Gov. recommends shopping for BF

    Government Recommends Shopping For Bird Flu
LAST UPDATE: 4/25/2006 8:03:23 AM




The U.S. government says we all should be well prepared personally in the event of a bird flu outbreak among humans. In fact, it says to have at least a two week stockpile in our homes of food and water.

But what does that mean?

First off, there’s no sign at all that it’s here... yet.

And there’s a question of whether the bird flu will ever truly mutate into a virus that goes from person to person.

Still, the government says buy a whole lot of tuna and other non-perishables to hold your family for a while.

Sarah Yakubov, who has four kids, says, “The government says a lot of things. I don’t have space for all that food.”

So, maybe not all of us are gung-ho about the idea, but we still wondered, what does it mean to store at least a two week supply for a family of four?

To make sure we got the right stuff, we asked registered dietician Amy Fleishman of Mt. Sinai Medical Center to take us shopping at B.J.’s.

First into the cart: dried fruit.

“Good source of calories not really a good source of protein, but something to have on hand if you want to stockpile something for a disaster,” says Amy.

We also bought beef jerky! “This lasts a long time and it’s high in protein this would be a good thing to store,” Amy states.

Amy says given that protein and carbohydrates have the same number of calories per gram—four—the focus is more on the protein, because she points out, “The protein is important for the muscles. It can be canned tuna canned chicken canned salmon canned protein is a good source it’s compact and moderately priced.”

“These canned beans can be a good source as well. It’s fairly cheap,” she adds.

Soup was a big choice. “Maybe we’ll get some vegetables in there.”

And surprisingly, so was high grain pasta! ““If you have one serving or less you’re going to get 200 calories and ten grams of protein.”

And at 5.59 per huge container with 32 servings, “It’s a good bang for your buck.”

Add the screw top sauce and we were all set.

We also got two big cans of peanuts, two big boxes of crackers, oatmeal for breakfast, canned fruit, some apple juice and sports drinks in large plastic containers, tang powder to add to the water, so the kids get more nutrients and don’t get bored with plain old h2o.

But the most important thing of all—water-is actually the biggest problem. We only put one box on the line because of size and weight; for a family of four, you need ten!”

Overall you need a gallon of water per person per day: two quarts per person per day for foot preparation and cleanliness, another two for drinking.

Other pointers:
Don’t forget the plastic and paper utensils and plates and the can opener.
Avoid caffeinated beverages--they dehydrate.
And, avoid salty food as much as possible; it makes you thirstier.

When all was said and done, the total: $287.70. Not a lot for two weeks, but that’s two weeks of food that might never get eaten.

Zulay Urbistonvo who was shopping that day, remarked, “I feel sorry for people who don’t have the money.”

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Why is it "food that might never get eaten"...just eat it!  Duh.

The solution is to learn to can meats yourself. Easy for me to say, I haven't done it yet either, but am definitely planning on it. Well, at least I bought the book on canning

If ones budget is limited and you want to prepare for your kids then you buy cheaper preps.  We all know we can survive on less money.  Boring meals but they are meals.

 

Femvet and Happycamper, I learned to can because i could not find pork (other than ham) and just small cans of beef.  It is not much cheaper to start canning at home tho, the savings come in on the following years.  The supplies are not cheap.  For one quart of canned meat i pay about $5 when one counts the jars, lids and energy used.  The biggest thing for me is in the selection and the quantity of each jar.

We went prep shopping last night. $312 for regular daily groceries and our "extra" items for preparation. The guy at the counter just looked at me funny. I just smiled sweetly.