A Short List to Feeling Prepared
A Short List to Feeling Prepared
Tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes are just a few of the very common reasons why Legacy Food Storage, as a company, exists. Having shelf stable food in an emergency is always welcome. In times of crisis store shelves become bare, trucks are unable to complete deliveries or are delayed due to storm damaged roads, you may have no electricity and be unable to communicate with those you love. Great examples would be the unexpected Texas ice storm or the damaging hurricane winds in suburban Iowa. The year 2020 brought us a whole new reason to have backups and be prepared. Welcome to the pandemic.
In March 2020, the food storage industry was turned upside down with requests for emergency food. Grocery stores country-wide were unable to keep up with the demand and you could not just go to the next town - or even the next state - and buy what your store was missing. Shelves were empty everywhere and purchase limits were set. Legacy’s inventory was depleted in just a matter of days. "Days to ship" turned into weeks, and then months as time progressed. Some supplies were harder to obtain and took much longer to arrive. Production lines were held up due to these delays and we simply could not produce fast enough. Any shipping issues were just additional salt in the wound. As time has passed, we are grateful to have healthy stock levels and quick ship times once again.
We heard from many new people anxious to get some shelf stable food, such as our ready-made meals and even fruits and vegetables, in preparation for not knowing what would happen next or how worse things might get. Understandably, it can be overwhelming to anyone trying to prepare for their family’s safety. Not to mention being scared and blindsided by an immediate emergency scenario.
Thinking ahead and planning to have some extras on hand for your most basic essential needs can keep you out of the dangerous situations you are not ready for. You don’t want to be one of those people fighting over the last gallon of milk or in the middle of the riots trying to get food for your family. Uncontrolled violence can happen anywhere as tensions can run very high in times like these while people are scrambling to gather supplies. A wise man once said, “better to have and not need, then need and not have.” 
Later in 2020, the term “prepper” suddenly lost the stigma it had before the pandemic. Additionally, the word “pandemic” no longer brought up old school day memories of the black plague from the late 17th century, where we remember the black and white images of hospitals with beds at capacity and people dressed in black with bird masks. It was now a reality and real experiences were taking place before our very eyes.
School closings, warehouses lined with beds, daily news reports of overwhelmed hospitals and new deaths numbers were no longer fiction but becoming history. Physicians pleading for equipment and supplies, people afraid to leave their home and the economy grinded to a halt in many areas with mandatory shutdowns and lockdowns. This pandemic event illustrates just how dependent we all are on all the “cogs” to work correctly together.
Who would have thought toilet paper would have been a protected commodity and you would be limited in your purchases? The saying, “Hindsight is 2020,” has taken on a whole new meaning! Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the crazy events are over, so what can you do?
We’ve included a short list to aid anyone in achieving a most basic emergency plan, hopefully without the head spin. With a minimal goal of these 10 items, you will be considerably ahead of those who do nothing the next time something shows up unexpectedly.
- Water storage
- Shelf stable food (taking into account special diets)
- Shelter/warmth
- Light
- Protection
- Prescription/over counter meds/toiletries
- Sanitation
- Cash
- Protected important documents
- Evacuation plan
This list by no means is comprehensive but is concise enough to give anyone a manageable start to preparing for the next crazy event. Have at least 2 solutions for each line item, keeping in mind your area might become unsafe and necessitate an evacuation.
Sure, an iXP34c ray gun would be nice, but start with the basics first and then add your luxury items over time. With weather patterns changing, economy booms and falls, changing legislation, and future Mother Nature events making their way up the list, it’s time to take some action. As intelligent human beings it would be prudent about having backups for your most basic needs. You never know what surprises lie around the next corner!
