Tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and floods, among other disasters, have left people stranded for days. They disconnect electricity, water, and the infrastructure to replenish your supplies. On the other hand, you need survival food to provide the energy that will help you to persevere through the emergency.
The emergency nature of disasters means that you will never know what to expect. Even the food you have preserved may be destroyed in the process. How do you pick the food to place in your emergency food storage and survival kit? Here are a few pointers to help you.
- Shelf life
Choose food that stays fresh and eatable even after long storage. Emergencies cause food shortages because they cut off supply. The food may also be too expensive yet you require it for survival and there is little money left. Choose food that you can buy and keep for the longest time possible.
Long shelf life also keeps you calm knowing that the food will last you through the months. It should also stay for a while after opening or be packed in portions that will not expose the leftovers to spoiling. Shelf life should not be reliant on freezers and the refrigerator because the lights could go out.
- Calories
How much energy will you get from the food? Emergencies mean that you cannot access a variety of foods in large quantities. Choose foods whose small portion is enough to provide all the energy and nutritional needs of your family members or the household.
Foods with higher calorie amounts are better during emergencies. You will reduce the amount of food package without denying your family the number of calories they need. Notice that calorie needs during emergencies are high. The food should, therefore, cater to such needs.
- Nutrition
The body is more than the calories you consume. You require food that provides all the nutrients you need to live a healthy life. The body requires carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, fats, and minerals even during an emergency. Luckily, most packaged foods come with a lot of carbohydrates. Look for food items that package the other nutrients in large quantities, helping you to meet their nutritional needs.
Whole grain meals are a perfect choice when looking for high nutritional value. Dried foods also package more nutrients in small-quantity servings. Check the content as indicated by the manufacturing company to help you make the right choice.
- Preparation method
Disasters and stressful situations do not come with the luxury of fully equipped kitchens. At the same time, you will be trying to conserve the little gas left or will only receive power from generators. Choose foods that are easy to prepare and whose consumption will provide such essential needs as heat and nutrients to consumers.
Some of the packed foods come in the form of bars that can be eaten without preparation. Dried and frozen foods will require heating or other forms of preparation that use fire. The food should be ready to eat in the shortest time without consuming the little energy available during an emergency.
- Specialized diet
Do you have members of the household who require a special diet? It could be out of a prevailing health condition, age, or personal preference. Consider them when ordering your food. Consider the needs of members with allergies or unique health conditions.
Weight and storage space are also crucial considerations since the food will occupy space. All these issues help you to put together a package that will last several days, weeks, or months depending on prevailing circumstances. Even as you worry about rebuilding your house, restoring power, or waiting for help, you will not be stranded trying to look for food.
Here are the best 72-hour kits as well as packages that can last longer to cover your dietary and nutritional needs during disasters and uncertain circumstances.
The package offers 9 bars that can help an adult to survive for 3 to 5 days. The bars are high in calories but low on proteins. Considering that emergencies leave many people without clean drinking water, the bars do not require a lot of water to digest. The package comes with an outer foil that protects the remaining bars from losing their flavor.
The bars are made of enriched sugar, corn starch, and partially hydrogenated vegetable shortenings, among other ingredients. Beyond emergencies, the bars can be used for camping, outdoor activities, and rafting, among others. The bars come in small packages measuring 11x5x12cm. These bars weigh 1.6lbs and will provide 3,600kcal.
The crunchy cookies’ taste is bearable and the bars are digestible. The vanilla taste makes the palatable even to children. They provide all the nutrients and energy you require during an emergency. The bars will survive in temperatures between -35 and 60 degrees Celsius.
Augason Farm’s 1-Person Emergency Food Pail Â
The pail is designed to help you survive the most extreme emergencies for 72 hours or more. While the kit will last you about 72 hours, it has a shelf life of around 25 years. The pack is also designed to provide a variety of food flavors, helping to alleviate your stress levels. It is one of the best long-term food options you can choose for your survival kit.
Augason Farm’s 1-Person Emergency Food pail provides 42 servings, providing about 2,667 calories each day. The food packed in the pail includes Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, banana chips, and soup mixes. It provides a nutritious and balanced serving comprising of soups, fruit snacks, and enough food for your breakfast. The pail is watertight and easy to carry. It will survive the worst disaster and secure your dietary needs. You have food within minutes of need.
Mountain House 3-Day Emergency Food Supply
The food is freeze-dried and will provide 18 servings per person. The design and composition of the pack are meant to simplify planning in case of an emergency. It will provide the nutrients and energy you need for your breakfast, lunch, and supper, amounting to 1,706 calories in a day. The packs are easy to stack and preserve for emergencies.
