Recent flooding in British Columbia led to a double-barreled consumer emergency: Stores emptied rapidly of food and household items, and because both road and rail links were so badly damaged, there’s no clear idea when regular deliveries can resume.
Shades of the early days of the pandemic: Once again, we’re seeing the fragility of the modern retail supply system.
It’s essential that we learn from this. Specifically: Don’t wait until an emergency threatens. Instead, build a good-sized stockpile of food and other vital items in advance.
Understand: I am not advocating hoarding. The Canadian government was pleading with folks in B.C. not to panic-buy, which would leave nothing for others. (That worked well.) Instead, I am talking about a simple, targeted approach toward not just getting these items, but using and replacing them regularly.
This isn’t only about food, either. Do you tend to wait until the last minute to buy cat litter? Ever found yourself purchasing tampons at a convenience store at 11 p.m.?
What about the allergy meds that keep your eyes from swelling shut every spring, or the lotion that makes your psoriasis flare-ups a little less painful? Suppose you were running low but kept procrastinating – and then an emergency made it impossible to get more?
Fortunately, there’s a bonehead-simple solution. Just three basic tactics can help keep you from running out of food, pet supplies, OTC meds or, yeah, toilet paper.
Step 1: Do an emergency inventory.
Figure out what you use a lot of or can’t afford to be without. Then figure out how much of this stuff you already have.
You’ll want a good store of food, obviously (including some things that you can prepare easily and/or without power) along with bottled water, paper products, OTC medications, toiletries and cleaning supplies. If you have pets, include enough water for them as well as their food and other useful items (e.g., the fish-oil capsules for Fido’s joint issues).
Do you use milk even occasionally in your cooking? Get yourself a box of powdered moo for those oatmeal breakfasts and mac ’n’ cheese dinners. Of course you’ll need the usual emergency supplies, such as batteries and candles – and make sure you can lay hands on a manual can opener.
Step 2: Make a list.
Once the inventory is finished, write down whatever you don’t have enough of and buy those things right away. Those with access to warehouse clubs can purchase large quantities of items at prices that are often (but not always) lower.
If you can’t afford to stock up all at once, set a goal to get one or two extra things per shopping trip: a couple of cans of soup, a pound of pasta, a box of cat litter, some tampons. See “12 ways to save on groceries” for tips on stretching available shopping dollars. (Hint: Some of these tactics might even yield free food and/or household items.)
Step 3: Stay on top of emergency prep.
One big stock-up isn’t enough. You also have to:
Use this stuff. A couple dozen packs of ramen sitting in your pantry/basement will eventually turn rancid. A case of beets you picked up cheaply won’t do you much good if this root vegetable isn’t popular at your house. Buy the food people like to eat, and then eat it. Which means, of course, that you’ll need to….
Plan a re-inventory. Set specific days to check on your supplies. That could be the last day of every month if your household goes through a lot of stuff, or every other federal holiday if you’re a minimalist bunch. Make it “every solstice and every equinox” and you’re assured of four inventories a year. Pick what works for you and set a reminder on your calendar (virtual or IRL). Once you’ve re-inventoried, you must…
Schedule a re-stock. No sense buying and using stuff without replacing it. Decide your personal comfort level, such as “Re-supply once we’ve eaten half our stuff” or ”Inventory and shop for toiletries every two months.” You could also buy any time you find great deals, and put the items in the back of your stash. (Pro tip: Write the sell-by date on the front of a box or can, not the top.)
The bottom line
Not many people want to believe they, too, might face a food emergency. Surely the stores will always be stocked? I mean, they always have, so they always will, right?
Sounds kind of dumb when you say that out loud, doesn’t it? But this is how a lot of us operate.
When a blizzard or hurricane is predicted, stores quickly run out of milk and bread, and often just about everything else. It’s human nature: People wait until life gets dire, then rush to buy as much as they can.
Don’t be that person. Loading up means less for everyone else. You might become part of the problem in other ways, too, such as contributing to traffic jams or straining an already stressed first responder system. (There’s a reason that the authorities ask for people to stay home during emergencies.)
Besides, there are no guarantees. Imagine waiting in line with hundreds of other folks, fearful and anxious – and then going home empty-handed.
Now imagine having to tell your household, “Looks like we’re sharing a pack of ramen and a can of beets for dinner.”
Readers: Do you have a solid stash of food and other items? Got any tips to share?
Related reading:
I have a solid stash of food. A generator would make me more comfortable. I write the date on top and front of can. Sometimes, I am looking down at cans, so both makes life better. I do this before I put a can or box on the shelf. That way, it is an easy chore.
A generator requires fuel, so add that to your list of supplies to keep replenished.
I suggest you consider solar panels (aka PV or photovoltaic panels), and possibly battery storage, as an alternative to a generator. You don’t need to worry about storing and replenishing fuel, or running out of fuel, for a PV system, and for the vast majority of the time when you wouldn’t need a generator, the PV system will be saving you money on your electric bills.
