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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Food for 72-hour kits

Ok, it's time to delve into the food portion of our 72-hour kits. Here is a list of what I am going to put in my kit. Of course, you don't have to store the exact same things, but make sure you store enough food and that your family will eat it. It also needs to fit into your bags, so remember that when you choose your foods.

1 lb dried fruit or trail mix per person
2 pkg soda crackers AND graham crackers per person (there are 4 pkgs per box)
4 granola bars per person
2 cans meat per person and 2 cans beans per person (chicken, tuna, etc and chili, etc.)
4 sticks beef jerky per person
1 pkg chewing gum per person
2 packets hot chocolate mix per person
2 instant soup packets per person
1 roll of toilet paper per person (tip: unroll the t.p. and put it into a ziploc bag. This way, it won't get crushed and it will stay clean. It also takes up less room)
1/2 lb dried milk per person
hard candy / lollipops

Consider your family and what you think you will need (whether it be more or less food). And, this is probably a lot to gather in one week, so do what you can and just add the rest to your future grocery lists, and look for sales. Don't forget that this food also counts as your food storage! And, don't forget to rotate it - we'll remind you about every 6 months to rotate.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE the oats!! I always keep a 15 pound bucket of oats in my food storage, and we use them almost every day!

aprilmay said...

Hannah, Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog to direct me to this blog. It is a HUGE help!

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing your post will be about oatmeal (my favorite grain product), but I have a question about oats in another form. I tried sprouting oat [seeds? berries? whatchamacallems?], treating them just like wheat berries, but very few grew. Did I just get a bad batch, or is there something special I should be doing?

BWei said...

I have never understood the difference between quick-cooking oats and old-fashioned oats. I know the old-fashioned oats take slightly longer to cook, but is one better than the other? What would be the advantage to old-fashioned oats?

Anonymous said...

I store steel-cut oats from Bob's Red mill, Old Fashioned oats, and oat groats. We eat oatmeal of some kind 3-4 times a week. I have 4 adults left at home, and I use about 200 lbs. a year. I store that much in #10 cans and have half that in bulk to use as needed. I like old-fashioned better than quick or instant, because the quicker cooking varieties taste like wall-paper paste to me.

queenieweenie said...

I'm new to this site and I have to say I LOVE it! Thanks for all the work you are doing to help us all be prepared.

Two tips: Be sure and store the gum in a separate ziploc baggie, especially if it's mint-otherwise your hot chocolate and granola bars will end up tasting like gum (I know this from experience!) Also, you can just pull the middle out of the roll of tp and flatten it that way (a little less time-consuming than unrolling the whole thing!).

Anonymous said...

I just started working on getting together food storage for my family. What do you put your 72 hour kit in? Or do you just store it with everything else in your pantry?

Unknown said...

During a crisis, what you eat is very important. With the added stress, you will need lots of energy. It takes roughly 1700 calories to sustain the body at rest…In stressful or physically exhausting conditions it can take 4000-6000 calories. High calorie food is what your body will need.
What kind of food should you NOT include in your 72-hour kit?
-Foods associated with long term food storage. Beans, Grains, Flour, etc.
Require too much preparation and is too Bulky
-Low Calorie foods
-“Traditional” 72 Hour Kit Menu Items. Granola Bar, Can of Tuna, and a Pack of Gum is not enough for a whole day. What kind of food should you include in your 72-hour kit? Consider the dietary needs of your family. Food they will enjoy. (Try family taste tests)
Nonperishable
No Refrigeration
No Heating
No Water needed
No or Little Preparation
Compact and Lightweight
Satisfy Hunger
Supply Energy
Contribute to good nutrition
Improve Morale
Consider MRE's, Heater Meals, Freeze Dried Backpacking Food, Cans of Chili, Ravioli, Spam, Etc...

emalina49a said...

This looks like a great place for ideas, etc...Thanks for putting it together.

P.S. I was reading your post about bread and wondered if you had considered how you would bake bread if the power/gas was out? I would love tips on that....Our stake president's wife let us know about an oven that runs on a small bottle of propane for 4 hours, but it was pretty pricey $150 or so...Camp Chef or something. Any tips?

Anonymous said...

Why is beef jerky part of a 72 hour kit? I've read so many places that it's not good because you want to drink more water after eating it. But even on these websites they will still list beef jerky. Is it because it's easy to store and people usually like it? I'm confused here!

Thanks,
Megan

Heffalump said...

We try to update our 72 hour kits with new food and check the clothes sizes every six months. For us we do it on conference weekends. It makes it easier for us to remember. So we check the expiration on any canned food (as well as granola bars and such) and make sure all the kids are still wearing the same size of clothes and adjust accordingly.