Community Chat

[Noel7]

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@Shorty2U wrote:

I never understood this (I don't work now, but having worked at a supermarket in management for years) and neither does my family understand, so maybe you can shed some light.

Here in PA the grocery stores are wiped out of milk, eggs, bread and all kinds of things for the impending storm. Bread I can understand, but why do people buy "perishable" food before a snow storm?

IF your power goes out you're not cooking without power! (Unless you have a camping stove or grill, but then you have to go outside to use your grill in the storm).

We always have a lot of food on hand (perishable and non perishable), as we shop every Monday or Tuesday year round. But if we didn't, I would focus more on getting non perishable food before a storm.

And I doubt all the crowds that run to the store have generators so well I just don't get it! (We always used to joke at work, that everyone must sit and eat all day and night long while they're snowed in the way they buy everything in sight! lol).

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Shorty,

For power down, we bring up one of our coolers for a couple of punishables, always almond milk for cereal, 1% milk and a few other things.  We put ice around it and use that so we don't have to open the frig. 

Maybe others do that, also.

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Punishables? Is that for when the food goes "bad"? *lol*

I'm just teasing ya!

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@Plaid Pants2

LOLOLOL!

Too funny, I am GLAD you pointed that out, Ms. Plaid, I'm going to leave it that way.  Must be auto correct, but I also type with a broken finger and never know how it will turn out

[Iwantcoffee]

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@RedTop wrote:

My take on buying perishable food is that some people have learned the hard way not to go into a storm like this without having some type of food prepared in advance.   I have beef stew and pork BBQ in my fridge that will be easy to heat, as well as vegetable soup in the freezer.   If they had to, my family would rather eat cold leftovers from the refrigerator, than open a can of anything from the pantry.  

We actually use more bread and milk during a snowstorm than normal.  I usually cook a pot of oatmeal or cream of wheat for breakfast, and my husband likes milk in his bowl of hot cereal.  My teacher daughter loves grilled cheese sandwiches, and once my husband smells her sandwich, he has to have one or two as well.   With 2 loaves of bread and 72 slices of cheese in the freezer, those 2 will be happy this weekend.

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Cream of Wheat is so good on a cold morning. My son loves a cup of hot chocolate and bowl of oatmeal when it's cold. He never drinks cold milk. I think we use more milk in colder weather too.

[jaxs mom]

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@Shorty2U wrote:

Thank you for your input.

We have gas heat and it has an electronic starter so the heat goes out during power outages and I assumed that's how gas stoves are too. In the old days there were pilot lights on gas stoves (lit w a match) but now gas stoves have electronic ignitions (so I think, maybe I am wrong). PS I'm talking cooking kitchen stoves, not camping stoves.

So as I said, I just know with a power outage and gas heat we have no heat. We have an electric stove now (not gas like I used to have). We have a grill but never used it yet during an outage. We just ate non perishables instead.

Thanks again and please everyone in the path of the storm, be safe!

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I'm in the same situation with the gas heater, you need the fan to blow the hot hair around the house. But gas stoves, even ones with electronic igniter can easily be lit with a match or striker. You just turn on the gas and put the striker, match or lighter near the burner. Our power has gone out for short periods a couple times over the last few months, so I appreciated having a gas stove again. 

[MaggieMack]

I am one of those nut cases who has TWO 30-day supplies of emergency foods and water bottles stored in case the need ever arises. And seeds from the seed bank that are non-hybridized.

[scotnovel]

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@ballyk wrote:
My husband and I discuss this every time there's a big storm predicted. Where we live getting a foot of snow is not unusual and I've never run to the store for supplies, in fact haven't left the house in a week and we're eating just fine. Also never understood living on eggs cooked in butter with toast and drinking milk.

