Proper Food Supplies for Hurricane Season & My Raw Diet

As I said last week, it is officially Hurricane Season and that means stocking up on the proper emergency supplies in case of a storm.  It is recommended that every household be self-sufficient for at least three days but we stock up for longer since we have been without power for almost a week in previous years.

First and foremost, you must have enough water...about a gallon of drinking water per person per day.  In South Florida, many areas have "Boil Water Orders" after the storm because the drinking water becomes unsafe so it is best to stock up ahead of time.  If you have pets, that means more water to store and there are several ways we do that. 

We buy bottled water from the store, of course but we also:

• fill bottles used to carry water when hiking, biking, etc;
• fill water jugs/coolers; and
• fill old (but thoroughly washed) juice containers with water and freeze them - they help keep the freezer cold when the power goes out and when they melt, we have more cool water.

Nonperishable food supplies are also important and during hurricane season, Ma keeps less food in the freezers for fear we lose power and have to have a "hurry up and cook all the meat before it goes bad" party.  (We had one once and I loved it..."Here, have a steak with sides of chicken and sausage".  BOL)

It is recommended to have a two-week supply of pet food per pet.  That is easy to do if you eat kibble and/or canned.  You can keep it, like we used to when I ate kibble, in one of those trusty containers so it stays fresh and dry.  But what if, like me, you eat a raw diet? 

It turns out, it isn't so difficult.  Ma is keeping less of the frozen food in the freezer, just like she is doing with the meats for her and Daddy-dog, so if we lose power we won't lose a ton of dog food (and $$).  She is also stocking up on more freeze-dried raw which she can store in the pantry with the other nonperishable items.

Whatever type of food you eat, be sure to stock up!

What is really fantastic is that while doing the photo shoot for this post, I gave Ma a brilliant idea.  You see that dog food container with the See Beautiful sticker on it (by the way, thank you Sugar for that sticker)...well, that used to be the container Ma kept my kibble in.  It has been in the pantry empty for a long time.

But now it holds my hurricane supply of bags of freeze-dried food and all different flavors of treats (a dog cannot be without treats during a storm you know).  The top seals well so everything will stay dry AND it is easy to carry if we need to evacuate.  Brilliant, right?

Now, if I ate a different type of raw diet - like prey model or mostly meaty bones, all of which need to stay frozen - I have no idea how I would prepare my supplies.  I wonder if those dogs would switch to a freeze-dried diet if they were without power for 5-7 days or longer?

What delicious items would you want in your Hurricane Supply?