Floridaâs official hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30. But things really ramp up during , which is between mid-August and late-October, according to the Florida State Universityâs Florida Climate Center.
So if your isnât quite ready for a major storm, fear not. Thereâs still time to stock up on supplies. And when it comes to food, this weekâs guest can help you think outside of the soup can.
Friend of the pod is the former longtime food editor for the Tampa Bay Times and current freelance editor for the personal finance website . So she knows a thing or two about prepping your hurricane food kit on a budget. Hereâs Janetâs advice.
1) Take this seriously. âOne of the biggest mistakes is just not taking it seriously,â Janet says. âThis can be very serious stuff. Life-and-death stuff.â
2) Assess your householdâs needs. Thereâs no simple solution, depending on whether you live with babies, kids, seniors, people with special medical needs or pets. âThereâs a lot to think about,â Janet says. âOne size doesnât fit all.â
3) Start now. âPart of the issue with putting together a hurricane food kit is, itâs expensive, and you need other stuff besides food,â Janet says. âSo I suggest that you start stocking up now.â If your budget allows, spend $10 extra on each grocery trip so you can stock up on water and nonperishables gradually. Try to catch items on sale.
4) Do some reconnaissance. Spend a few hours browsing the stores to get an idea of what you might buy to prep for a storm. Explore stores and aisles you donât usually frequent.
5) Ban together. To ease the financial burden, chip in with friends or neighbors and split the cost of bulk items from Samâs Club or Costco.
6) Buy what youâll actually eat. âIâm very against buying food that your family doesnât eat normally,â Janet says. âIf you donât normally eat Spam, donât buy a lot of it.â
7) Lower the bar. Donât worry about making a gourmet meal everyday. Just figure out what youâll eat to survive for a few days until help arrives.
8) Prepare for a power outage. Janet says food may actually be more of a concern in a minor storm, as opposed to a major storm, when most people evacuate. âIf itâs a cat-5 hurricane barrelling down on us, youâre gone, hopefully. Youâre not riding it out,â she says. âBut [during] these lower-category hurricanes, youâre probably going to stay there. And whatâs going to happen here is the powerâs going to go out. Now what are you going to do? What are you going to eat?â
9) Think like a camper. âIf youâre a camper, youâre really in good shape,â Janet says. Items like camping stoves and MREs (meals ready to eat) are useful.
10) Grill what youâve got. If you have a grill and the power goes out, cook up whateverâs thawing in your freezer before it goes bad.
11) Figure out where youâll get your protein. Realistic options include defrosted freezer meats, peanut butter, canned chickpeas or canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise. To avoid openingâand spoilingâan entire jar of mayo, start collecting shelf-stable mayonnaise packets.
12) Beware of salty-sweet snacks. They provide little protein and will make you thirsty.
13) Buy more water than you think youâll need. For drinking and sanitation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security one gallon of water per person, per day, for several days. âIâm sure that most of us fall flat on that,â Janet notes. Stock up on water well in advanceâdays before a storm, the shelves will be emptyâand find a place in your home to stash it all.
14) Shop the aisles. âWhen you go to the grocery store, in general, donât we always say, âShop the perimeterâ? Because thatâs where the fresh stuff is. Well, for hurricanes, you almost want to look in the middle,â Janet says. Grab items like peanut butter crackers, granola bars, fruit cups and shelf-stable milk for cereal.
15) Buy some last-minute produce. A few days before the storm is expected to hit, do some last-minute grocery shopping. Buy a bag of apples, oranges or avocados so youâll have something fresh to eat. If the power goes out or you need to evacuate, store the produce in an ice-filled cooler.
16) Respect the power of comfort foods. Before a storm, if youâre able, cook something simple yet special that youâll look forward to. It feels like a luxury, but after a disaster, a pot of gumbo or pan of brownies can ease your anxiety. If youâve really been affected by this, home has a different meaning, so we really long for that,â Janet says.
17) Remember non-food items. These include paper plates, hand wipes, a manual can opener, trash bags and anything else youâd bring on a camping trip or picnic.
18) Preserve hand-written recipes. This is a longer-term project, but if you have time, consider scanning and digitizing irreplaceable recipes or cookbook pages. This is a many New Orleanians learned after Hurricane Katrina.
19) Prep for the worst. After a storm, be prepared to survive without help for a few days. âMy goal is to not be the person in line for gas, cash or water,â Janet says. If your budget allows, keep your gas tank full and set aside a few hundred dollars in cash.
20) Hope for the best. With any luck, you wonât need to break into your hurricane food kit. In that case, donât let the items go to waste. Cycle the food back into your regular eating routine or donate it to those less fortunate.
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