Hurricane food- what do you buy?

[wishesuponastar]

Thinking of tuna, baked beans, pbj...not sure what else?

If you can, please be specific of what canned food to buy.

 

[tex1989]

Ice, lots of ice, and beer, lots of beer and maybe some bread. That's just what we do on the Texas Gulf Coast. We are veterans of hurricanes living within 30 miles of the Gulf since 1959.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

For riding it out or leaving? Assuming staying, I usually buy canned foods, water, snacks (because when the power is out, snacking becomes a great past time), charcoal, and I fill some coolers with ice. If we reach a point when it looks like power will be out a while, we start cooking the food stored in the freezer on the grill or in the gas oven/stovetop. Other than following the worst storms, we have managed to keep the cooked food at a safe temperature.

 

[mjkacmom]

Nothing. Let’s face it, most people have enough food in the fridge, freezer and pantry to survive for a while. If we lose power for s significant amount of time, I’m cooking up a ton of perishables. If we don’t lose power, the storm wasn’t that bad. I remember reading a funny editorial about Sandy, saying that everyone might actually have to resort to eating the canned goods this time.

ETA, copious amounts of beer and wine!

 

[tex1989]

Our pre hurricane routine also involves taking everything we can and shoving it in the garage so it does not blow away, filling the tubs with water in case we lose water so we can still flush toilets, caulking the weep holes on our house so no wind driven rain can get in, getting gas for the generator and making sure it still runs. Finding the digital antenna for the TV for when the cable goes out, making sure a couple of radios work, and laying in bottled water in case the local sytem fails or we are ordered to boil water before consumption. After that it's pretty much hunker down and wait for the storm, oh and drink the beer!

 

[Kitty 34]

Thinking of tuna, baked beans, pbj...not sure what else?

Not to be crass but you guys on the coast or nearby haven't figured out in all these years what to buy??? I can understand newbies which maybe is you, OP ???

For me, I have no clue. In a tornado warning I might take doritoes and bean dip into the crawl space but that's just for a little bit. Otherwise, living here in Michigan, I have no clue. But the DIS is a wealth of information!!! Good luck to you guys!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I find it helps to buy things that aren't cracker-like-like cups of fruit, fruit in jello. We live in a pretty tropical climate (6 hours south of Houston), and post-hurricane means no air conditioning sometimes (no electricity).

 

[wishesuponastar]

Not to be crass but you guys on the coast or nearby haven't figured out in all these years what to buy??? I can understand newbies which maybe is you, OP ???

For me, I have no clue. In a tornado warning I might take doritoes and bean dip into the crawl space but that's just for a little bit. Otherwise, living here in Michigan, I have no clue. But the DIS is a wealth of information!!! Good luck to you guys!

We are about hour from the ocean but have never lost power or any severe damage from a hurricane so I’m not really sure what canned food to buy.

 

[luvsJack]

I buy stuff to make sandwiches, bread, chips, and drinks. Lots and lots of snacks. We like chicken salad and tuna salad but I buy individual size cans so that everyone can make theirs as we go. If your family likes tuna, the pouches are a good option. Sandwich meat does have to be kept cold but its not hard to keep in a cooler. So whatever your family's favorite lunch meat is.

Now, we don't mind eating SPAM but not sure if that is an option for you. DD won't touch it but the rest of us will.

 

[Tiki_Sara]

I suppose it would depend on whether you had the means to cook without electricity. No use having cans of beans if you have nothing to heat them on. If your power does go out and you plan to cook your perishables in your fridge and freezer, do you have something to cook them on?

We lost power for five days here in NJ during Irene and 6 for Sandy and we had an electric stove an oven so no cooking for us and all our perishables had to be thrown away. Luckily, some businesses were open in the local area and we were able to get food (and coffee)!from them. We've now moved house and have a gas stove and oven and one of the first things we did was install a generator (mainly so the basement doesn't flood).

Definitely get a few days' worth of stuff that doesn't need cooking or refrigerating. Chips, dips, jerky, tuna, sweetcorn etc

 

[SaintsManiac]

We usually get canned tuna, peanut butter, bread, crackers, bottled water. We lost power for 6 days after Gustav and our ice chest was a lifesaver for things like cheese and milk.

Hot dogs are good if you have a grill to use.

