Emergency food storage should be standard for every household, like car insurance and teaching our children how to cross the street. I’ll tell you why.
During a major storm during the pandemic a couple of years ago, our power went out. Instead of coming back on within 24-48 hours, we were still waiting for power for an entire week. This meant no electronic appliances for seven days. Luckily, we were prepared.
After it became clear that crews couldn’t restore power quickly, we pulled out our gas camping stove and butane lighter. Thanks to our emergency food stores, we could relax at home without joining anyone in a mad dash to the grocery store or worrying about running out of food once our fridge and freezer were emptied.
That is the power of peace of mind that preparation can offer – knowing that your needs are met no matter what comes your way.
STAYING CALM IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
There’s no denying that we live in an uncertain world. Potential disruptions to our food sources, supply chains, and core infrastructure systems are discussed more and more in the media. We hear about cyberattacks threatening our water systems and power grids, possible economic downturns leading to massive inflation, and even natural events like solar flares and their ability to disrupt internet and cell phone service.
Despite all of these factors, staying calm is essential, especially when thinking about emergency food storage and other aspects of emergency preparedness.
Just as shopping for groceries when you’re hungry can lead to buying way more than you need, preparing your emergency food storage when you’re full of fear and worry is not helpful, so grab a notepad and pen and a cup of relaxing herbal tea, and start with the basics.
First, write down how many weeks of food you want in your emergency food storage stock. Some people can only afford to store one week of food, while others can spare funds to build emergency food storage for one month or even three months. Whatever is doable for you, note it so you can purchase the appropriate amount of food.
As you build up your emergency food storage stock, note the expiration dates of each product and put it into your phone as a reminder to eat each one before it expires. Then, replace it in your stores.
Staying calm and organized helps to take the guesswork and uncertainty out of any emergency preparedness plan.
TWO TYPES OF EMERGENCY FOOD STORAGE
I like to think of my emergency food storage in two categories: survival food and daily food. You want to be sure you have plenty of both to easily get through a temporary disruption to food supplies or energy systems (1-2 weeks) and extended emergencies where extreme supply issues may occur.
Survival foods last a long time and provide enough nutrition for you to get through your day without anything else. The human body requires adequate glucose and mineral salts to function properly, so as long as you have enough survival food that covers both, you can get through any extended period of food shortage.
A few survival foods that provide plenty of glucose are raw honey, maple syrup products, and potato flakes. Each of these lasts a very long time and will continue to offer nutrition years after purchase. Survival foods that are lower in glucose but high in nutrition include wild blueberry powder, wild blueberry juice, and other bottled pure juices.
Mineral salt-rich survival foods include spirulina powder, barley grass juice powder, and sprouting seeds. Each of these will last for years when stored properly and are packed with nutrition. These are especially helpful when access to fresh foods is limited.
For daily foods to eat, the variety is much greater. This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes that are dried, dehydrated, canned, frozen, and/or freeze-dried.
DAY-TO-DAY ITEMS FOR YOUR EMERGENCY FOOD STORAGE PLAN
Below are a few categories of day-to-day items worth considering when building up your emergency food storage pantry.
NOTE: Have you noticed I’m not mentioning any prepackaged standard emergency food storage buckets available online, which claim to have enough supply for 25-30 years? These are loaded with troublemakers like gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, and canola, and also with natural flavors. While they might help you ‘survive’ an emergency, there is a high cost to your health for consuming foods with these troublemakers. For people who are tuned into their health, choosing emergency foods that will nourish and not hinder their bodies is crucial.
Canned and jarred goods are wonderful for their long shelf life and ability to eat immediately without cooking. This category includes jams, preserves, beans, legumes, tahini, nut butter, vegetables, and fruit. Many of us are conscious of avoiding aluminum cans due to potential heavy metal toxicity but don’t worry too much about this when building your emergency food storage pantry. In an emergency, cans versus glass jars will be the last thing on your mind.
Some of my favorite products for this category:
- Organic Tahini
- Organic Canned Jackfruit
- Organic Canned Pineapple
- Organic Canned Pumpkin
- Organic Canned Butternut Squash Puree
- St Dalfour Wild Blueberry Preserves
- Green Valley Organic Canned Peas
- Eden Foods Organic Canned Chickpeas
- Eden Organic Applesauce
- Organic Papaya Chunks
- Organic Whole Spaghetti Squash
- Maple Cream
- Nature Nate’s 16 oz Raw Honey
Dehydrated fruit and foods are an ideal way to ensure you have nutrient-dense fruits on hand when fresh fruit may be hard to come by. You can purchase dried foods in packages or use an at-home dehydrator like the Excalibur to dehydrate foods at home and save on cost.
