Domestic Civil Defence -
No Food !

The effects of disasters can either make food unsafe - no power can mean that freezers and fridges don't wiork - or quite simply a blocked road or a strike can deprive you of access to shops, which may not have had deliveries. This is so serious a matter that it is worth laying in some food for an emergency store. Just how far you decide to go depends on your pocket and your storage abilities. Some people plan for up to a year and take home production so seriously that they go in for near self-sufficiency.

This section details the foods recommended by various people for survival rations as well as suggesting more common foods that are preferred in Britain. The main rules for choosing foods and equipment to store for using in a crisis are very simple. :-

• No additional frozen food as this might go off. Find substitutes - e.g. tins of minced beef rather than frozen minced beef.
• Choose packaged or canned foods that are part of your usual diet and which you can use before the end of shelf life date.
• Assemble your extra store a few cans or packs each week, to spread the burden on the budget.
• Dried, condensed and UHT milk packs need a little care to make into something drinkable. Learn how.
• Know how to cook your food properly, to avoid wasting it.
• A steamer is the most efficient way to cook most vegetables without burning them and can sit on one hob. It uses one panful of water to cook the vegetables for your meal.
• The best recipes to learn to use in a crisis (if you are not used to cooking) are porridge, stews, bread and soup. To go further, use a cookbook and some common sense.
• Camping stoves (gas, petrol or paraffin) are excellent standbys for holidays, picnics, barbecues and crises. Learn to use them properly and keep fuel to hand.
• Learn to use something like a trench or bucket cooker that can cook on almost any kind of burnable material. You will need from ten to twenty-four clay bricks and a sheet of steel or some cooker-shelving.
• Learn simple fireplace cookery. If you have a fireplace that can burn solid fuel. Foil-wrapped 'hobo stew' and frying-pan bannocks are possible, as are more sophisticated meals.

Food Lists and Equipment :-

Food : [One Week List] [Two Week List] [One Month List] [Food Preservation] [Basic Recipes]
Cooking : [Bucket Stove] [Trench Cookers] [Dutch Oven] [Haybox & Thermos Cooking]