Science Exploration Disaster Prepardness Column #3


By Craig Porter


Food and it’s preparation: First for emergencies you need to have Reserve Supplies set back so that you don’t go hungry in case of a disaster. If you wait until the disaster strikes you wont be able to run to the store and expect there to be anything left on the shelves for you. Everybody else will be doing the same thing. Starting with food and water, build your reserves slowly and deliberately. First, water so that you have an ample safe water supply for drinking and cooking, but don’t waste your water. See how much water you use each day and initially put away enough water for two weeks. Then build that to a month’s worth of water. You can buy yourself a reverse osmosis filter for your home and use the filtered water as you reserve. And just in case, you can buy a portable filter to filter pool water rain water or even standing water. You can also buy filtered water for about thirty cents a gallon from a water store. Store your water in a cool place in your house that will be assessable if you have a partial collapse of your house. Use the water from your reserve


supply and replenish it as you use it and put the replenished water at the back of your water queue. If you are going to filter your tap water for emergencies you will need to purchase enough storage bottles to hold the water. Bottles may be purchased at Water Stores, Grocery Stores or Outdoor Supply Stores. Bottles should be three gallon bottles due to the weight of water. To increase the availability of a water supply check out different ways to purify standing water from streams and other sources. Next is food, start by acquiring a little


extra food each time you go shopping. The extra food should be canned or dry foods that keep well. Check for expiration dates and use the foods with the earliest expiration dates first as you put the reserve into the food queue. As far as the use of the reserves goes you should use them just as you use the


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water and replace the food as you use it. If there is no expiration date write the purchase date on the box or can as you buy it. Always use the oldest date or the closest expiration date first. Don’t forget your spices and condiments, salt, pepper, etc. Dry foods consist of dried Beans, rice, flour, pasta, cake mixes, bread mixes and can also consist of dry soup mixes. Preparing dry foods illustrates the need for extra water to be stored. If you buy canned goods it will save


on the use of your water and allow you to make different types of delicious meals i.e. mix a can of chili con carne, a can of Spaghetti, and dice in onions and Cheese then add some catchup to taste, serve with crackers or home made bread it will feed four or five people and “it will stick to your ribs”. Experiment with quick and easy meals by cooking on your patio or go camping with your family to learn the skills that will help you survive a disaster. Remember that canned goods consist of Vegetables, soups, precooked pastas, fruits, pickles and many of your condiments.


Cooking your meals:


Stoves: Propane camp stoves, propane patio bar-be-ques, Charcoal bar-be- ques, and wood burning stoves, or if you have an auxiliary power generator an electric stove, a small electric oven, a microwave or a hot plate. Assume you will lose power from your electric company and or gas company and you will have to use one of the above methods to cook. Cooking gear: You may be able to use


your pots, pans, Coffee pots, tea pots, cups, glasses, plates and silverware, but for how long before it becomes unusable. Keeping this in mind remember that there are paper plates and bowls you can stock up on along with plastic “silverware” that be reused after washing. But for cooking you need pots, pans and baking tins and sheets. One way is to pick up a camp cooking kit and mess kits to use to prepare your meals on. Then use the mess kits to eat


on along with the included camp silver ware. You might also pick up a Dutch Oven or two. If you are cooking on Charcoal they are indispensable for baking. Again, practice using you cooking utensils, go camping and use them so that you trust them and can use them easily. Another method of storing food is


to grow it yourself and can or preserve it. Make your own pickles from cucumbers, okra or other vegetables that can be pickled. You can preserve most vegetables by cooking and canning them in glass jars that are seal- able, corn, beans, tomatoes are easily canned, along with other foods and fruits. There are vegetables that can be saved by storing then in a cool dry location such as a root cellar, onions, potatoes, peppers,and others. You can also make your own preserves and jams from fruits that you can grow in your own yard. These fruits can also be eaten right off of the trees. If you have to plant fruit trees make sure that they are ready to bear fruit. Buy seeds and store them in case you have to grow food for the near or distant term. Learn how to use the food that you grow to get seeds for upcoming growing seasons. Experiment with an ongoing practice gardens that will supply you with the foods that you


ConNotations


like. Buy books that will help you learn to be an effective gardener. Not only will you be able to add to your emergency food supplies but you will have healthier food for you and your family. If you wind up with more food than you can use you can share it with your friends and family. Also, don’t forget to grow your own herbs and spices, and learn about the desert plants or other plants, depending on where you live, that you can harvest from nature and feed your family and yourself if need be. How well you eat in a disaster is up


to you, all it takes is some reading and manual labor to produce what you need to keep your family fed and happy. But by all means practice the cooking over a camping stove, an open fire or charcoal. If you practice you will be better at it.


CoN


Volume 22 Issue 3


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