In addition to fruits, you can dehydrate animal protein and store it as clean snacks for your furry family members or any members of your family who eat animal protein. I also like freeze-drying at home (we have the Harvest Right at home) for emergency preparedness as an alternative to dehydrating. However, more nutrients are lost in this process, so I prefer dehydrating where possible.
Check out some of my favorite dried and dehydrated products here:
- Frontier Deluxe Dried Vegetables Soup
- Roland Foods Dried Mixed Mushrooms
- Organic Dates
- Organic Dried Mango
- Organic Raisins
- Organic Dried Persimmons
Boxed dry foods like pasta, dried beans and legumes, and potato flakes are another essential category for your emergency food storage pantry due to their long shelf life and nutritional benefits.
Here are some product ideas for you:
- Braga Organic Almonds
- Cassabi Cassava Flatbread
- Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flakes
- Millet Angel Hair Pasta
- Cybele’s Gluten-Free Spirelli Pasta
- Organic Dried Lentils
- Organic Dried Split Peas
Healthy, ready-made meals are becoming more common, which is terrific news for anyone interested in emergency food storage. In today’s world, we have more options than simple camping-friendly dehydrated food packs. These meals typically require hot water and a heat source, and voila – dinner is ready!
Check out a few of my favorite options here:
- Bean Vivo Black Bean Meal
- TruRoots Sprouted Lentils
- TruRoots Quick Cook Quinoa
- Microwavable Indian Everyday Dal
- Microwavable Indian Bombay Potatoes Meal
Cooking implements are something we have to consider when preparing our emergency food storage list. This is where it pays to consider several scenarios – specifically cases where electricity will still be running and cases where the power is out. We can use our electric stoves, ovens, cooktops, blenders, and other appliances with the power on. If we think of a scenario without power for two weeks, we must prepare differently. This is why, besides a backup generator, my family always has a supply of gas canisters for our camping stove. We must cook pasta or dried beans with heat and water – ensure you have at least one non-electric heat source!
Water supply is the final thing to consider regarding emergency food storage. There are very few scenarios where tap water will no longer be available, but it’s good to consider your backup plan in that event. Stock up with a week’s supply of pure bottled water, and know where your nearest source of filterable fresh water is, just in case. Five-gallon bottles of Mountain Valley Spring water are a perfect emergency storage option. If you are collecting rain water, be sure to pass it through an effective filter before drinking due to environmental toxins.
Stocking up your freezer is a good idea as well. You will have plenty on hand if grocery stores are temporarily unavailable. If the power grid goes out and you need to consume your frozen foods, open your freezer sparingly to take out what you plan to eat in sections to preserve the temperature as long as possible. Consume all your frozen food before moving on to food that stores longer.
Indoor growing, including sprouts, can be maintained in any circumstance – you just need water and sunlight. This is a great way to continue to have fresh foods and greens in your diet during a disruption to the food supply. Stock up on sprout seeds to have on hand.
Find some final product recommendations here:
GET AHEAD OF THE GAME
Indoor tower gardens are a fantastic tool for those with the resources to bring one into the home. Working with these indoor gardens is a valuable skill to have as, in the future, outdoor gardening will likely become more difficult with increased amounts of airborne chemicals being dropped out of planes, contaminating the food supply.
We also know from Anthony William, the Medical Medium, that, in the future, there is a chance food plants and fruit trees will be regulated. Learning to grow indoors provides a great alternative to outdoor gardens!
The products I recommend here are the ones I personally use. Many different types of designs are available for different spaces, so please research. If the ones I recommend do not fit in your space, you may have to find another less bulky design. But they do need ‘some’ room to work. The good thing is because they can purchase grow lights with them, you don’t need the tower to be near sunlight, although if you can put the tower in the sun, it’s the best way. Also, for indoor tower gardens, you need to hand pollinate the flowers for some foods like cucumbers and tomatoes that fruit.
READY FOR ANYTHING
“The only thing that relieves pressure is preparation.”
Tom Kite
I want to provide all of the emergency preparedness tips I know for you so that you have full confidence in your ability to ride out any emergency. Over the coming weeks, I’ll release more blogs highlighting other aspects of emergency prep.
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Want to dive deeper into emergency preparedness?
Join me in my Intuitive Healing Community membership community for the month of April this year, where we will spend all month discussing emergency preparation and how to be ready for anything. Learn more below!
To your health and peace,
Muneeza