Some of the ingredients in the pack include hot fluffy buttermilk biscuits, granola with milk berries, chicken and dumplings as well as noodles. If you are looking for emergency bug-out bags with long shelf life, the Mountain House 3-Day Emergency Food Supply should be your perfect choice. The food is natural to protect the health of family members who might experience allergies.
ReadyWise has introduced an adventure bag with enough food to last you 3-days in the most extreme situations. It contains 3 full breakfast packs and 3 snack packs that can be used for lunch or dinner. It is packed in a 10-liter dry bag that is easy to carry along. The weight and packaging make your emergency food kit light enough to carry around. Preparation requires the addition of water and you can eat the food directly from the pouch.
The pouches include Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Pouch, Noodles and Beef Pouch, Lake Lasagna with Sausage Pouch, and Apple Cinnamon Cereals Pouch, among others. You also have fruits like strawberries and apple pouches to provide the vitamins and minerals you need so much in emergency cases. It is affordable and will guarantee long shelf life while maintaining its flavor.
It is impossible to predict how long it will take to come out of the emergency. If the situation extends for a month, you need to change your food strategy. While the rations might reduce, you need more energy to survive the punishing conditions. Here are emergency food survival packages that will last you a month.
North West Fork Gluten-Free Dehydrated 30 Days Food Supply
North West Fork has a reputation for preserving food flavor and nutrients. The food is packed in 15 pockets, each containing food that will last you for two days. The foods packed include Strawberry Banana Oatmeal, Pinto Bean Stew, Seasoned Green Peas Soup, and Black Bean Soup, among others. These foods are sealed to provide a 10-years shelf life.
The flavors are designed to lift your spirit during stressful situations like disasters. The foods are also seasoned with flavors to preserve their original taste. The pack is affordable and will provide all the nutrients as well as the energy you need.
Bear Essentials Survival 30-Day Emergency Food Supply
The pack contains the most important non-perishable food to last 30 days. As the name suggests, it contains only the bare essentials. It means the removal of ingredients that occupy space yet do not provide any nutritional benefits. You get the best value for money in this 20lbs emergency food box.
Some of the items added to the box include white rice to serve 51 times, black beans ready for 26 servings, and macaroni that is enough for 20 servings. You also get 25 servings of rolled oats and a pancake mix that is enough for 16 servings. The pack has an admirable shelf life of 25 years.
Heavens Harvest Gluten-Free Non-GMO Freeze-Dried 1-Month Fruit and Vegetable Pail Kit
Some crucial minerals and nutritional elements can only be found in fruits and vegetables. The kit is perfectly designed for extreme emergencies because it does not require any preparation. It provides a total of 170 servings, enough to last you an entire month.
Some of the ingredients in the pack include 30 servings or 1 pouch apple, a similar serving of bananas, pineapples, and potato dice. The kit also includes one pouch of corn that is enough for 50 servings. Each serving will require a ¼ cup of water. You can eat the fruits without any preparation or can add water to make them easier to consume. The food is gluten-free and can last for 25 years at normal room temperature. The entire box weighs approximately 6 pounds, making it easier to carry around.
Disasters may prolong beyond the imaginable medium term. You require food that can last you about three months or more. Here are affordable long-term food options during disasters.
Nutrient Survival 3-month food supply
The pack provides 432 servings to provide the energy and nutrients you need during emergencies. The food is packaged in 36 stackable tin cans. The cans are easy to store and the food easy to prepare whenever you need to eat. It is prepared to provide all the 40 crucial nutrients that will boost your immunity, sustain energy, and build your muscles.
The kit provides the heaviest breakfast, lunch, and dinner during emergencies. The packs are designed to provide 1,365 calories, enough to last you through the activities of the day. The preparation method makes you feel as though you are starting the day at home, returning that sense of normalcy. The pack provides food that can last 25 years on the shelf and is ready to eat in minutes.
6 Months and 1-Year Survival Food Packages
There is no determining how long a disaster can last or will throw you off balance. The best packed-food manufacturers have numerous options to last you 6 months or a year and more. Bear Essential, Heaven’s Harvest, and North West Fork have packages that can last you several months while providing all the nutrients you need.
Most of the long-lasting food is packaged in cans. Each can will last an entire day or two depending on the size. The food requires warming or can be eaten without any preparation, directly from the can. In case any of the food requires preparation, ordinary water will be enough. The packaging is hardy to protect the food from damage during emergencies and also allows the food to maintain its flavor.
The best emergency food storage kit will protect you from hunger during disasters or when engaging in outdoor activities. Check the ingredients to ensure that the packaged food fits within your nutritional and dietary needs. Pick professionally packaged foods that can survive most natural disasters to avoid wastage at a time when you need the food most.
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