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Pamplin Media Group May 2024 A17

Emergency Preparedness & Public Safety

By NEIL KENNEDY

Store emergency food to better your resilience in case of disaster

This month we will discuss a topic that is slightly less important than emergency drinking water — food ! I say less important because in a purely academic sense you can go many days without eating . There are several problems though , if you were to think that you could rely on that alone to get you through . The first issue is that as you skip meals , your brain is not getting the fuel it needs ; this leads to bad decisions or mistakes . After a disaster you will absolutely want to be clear-headed . The second major issue is morale . If you must skip a couple of meals , and don ’ t know where or when you ’ ll get your next one , it is easy to get discouraged and become hopeless . This is never a good place to make critical decisions from . Then there are the immediate health impacts on people with complicating medical conditions ( I ’ m looking at you , diabetics !).

With this in mind the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oregon Emergency Management both recommend having an emergency supply of food in the home that can sustain the household for two weeks . This does not need to be exotic camping foods or special long-term storage foods . Don ’ t get me wrong ; those are great

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benefit the teachers and students in the performing arts programs at Wilsonville and Canby High Schools .

Charbonneau Food Drive : The Wilsonville Community Sharing / Food Bank would love your help . Collections will be on May 24 , from 8:30 a . m . to 1 p . m ., in the Activity Center . They are in need of cereal , shampoo , deodorant , liquid dish soap and toilet paper . Items collected will help those who are experiencing some difficulties and could really use your help . Monetary donations are always welcome and will help to fill in ideas . Just make sure that you have tasted it before you store it away and know what you are in for . It makes no sense to store a bunch of food , and then find out , during an emergency , that you can ’ t stand to eat it .

If this is your first step into storing emergency food , concentrate on the two-week goal . This is easily accomplished with what I call a “ deep pantry , or simply having more of what you already eat on hand . Focus your effort on dry staples and canned / jarred goods . If you ’ ve ever lived in “ blizzard country ,” I suspect you know all about this .

Foods I like to stock are dry fruits and nuts , boxed cereal or oatmeal , rice and instant mashed potatoes , canned meats like chicken , tuna & roast beef ( SPAM if that ’ s your thing !), instant pancake mix , peanut butter and jelly , powdered , canned or shelf stable milk , crackers , flour tortillas ( last well in the freezer and don ’ t take up much space ), canned Boston brown bread and coffee !

Additionally , my family and I enjoy backpacking , so when I shop for a trip I always buy extra Mountain House meals and add them to our emergency stash ( 30-year shelf life ).

There is an often-cited statistic that the average American has less than three days of food in the house . I never believed it until Super Storm Sandy . I saw very put together people in expensive clothes digging through dumpsters for food on the second day . With almost no effort , those people could have had an emergency store of food and prevented that situation . No matter how you do it , or what you like to stock , have 14 days of food on hand for the household . If you have questions or want to discuss preparing for disasters , you can stop by the office or email me at neil @ charbonneaucountryclub . com .

for the items that are short and needed . Checks can be made out to Wilsonville Community Sharing . Any amount is welcome and appreciated .

New / newer Charbonneau resident Meet & Greet : New or relatively new Charbonneau residents are invited to attend a Meet & Greet meeting hosted by board member Mary Fieweger . You will love meeting Mary and her guests , who will help to inform you about Charbonneau , our website , our Facebook , the Villager and our facilities . While meeting , you can enjoy coffee and some of Mary ’ s delicious goodies . The meeting is held at the Activity Center in the Hazel Glade room , on Friday , May 26 from 10-11 a . m .

HOW CLOSE IS SPRINGRIDGE ?

YOU CAN ALMOST REACH IT IN TWO .

Okay , that ’ s a bit of an exaggeration . But SpringRidge is still tantalizingly close to the Charbonneau Golf Club . It ’ s just 704 yards away — a dogleg left , if you will .

It is a great place to live for golfers and non-golfers alike , surrounded by the tree-lined beauty of the Charbonneau District . Oh , let ’ s not forget FREE GOLF IS INCLUDED ! And with the community ’ s spectacular views and amenities straight out of a resort , you can bet your 5-iron it ’ ll feel like home .

We invite you to see for yourself . To schedule your complimentary lunch and tour , please call 503.694.9738 .

SPRINGRIDGE AT CHARBONNEAU

SpringRidgeAtCharbonneau . com • 503.694.9738

An SRG Senior Living Community