Our VERY old 72-hour Kit Food PacksI taught a Family Home Evening lesson on preparedness this past Monday. Now I admit, my teens were somewhat bored, but we made it through the lesson. First, I had the kids do a little scavenger hunt to find flashlights, and fire extinguishers in the house. They did pretty well finding some. We talked about what types of disasters could happen within 5-miles of our home: fires, chemical spills on the freeway and railway, earthquakes (we live on the Wasatch Fault), power outage, etc. Then we discussed what they should do (an Emergency Plan) if something happened, and Mom or Dad were not home. We talked about evacuating by car, or by foot, and getting help from the neighbors.
Then they got out their 72-hour emergency backpacks from the front hall closet, opened them up and started to examine the contents. “These cheese & crackers look gross!” daughter #3 exclaimed. “And look at this beef jerky, Mom. It’s as hard as a rock.” Yes, we are way overdue on updating the food (October 2005), but at least they have plenty of water. So, I am creating a list of items to purchase next week for our new food packs.
The plan is to assemble them between sessions this coming General Conference weekend. Separating the food will help us not over eat our supplies. During the October General Conference weekend my goal is to update the food and clothes for the colder FALL/WINTER season. Understand that our kids are 4, 12, 15, and 17. Here is the list of SPRING/SUMMER food items that we will be putting in gallon-sized Ziplocs for 3 days. Every family should tailor food to family member needs.
.41 – Kellogg’s Pop tarts (twin) 4 oz., 234 cal
.29 – 2 Curious George MM Fruit Snacks 1.8 oz. , 200 cal
.13 – Quaker CC Granola bar .84 oz, 100 cal
Water:
I decided not to put these items in and here’s why:
Cheese & crackers – don’t store well in the heat
Beef jerky – hardens over time, and makes you thirsty
Nuts – salty, have short shelf life, can go racid
MRE’s – my kids are not used to them, but they work great for most people
Trail mix – can become rancid over a few months because of the nuts
As you gather items for your food packs, be cautious of food weight, shelf life, and saltiness. The Ramen noodles above are high in sodium, but lightweight and you can serve with cold water if you had to. They are also high in needed calories. Our packs have a camp cup too for food prep. I prefer to make our own kits so they are customized for each person, and it teaches the kids about preparedness.
72 hour kits & Bug out bag. Try to take foods that do not take water to prepare, I see so many bug out bags with things like, instant oatmeal, hot chocolate & soups. The water should be for drinking & take vitamins & protein bars. I also take a bottle of fiber, not only is fiber needed but it also swells for a full feeling. I came across what is called Lifecaps. They are a capsule that has everything needed to survive without food withthe exception of water. It is full of vitamins & minerals plus Iodine. Anyway, you takethree of them a day & drink water. I can actually take enough food in one backpack to last 6 months because of these little Lifecaps, protein bars, fiber & water. I will run out of water in a week so I do carry a small filter & a couple of those straw water filters that filter the water as you suck.You do not always have the ability or time to heat water to make soup or oatmeal. Anyway,after I bought 25 bottles I found a coupon code & bought 75 bottles more. The coupon codeis… healthcap It will get you 33% off. There are also sites that have those filter strawsthat are cheaper than any of the stores around here. (SLC) I think they are a really goodidea along with some purification pills. I cannot remember the sites off the top of my headbut you can Google for aquamira filter straw. Aquamira is the manufacture but do not buyoff there site because I have found them for almost 1/2 what they want on their own siteon other sites. Good luck, Gods speed & get serious about your bug out bag!
Really cool ideas for 72 hour kits. When time permits I want to come and read more. Nice blog.
To Thackery’s – you are right. I had the PDF file in both places. You should be able to download the Excel file now. Good luck with your 72 Hour Kit food packs!
I love this idea. I can’t get the excel file to open in excel. I think it’s saved as pdf. Am I doing something wrong? I need to change some things because there are some things my kids won’t eat (like pop tarts.) Thanks for all the great info!
I’m fairly new to the food storage program and am getting ready to get my 72 hour kits and 3 month supply going. Thanks for all the great info, it’s very helpful for newbies like me!
ps: the date on ur package says october 2005!! OOPS it HAS been a long time for the both of us–
oh i feel SO much better knowing that we have those SAME exact 72 hour kits in my garage!! hehehe–thanks for the list..that is something i can start with is redoing those again during conference–too funny huh! i threw all that stuff, plus the backpacks, water, toilet seat (bucket) etc, maps everything really into a rolling trash can..its so nice how it stores everything and if we ever have to go on foot..i can lug that thing behind me..