How would you prepare for a hurricane? No electricity, no water...still need to eat!

Living in Florida I'm used to assembling a hurricane pack of canned food and water for a potential disaster, but frankly I do it without much imagination - cans of ravioli, cases of water, nuts, granola, and a few boxes of Kraft dinner (things I might not normally eat, but they are always on sale at the beginning of hurricane season). When I think of our fellow Food 52'ers who are still without water or electricity after almost a week (hang in there!) I realize the inadequacy of my own preparations.

Does anyone have a plan for living with out the essentials for a week? If it did occur in my neck of the swamp, it would be hot and muggy after the event and ice would be a rapidly diminishing commodity. I have friends who have been hit hard by a hurricane and they said one of the worst things afterwards was having to live on Chef Boyardee for a week.

So imagine you're hot, tired, stressed and dazed. Unintended camping with less facilities. No electricity, no running water. You need sustenance that feeds your stomach and your soul. What would you do?

Thanks everyone in advance.

4376ab
  • Posted by: 4376ab
  • September 2, 2011
  • 3591 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

SKK
SKK September 2, 2011
When I lived in Lousiana, we got with neigbors and planned together. Community really is wonderful! After the hurricane came and went we had parties where we all brought whatever outdoor cooking items we had - grills, propane stoves, big old pots on top of propane rings - and had a picnic with all our perishable items first. We tended to cook and eat our main meals together so that was always interesting - who has what to throw into the meal. And because some of us had equipment and staples others didn't it was easy to borrow and barter.
 
Greenstuff
Greenstuff September 2, 2011
Living in earthquake country, I keep some water, a water filter, and a Steri-pen (essentially a UV light), and a camp stove where I think I'll be able to get to them, right next to a first aid kit. Then, besides a few essentials, like powdered milk (or shelf-stable boxed), I continually try to make sure I have some canned or other stable things--things that we'd be happy to eat, even when it's not an an emergency. My general goal is that we'll eat these things up gradually so that the stock is rotated. In practice, it doesn't work so well--last week I got rid of a lot of stuff with "best used by" dates that were more than 5 years old! As for coffee, the French press idea is great as long as you have a way to have ground coffee, and those little Starbucks powders are much better than you'd guess.
 
drbabs
drbabs September 2, 2011
I bought canned soup, beans, tuna, powdered and evaporated milk for coffee; water (there was very little left in the grocery store), seltzer, peanut butter, jelly. Had bread in the freezer--it would have survived a few days if we'd lost power--we didn't. I also ran a bathtub full of water...our kids are still laughing at me about that one, but I remember always doing that before a hurrucane when i lived in new Orleans and it would not be funny if we couldn't wash up or flush. I also bought a french press coffee maker--had never had one before--so we could make coffee without electricity.

I'm on my way to donate the canned and boxed goods we don't use to a food pantry. We were so lucky, but not everyone was. I have friends who still don't have power. And upstate NY and Vermont were absolutely devastated by the flooding.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune September 2, 2011
Well, we did this last week. and ended up not needing it, thankfully. Got several gallons of water on hand, just in case, and filled up the bathtub.

Had sandwich fixings on hand, pasta and sauce, beans and rice cooked and available to heat up (or not). Cheese, crackers, nuts, yogurt, We could have gone for several days if need be. Glad we didn't have to!
 
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