Food Emergency

The idea of not having enough food for emergency preparedness can keep many of us awake at night wondering about our procrastination in storing enough food for our families. Many of us live in developed countries, but natural disasters, power outages, even volcano eruptions, earthquakes and blizzards will easily deter people from reaching town and having access to food. The ability to have enough cash on hand or be able to use a debit or credit card may not be feasible during disaster times.

We can spend a lot of time organizing and planning long-term food supplies, storage and ensure we eat what is getting close to its expiry date. Some people have done this and are certainly to be praised for their advanced planning efforts. I cannot discourage them in that. There are many of us who simply cannot or do not have the time or even inclination to do that, and yet we have a nagging worry in the back of our mind of how pathetically ill-prepared we are for a food emergency.

What I’ve found is a lot of food available that is prepared for much longer storage life such as 5 to 10 years, even up to 25 years. Freeze dried food, MRE’s, these foods are what military personnel carry with them. For those of you unfamiliar with MRE’s, they are individual pouches of food ready to slip into an MRE heater. THe heater is also a slim disposable holder that requires only one tablespoon of water to heat the MRE meal that you slip into it. The MRE will provide nutritious meals that are most tasty hot than cold, which is why you want the MRE heater with you. At about .99 for the heater, you can see what I’m talking about. The heater is not a piece of bulky equipment and does not require fuel.

A lot of us have never heard of MRE’s nor the MRE heater, so I’m explaining in detail. The difference in the years of shelf-life for MREs is a result of the temperature you store them in. They keep best in 75 degrees farenheit or less and will last much longer than five years at those temperatures, but about 5 years in hotter climates or storage. You can see why these are so valuable to the military.

MRE’s can be provide a 30 day supply of food in a box, with 2000 calories per day of meals per person. The 30 MRE heaters are also provided with it, depending on what company you by from. They eliminate the need for power or drinkable water to heat up the food, they are light to carry but have excellent food and last for years. You can carry them on hiking or wilderness trips, being ready for the unexpected such as poor weather conditions or being lost in the bush. You can keep a box in your home for easy evacuation as part of your emergency preparedness kit. They are fantastic to have.

There are also containers of freeze dried meals that last from 20 to 30 years. If you stock up on these little by little, you will have your food concerns taken care of, you can grab and go if you need to evacuate, you are able to feed your family if you are stuck in your home. One can has nine servings and indicate that it is lactose free, shellfish free, pork free, etc., Prior to ordering them, you will be able to see the nutrition facts, the ingredients, and how many servings it will provide.

Freeze dried food seals in the nutrients and are superior to dehydrated foods. They keep the shape, texture and taste, vitamins, fibre, color of fresh frozen foods. Some examples of the meals you may buy: vegetable stew with beef, chicken and rice, spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken a la king, beef stroganoff, vegetarian meals, beef or chicken teriyaki, lasagna with meat sauce, sea food chowder, incredible assortment of desserts, individuals cans of specific side dishes such as fluffy white rice, sweet corn, green beans, the list is vast.

You can see that you don’t have to be eating boring beans and canned soup every day, nor do you have to worry about the expiration date. One man reported that the crackers he tried after 25 years of storage were still very tasty. There are also single and two-pack pouches of freeze dried food for travel, hiking, camping, etc. Best sellers are Beef Stroganoff, Lasagna/Meat Sauce, Beef Stew, Chicken Teriyaki, Eggs/Bacon. Happy Eating!