Probably not the right section to post, but....

[goodfellow]

.....since it is related to firearms and survival type info, I'll post it here. Long story short, MRS. GF and I did our monthly shopping at COSTCO this morning, where we usually buy bulk items and bulk foods that we will use over the course of one/two months (i.e, paper towels, TP, detergent, bottled water, thick sliced bacon (yum!!), eggs, etc....). This is routine for us, and like many of you, we stock up on stuff we use in bulk.

As we were wandering down the bulk grain/rice/flour aisle, we spotted a group of men and women that stood out. The men were dressed in camouflage, the women/girls were clothed in what seemed like traditional Mennonite or Amish garb (long dresses, head coverings, etc..), and they were buying literally hundreds of pounds of rice, flour, pasta, in the large 40-50lb sacks and mega packages. We didn't pay attention, and went over to the next aisle when the original group came over and met up with another group who was pushing three dollies full of cooking oils, water, canned goods, spices, etc..

Mrs. GF wondered what was going on -- and all I could come up with was that these folks were probably fundamentalist preppers. Many religious sects (most notably the LDS (aka Mormons) in the US) advocate storing food for emergencies. When we were leaving we saw these folks packing their trucks and vehicles to the hilt with their high volume purchases. On the ride home my wife mentioned the fact that we should probably stock away some items for emergencies as well -- not in a high volume prepper sense, but enough to last a few weeks in case of a severe storm/hurricane and/or long lasting power outage.

Thinking on this for a few hours it makes sense. We have some bulk food items, but don't have a plan or shopping list for storing foods for the long term. My wife hits the grocery store every two days, and if that supply chain were to be interrupted for a week of two, we'd be SOL.

How many of you put away some emergency food items? and for what period of time do you prepare for? -- a week, a month? We do have an emergency kit that is recommended by FEMA, and that includes lights, batteries, medicines, freeze dried food, water, and medical supplies; but other than that, we're relying on what's in the pantry.

Just an observation from today's shopping trip that got my wife and me to think along the same lines  -- specifically, that we should come up with some sort of short term emergency plan with regard to our food situation.

[coolmercury]

Its good that they got you thinking.  However even more important than food is water.  You can live without food for awhile, but water is a must to stay alive.  Where are you going to get it if the city or rural water goes down.  If you have a well do you have a generator to utilize your pump?  They also make hand pumps you can put down your well if there is no power.  There are also filters that you can use so you can utilize pond water etc. 

As to food, we have six months.

The real problem if you are old are medications.  If you have high blood pressure, etc. where are you going to go to get them if everything goes down?

I recently bit the bullet and put a whole house generator on my place with a 500 gallon propane tank.  Mainly because we are old and a mile from the road and one of the last to get power if something goes bad.

You post should generate a lot of input.

[Rusty]

My family has always had a pantry. Living out in the hills there are always times when you couldn't get out to get things. Dry and canned foods in the pantry. Fill the root cellar with other items. It saved our butts many times over the years.

I dont have a Costco locally so Samsclub is our go to place for the pickup bulk items.

[DeadNutz]

Water is the biggest necessity for survival. The neighbors have a simple pump on their well so a little muscle power is all that is needed. We try to keep the pantry well stocked and I mark every can or package with the date of purchase with a sharpie marker so it is easy to use the oldest first. Summer with maybe one 100 degree day and low humidity is no problem as long as you have shade. Wood stove enables heat and a cooking surface if needed. I also have an emergency food supply of rabbits and quail on the property.
No worries about flooding here as we are on high ground. Fire and maybe an earthquake are our biggest dangers here which are easy to prepare for. I feel it is best to be prepared to control your situation for at least 2-4 weeks. Any longer than that is a crapshoot at best and knows what would happen.

[bonneyman]

I try to be prepared but there's a limit to my space and budget. Although we do tend to keep alot of gallon jugs of water stored. (Being in the desert water is something you just can't be without). I lean toward canned and dried goods, even dried fruits. Our monsoons can get pretty violent, and - if the power goes out - it behooves one to be prepared for at least a couple of days without power (though the longest we've actually been without electricity was 4 hours).

It's one of the reasons I started putting together a recipes book. I find something useful on the internet, I've learned to hit "PRINT". Punch holes in the sheets and store it in a 3-ring binder. The depression cake (invented during the Great Depression) is a good example. Uses common pantry ingredients but no butter, eggs, or dairy. (Hard to find or expensive when times get tough).