There was a story in many media outlets of a guy in New Orleans who has PV and battery storage. When Hurricane Ida hit and most of the city was without electricity for many days, he still had electricity without worry about running out of fuel, and his PV system charged many people’s cell phones.
I do the same thing, Linda. I always write the expiration date on the top/side of the can and use the closest dates first. The replacements go in the back.
There are so many YouTube videos on stocking a pantry. I’d advise people to watch them. I do not hoard, but I have enough to last me through 3 seasons ahead. And, may I add, I have enough to share with family and friends.
I love the idea of lists and going through the house to make sure I do not run out of necessary items, Donna. Water storage is huge in terms of survival. Be sure to put that on the top.
Do you have enough even for a month? You should have, depending on the size of your family, 31 cans of vegies per person, ditto the fruit, 120 ounces of meat either frozen or canned, carbs in the form of rice/oats/potatoes etc., beans either canned or in bags, seasonings, cake mixes, dried eggs/butter, some form of fat (shortening lasts the longest on the shelf), and enough seasonings for taste, including ketchup, mustard, salsa, etc. This is an incomplete list, but as Donna said, make your own based on what your family eats. Remember that junk food is empty of nutrients. 10 cans of green beans on the shelf will not last long. You probably do not have enough in your home for even a week’s worth of food.
I have already given away laundry soap, bar soap, and winter blankets for the months ahead. I can give food also when there is a need.
A word to us all: I ran the church’s food pantry for years. One week we had a huge load of dried pinto beans that was delivered late and not put in the individual bags. I told people to take them if they wanted. Only the Hispanics were glad to get them. Nobody else took them because as one put it, “I do not know how to fix them.” Well, OK. Learn how to cook.
Water storage: I have found that the gallons of water start to crack and leak after about a year. Be sure to rotate the water as well as the food.
Pinto and other beans: Maybe include a 1 page 8 1/2 x 11 flyer on how to cook and use, as well as any pre-soaking requirements, when you give out the beans. Anything smaller tends to get lost.
I have about a years worth of food, but have not been dating and rotating as well as I should have been.
I would recommend adding a manual can opener or two to your food stash, as many now use electric can openers.
Mentioned manual can openers in the post, but it bears repeating. More and more cans now have pull-tops — but not all of them do.
One of the first financial books I ever read, “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias, advocated buying in bulk when something you use a lot is on sale, even if you have to put the extra under your bed to store it. As a result, I’ve always had plenty of tuna in the house, and way too much flour.
Hubby is an Eagle Scout, so we are always prepared. When Hurricane Sandy hit (it’s been 9 years already!!?), we were in pretty good shape. We still needed D cell batteries for the lantern, though.
One thing we always do when bad weather is forecast is to gas up the cars as soon as possible. The pumps don’t work during a widespread power outage. Good rule of thumb is to never go below a quarter of a tank.
Gasing up the cars also allows you to recharge cell phones if the power goes out. We also get some cash in small bills and quarters in case the bank machines and ATM’s go down. Dollars in case you want to pay or tip someone for helping you. Quarters in case you need to go to the laundromat, in the aftermath of the weather event/emergency.
I also have too much flour.
We currently have 200 pounds of flour. But since we use a pound every time we bake bread, it doesn’t linger unduly.
In an article for MSN Money about stocking up, I suggested using risers on your beds, the way dorm students do, so you can fit more under-bed boxes there. And a Red Cross guy suggested that when severe weather is forecast you should boil all the eggs you have. If power goes out, you’ve got protein. If not, you’ve got the makings for egg salad.
Don’t forget fuel and water. When we had the fire come through last year, power was off for almost a month and we had to start conserving generator propane because the supply trucks were not allowed in. (we were supposed to be evacuated, but hey, we have a house because we did not go)
Don’t forget that you need a chef during such an event. We pretty much ate trail mix for two weeks because although we have a year’s worth of storage food, we were both so exhausted from fighting fire and the profoundly depressing aftermath that no one could rouse themselves to cook much. Fortunately the chickens made it through the fire okay and we could scramble eggs from time to time. A couple of days we hit the jackpot when a neighbor was able to smuggle in a ton of Mexican Food from an evacuated neighbor’s restaurant. Until the roadblocks got really repressive. Still recovering from the abandonment issues and employer betrayal. I am feeling for everyone who is currently affected. You don’t get it until you have been through it.
As someone who lives through Hurricane season every year – I always have emergency stash in my backup pantry…I check it monthly to confirm dates still good, and if I have too much of something that won’t get used , it goes to the local food pantry — (side note: they take toiletries and such also, if someone is in need of food, they may also be in need of soap, toothpaste, etc). I get shelf stable milk at the dollar store – note the date, and ensure it gets used for regular stuff before expiring.
I always stock up ahead of time on things. I’ve got about 80 lbs of dry dog food, and 4 cases of wet food for my 3 doggies (who also serve as our auxilliary security system).
I’ve always got a good supply of canned foods, pasta and a freezer full of foods pretty much at all times.
We have weather extremes and have pretty frequent power outages so it’s not always convenient, or possible to go to the store.