Florida鈥檚 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 University鈥檚 Florida Climate Center.
So if your isn鈥檛 quite ready for a major storm, fear not. There鈥檚 still time to stock up on supplies. And when it comes to food, this week鈥檚 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. Here鈥檚 Janet鈥檚 advice.
1) Take this seriously. 鈥淥ne of the biggest mistakes is just not taking it seriously,鈥� Janet says. 鈥淭his can be very serious stuff. Life-and-death stuff.鈥�
2) Assess your household鈥檚 needs. There鈥檚 no simple solution, depending on whether you live with babies, kids, seniors, people with special medical needs or pets. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to think about,鈥� Janet says. 鈥淥ne size doesn鈥檛 fit all.鈥�
3) Start now. 鈥淧art of the issue with putting together a hurricane food kit is, it鈥檚 expensive, and you need other stuff besides food,鈥� Janet says. 鈥淪o I suggest that you start stocking up now.鈥� 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 don鈥檛 usually frequent.
5) Ban together. To ease the financial burden, chip in with friends or neighbors and split the cost of bulk items from Sam鈥檚 Club or Costco.
6) Buy what you鈥檒l actually eat. 鈥淚鈥檓 very against buying food that your family doesn鈥檛 eat normally,鈥� Janet says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 normally eat Spam, don鈥檛 buy a lot of it.鈥�
7) Lower the bar. Don鈥檛 worry about making a gourmet meal everyday. Just figure out what you鈥檒l 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. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a cat-5 hurricane barrelling down on us, you鈥檙e gone, hopefully. You鈥檙e not riding it out,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut [during] these lower-category hurricanes, you鈥檙e probably going to stay there. And what鈥檚 going to happen here is the power鈥檚 going to go out. Now what are you going to do? What are you going to eat?鈥�
9) Think like a camper. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a camper, you鈥檙e really in good shape,鈥� Janet says. Items like camping stoves and MREs (meals ready to eat) are useful.
10) Grill what you鈥檝e got. If you have a grill and the power goes out, cook up whatever鈥檚 thawing in your freezer before it goes bad.
11) Figure out where you鈥檒l get your protein. Realistic options include defrosted freezer meats, peanut butter, canned chickpeas or canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise. To avoid opening鈥攁nd spoiling鈥攁n 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 you鈥檒l need. For drinking and sanitation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security one gallon of water per person, per day, for several days. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure that most of us fall flat on that,鈥� Janet notes. Stock up on water well in advance鈥攄ays before a storm, the shelves will be empty鈥攁nd find a place in your home to stash it all.
14) Shop the aisles. 鈥淲hen you go to the grocery store, in general, don鈥檛 we always say, 鈥楽hop the perimeter鈥�? Because that鈥檚 where the fresh stuff is. Well, for hurricanes, you almost want to look in the middle,鈥� 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 you鈥檒l 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 you鈥檙e able, cook something simple yet special that you鈥檒l 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 you鈥檝e really been affected by this, home has a different meaning, so we really long for that,鈥� Janet says.
17) Remember non-food items. These include paper plates, hand wipes, a manual can opener, trash bags and anything else you鈥檇 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. 鈥淢y goal is to not be the person in line for gas, cash or water,鈥� 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 won鈥檛 need to break into your hurricane food kit. In that case, don鈥檛 let the items go to waste. Cycle the food back into your regular eating routine or donate it to those less fortunate.
Related episodes
Thank you to our sponsors: Seitenbacher and TECO Peoples Gas
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit . 9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001))
