Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

What should I squirrel away in a winter emergency food box?

31 replies

Wandathewindfairy · 15/10/2014 10:10

I live in a fairly rural location. If it snows, which is rare as we are v close to the sea, we are quite stuck halfway up a hill. There are no motorways nearby so I suppose if it is really bad there would be a chance of stuff being delivered to the local shops anyway.

We only moved here a year or so ago, but now I understand my husbands obsession with stocking up for the winter. (I had thought he might be a secret doomsday prepper)

So what would you put Your emergency stocks box. I have got so far as a bottle of wine, some washing up liquid and some uht milk and now my brain has gone to mush.

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 15/10/2014 10:13

I suppose a good selection of dried foods, long-life stuff and tins would be in order. Pulses, rice, pasta, tins of ham, milk powder etc. If the power went out could you still cook?

Patilla · 15/10/2014 10:14

Bottle of wine

Patilla · 15/10/2014 10:17

Ah see the wine in already in there.

Part baked bread can have good dates on it if you look carefully. Or ingredients to make bread. Or loaf in freezer.

Patilla · 15/10/2014 10:17

Chocolate?

YouAreMyRain · 15/10/2014 10:19

Powdered mash. Tinned hotdogs/chilli/meatballs. Long life/part baked bread rolls. Toilet rolls. Bottled water (in case your pipes freeze! I have memories of my mum desperately making a cup of tea with the rubbery water out of her hot water bottle one winter)

YeGodsAndLittleFishes · 15/10/2014 10:31

I wouldnt keep a separate box, just make sure I keep up stocks of:
Chocolate
Tins of tuna
Bag of wholemeal pasta
bag of wholmeal rice
tins of tomato
dried herbs

However, when we lived rurally we often had power cuts and at one stage ran out of fuel. So then I kept camping cooker and BBQ things handy, and pans to use to boil water etc. With this, also had food that was pre-packed and very quick to heat up. Pouches of good quality bolognese, pouches of rice and pre-cooked wholegrains. Noodles. Tins of soup.

Also, potatoes keep for ages in the dark and one of those huge thick paper bags lasts us for a winter.

YeGodsAndLittleFishes · 15/10/2014 10:33

Yes, and water, loo rolls. Clean tea towels and spare undies/set of clothes.

ClashCityRocker · 15/10/2014 10:34

Fray bentos pies.

BiddyPop · 15/10/2014 11:06

Matches, candles, batteries, battery or wind up radio, torches, pack of cards, flask, hot water bottles.

Powdered milk, sugar, hot chocolate powder, teabags, instant coffee (ok, maybe grounds if you have a plunger but instant uses less water and is easier in adverse conditions).

Pasta, rice, noodles, gnocchi (long life packs), powdered mash - enough carbs for dinners for say 4 days of the type that your family likes.

Part baked bread is a good idea, or tortilla wraps, long life bagels or pitta breads, crackers etc. I also bake, so have flour and other necessary ingredients available and can make bread or scones, some buns or biscuits. Or whip up some pancakes.

Tins of things like baked beans or spaghetti hoops, tinned or packet soups, tuna, sardines, etc. Easy to heat or just eat cold things that you would have for lunches or snacky meals.

A couple of jars of pasta or curry sauces, maybe a pour-over sauce for meat in the oven, etc. Again, you're trying to have about 4 days' worth of dinners that can be cooked easily if you can't get fresh and also potentially have lost your main cooking facilities (especially if electric).

Dried fruit - it's good to snack on and has plenty of calories but lasts a very long time. Raisins or sultanas are nice as snacks or in scones, apricots and mango are both nice to snack on, and Lidl do a bag of mixed fruits including pear halves that is nice too.

Some biscuits, and definitely some chocolate and some boiled sweets. As much to replace energy fast if needed, and comfort foods. And can be eaten cold. A few cereal or energy type bars. A box of cereal. Jam, marmalade, nutella or honey for bread/toast (according to family preference).

