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Stockpiling Food


DV
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Thanks to those of you who have taken this thread seriously. My intent was to open serious discussion.

 

As a paid professional and a civilian volunteer I can tell you that we are all just as worried about our families and ourselves in a disaster as the rest of the population. There is nothing different about us. Additionally, all the drills in the world don't prepare you for the real thing. I assure you that many codes or arrests in the hospital are not textbook occurances and neither are community disasters.

 

If you save for retirement, purchase insurance for health and property, and/or save for unforeseen financial shortages then I think you understand how important this thread is. I'm sure that if I were young and living at home and being supported by others then I might not have personal experience with being self-sufficient. This is a huge disadvantage and I hope that many of you have the opportunity to become self-supporting in some way before being forced into it. You can't teach experience and the lessons learned can be priceless. Hopefully, those who have never experienced hard times can at least prepare for them to the best of their abilities.

 

I actually hope that we do go through a recession in this country. We've been living like children for too long and are losing memories of hard times. We've gone from a country (USA) of savers to a country of debtors and voracious consumers. Basic skills are being lost and "services" are on the rise. More women know how to paint their toenails (or pay someone to do so) in this country than know how to can beans. I wonder how many people even know how to start a fire.

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Speaking of finances, it's a good idea to keep a supply of cash on hand along with your food storage. Money in the bank is useless when there is no power and the banks aren't open, as the folks in New Orleans learned the hard way. Of course, in a total collapse currency may become useless, but there is little chance of the entire economy collapsing overnight. That said, if you have gold or silver coins, hang on to them.

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I have about 25 lbs of lentils, 25 lbs of split peas, 25 lbs of oats, 10 lbs of nutritional yeast and 20 lbs of defatted, roasted soy powder. I didn't buy these things to stockpile for a disaster, but now that this has been mentioned, I think I will continue to stockpile like this.

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I have about 25 lbs of lentils, 25 lbs of split peas, 25 lbs of oats, 10 lbs of nutritional yeast and 20 lbs of defatted, roasted soy powder. I didn't buy these things to stockpile for a disaster, but now that this has been mentioned, I think I will continue to stockpile like this.

 

Having a supply of basic food staples on hand has been a part of the collective human common sense for thousands of years. It's only recently that we have come to depend on weekly or even daily trips to the supermarket. It's really encouraging to see how many people here have quantities of grains, beans etc. on hand, not because of stockpiling, but just because it makes sense to have a supply of basics on hand. You people are awesome!

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I actually hope that we do go through a recession in this country. We've been living like children for too long and are losing memories of hard times. We've gone from a country (USA) of savers to a country of debtors and voracious consumers. Basic skills are being lost and "services" are on the rise. More women know how to paint their toenails (or pay someone to do so) in this country than know how to can beans. I wonder how many people even know how to start a fire.

 

AMEN!

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Michael!

 

Why dont ya'll stop talking about me and come out for a visit with me!

 

Hopefully Katrina has opened all the eyes that can be opened about what can be expected from "our" government when the feces hits the fan... Of course, the NOPD was well known for its extreme abuses long before that particular hurricane hit.

 

Buying/storing food in bulk, having emergency supplies/training/skills and learning how to defend what we hold dear is always a good idea - even better when we can do it all with friends. When the time comes when you actually really need any of the above, you'll most likely have to make do with what you have and hope for the best. As the saying goes: "You never have to get ready if you stay ready."

 

If you are asking for my suggestions on firearms & self-defense - great! Send me a PM & lets talk.

 

Generally, planning & training to avoid and/or escape risky situations is the way to go. Building friendly relationships with as many of your neighbors as possible couldnt hurt.

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Your last sentence is very important, Loveliberate.

 

During much of the Depression (US), people survived by bartering and helping each other. Most people knew each other because population was low enough so that was possible. Shops were owned by people, not corporations. There wasn't as much anonymity as we have today. And people learned to be held accountable for their actions from a young age. Now, we have a generation or two of people who we have failed in this regard.

