Monday, June 9, 2014

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?


25 comments:

  1. Way to be prepared! We were without power for almost a week a few years ago because of the derecho storms that came through and lost all of our food. So, like you all, we don't have as much food kept in the freezer, just in case.

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  2. We are loving our freeze dried food - it is so easy to take with us anywhere. no refrigeration needed - it is the perfect storm food :)

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  3. You are very well prepared. We better get more prepared for our earthquakes
    Lily & Edward

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  4. Hi Y'all,

    It's difficult in the south to store things so they won't spoil once they are opened and the BUGS won't have their own party. That kibble container looks like the perfect answer!

    Bad dog mischief today...

    Y'all hurry on by now!
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  5. Freeze dried seems like a great alternative for storm prep. Our kibble is in a plastic container. Will float during floods.

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  6. Thanks for sharing! So glad you are well prepared for these things.
    I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  7. Looks like you got it all under control Oz. We realise just how lucky we are over here. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  8. Our Mom needs to hold a webcast seminar for our Mom cos hers stinks at being prepared for anyfing....she said we do have candles tho and I toles her "woman little gussie cannot eat candles!"
    Angus McConnell Long

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  9. Oz thank goodness my peeps currently have 5 gallons of water in the garage cold box. This time of year mom
    buys drinking water to stock. After hurry-cane season she uses it in my indoor fountain.
    Hugs madi your bfff
    PS love love your shades!!

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  10. AnonymousJune 09, 2014

    I'm so glad you are prepared, but i hope you never have to implement any of that. Stay safe my friend.

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  11. OZ..... you may be ORNERY sometimes.... butt you are a GENIUS. The freeze DRIED Raw packets are PERFECT... AND the FROZEN juice containers of water will be PERFECT fur re-hydrating them. OMD buddy you are REALLY well stocked. We LOVE the fact that you found a superb use fur that unused kibble container!!!
    BUTT we just GOTTA Say this.... Beclaws WE are kinda ORNERY Too..... we just HOPE that NONE of those Foodable and SNACK packages are... PRE OPENED and Slightly UNFINISHED... BAAAAAWAAAAH...

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  12. AnonymousJune 09, 2014

    you are well prepared, but I hope this year you will not be without power and all the hurricanes will not come to your area. I agree with your mom, it's not good to have a fullfilled freezer. We were without power for 4 days two years ago and my dad made a bbq in november to save some of the meat and the fish we had in our freezer. please stay safe dear Oz and humans.

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  13. That is a very well laid out plan Oz and gives us all something to think about!

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  14. Oz you are so well prepared! But one question, you said you have been without power for up to a week before. Have you ever thought of having a generator? We bought one for the big blizzard and it gives us a great sense of safety. Love Dolly

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  15. Make sure there are plenty of snacks ;) Actually, skip the food and pack more snacks...in my opinion.

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  16. So glad you are prepared, Oz! We almost always have extra treats and food on hand, not that we have to worry about it much here. One thing we learned when we did have a hurricane coming, or even if there are just going to be bad thunderstorms and we know we might lose power, is it fill the bathtub with water. That way we have plenty of water for flushing the toilets and things like that. We keep jugs of water in the pantry for drinking.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  17. OZ!!! You are a stinker. OH wait, good of you to be prepared and everything. Always have water and food for extras and blankets for storms and YOUR OWN TOYS to chew on. We just saw what you sent Frankie and Ernie!!! It made us giggle, but we wonder what tomorrow will show us.

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  18. Oh I'm glad your mom has prepared all that hurricane stuff if you have a big storm coming :-)

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  19. Hey Oz!
    Wow, this is a cool post! You're prepared fur sure now and I'm crossing paws that the stormies stay away this year. I'd definitely want a ginormous supply of foodables and my bestest stuffies. BOL
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge, Furiend

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  20. OMD, fillin' those juice containers with H2O and freezin' it is brilliant!!! Ma is forever makin' ice, cause she loves ice waters, and this would make purfect sense for even a power outage. You are so brilliant Oz!! And the freeze dried is such a good idea! Right nows I'm on the kibbles, so it's not so hard, butts Ma gets nervous if I get below half a bag, just in case we have an earthquake or somethin'.
    Good tips Oz! And don't forgets the toys! A doggies GOTS to have some toys!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  21. Oh my goodness. I cannot imagine being without power for a week. We would be ok on the meat front if we lost power in the winter. But in the summer time...goodness. This makes me realize I need to have a plan of action.

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  22. Another great preparation post for hurricane season. You gave some great tips that I never would of thought of. I love your brilliant idea of keeping your food dry in your storage container. I just put my see beautiful sticker on my truck this weekend too that Sugar gave me. I sure hope you don't get a hurricane but you will be prepared if you do.

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  23. Oh! Oz doggy food containers are Beautiful :-) Hurricane is scary. It's important to know what to do (just in case). Do you know that its not a good to freeze bottled water? Golden Woofs

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  24. Great tips Oz. We get some storms and rain when hurricanes hit the gulf, but don't have to worry too much like you. I think you should go on that "prepper" show and tell all the humans this stuff! BOL! But seriously, it's really great that your Ma is prepared like this in case of an emergency.

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  25. Great ideas QZ. We hope you won't need your supplies.

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Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier