Food: One Person, One Year

With the earthquake and the possibility of large storms dropping unusual rainfall on us, I’ve been perusing my cupboards wondering if I have enough of the right stuff.  Most of us don’t have much food stored for emergencies but the LDS church encourages their members to put aside a years worth of supplies.  Here is one display put together by a woman’s group within the church.  The shelf contains enough food, based on a 2300 calories per day diet,  to feed an Adult Male for one year.

The creators of the display say that using the ingredients displayed that each adult male could have a loaf of bread and 1/3 cup of dried beans daily—not exactly haute cuisine  but filling and reasonably nutritious.  Of course, cans and boxes of processed food work too.  They just take up more room, are more expensive, and can be less nutritious (though canned fruits and vegetables would really help bring up the vitamin content of the shelves in the photo.)

A little over a year ago I interviewed several survivalists for an article I wrote for the NCJournal. One of the men said, “People used to understand that you need a couple weeks worth of food” but now they have no more than a day or two. I try to keep a couple weeks on hand (though I don’t always succeed.) Because of the remodeling we’ve been doing, I’ve cooked up many of my stores but I’m ready to stock up again.

Remember that stocking water is important too.  Because we have our own well water and could access other sources , I only have two gallons tucked away but

Here’s  a list of questions below the fold that I’ve posted before that will help you to see if you are ready for an emergency:

Is Your Family Prepared?

________ 1. Do you have a plan to meet family members at a pre-

set point if you cannot access your home? (5 points)

________ 2. Does your family have a plan for where family members will stay if they are unable to reach home?
(5 points)
________ 3. Do you have an emergency “message center” plan? That

means agreeing on an out-of-state friend or relative where every family member can leave word after a

disaster strikes. (5 points)

________ 4. Do you have an emergency stash of food supplies at your

house? (5 points plus 5 bonus points if you have a full

week of supplies)
________ 5. Do you have an emergency stash of water supplies at your

house?(5 points plus 5 bonus points if you have a full

week of water)
________ 6. Do you have a small emergency medical kit at your house,

including a copy of your prescriptions, spare

eyeglasses, hearing aid batteries and other health

essentials? (5 points)
________ 7. Do all family members know how to shut off your water,

gas and power?(5 points plus 5 bonus points if you have

a wrench tied to your gas shut off valve or have an

automatic gas shut-off valve.)
________ 8. Do you have a plan with your neighbors to check on each

other after a disaster? (5 points plus 5 bonus points

if you have a Neighborhood Emergency Response

Organization group established in your neighborhood.

Add 5 more bonus points if your home emergency kit

includes a battery operated radio.
________ 9. Have any of your family members taken a current First

Aid Class (5 points
________ 10.Do you have an emergency kit of food, water and other

essentials in your automobile?(5 points)

How to Score:
50 points or more = Your family has prepared well.
40 points or more = Pretty good but some issues need to be addressed.
30 points or less = Your family could suffer in significant ways when

the inevitable strikes. Suffering succotash!  I better get cracking.  The way the financial crisis is shaping up, “inevitable” doesn’t quite convey the coming doom.

NOTE: This test is taken from VASHONBEPREPARED.org with some editing.

Thanks to Heather for the Photo.