Nutrition Tips

In a crisis, it will be vital that you maintain your strength. So remember:

• Eat at least one well-balanced meal each day.
• Drink enough liquid to enable your body to function properly (two quarts a day).
• Take in enough calories to enable you to do any necessary work.
• Include vitamin, mineral and protein supplements in your stockpile to assure adequate nutrition.

Short-Term Food Supplies

Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supply for two weeks, you should prepare a supply that will last that long. A two-week supply can relieve a great deal of inconvenience and uncertainty until services are restored.

The easiest way to develop a two-week stockpile is to increase the amount of basic foods you normally keep on your shelves. Remember to compensate for the amount you eat from other sources (such as restaurants) during an average two-week period.

You may already have a two-week supply of food on hand. Keeping it fresh is simple. Just rotate your supply once or twice a year.

Storage Tips

• Keep food in the driest and coolest spot in the house--a dark area if possible.
• Keep food covered at all times.
• Open food boxes or cans carefully so that you can close them tightly after each use.
• Wrap cookies and crackers in plastic bags, and keep them in tight containers.
• Empty opened packages of sugar, dried fruits and nuts into screw-top jars or air-tight cans to protect them from pests.
• Inspect all food containers for signs of spoilage before use.

If the Electricity Goes Off...

FIRST, use perishable food and foods from the refrigerator.

THEN use the foods from the freezer. To minimize the number of times you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it. In a well-filled, well-insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centers (meaning foods are safe to eat) for at least three days.

FINALLY, begin to use non-perishable foods.