With winter weather, storms, who knows what might happen, I wanted to write a post to encourage you all to think ahead about feeding your family in the event of some unforeseen events. Friends in Maine have had no power for several days.
I don’t need to know exactly what your plans are but I would like for you to think ahead about a few things. Remember that there could be an event where the grocery stores aren’t open; the restaurants aren’t open, the fast food places aren’t open. I’ve mentioned this many times on here but in January, 1997, in southwest Louisiana, it was raining and the temps very briefly got below freezing and our entire area was without power for 5 – 10 days. My power was out for 7 days. I lived in an all electric house and the thought had never occurred to me that our power could be out for more than an hour or so. My parents had a fireplace and they had a big grill with gas bottles but there was a bridge between me and them and it was frozen solid and closed! I learned a whole lot in the almost 24 hours before that bridge opened and I could get myself and Chad to my parents’ home.
It rarely freezes in southwest Louisiana so just because something has never happened in your area . . doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Please think about these things and other things . . your list will be different from mine . . and make sure you are prepared to live at least one week without electricity if the need arises. This list isn’t meant to be all inclusive – everything everyone might need . . it’s just meant to get you thinking.
For those who have a whole house generator, if you’re on propane, you can go through a tank of propane before things return to “normal”. Even with a whole house generator, I’d still have a Plan B.
Supplies on Hand:
- Do you have toilet paper and paper towels to get you through a week?
- Do you have first aid supplies? Chad and my nephew were being crazy and collided head on in mom’s living room. A neighbor was a doctor so we went to his house and he examined Chad by the car’s headlights.
Feeding Your Family:
- Do you have enough food in the pantry/freezer/fridge to feed your family for a week?
- Do you have a way to heat food?
- Do you have sufficient water? If the power is out, your municipal water may not be safe to drink. If you have a well, do you have a way to pump water without electricity.
- Do you have disposable plates and forks/spoons so you don’t have to wash as many dishes?
Staying Comfortable:
- How will you stay warm? I have a couple of pairs of oversized sweatpants that I will put on over my jeans. I will wear multiple pairs of socks. We have sleeping bags that we can crawl into on top of our bed.
- Do you have a way to entertain yourself and your family members. The thought of too many of today’s kids without electronic games and phones for a week scares me. 🙂
- Do you have a way to charge electronics. There are solar powered battery banks and I have this one and I’ve used it several times. (Affiliate link). I wouldn’t want to be trying to keep four or five phones charged or several electronic games going with one of those.
- Do you have flashlights or light sticks . . something to use to get around in the dark?
Again, I’m just mentioning things that pop into my head.
Because eating is a big deal to us, I’ll share some of the things we would do. I actually have a list of foods we can easily eat for days without power. With a gas stove, heating food will not be a problem. Baking food might be a problem. If we run out of bread, I can easily make tortillas on the stove. It’s possible to make biscuits on the stove also – cast iron pot on low with a lid.
Earlier I mentioned that I had canned turkey in turkey broth. I could use that to mix with storebought boxed dressing, I could add egg noodles to a jar and have turkey noodle soup. I could use a couple of jars and sausage and make a gumbo to serve over rice.
We could make tuna salad from canned tuna, serve them on toast or tortillas.
We have canned beans, canned soup, chili. We have home canned, as well as storebought canned chicken and roast beef.
I don’t buy things like spam or Vienna sausage. I only buy things that we actually eat and rotate it. Sardines? I love them and buy them and eat them and buy more!
Again . . no need to share with the world what you have but be aware things could happen when you aren’t expecting it so stay ready.
Donna in KS says
Some years ago, before we bought this house, a tornado went through our neighborhood. We were the only ones with a gas stove. You can imagine what that meant! We had a generator (?) to keep the deep freeze and ‘fridge going. We lost phone service too and my mother was about to go nuts until one of our sons showed up with a cell phone, the first one I’d ever dealt with. We lived along a river. Myth had it that tornadoes don’t hit along rivers! Neighborhood school was destroyed. One can never be too prepared!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Thank you for that. There are so many things we take for granted til they’re gone. You understand why having a gas stove is always my first priority.
Kathleen S, Normal, IL says
As a more urban person, this is the story that got me.
https://greatlakes.org/2019/08/five-years-later-lessons-from-the-toledo-water-crisis/
I have taken precautions for food and am building up other things, but water was one I forgot. You think you’re fine, living on a Great Lake (for me, it was Lake Michigan) (or on a regional lake, like I do now). My DH used to think I was a bit out-there but he went with it. But enough small things have happened that he no longer questions. He now supports.
My biggest one every winter is how long can I go without leaving my house because of ice or snow. One year it was 6 days and we were fine. I now routinely enter November with 7-10 days of critical reserves at any given time.
Thanks for the solar charger link!