Content not provided by Chasing Supermom.
How to Properly Stock Your Pantry for Emergencies
More people are talking about the possibility of zombies or a post-apocalyptic future leading to the need to create an emergency pantry. Even if there isn’t much danger of a meteor falling from the sky and destroying your town, preparing for a worst case scenario can be a good idea. Ordinary disasters such as severe storms and earthquakes can still leave you in need of emergency supplies. There are a few tricks to making sure you get everything you need, as well as making sure it will be safe to eat when you need it. You need to plan out what foods you will need, how you will purchase them, and how to ensure that the supplies will be good to eat if needed. This will ensure that you are ready for anything.
Planning Out What You Need
Strong consideration should be given to what you need to have on hand to keep you alive in case of a disaster. FEMA suggests having a three day supply of foods your family actually likes to eat. Have things like peanut butter, nuts, canned juices, protein bars and other canned goods. These are all foods recommended for short term emergency needs. For longer durations, consider packaging foods like dry cereal or granola, along with other long shelf life foods in individual sealed containers in order to extend the shelf life after opening. Buy in bulk and you can purchase enough to sustain you and your family for up to a year.
Buying What You Need
Purchasing the food you need does not have to cost a lot of money. In fact, most of the non-perishable foods you want to purchase tend to be affordable to begin with. Combine this with a buy one get one free coupon and you can buy even more of the foods you need for your emergency kit. Buying from bulk food stores will allow you to save even more money. The manufacturers do not have to spend as much on packaging, so you are given a better price on the foods you want in your emergency shelter.
Maintaining the Freshness of Your Supplies
The foods you have in your emergency kit will not last forever. Even your non-perishable items should be consumed sooner rather than later. It will not serve anyone’s purpose if you go into the shelter only to find all of your food is inedible. Mark all expiration dates clearly and make sure to consume and replace these foods as needed. Constantly rotating through your emergency rations is made easier when you have purchased foods you and your family like to eat. You will not have to seek out special recipes to make something out of food your family would normally have nothing to do with. Stocking your emergency kit with the right foods is easy to do when you follow this advice. Simply make sure you plan out what you are buying, buy wisely, and rotate your supplies by eating the foods you are storing before they expire, and you will be prepared for almost any emergency.