 

[Kitty 34]

We are about hour from the ocean but have never lost power or any severe damage from a hurricane so I’m not really sure what canned food to buy.

Like I said many posters are going to have great ideas. That's whats nice about this place. I wish I could help you out more. I'd be soooooooo freaking out about a hurricane heading my way!! to you, OP.

 

[wishesuponastar]

We have a charcoal grill but I am scared to use it the way hubby uses a chimney thing to light it. Guess we can get some lighter fluid for me to use if he isn’t home.

My girls don’t like cold cuts but I guess if they are hungry enough they might.

I am going to make a big pasta salad to keep in the cooler.

 

[descovy]

We don’t buy canned food for the hurricanes. Beer, water, and instant coffee though! Also fruit like apples and oranges. After the storms the groceries stores will be out of a lot of things and we will really crave the fresh fruit.

A few days before the storm we do fill jugs, Tupperware, etc to make ice blocks.

We have a gas stove, so we can cook when the power goes out. During Ike we were without power for a week. We feasted like kings eating out of our thawing freezer. Never once touched the tuna and crackers.

 

[descovy]

I honestly don’t understand the idea of buying perishables before the storm (like cold cuts or pasta salad). If anything, I just try to use up my perishables asap before they go bad.

Milk for young children, not withstanding of course.

 

[wishesuponastar]

We don’t buy canned food for the hurricanes. Beer, water, and instant coffee though! Also fruit like apples and oranges. After the storms the groceries stores will be out of a lot of things and we will really crave the fresh fruit.

A few days before the storm we do fill jugs, Tupperware, etc to make ice blocks.

We have a gas stove, so we can cook when the power goes out. During Ike we were without power for a week. We feasted like kings eating out of our thawing freezer. Never once touched the tuna and crackers.

I didn’t realize a gas stove wouldn’t be affected so that’s good. I thought the gas lines could be damaged.

Fresh fruit, good idea.

 

[bcla]

Not to be crass but you guys on the coast or nearby haven't figured out in all these years what to buy??? I can understand newbies which maybe is you, OP ???

For me, I have no clue. In a tornado warning I might take doritoes and bean dip into the crawl space but that's just for a little bit. Otherwise, living here in Michigan, I have no clue. But the DIS is a wealth of information!!! Good luck to you guys!

I kind of wandered into one on vacation once in the Miami area. I knew it was coming, but not how hard or where it would change direction. Most of my plans changed as a result of forced cancellations. But I was staying at a hotel that was more like a studio apartment, with a fridge and a cooktop.

I found myself at Publix and asked what was recommended. They had grills and Sterno for sale, but the one employee I talked to suggested comfort food that didn’t need to be cooked. Lots of chips - Pringles, Doritos, etc, as well as enough breakfast cereal to last 5 days. I also bought dried pasta and tomato sauce, but that was anticipating it wouldn’t be so bad. I ended up bringing most of it home since the storm was more or less a dud.

 

[tex1989]

It sounds silly but also make sure you have a can opener. Not an eletric one, but an old fashion turn the crank kind. Many a plan has been crushed for want of a manual can opener.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

An hour inland, you probably only need to worry about being without power for a week MAX. Inventory your freezer and see how much stuff you have already. Your gas line will be fine, but be prepared to manually light the stove/oven if you lose the spark.

Have you thought about buying a generator? It may be too late, but it might be worth a call to Home Depot.

We have a charcoal grill but I am scared to use it the way hubby uses a chimney thing to light it. Guess we can get some lighter fluid for me to use if he isn’t home.

My girls don’t like cold cuts but I guess if they are hungry enough they might.

I am going to make a big pasta salad to keep in the cooler.

The chimney thing is the easiest way to light the grill! Get your DH to show you how. (You put the charcoal in the top, paper in the bottom, light the paper, wait until the charcoal starts turning grey, pour it into the grill).

 

[bcla]

I didn’t realize a gas stove wouldn’t be affected so that’s good. I thought the gas lines could be damaged.

Fresh fruit, good idea.

The likelihood is small, but gas lines can rupture or be exposed from flooding, and that doesn’t necessarily require a hurricane. I’ve heard that damage during cleanup is more likely than direct damage.

So are gas lines exposed there? I know the mains are usually buried, but in my experience meters are usually outdoors.