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Emergency Survival Food Can Mean You Eat Instead of Starve

We don't want to believe we will ever need emergency survival food, but we have no guarantees in this life.

For one thing, according to TIME magazine, "91% of Americans live in places at moderate-to-high risk of earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, high-wind damage or terrorism."

Let me add that everybody except a few wilderness geeks is hooked up to the electrical grid. I don't recall ever experiencing a power outage in America for the first fifty years of my life here in the St Louis area. Yet in the past five or six years I've seen at least four or five. I can't count them all now.

About three years ago a severe ice storm left me without power for about three days -- in quite cold weather. Tens of thousands of people waited even longer than I did to get their electricity turned back on, some for over a week.

The electric company AmerenUE blames them on tree branches breaking power lines, but trees grew next to power lines for the previous fifty years.

So everybody around the world using electricity is at risk of losing it. Just last week millions of people in Brazil experienced a blackout.

The point is that we all need a stash of survival foods in our homes and cars. And, if possible, our workplaces. Many experts advise having 72 hour kits because most problems will be straightened out within three days. Hopefully that's true. Let's see, how long were some New Orleans residents without food and water during Katrina?

You may be at home when disaster strikes -- or you may be at work or shopping or somewhere else out in your car. You may be unable to leave your house, or forced to be a hurricane. You need emergency food supplies both at home and in your car.

You'll want some emergency preparedness food in your house which you can easily grab and throw into the car on your way out while you're fleeing a hurricane or riot. So it's a good idea of have a packpack prepacked with a supply of food and other survival supplies.

As mentioned, you should also keep some emergency food kits in the trunk of your car, but since that amount will be limited, you'll want to take as much more as you can when actually forced to run for your life.

One common item is food bars. Some are designed just for this, but since they were invented Americans have started eating many types of bars for snacks. So keep on hand an extra supply of protein bars, balance bars, meal replacement bars or Zone balance bars depending on your preference. Buy them in bulk at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club or online and rotate them so you always have a fresh supply.

You can also invest in MREs -- Meals Ready to Eat. These are the latest rations used by military, and adapted to civilian disaster preparedness use. They're full meals and taste acceptable. They last up to seven years if kept in a cool place. They don't require adding any water, except to make the drinks.

You can buy #10 cans of freeze-dried foods manufactured by such companies as Mountain House, Alpine Aire and Ready Reserve. They do require adding water, but last up to 30 years.

And these companies make foods in packaging designed for campers.

You can also stock up your own canned and dehydrated foods.

Whatever you do, make sure you have on hand a ready supply of emergency survival food. I hope you never need it, but I can't guarantee what the future holds for you, for me, for all of us.