In the wake of the "Corn Virus" folks going to their local grocery, big box, and dollar stores are finding bare shelves where normally food items, toilet paper/paper towels, disinfectants, bleach, etc. were abundant. This reminds me of the "panic buying" of .22 ammo a few years ago where people didn't really need .22 ammo, but would buy it where they found it resulting in shortages for a long time. Don't get me wrong. I like toilet paper. It is nice to have, but it is luxury rather than a necessity. It is good to have and was in the local Dollar General as of yesterday. As for big chain retailers, there is only one WalMart in the county where I live and I haven't been there since the hype surrounding the Kung Flu began. I have been told by some friends of mine that two of the WalMarts in the neighboring county have been picked clean of the items mentioned in the last two weeks. Why people suddenly feel the urge to run out and buy TP and paper towels, I don't know. I would just say that in my lifetime I've lived through about several "end of days" events (the cold war, the coming of the second ice age, acid rain, depletion of the ozone, Y2K, global warming, climate change, killer bees, West Nile virus, SARS, Swine Flu, Obama, etc. are a few that come to mind). We will more than likely live through the "Corn Virius" aka COVID-19 too. Though I never have considered myself a "Doomsday Prepper", I do believe in being prudent and common sense preparation. A big part of me being prepared is having an adequate supply food on hand (enough for several months) that I like to eat and can be easily kept and cooked. Some of the foods I keep on hand allows me to prepare one of the my favorite meals. That is cornbread and beans. This delicious simple meal can be prepared from cornmeal mix, some powdered milk, an egg/powdered eggs, dried beans with a little cooking oil or canned bacon and salt and pepper added. Not only is this a delicious meal, it also is super high in calories. The ingredients can be kept a long time at normal room temps. They also can be stored in the freezer, vacuum sealed in Mylar bags, or dry canned. I understand that this might not work for everyone, but it is an example of "survival food" that works for me. I buy what I would normally eat (with the exception of items such as powdered milk). I am not saying go out and spend the "rent money" on a ton of groceries, but having a few weeks on hand sure can make thing easier when times get hard. Most who visit here are fully aware that so called "survival foods" are some of the worst values when viewed from a calories per dollar perspective. I have heard from several people recently who told me that when they attempted to buy survival foods such as Mountain House, Augason, etc., these foods were unavailable, etc. Dehydrated and freeze dried foods are handy and some are very good, but they are just food. They are not a good calorie per dollar value. There are many more viable options out there. The guy in video does a good job explaining how to convert your hard earned money into as many calories as possible. This is the kind of info you might want to pass along to friends and family who have not had the life experiences some of us have lived through. Stay safe, wash your hands often, avoid crowds and this too will pass.
I have a feeling there will be plenty more Preppers after this hysteria blows over-quite an eye-opener for people who never gave a thought to being ready for unforeseen events.
Guess the news hasn't made it to Mobile yet. Went to Rouses for Crawfish & beer, no empty shelves. Publix for beer,no empty shelves. Winn-Dixie for beer& pork ribs,no empty shelves. Gonna eat Crawfish, drink beer & have a big ass weekend.
When it comes to food to stock up on, think about fat, carbs and protein. Dried beans, rice & pasta will provide plenty of carbs and last a long, long time. Peanut butter provides protein and fat. Velveeta is damned near indestructible and has fat and protein. I have plenty of the above, plus flour, corn meal and grits. If things go totally crazy, we will have food to eat. We may get tired of some of the things, but with the neighbor's catfish pond & the deer in the woods, we will have plenty of nourishment.
Things are getting crazy in the Memphis suburbs. Went to Kroger today and there was no chicken, no hamburger, a few steaks and roasts. Potatoes were in short supply and a lot of empty space where apples and bananas should have been ZERO paper products, even paper plates were gone. Milk and bread were running low. I found 2 bags of plain potato chips and they were not in the chip aisle, but in the bread aisle where the line for checkout ran through.
One guy told me he turned around and a woman had her hands on a package of ground chuck in his basket. She told him she thought someone had left the basket and gone home. Nice excuse for getting caught trying to pilfer his stash.
Having lived my first 40 years in snow country, every October, you just got sn itch. The only wsy to scratch it was with a case of canned goods and water in the basement, per person.
I have a feeling there will be plenty more Preppers after this hysteria blows over-quite an eye-opener for people who never gave a thought to being ready for unforeseen events.
ReplyDeleteGuess the news hasn't made it to Mobile yet. Went to Rouses for Crawfish & beer, no empty shelves. Publix for beer,no empty shelves. Winn-Dixie for beer& pork ribs,no empty shelves. Gonna eat Crawfish, drink beer & have a big ass weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to food to stock up on, think about fat, carbs and protein. Dried beans, rice & pasta will provide plenty of carbs and last a long, long time. Peanut butter provides protein and fat. Velveeta is damned near indestructible and has fat and protein. I have plenty of the above, plus flour, corn meal and grits. If things go totally crazy, we will have food to eat. We may get tired of some of the things, but with the neighbor's catfish pond & the deer in the woods, we will have plenty of nourishment.
ReplyDeleteThings are getting crazy in the Memphis suburbs. Went to Kroger today and there was no chicken, no hamburger, a few steaks and roasts. Potatoes were in short supply and a lot of empty space where apples and bananas should have been ZERO paper products, even paper plates were gone. Milk and bread were running low. I found 2 bags of plain potato chips and they were not in the chip aisle, but in the bread aisle where the line for checkout ran through.
One guy told me he turned around and a woman had her hands on a package of ground chuck in his basket. She told him she thought someone had left the basket and gone home. Nice excuse for getting caught trying to pilfer his stash.
Having lived my first 40 years in snow country, every October, you just got sn itch. The only wsy to scratch it was with a case of canned goods and water in the basement, per person.
ReplyDelete