When would you run out of food if you couldn't leave your house? (grills, bbq)

[Gunluvver2]

At least two months but I sure would be sick of rice, chicken and things like canned veggies and Peanut Butter.

[ebbe]

If you aren't going for a balanced meal, I could get by for at least 3 weeks I think.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Retriever

=And...more to the point...do those folks really think that a snow storm--even one of blizzard proportions--would make it impossible to get to a store within a day or...at the most...two days?

I live within walking distance of a grocery store, but say I didn't.

The snow ended Saturday evening. My street still hasn't seen a plow, 48 hours later. I've been told not to expect to see a plow until Wednesday at the earliest, because the city is concentrating clearing the main streets.

So, if you figure that I did my shopping on Friday afternoon, and won't be able to get back into my car until sometime Wednesday if I'm lucky, that's five or six days I'll have been stuck at home without a car.

I live in a small city of 33,000, not out in the middle of nowhere.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

I live within walking distance of a grocery store, but say I didn't.

The snow ended Saturday evening. My street still hasn't seen a plow, 48 hours later. I've been told not to expect to see a plow until Wednesday at the earliest, because the city is concentrating clearing the main streets.

So, if you figure that I did my shopping on Friday afternoon, and won't be able to get back into my car until sometime Wednesday if I'm lucky, that's five or six days I'll have been stuck at home without a car.

I live in a small city of 33,000, not out in the middle of nowhere.

You clearly need to start making noise at the next City Council meeting, when they open up the session for public questions. I know that, if my municipality or my county delivered services as bad as what you are reporting, I would make my dissatisfaction known--loud and clear.

Late on Saturday night, a few hours after the storm ended, I had to drive a couple of towns over from where I live in order to come to the assistance of a friend who had locked himself out of his house (I have his spare key). The streets in my development weren't great, but they were passable because the city plows had been making period passes throughout the storm.

Then, I got to the main roads, which were better. Again, not great, but definitely manageable for anyone with decent tires.

Within a few minutes, I was on one of the roads maintained by the county road department. This road had been plowed from curb to curb, and had been salted. I was finally able to drive at a near-normal speed.

Then, I got on the interstate, which is maintained by the state highway department. Although only 2 of the 3 lanes had been cleared, those two lanes were totally cleared of snow and ice and I was able to drive at highway speeds.

Then, I exited from the interstate, and entered my friend's town, where one would think that snowplows were a very rare commodity. I would estimate that his town had sent plows down the main roads no more than twice during the storm, and not at all in the hours following the storm. However, with the aid of AWD, Traction Control, good tires, and good driving skills, I was able to get to his house through the deep snow, and open his door for him.

So...to make a long story a bit briefer, there can be a substantial difference between the way that one governmental entity deals with snow and how a different governmental entity deals with those conditions. If yours is one of the ones that essentially ignores their responsibility to the citizenry, then you need to get to the next City Council meeting, and to speak up.

I know that if my municipality delivered the crappy services that your municipality does, I would be VERY vocal regarding the safety hazards to which they are exposing the citizenry.

[lister]

We were just talking about this at dinner and I went and surveyed our pantry and upright freezer. We could probably last 4 months on the food we have in the house, longer if we worked on rationing it. I grew up hearing my mother's stories of growing up without much food and fleeing from invaders during World War II.

[fitzy24]

Originally Posted by I love boots.

I'm asking this because of the storm in the east that has people rushing to get food. The news telling them to have enough for a week or two. So, it looks as though a lot of people don't normally keep food in their house. There are three of us and I think we would be OK for longer than two weeks. And that's normal for me.

I think they go out and buy food that they are running low on or don't have in their home at the moment. For example, they may have a half loaf of bread or a half dozen of eggs or a half gallon of milk. Extra stuff can be frozen and thawed out later. In places that anticipate hurricanes, buying canned goods is the goal (no electricity), ice and water.

[Sarahsez]

I think we could last at least 2-3 months. I don't know why, but I am a food hoarder. I keep a lot of dry goods like powdered milk, instant potatoes, rice, flour, sugar, yeast, etc., and I have all kinds of canned goods, and canned meat including chicken, beef, tuna, and ham. We could keep it interesting for a while.

We've been without power for as long as four days in an ice storm. You might be able to keep frozen goods if you keep the door closed, but most people throw the stuff out. The ice may only last for a day or so and melt. It's nasty outside, but too warm to keep the food cold.

[rodentraiser]

One fridge, one freezer (in the fridge) and one cupboard. I have enough food to last till the 14th or 15th of February. By about that time, I would have eaten everything in my kitchen. That means I have at least 40 meals in the house, enough for two meals a day. I have a friend who gets very upset because sometimes I don't shop till everything is eaten, but I'm trying to change that. So I'll probably go to the store on the 10th or so.

[rugrats2001]

Let's see, about 250 16.9 oz bottles of Costco drinking water, 19 cases of 18 count protein drinks each with 30 grams of protein, about 1000 multivitamins with iron, a stocked pantry and about 23 cubic feet of frozen foods, I would guess about 4 months with no inputs from the outside world in cold weather, far longer if I rationed calories from the beginning. Sure I'd lose a few pounds, but that's just a bonus.

The biggest problem would be stretching out my blood pressure medications...

[TerraDown]

Technically, never. We have been doing sustainable gardening for many years, and although it would be vegetarian, we have fruit, nut trees, and vegetable beds going year round. But for meat, about 6 months. For rice, 2 years. Beans are great protein replacements for meat.

Note where I live.