 

In a disaster situation, I might share with my neighbors and put myself at a little risk for them. But not for strangers - there are TOO MANY strangers and I could never help them all. I'm not talking about a little disaster, I'm talking about no water or electricity for weeks or longer, maybe in the winter months just to make it even better. And I can assure you that there are many out there who will not be prepared but will think nothing of hurting a stranger to take what they have. Looting of stores will quickly turn to looting of any building/home.

 

 

I see that some have stockpiled food and that is great. However, a major disaster could shut down water supply for weeks. You can survive weeks without food - but not water. Years ago, when water came from a well or stream this wasn't an issue. Now it comes from a pipe and we have no control over that. Stockpile water. If you think you have a supply of water that you could use, such as a lake or stream or river then make sure you have a larger water container, a bottle of chlorine bleach in your supplies and a filtering system - although there are chemicals you won't be able to filter.

 

Again, if anyone in the Portland area is interested in a more detailed discussion on this topic, as well as earthquake and disaster prep for your home and car, pm me and we can talk. More importantly, if you would like to volunteer for civilian emergency response training - your neighborhood definitely needs trained people. Even if you can't respond in a disaster, the training you receive will help you and your family immensely. And it's free. I am stunned and saddened that more don't take advantage of this.

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I had an epiphany last night which relates to what DV & LoveLiberate said. We should seriously start to befriend our neighbors. It's amazing how few people anyone knows outside of an internet setting, and the fact that everything we know universally is because of TV and internet, and yet, in real life, we're very much separated, and we fear our neighbors, which doesn't help our situation.

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I know my neighbors and I wouldn't want to spend 2 seconds with those racist rednecks. Actually pretty much everyone but one family on my block is somewhat decent. He's actually a bigot too but only to blacks...thats saying a lot in this area.

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I was at my boyfriend's place yesterday and we were looking in his pantry. He's already started stockpiling food since food prices are expected to go up. He got a bunch of stuff on sale like a big bag of brown basmati rice, and he's got some salsa and canned beans in there. I also found his junk food stash lol! He's got more chocolate than a PMSing woman.

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I'm not too worried about stockpiling due to prices...inflation is gonna blow up like crazy and likely come close to leveling things out...assuming incomes go up at the same time.

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It won't..

At least not here. Prices go up all the time.. Especially for housing. Housing costs go up a couple times a year and incomes usually stay the same unless you work your ass off. People around here want minimum wage increased to $10/hour. It's impossible to live off of the $8.50 it is now, and if you live in B.C, you have to do 500 hours at "training wage" which is $6.50/hour when you get your first job. Do you know how hard that was for me when I graduated high school? I couldn't pay rent for that and I worked full time.

 

A one bedroom apartment will cost $500.. And it won't include utilities or anything. I lived in a dump with holes burned into the carpet, a damaged door, a fossilized stove and refrigerator and it cost $550 a month. One bedroom. Oh yeah, did I mention it was infested with fleas?

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I remember in the late 90s people were talking about the year 2000 problem. It was very scary, very serious. Prices for all sorts of things were going up because upper middle class people/lower class rich people who could afford it were stockpiling everything, convinced that things would come grinding to a halt.

 

I was in my first job out of school. Still living in a room in shared house. All I could do in late 1999 was buy myself two gallon jugs of distilled water in case the year 2000 problem screwed up the water station.

 

I couldn't load up on enough food for a month in a basement I didn't have. I couldn't buy a portable generator and store two months of fuel. Etc etc.

 

Well January 01 2000 came. I bought a Washington Post with that date on it for souvenir. A cash register in England malfunctioned, but aside from that the year 2000 problem passed. Nobody starved, society didn't collapse.

 

I did get a good laugh hearing people call into the radio station asking

 

"What do I do with all of this stuff?"

