10 Ways to Ensure Your Family Gets Fed in an Emergency
Rely on these ten preps when facing a crisis situation:
1. Know your emergencies
The first step towards feeding yourself and your family in
an emergency are knowing your possible scenarios. Any
security achieved through prepping without this step is
essentially won by luck.
By being aware of the types of disasters that could strike
you, what they would mean for your food supply and their
the likelihood, you are able to prepare for them.
Ideally, you would only need to prepare for the longest
and most difficult of the disasters that could plausibly
strike your family, but few people can organize such
extensive preps quickly.
Instead, be aware of even the smaller situations that
could strike you and which ones are most likely. I am
talking about common scenarios such as suddenly being
without any income.
Start by preparing for those less life-threatening, but
still food supply-endangering, situations, and then grow
your supplies to cover greater disasters long-term.
That way, if something that is less serious but more
likely happens before you achieve full zombie apocalypse
readiness, you are prepared to handle the minor set-back.
2. Calculate your needs
Don't prep haphazardly. Look seriously at the needs of all
of your family members and take them into account.
If you don't know how much each person eats on a daily
basis, keep food diaries to calculate your caloric intake
and how many meals you need daily to feel full.
These days it's easy. Use an online calorie calculator to
check what you ought to be eating to maintain your current
body based on your age, gender, weight and activity level.
There are even apps with barcode scanners to easily track
your meals and snacks.
To ensure that you don't consistently go over your planned
intake, create a sample meal plan based on your preps.
3. Go one step further
Prepare for a few extra days. Prepare more snacks. Take
the irregularities into account. People get hungry; a
couple of preps might spoil. Life isn't picture perfect
so prepare to supplement your initial plan.
4. Store canned goods
Canned goods, whether store-bought or homemade, are
an excellent way to ensure that your family can eat in an
emergency.
Cans can be dented and glass jars can be broken, but
overall, they are pretty durable. Canned foods will not spoil
from damp conditions, and they can be eaten cold if the
need arises.
5. Store dried goods
Dried foodstuffs can often be a far more economical option
than canned goods, and they are a great complement to
store together.
In addition to your dried grains, from rice and bulgur to
pasta and the many varieties of beans, don't forget about
the more flavourful dry foods that can be reconstituted.
A great variety of vegetables can be dried and then
reconstituted for soups or stews. Dried mushrooms may add
little in terms of calories, but just what you need in
terms of flavor and minerals.
The same is true for many other dried goods, such as
spices and seaweed.
Don't forget all of those dry staple goods that you are
used to having, from cornflour to baking powder.
Foreign staples you might not usually store can also come
in handy. Chickpea flour, for example, can be turned into
instant protein-rich hummus, a versatile dip or spread.
6. Store dry prepared foods
Dry foods that are ready to eat are not just the domain of
those poorly prepared souls who scurry to the supermarket
the moment a crisis is announced.
Many of them are, but there are some with a longer
shelf-life that should definitely qualify as prepping
food. Or, well, snacks.
You shouldn't expect to get a large percentage of your
calories from snacks, such as meal replacement bars, rice
cakes or potato chips, but don't underestimate the snacks!
They can give you quick energy when you feel too tired.
They can raise your spirits. And yes, they can feed
you and your family.
7. Store ready meals
What about ready meals? Some survivalists do all their
preparations in the form of military rations. That's fine, but
it's too expensive an option for most.
Even if it would be far too expensive for you to prepare
large quantities of ready meals, consider storing a few.
The variety will keep your family from developing food
fatigue.
Not to mention that there may be times when you can't
cook, and in an emergency, there is no option to order
delivery pizza or Chinese take-out.
8. Grow your own
Growing your own food is the most secure way to feed your
family. Not everyone will have space or ability to
grow all of their own food, but even a little bit helps.
If you grow some portion of your own food, you will also
be able to carry on feeding your family once your preps
have all run-out.
9. Have something to trade
Sometimes all the prepping in the world isn't enough.
Something will run out. If you have prepared something to
trade for either money or food, you'll be better equipped
for long-term survival.
10. Prepare for alternative cooking methods
Unless you are prepping only ready meals and snacks, you
must make sure not to make the largest food prep mistake
in the books: not having a way to prepare your food.
Take into account how much time and fuel you will need.
If you are storing dry beans, for example, remember that
dry beans, even when left to soak in water overnight,
take up to one hour of cooking.
If you are serving those beans with regular rice and some
tomato sauce, you are looking at upwards of an hour and a
half of the fuel for one meal.
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