If an earthquake, winter storm or other disaster ever strikes Mariposa County, you might not have access to food, water and electricity for days, or even weeks. By taking a little time now to store emergency food and water supplies, you can provide for your entire family.

FOOD: PREPARING AN EMERGENCY STOCKPILE

If activity is reduced, healthy people can survive on half their usual food intake for an extended period and without any food for many days. Food, unlike water, may be rationed safely, except for children and pregnant women.

If your water supply is limited, try to avoid foods that are high in fat and protein, and don't stock salty foods, since they will make you thirsty. Try to eat salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.

You don't need to go out and buy unfamiliar foods to prepare an emergency food supply. You can use the canned foods, dry mixes and other staples on your cupboard shelves. In fact, familiar foods are important. They can lift morale and give a feeling of security in time of stress. Also, canned foods won't require cooking, water or special preparation. Following are recommended short-term and long-term food storage plans.

Storage Tips

• Keep food in the driest and coolest spot in the house--a dark area if possible.

• Keep food covered at all times.

• Open food boxes or cans carefully so that you can close them tightly after each use.

• Wrap cookies and crackers in plastic bags, and keep them in tight containers.

• Empty opened packages of sugar, dried fruits and nuts into screw-top jars or air-tight cans to protect them from pests.

• Inspect all food containers for signs of spoilage before use.

Short-Term Food Supplies

Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supply for two weeks, you should prepare a supply that will last that long. A two-week supply can relieve a great deal of inconvenience and uncertainty until services are restored.

The easiest way to develop a two-week stockpile is to increase the amount of basic foods you normally keep on your shelves. Remember to compensate for the amount you eat from other sources (such as restaurants) during an average two-week period.

You may already have a two-week supply of food on hand. Keeping it fresh is simple. Just rotate your supply once or twice a year.

Special Considerations to Keep in Mind

As you stock food, take into account your family's unique needs and tastes. Try to include foods that they will enjoy and that are also high in calories and nutrition. Foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking are best.

Individuals with special diets and allergies will need particular attention, as will babies, toddlers and the elderly. Nursing mothers may need liquid formula, in case they are unable to nurse. Canned dietetic foods, juices and soups may be helpful for the ill or elderly.

Make sure you have a can opener and disposable utensils. And don't forget nonperishable foods for your pets.

Drinking Water

Fresh safe drinking water tops the list of survival resources. Did you know that fresh drinking water makes up less than 3% of the earth's available water resources? Yet, most Americans take fresh drinking water from the tap for granted. Try living without tap water even for just a few days and you can better understand just how dependent Americans are on fresh drinking water available at our fingertips.

How much water do you use? The average person currently uses over 50 gallons per day — and that does not include water used in dishwashing (another 20 gallons), laundry (another 25 gallons), or lawn and garden care. It is virtually impossible to store enough water in or around the typical urban home to provide long-term household water usage requirements.

How much water do you need? We recommend storing a minimum of one gallon per day per person-approximately thirty gallons - per month for drinking and life maintenance. Water storage is fairly simple - with the exception that it is both space-intensive and weight-intensive.

Depending upon how long you think your water supply may be interrupted, you have several options.

Use water already stored in your house. If water services are interrupted, your hidden water supplies may last a family of four about two weeks. Such sources include your water heater (40-75 gallons) toilet tank (2-3 gallons each, plumbing pipes (3-5 gallons). If you fill up your bathtubs on the eve of the crisis, you will get 15-20 gallons per tub. The longer the crisis is extended the more water needed, therefore, we suggest that you store additional water. After storing an emergency or life-sustaining supply, have one or more water treatment devices or systems so you can turn practically any water you can locate into drinking water. Water outside your house. The next place to find emergency drinking water on your property is within hoses, basins or other liquid containers, or your hot tub or swimming pool. You may

become the neighborhood hero with between 15,000-30,000 gallons of water that can be purified for drinking.

