Emergency Food

We were without power for 5 days this summer. But we had a backup generator so that really helped. Wasn't powerful enough to do the stove though. So I cooked in the instant pot and used the charcoal grill. Fridge was plugged in so having pantry foods wasn't a requirement.

However, we do have an emergency stash of about 24 MRE's. Some actually taste decent and they are high in calories to fill you up. We also backpack so we have a lot of mountain house dehydrated foods and a jet boil stove (plus fuel) to cook that. Where we live when our power goes out we will still have water until the backup at the water tower fails so if I was concerned with water I'd probably fill our bathtubs with water then boil it before using.

IMO if you were planning for a long term disaster and didn't care about, the cost MRE is the way to go. They don't require a heat source or water to have the meal. Each one has about 1200 calories so I'd think just eating MRE an adult could get by on 2 per day. Plus however many gallons of water you think you'd need to stay hydrated and basic cleansing (or you the premoistened wipes for cleaning), and you should be set.
 
I have question. Was shown, by electrician, we have built in special outlet for generator. Are there types or can any generator plug in? My mom has generator she wants to give me...will that plug in or does it have to be certain type?
 
I know you say that you won't be able to heat anything, but I'm not sure why. Is it because you live in an apartment building and don't have a barbecue or other access to outdoor cooking? If so, investing in a fondue pot might be a good idea if this kind of outage is going to be recurring with every potential windstorm. Our fondue pot got more use as a pot that we could put a flame underneath (butane burner or even Sterno), than it did as an actual fondue pot. A fondue pot set-up would allow you to heat water for coffee or even soup. It is slow, but just being able to heat water allows you so many more food options, like instant oatmeal for breakfast, cup o' noodles for lunch, and a Mountain House entree for dinner. If all you are heating in the pot is water, there is no clean-up either! Sterno is a fairly safe method of having a flame indoors and they can store for long periods of time. I have seen Sterno cans at the dollar store, but most places, including grocery stores, carry them because they are used with chafing dishes, etc.

When the power went out on the farm, my mom just used to make a tripod with three tin cans and then put a small cake rack over it and a heat source underneath it. It allowed her to heat water for coffee when she was most desperate.

The key is to only heat what you need, so you don't waste fuel. If you need one cup of hot water for coffee, fill your cup with water and dump that into the pot to heat, don't heat excess water for the fun of it

Or heat the water and put it in a thermos.
 


If you were going to be without power for up to 5 days what food would you buy/stock?
Just curious are you planning on being without power for 5 days? Honestly if it were me and I knew we'd be out of power for 5 days I'd seriously be looking at making other arrangements if at all possible, but canned food, bread, crackers, cereal and plenty of water would be my go to.
 
Just curious are you planning on being without power for 5 days? Honestly if it were me and I knew we'd be out of power for 5 days I'd seriously be looking at making other arrangements if at all possible, but canned food, bread, crackers, cereal and plenty of water would be my go to.
Not by choice. But PGE could shut off power (and have in many areas). It is nothing that can be really planned on. They gave about a 36 hours notice and in that time the information changed and then changed again and continues to change.

I agree though, if I was having electric work done and would be without I would be out of town during that time. Sounds like a great time to go to Disneyland.
 
Not by choice. But PGE could shut off power (and have in many areas). It is nothing that can be really planned on. They gave about a 36 hours notice and in that time the information changed and then changed again and continues to change.

I agree though, if I was having electric work done and would be without I would be out of town during that time. Sounds like a great time to go to Disneyland.


i was thinking your power would be out tonight, glad its not
 


Not by choice. But PGE could shut off power (and have in many areas). It is nothing that can be really planned on. They gave about a 36 hours notice and in that time the information changed and then changed again and continues to change.

I agree though, if I was having electric work done and would be without I would be out of town during that time. Sounds like a great time to go to Disneyland.
Yikes, I'm so sorry you all are going through this. Have they said how long it'll be (are the estimating 5 days?) Honestly I can't imagine how difficult it must be. It sounds like you're trying to go into being as prepared and positive as possible though. Good luck!
 
We have a generator--not huge, but enough to run the fridge and freezer. We occasionally unplugged the fridge to run the microwave. We were without power for 4 days during/after Hurricane Florence.

Other possible cooking sources, as mentioned--an outdoor grill, a hot plate, possibly an Instant Pot. It might be worth picking up some kind of portable or disposable grill for the future, since this will likely happen again.

As for foods, we stocked up on the standard items--peanut butter, canned goods, etc. We had several cases of water and filled our bathtubs. While we have a pool, it's salt water--not the best for washing up, etc., and who knows how much debris it might get during a hurricane. We did laundry ahead of time. We actually had hot water the entire time, although I had to shower by flashlight. For entertainment, we ran my van--air conditioning, music, and a place to charge devices.
 

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