In-case you missed it, President Trump has stated publicly that he believes the Covid-19 crisis could last until August. While this is a huge shift in initial projections, his calm leadership so far through the crisis warrant some faith.
However, that faith should also be qualified with some level of preparation. Aside from short term grocery needs, here are some essentials you should consider:
1. Long-Term Food
While it may not be that hard to get your proteins and vitamins from beans, canned fish, canned veggies and popcorn, most food doesn’t last forever. If you are interested in food that could serve you well tommorow, or five years down the line in the event of another crisis, you should consider a longer-term food solution.
Outbreak Provisions, a vendor specializing in survival gear and preparing for disasters and pandemics, offers a unique solution: a 72 hour long-term food storage kit that has enough food for three days (with a 5 year shelf life). What’s the advantage to having just three day’s of food that doesn’t expire? Peace of mind. That food can serve you well if the need to travel arises as these food packs are much more mobile and damage resistant than boxes and cans.
Food built for the long term (Photo via Outbreak Provisions)
2. Survival Essentials
Everything you need to make sure you survive – besides your nutrition – should be considered.
Should the power go out, you better have a generator ready to go, and that includes the diesel/kerosene/gas to run it for a period of time.
Motor oil and fuel if you plan on driving your car through the walking dead, and a first aid kit with extra bandages, antiseptic and rubbing alcohol:
(Photo via Outbreak Provisions)
In order to cook, you need cooking supplies. Purchase slow-burn firewood to heat up your pressure cooker or maintain a fire, or buy a battery-powered device…for which of course you’ll need a supply of batteries. What’s the quickest way to start a fire? A bulk pack of lighters.
If the power does go out however, preserve your food the way they did when they crossed the Atlantic, with salt.
While you’re buying salt, stock up on your favorite spices because those may be the first thing to run out.
For worst-case scenarios, get a supply of vitamins, aspirins and any other basic medication that is likely to become scarce.
If you’re prepared whenever one else isn’t, you won’t have to panic, and you may have some bargaining chips or at the very least enough to share with loved ones.
For food, medical supplies, water, tools, and anything else you may need for an emergency situation that requires you to shelter in place or start moving on the go quickly, you should consider survival kits for you and your family.
Introducing the Survival Pal (Photo via Outbreak)
3. Water
There’s no current indication that water services will stop, but that hasn’t stopped people from hoarding bottled water and other water resources. While this seems obvious, as shortages at stores continue, bottled water may be a bit harder to come by.
Cases and jugs of water, distilled or not aren’t only good for drinking, but for cleaning, bathing and cooking, and you should always have some distilled water on hand!
If you think you might run out, you may need to buy a water purifier. An awesome, handy device available on Amazon is the LifeStraw; a personal water-filtration device that could save your life.
If you are curious where you can find something that has you covered no matter what, checkout Outbreak Provisions, a new company that has already seen success in providing food shortage and survival kit solutions for the outbreak.