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Not sure I understand your comment.  Eggs are perfectly fine for you, in moderation, like everything else.  And, there are plenty of ways to cook them without using any butter.  I'd rather have a homemade egg salad sandwich, made with only a tiny amount of olive oil mayo & some mustard and spices, rather than one piled high with processed meat.  My mother used to boil some eggs prior to a big storm because they made a quick snack - nothing but a cold egg with a little salt and pepper - for the four kids in the family.  A little bit of protein low carb, and a few nutrients with less calories than a lot of other snacks that people give their kids to eat when the electricity goes off.   

[mimilucy]

Depending on where you live , perishable food will not go to waste in a blizzard. All I have to do is keep it in my attached garage which is as cold as the outside temp. During a blizzard jn Chicago , my garage is much colder than my fridge! Milk , sliced turkey , cheese, etcetera can go a long way if you cannot use your stove. Cereal and salads help too.

[surfk]

While the OP's question seems to have been put forth due to the current massive winter snowstorms hitting much of the country, I actually worry more about my refrigerated perishables in the summertime - when power can also go out.

There are black and brown outs due to high temps and everyone turning on their air conditioners at the same moment. Or some crazy summertime drunk drag racers, seeing its so clear and warm out, all crash into major electrical transformers...cutting off power to three states.

Then the challenge is on as how to keep one's cottage cheese from turning in 105-degree temps. Will it become Stilton cheese or will the power be restored first?

One can make a game of it in the summertime.

And actually its a tad trickier in the summer heat because one can't stash the food into the sub-zero snows or a cold garage. And few people even much think power outage - as most summertime power outages come without any warning. So actually,.anyone could lose just as much or more food to a summer power outage.

Or just think of when your fridge might go out or die (usually loaded in food just before a big holiday party as the gods do have a sense of humor do they not)?

Who is planning for that, really? Or who blames someone for losing their food to such an occurence?

Its always best perhaps to have a back up plan - every day of the year - and not just face such crises as they happen. In fact, if one has a prior action plan, such events aren't or don't become the crises they might become otherwise (or are for other people).

I think its best (personally) to just be prepared for life. Sometimes that means for the worst...but it also means for when we only might fear the worst which doesn't come. So you just go about having food on hand.

Probably not a time to stock up on crown rib roasts and filet mignons if one can't afford the risk of losing them.

But bread and milk? I know times can be tough and money lean for some, but it wouldn't be the end of the world should one stock up and lose them in a dramatic power outage. Life will go on. And if the power stays on, well, then, you can better enjoy your Oreos while watching the Weather Channel with milk than without it, no?

[Burnsite]

Shorty, People with gas stoves are much more comfortable after a storm when there is a power loss.  It is like people with land lines.  They can make hot coffee, bacon and eggs, etc.

People with grills also usually figure out how to make fresh food pretty quickly.

I will stay up all night in a bad storm as one of my rescue cats goes nuts during low-pressure weather events and needs comforting. 

If the veg and fruits I buy don't last, I will throw them out, but (with ice in my coolers) they last a few days and that is usually enough. I don't buy dairy, but I don't have kids.

I was without power for five weeks after I think it was Hurricane Wilma, but at least I was OK for about 4 days as far as fresh food and then had to wait for deliveries to resume. 

So I lost a week instead of 11 days of fresh foods.  Cans get old really fast. The food tastes of the can, and it's too salty as well, usually.

[sophiamarie]

Right after Hurricane Andrew in '92, we bought a whole-house generator and an upright freezer.  Believe me, it's worth the money not to have the aggravation of running to the store at the last minute.  We buy the opposite of what the other people buy because we can stock up on frozen food.  While everyone is buying bread and peanut butter, I am buying Stouffer's Family Size meals and lots of frozen stuff.

I hope nobody has to be w/o power and everyone stays safe.  We are going down to the 40's by Sunday (Southeast Florida) and that's cold for us......

[GCR18]

People stock up because the family is home for three meals for at least a couple days.  The kids aren't eating on the run between activities.  The parents aren't eating breakfast and lunch at the work cafeteria, then bringing a pizza home for dinner.  I think people want comfort food when snowed in.  I know it's like that here.