And not only food and water. I've found camping supplies and military stuff to be good to have on hand, too. Out and out "prepper" kinds of stuff? I have some, but only stuff I would normally use.

[ken w.]

I stock up on canned and dried foods. I have a couple of cases of bottled spring water. I got myself a newer generator and I usually have 15 gallons of gas and 2 20 lb propane tanks on hand. The only thing I really have to worry about is winter storms. 

[slip knot]

Living along the gulf coast every hurricane season brings a new season of supplies, water and fuel are the hardest to come by during a storm. I keep 15-20 gallons of fuel and 10 five gallon jugs of water. having the generator is the biggest help. you don't need to run it continuously, just long enough to cycle the freezers off and charge the phones. During Harvey the wife ran thru 5 gallons of fuel over a weeks time. Yeah she's trained pretty well. We didn't lose anything in the freezers.

I've been looking for a older Onan that will run on LPG. I've got two 500 gallon tanks one for the house and I plan to hook one up to the shop. it would be nice to have a genset that would run on LPG. Then I can keep the gas for the trucks.

[john k]

I live in an area most of you would describe as the boondocks.  10 miles to town for groceries, gas, ammo, and auto parts.   Winter can be nasty, have seen a power outage about every other year, once for five days .   Got at least 2 weeks canned and dry food on hand,  as it is farther away for a good restaurant,  some 30 miles.    Try to keep 10-15 gallons of gas around, keep more in the tractor, especially in winter.   Come winter or storm time,  have enough water jugs to  flush the pot several times.   Have a generator, kerosene lamps,  wood stove, and an outhouse if needed.     A years supply of canned goods could take up a lot of space,  but soap and TP would be also important.  Not a prepper, but just want to stay comfortable  here in the country.

[highland512]

We can alot out of the garden, I would say I have a months supply of veggies in the basement and a 2 weeks supply of spam and tuna.......yum

Water is kept in gallons jugs from the grocery, I still have my stash from when I lived in hurricane country.

I have seen people in the store before buying stuff like you mentioned. I offend wondered how they protect all of those supply's from rats and mice or in a emergency, bantits. 

[goodfellow]

Thanks for the info guys! much appreciated. I must confess I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all. I made the mistake of trying to do some research on the matter last evening and went down the proverbial "rat hole" looking at all the doomsday prepper busllsh$t that is out there. Imagine a whole industry that exists for the sole purpose of planning for Armageddon, and mostly dominated and manipulated by fake sudo- prophets capitalizing on the deception. The famous tome that "....a sucker is born every minute!" comes to mind. I found some reasonable plans and will work to understand and tailor the needs for my neck of the woods (DC burbs) to be more proactive in the matter.

I did find that the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) actually have online and physical stores in which to purchase long term emergency food. Quite reasonable in price, and a very well designed system. For very long term storage, their food items seem to fit the bill.

https://providentliving.churchofjesuschrist.org/food-storage?lang=eng

[ken w.]

I tried some of the freeze dried food they offer on TV in the 5 gal. buckets. It's got to be the most bland tasting food ever. Blander than plain oatmeal. This stuff would get old after the 2nd or 3rd meal.

[Rusty]

It's like any institutional food you need to spice it up to your taste.

Remember Tabasco sauce goes with everything. (Especially  MREs)

Also keep an eye on places like odd lots. They sometimes get the pouch entrees on the cheap. Local one always has Indian mains for a bit over two bucks a pouch.

[DeadNutz]

Those freeze dried meals do need spicing up to be edible. I'm not worried about having a years supply of that stuff in buckets or containers. I'm just glad that we are on high ground with good visibility all directions. Between us and the neighbors nobody is sneaking up on us. Gotta be ready for the zombies.

[goodfellow]

....... I'm just glad that we are on high ground with good visibility all directions. Between us and the neighbors nobody is sneaking up on us. Gotta be ready for the zombies.

  LOL DN, you sound like some of those the guys on those prepper websites I visited last night -- funny stuff! .....but THOSE guys were dead serious. 

[john k]

Serious?   Livng out where  I  do, one can slip into an us vs. them mind set.   Especially during hunting season when the road hunters constantly circle the section  in their shiny new pickups,  guns hanging out the windows.   Drive by at 10 mph, scoping out the homestead,  makes one keep  all the good stuff hid from sight.  Also  makes some folk keep the shooting irons loaded and handy.