Prepare For Famine: What Can Urban Dwellers Do?
Famines are real and when people get hungry they get testy and mean.
When it happens this time, it will be real-life imitating art.
People will be scrambling for food and looking to get it any way they can.
To avoid being one of those people, you need to take some time to prepare.
This will be the time to be like a boy scout and be prepared for any situation.
Hungry people will not be deterred by a simple ‘no’ answer to their pleas for food.
Keep reading to find out what steps you can take to prepare you and your family for any famine that may come in the near future.
Steps to Prepare for a Famine
There are steps you can take that will make sure you and your family are ready when a food shortage arrives.
Here are a few of those steps to get you thinking along the right lines.
Some of these suggestions will need extra space to handle the volume.
Make sure your apartment or house has the needed space or build some.
#1. Stop Pursuing Expensive Toys
In this age of consumerism, people have pursued all sorts of modern products that are supposed to help make life easier.
This gets expensive as many households are carrying high credit card debt.
What that means is that you are not going to have the money you will need when a famine strikes.
Stop buying expensive products that keep you in heavy debt.
Keeping up with the Joneses will not prepare you for a famine.
#2. Pay off Your Debts
Being in debt sends your money to the wrong people.
Those credit card companies, financial institutions, and loan sharks will be prepared for famine as they will have your money.
Get rid of that debt and stop buying more things.
Buy what you need and be content with that.
The money you save can be put in a safe place for when you will really need it.
#3. Build a Stockpile of Food
You do not have to be paranoid to do this.
Calm, rational people can do this as well. Being prepared for any emergency is not being paranoid but doing some forward thinking.
The Mormons are required to have a 2-year stockpile of food already.
You can do the same but create the right plan for you.
If you use any of that stockpile now, just replace it as soon as possible.
Decide how much non-perishable food you and your family will need over a long famine and prepare that much food for future use.
Nothing says you can’t use it now, just replenish your supply so you are ready.
#4. Create a Potable Water Stockpile as Well
You will need water to drink but stockpiling water is not as easy as stockpiling non-perishable food.
You will have to develop a supply that remains fresh and bacteria-free.
Do some research to see what options are available to you and see how long freshwater lasts.
Rainwater capture will be part of your plans in this plan
#5. Stockpile Critical Supplies
These can be batteries, flashlights, medications, bandages, and so on.
Make a list of items that you and your family will need and start setting some money aside to purchase them.
Make a list of critical supplies that you need and make sure you can get them now at a good price.
Then store them properly so that those supplies are fully powered and ready for action.
Learn to Hunt, Fish and Garden
This is something you cannot wait till the famine arrives to learn to do.
You need to start doing this now, so you can have a constant food supply now and the skills when they are needed later on.
This means stocking up on the tools of each trade.
There may not be enough to buy later on when a famine hits.
#1. Fishing
You will need rods, reels, fishing lines, lures, and hooks.
Without these items, you may find it hard to fish.
Some native American tribes used spears and bows and arrows to do their fishing.
Also, if you are good, you can make your own fishing pole out of tree branches but you will still need materials for hooks and lines.
Plus, you will need to store the fish you caught so you will need ice, ice boxes, and so on.
There is no guarantee that electrical power will be available or running normally. Also, different sea life requires different methods to catch them.
Crabs need pots as do other sea creatures.
Make sure to research to see what items are needed for those animals.
#2. Hunting
When this topic comes up in conversation, many people automatically think of bullets and guns.
There are people already who have stocked up on guns and ammo and keep them in a safe place.
You might want to start thinking about doing the same thing while guns and ammo are in good supply.
If you do not like guns, you can always use traps, lures and knives.
But those items need metal, wire, and hunting knives may not be around by the time you buy them.
Stock up on traps and lure snow so you can hunt food without using a gun.
Sometimes a gun is needed to kill a wounded animal as those animals are not in the mood and will attack if they have to. A knife will just not do.
#3. Gardening
This does take talent as you need to know soil and water ratios, acidity and alkaline measurements, and so on.
Gardening is more than just finding some dirt and planting seeds.
Different plants needed different types of soil, amounts of water, and sunlight to thrive.
This is why you need to start learning now.
There is a lot to learn about growing vegetables and medicinal plants.
Famine ruins the soil as well so you will need ingredients to help bring some dead soil back to life.
But that is not all, you will need to stock up on seeds to make sure you have something to plant.
Having your own garden filled with your favorite vegetables now helps free up some food budget money so you can buy other necessities that will help you in a famine.
#4. Learn how to Can
This is a skill that has almost died out.
Back in ancient days when your parents and grandparents were young, everyone knew how to can food.
This is a great way to preserve perishable foods like fruit and vegetables.
Canned foods can last a long time and help you stay away from those freeze-dried products you may have already purchased.
There is a skill to this as well and as long as you store those canned goods in a cool room, they should last for years.
#5. Storing the Food
For urbanites to prepare for a famine you need to learn how to store those food items properly.
This means you need to buy the right containers in the right size.
Here are some tips to do just that:
- Buy enough cans to hold about 5 to 10 pounds of food. These work well for canning
- Buy foil pouches- these should be made of aluminum and laminated plastic. Make sure they are multi-layered as well. The seals have to be airtight to make the food last
- Buy polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles)- these are good for storing dry goods like wheat, flour, rice, pancake mix, and so on
- Keep the temperature moderate to cool- depending on the food items in the room you need to keep the room from getting too cold or too hot. For dry goods, 75 degrees F or 24 degrees C are standard temperature levels. Canned foods need cooler temperatures and store-bought canned goods will have their own temperature level
- Also, buy little oxygen-absorbing packets to keep the food from rotting when air gets inside the containers. Make sure to strictly follow the directions when using those packets.
The meat will need to be frozen but be wary that these and other frozen foods do not have a long lifespan.
Generally, you may get 8 months to a year before frozen meats go bad.
But check on that timeline and prepare your frozen meats accordingly.
Beef, pork, chicken, lamb, turkey, and so on all have their different frozen shelf life so mark the date when they were frozen to keep track.
Some Final Words
Famines are serious business.
They are not a movie plot to entertain you.
In some cases, hungry people form gangs and turn violent when there is not enough food for everyone.
The best thing to do is to start preparing for a famine now and do not tell anyone you are doing it.
You may be their first target if hungry people know you have food stored up.
Famines are not a pretty sight and desperate people do desperate things so be prepared.
References:
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/how-to-survive-a-famine/
https://www.theorganicprepper.com/famine-is-coming/
Originally posted 2022-08-29 11:11:29.