 

after they spent thousands of dollars on survival things they now didn't need.

 

Life will go on people.

 

Misery and stress will come looking for you. No reason to go prying up the floor boards to find things to worry about and borrow trouble.

 

Have a NICE DAY

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It won't..

At least not here. Prices go up all the time.. Especially for housing. Housing costs go up a couple times a year and incomes usually stay the same unless you work your ass off. People around here want minimum wage increased to $10/hour. It's impossible to live off of the $8.50 it is now, and if you live in B.C, you have to do 500 hours at "training wage" which is $6.50/hour when you get your first job. Do you know how hard that was for me when I graduated high school? I couldn't pay rent for that and I worked full time.

 

A one bedroom apartment will cost $500.. And it won't include utilities or anything. I lived in a dump with holes burned into the carpet, a damaged door, a fossilized stove and refrigerator and it cost $550 a month. One bedroom. Oh yeah, did I mention it was infested with fleas?

 

Depending on where you live you can definitely live on the crap sub $6 minimum here. People say you can't but thats because they want to spend money on beer. I make $7 an hour and I know I could live on my own even though I only work around 30hours a week. I wouldn't be able to afford all the nice bikes I have but those aren't essentials anyway. I work with other guys that make the same lousy wage I make but they've managed to save slowly and have functional cars and they purchase bikes at a slower rate than I do.

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I remember in the late 90s people were talking about the year 2000 problem. It was very scary, very serious. Prices for all sorts of things were going up because upper middle class people/lower class rich people who could afford it were stockpiling everything, convinced that things would come grinding to a halt.

 

I was in my first job out of school. Still living in a room in shared house. All I could do in late 1999 was buy myself two gallon jugs of distilled water in case the year 2000 problem screwed up the water station.

 

I couldn't load up on enough food for a month in a basement I didn't have. I couldn't buy a portable generator and store two months of fuel. Etc etc.

 

Well January 01 2000 came. I bought a Washington Post with that date on it for souvenir. A cash register in England malfunctioned, but aside from that the year 2000 problem passed. Nobody starved, society didn't collapse.

 

I did get a good laugh hearing people call into the radio station asking

 

"What do I do with all of this stuff?"

 

after they spent thousands of dollars on survival things they now didn't need.

 

Life will go on people.

 

Misery and stress will come looking for you. No reason to go prying up the floor boards to find things to worry about and borrow trouble.

 

Have a NICE DAY

 

BW, I saw your thread on doomsayers and hoped that you weren't trying to discourage the wisdom of this thread by somehow linking the two. Natural disasters, contagious epidemics and war are all very real and in our recent history. Your example is a hype situation and unrelated to the advice given by many organizations that respond to disasters and are trying to encourage people to help themselves BEFORE disaster strikes. We have a great infrastructure in this country that allows us to keep people from starving during disasters. If history teaches us anything, it's that societies always fail for one reason or another. Don't worry, be happy is not a good insurance policy.

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Its good to see a thread discuss what i have been thinking about for a while. BTW thanks for the food preserving recommendations DV. I am purchasing that and a bodyweight book next paycheck.

 

I recommend reading this book:

 

dies the fire

 

It actually takes place near and around PDX.

 

While the event that changes the world is mysterious i thought the book articulated the realities of struggling to surviving in a reduced society.

 

That being said, my friend planted and organic garden in my aunts backyard and since she does not eat a lot of fresh produce we are going to be canning and preserving her food. She is Mormon and surprisingly enough the theme this year for emergency preparedness is canning and growing a food garden.

 

I am also learning sewing as well as emergency first aid including sewing shut wounds and using natural medicines to treat illness. I realize that this will take me a lifetime to learn but i am starting now if not for the reality of a natural disaster then for the reality of when i freak out on society and move to the country and live off the land.

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if not for the reality of a natural disaster then for the reality of when i freak out on society and move to the country and live off the land.

