mixings which last the two of us for several days. It's easy to put extras of the various varieties in our pantry.

I'm sure that if the S does hit the F and things get bad, that you will put your flour and lard and rice and beans and canned meat yuck into play but it will make the adjustment that much unhappier.

BTW do keep lots of chlorox bleach around for purifying water--we collect rainwater and will NOT have a water problem. And I keep several cases of bleach on hand at all times.

[VMI77]

I hadn't considered the food aroma drawing unwanted attention. This could easily be prevented by eating the canned food cold. That may sound dreadful, but I had to do it as a kid and could adapt to it again. It's really not that bad. Better than going hungry.

Everybody has different ideas about this, and IMO the best "starter strategy" is to list those things you like to eat on a regular basis, see which of those has what kind of shelf life, and then simply start over-stocking on those items. So that you continue to work-thru your supply of stuff, and enjoy what you eat along-the-way.

Among our favorite things for example is the Cookwell line of products (from Austin, at HEB and online) especially the "two-step" soup mixings which last the two of us for several days. It's easy to put extras of the various varieties in our pantry.

I'm sure that if the S does hit the F and things get bad, that you will put your flour and lard and rice and beans and canned meat yuck into play but it will make the adjustment that much unhappier.

BTW do keep lots of chlorox bleach around for purifying water--we collect rainwater and will NOT have a water problem. And I keep several cases of bleach on hand at all times.

You can also find all kinds of things on Amazon that have long shelf lives, like canned butter, milk that doesn't require refrigeration (first saw it on the shelves in Europe), canned cheese, and various canned meats.

[jmra]

jmra,

More good tips, thanks.

We're on a rather new, chlorine bleach/sprinkler septic system.

If it's like mine there is an air pump that constantly pushes air into the system which helps break things down and a water pump engages when the water gets high enough.
Without the air pump running constantly this system will not function properly.

[mamabearCali]

Be smart. Most problems are over and done with in a few weeks. I keep an extra two large packages of bisquick, and dried milk around, some canned protein, rice and oatmeal. With those I can make 6-12 meals (depending on spices) everyone already knows and will eat. Keep extra fats around olive oil and coconut oil are the things I keep extra of. Also if you have kids keep extra sugar and chocolate around so that you can keep them a bit more sane. A oatmeal chocolate will go a long way.


For water I gotta second the bleach and harvesting if needed. We also have a water filter around too.

I have lived through many hurricanes on tuna fish, Vienna sausages, oatmeal, and biscuits.

[Abraham]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the good tips.

Ah, how do you use bleach to make water potable?

2 drops per gallon or something like that?

It sure beats boiling it...

[Excaliber]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the good tips.

Ah, how do you use bleach to make water potable?

2 drops per gallon or something like that?

It sure beats boiling it...

Calcium hypochlorite (sold in pool chemical stores) is a far better disinfectant choice than bleach. It is stored dry, doesn't degrade like bleach does, and a one pound package will disinfect about 10,000 gallons of water. Here's the story on both methods.

[suthdj]

I started canning so I put up what I eat this way it costs less, is healthier and no long term eating survival foods. Start simple plan for 3 days, when that is done start for a week then a month etc... water 1 - 3 gal a day per person depending on your needs I am looking at those 330 gal water totes as I don't have a well. there is a world of info good and bad on you tube.

[chuck j]

Does anyone think there could or will be a shortage of services in the future ? Lots of speculation and predictions but quite honestly I see nothing happening .

[Unicorn Rancher]

Living in hurricane country, I have a supply of water and plans for sanitation. I'm not worried too much about food. Eating a lot less for a week or two won't kill me. As a bonus it simplifies the sanitation issues.