Alternate sources of water. Rain and snow water may be collected in clean buckets and barrels and used without treatment. Additional water sources include rivers, springs, creeks, and some ponds, but they must be treated prior to drinking. Be sure to have these alternative water sources tested before the crisis hits, so you can make sure it can ultimately provide safe drinking water.

How to Store Your Short-Term Stockpile

Keep canned foods in a dry place where the temperature is fairly cool--not above 70 degrees Fahrenheit and not below freezing. To protect boxed foods from pests and extend their shelf life, store the boxes in tightly closed cans or metal containers.

Rotate your food supply. Use foods before they go bad, and replace them with fresh supplies, dated with ink or marker. Place new items at the back of the storage area and older ones in front.

Your emergency food supply should be of the highest quality possible. Inspect your reserves periodically to make sure there are no broken seals or dented containers.

How to Cook if the Power Goes Out

For emergency cooking you can use a fireplace, or a charcoal grill or camp stove outdoors only. You can also heat food with candle warmers, chafing dishes and fondue pots. Canned food can be eaten right out of the can. If you heat it in the can, be sure to open the can and remove the label first.

Long-Term Food Supplies

In the unlikely event of a national disaster, you may need long-term emergency food supplies. The best approach is to store large amounts of staples along with a variety of canned and dried foods. Bulk quantities of wheat, corn, beans and salt are inexpensive and have nearly unlimited shelf life. If necessary, you could survive for years on small daily amounts of these staples. Stock the following amounts per person, per month:

Wheat--20 pounds

Powdered Milk(for babies and infants)*-- 20 pounds

Corn--20 pounds

Iodized Salt--1 pound

Soybeans--10 pounds

Vitamin C**--15 grams

* Buy in nitrogen-packed cans

** Rotate every two years

Storage and Preparation of Food Supplies

Store wheat, corn and beans in sealed cans or plastic buckets. Buy powdered milk in nitrogen-packed cans. And leave salt and vitamin C in their original packages.

If these staples comprise your entire menu, you must eat all of them together to stay healthy. To avoid serious digestive problems, you'll need to grind the corn and wheat into flour and cook them, as well as boil the beans, before eating. Many health food stores sell hand-cranked grain mills or can tell you where you can get one. Make sure you buy one that can grind corn. If you are caught without a mill, you can grind your grain by filling a large can with whole grain one inch deep, holding the can on the ground between your feet and pounding the grain with a pipe.

Nutrition Tips

In a crisis, it will be vital that you maintain your strength. So remember:

• Eat at least one well-balanced meal each day.

• Drink enough liquid to enable your body to function properly (two quarts a day).

• Take in enough calories to enable you to do any necessary work.

• Include vitamin, mineral and protein supplements in your stockpile to assure adequate nutrition.

Shelf Life of Foods for Storage

Here are some general guidelines for rotating common emergency foods.

Use within six months:

Powdered milk (boxed)

Dried fruit (in metal container)

Dry, crisp crackers (in metal container)

Potatoes

Use within one year:

Canned condensed meat and vegetable soups

Canned fruits, fruit juices and vegetables

Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals (in metal containers)

Peanut butter

Jelly

Hard candy, chocolate bars and canned nuts

May be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions):

Wheat

Vegetable oils

Corn

Baking powder

Soybeans

Instant coffee, tea

Vitamin C

and cocoa

Salt

Noncarbonated soft drinks

White rice

Bouillon products

Dry pasta

Powdered milk (in nitrogen-packed cans)

Ways to Supplement Your Long-Term Stockpile

The above staples offer a limited menu, but you can supplement them with commercially packed air-dried or freeze-dried foods and supermarket goods. Rice, popcorn and varieties of beans are nutritious and long-lasting. The more supplements you include, the more expensive your stockpile will be.

Following is an easy approach to long-term food storage:

1.Buy a supply of the bulk staples listed above.

FIRST, use perishable food and foods from the refrigerator.

THEN use the foods from the freezer. To minimize the number of times you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it. In a well-filled, well-insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centers (meaning foods are safe to eat) for at least three days.

FINALLY, begin to use non-perishable foods and staples.

This information is provided by the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Department in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.