 

We might become neighbors, as i might freak-out and be living off of the land as well.

 

 

Paragonx: You are welcome to the vegan hostel anytime. The more vegans the more hands to till the land leaving more time for me to read and theorize about natural law and organization. I can truely see myself at somepoint trying to get my phd living on a farm. Most of my friends are technocratic hippies. very professional very survivalist so it makes sense that we would massively freak out all at once and have to abscond to the wilderness.

 

I would love some kinda title like doctor of philosophy. Not really to do anything with it but because it just sounds bizarre that someone may need a prescription for a paradigm change.

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That looks like a very interesting book, Philliped. I may add it to my list. It's probably more realistic than looking back to history in this country. The last time we had a prolonged disaster here, our population was half what it is today and most people prepared their own food.

 

I chuckled a bit when I read that your aunt is a Mormon. Once during a canning, freezing and dehydrating weekend my husband looked at me and said I would make a good Mormon wife. I replied "So, I get a break from you and the other wife makes your dinner tonight?" But I was wrong. In his mind, all Mormon women are born with food preservation and storage skills.

 

I'm eager to here how your canning experience turns out.

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That looks like a very interesting book, Philliped. I may add it to my list. It's probably more realistic than looking back to history in this country. The last time we had a prolonged disaster here, our population was half what it is today and most people prepared their own food.

 

I chuckled a bit when I read that your aunt is a Mormon. Once during a canning, freezing and dehydrating weekend my husband looked at me and said I would make a good Mormon wife. I replied "So, I get a break from you and the other wife makes your dinner tonight?" But I was wrong. In his mind, all Mormon women are born with food preservation and storage skills.

 

I'm eager to here how your canning experience turns out.

 

Lol. Nice. I think any woman of an age has those skills because of the pioneering spirit but it seems that woman under the age of 35 do not have these skills as the population increased and womens liberation being what it is the skills had fallen to the waste side. But they do have societies here that help educate woman on lost crafting skills.

 

My aunt is 51 (she is not blood related, she was my moms best friend for most of my life, so when my mom died she adopted me in so much as i allow for that kind of thing. lol.) she is super eager to get started as well, while she is a brilliant business woman she is lacking in the Mormon house wife skills. I will keep you informed as to how the process goes.

 

Thanks for all the help DV.

 

oh and i do recomend getting that book on your must read list. It is very practicle in its own rights stressing how a large society will collapse in such a short time the phenomenon of food hording. bicycle gangs. bold men who seek to rule after the chaos by any force necessary. good stuff. highly believable. it was what got me into the DIY mind frame.

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I'll read it.

 

Someone recently gave me The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's a post-societal collapse, sun doesn't shine, plants don't grow, all animals dead due to an undisclosed event story. Mainly, it's the story of a man's love for the son who was born just after calamity occurred. I didn't like it and couldn't find any lessons to be learned by reading it - other than this: If things get that bad, life isn't worth living. Not a book with much hope. However, it got great reviews, won some awards and is on the Oprah book list. Somebody likes this book.

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I'll read it.

 

Someone recently gave me The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's a post-societal collapse, sun doesn't shine, plants don't grow, all animals dead due to an undisclosed event story. Mainly, it's the story of a man's love for the son who was born just after calamity occurred. I didn't like it and couldn't find any lessons to be learned by reading it - other than this: If things get that bad, life isn't worth living. Not a book with much hope. However, it got great reviews, won some awards and is on the Oprah book list. Somebody likes this book.

 

weird. perhaps the lesson learned was that even in dispare love can flourish. that seems to be the standard Oprah book club message.

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I did get a good laugh hearing people call into the radio station asking

 

"What do I do with all of this stuff?"

 

after they spent thousands of dollars on survival things they now didn't need.

 

That's what separates the Prepared, from the Paranoid. We stockpile the things we use every day. For most of human history this has been known by a name other than stockpiling, it was called "common sense".

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