Be Prepared – Food Storage for Geeks – Part 1

In the last little while it’s become more important for me and my family to have some emergency supplies set aside.  After talking to everyone I know at the office and most other people I run in to I’ve realized that I’m not the only one.

Why a GeekInspired post about it? Because techno geeks like us are the type of people who like projects.  We like to learn at our own pace and enjoy putting stuff together and seeing the results.  We build models as kids.  We watch “MythBusters” and “How It’s Made”.  Putting together a 72 hour kit and then building a food storage area gives us the same opportunity to geek-out as does building a custom case for our D&D supplies.

I can think of a lot of reasons to have some food and water set aside:

1.  Natural Disaster: Flood, Hurricane, Tornado, Earthquake – If something comes along and destroys your house then it won’t matter but it’s more likely that a natural disaster will come along and leave your home  without Electricity, Water, or Gas.  I’ve been in many earthquakes that left us without power for hours.  An earthquake could happen miles away and still shut off your power for days.  It could also easily break water lines or sewer lines (which then contaminate the water lines) and leave you without clean water.  Floods could strand you at home for days or weeks.  A tornado doesn’t have to hit your house to leave you without any services.

2.  Man Made Disaster: High Gas Prices, Gas Shortage, Terrorist Attack, and of course what I like to call the Nashville Moron Panic Run!  There may come a time where gas is $9 a gallon or there is no gas (like this weekend in Nashville where a simple rumor emptied out the gas stations on a Friday afternoon.) Even the simple chance of snow in the south send hoards of panicked idiots to the store for milk and bread.  You may find that you don’t have the money to go to the store when you spent it all on gas.  Or you may find yourself stranded at home with just enough to head to the gas station and fill up.[ad name=”250×250″]

3.  Unexpected Sickness or Death:  It happens.  A few weeks ago I spent a weekend in the hospital after emergency kidney surgery.  I’m relatively young and healthy but a simple kidney stone got very complicated when we discovered that I only had one kidney (not that uncommon . . 5% of the population only has one).  Then the stone blocked the entrance to my bladder and my lone kidney started to fail.  Without surgery I would have been dead in about 3 days.  We had friends from church bring us meals for a few days (without being asked) but without that kind of support we could easily need to rely on the pantry for a few days.

4.  Job Loss:  You get fired, downsized, department shut down, or you punch your boss in the face one day.  Either way you need to save some money right away.  You won’t need the emergency water or your hand powered radio but that 24 pack of pasta and sauce you set aside might come in handy in reducing your grocery bills for a few weeks.

5.  Reduce Stress:  This may not be an issue for most but it was for me.  I now have one less thing to worry about!  I know that my family has food for a few weeks (and clean water for at least 3 days) in case of an emergency.  I honestly feel better about it knowing that we could hold up here at home for a long time with no services and we would be just fine.

In the next posts I’ll talk about short term supplies (a 72 Hour Kit) and the long term options (turning your coat closet into a food storage room).