Cans of soft drinks, a bottle of squash to dilute (can use hot water), yes wine/beer, a few bottles of water (and a few containers to put water into if frozen pipes are threatened).

Toilet rolls and washup liquid (you may already washup daily, but some I know only ever use the dishwasher).

First aid supplies - band aids etc, pain killers, cough/cold/flu rememdies, and ones for upset tummies/guts. And a few spare days of any vital prescriptions the family uses (or just refill when bad weather is threatened - there's usually enough warning).

I also have plenty of hats, gloves and scarves around the place (I have multiple pairs for DD as once it snows, she spends a fair bit of time outdoors and comes in with wet gloves, but wants to go out again as soon as she's warmed up). I also have wellies and rubber trousers for her generally, and we all have decent outdoor gear, that gets well used in snow (like you, near the sea so it's rare, but even though suburbia, lots of locals here were badly caught out a few years ago!). And fleecy blankets to throw over ourselves.

We also keep plenty of board games, books and dvds etc, which can occupy us whether we have power or not (we have a DVD player for the car that can play maybe 2 movies when fully charged). (Charge up all chargeable devices when snow or bad weather potentially threatening power supplies is forecast).

And we do also have a closed stove to have a fire in - do you have alternative heating and cooking options? Make sure you have fuel for the fire. Do you have a gas cooker or rings already, or a solid fuel range? Or a camping stove or the 2 ring cookers that they used to use in bedsits? We have a dual fuel cooker (gas rings, electric oven) - but we also have the option of wrapping up warm and cooking on the BBQ outdoors if we really have to. (And we have a traditional BBQ on the Green in front of our street on the first snowy Saturday in any winter - we have mad French neighbours who instigated it, and about 3 family BBQs come out and everyone brings what they have in their fridges, followed by hot wine!!).

BirdintheWings · 15/10/2014 11:11

Wow, Biddy. That's less 'emergency food box' and more 'emergency entire house'!

PigletJohn · 15/10/2014 11:16

wind-up torches/lanterns are an extremely good idea, also for the car. Batteries in portable radios usually last for weeks (except DAB).

Camping stoves may be unsafe inside a house. Some multifuel stoves have a ring you can simmer a kettle or porridge on.

If no electricity, only a Plain Old Telephone (not cordless) that needs no power, will work, plugged into a landline wall socket.

Central heating boilers and pumps will not work without electricity. It is possible to use a battery-operated inverter to keep a gas boiler going, this is safer than a generator. Boilers use very little power. This will vastly improve your winter comfort.

GooseyLoosey · 15/10/2014 11:21

We have a lot of power cuts too so I have lots of candles, matches, torch, camping stove and tinned soup, logs for stove, hot chocolate that tastes nice made with water and cereal bars.

YeGodsAndLittleFishes · 15/10/2014 11:44

Wanda do you have mains gas to your home? If not, and if there is a chance you might be with electricity and without fuel, I found an urn was pretty useful for hot drinks/noodles/water for warming up foods.

You might not need salt where you live, but you might park somewhere and then need to dig the car out. A fold up shovel and bag of rock salt in the car can help.

DH used an old piece of carpet I used to protect the boot, under his wheels to gain traction and get out of an icy place he was stuck. Saved calling out for help and he stopped moaning about my bit of carpet after that! Grin

Other things to consider for house:
Toiletries (e.g. tampons etc.)
Paper list of emergency and useful contact numbers and emails etc.
A few business cards in case you need to give out your details quickly.

PetiteRaleuse · 15/10/2014 12:06

Loads of great advice here. Just marking place really for ideas.

StuntNun · 15/10/2014 12:34

We've never been without power for more than two days but one thing we do is to make sure we're well stocked with fuel for the fire as it runs out quickly when you're relying on it for heat (our fireplace can heat the house). Do you have a big log store?

Rockdoctor · 15/10/2014 12:41

All good advice here.

The only thing I would add is make sure your emergency store is safe from mice (and rats if you have that sort of thing), so if you're keeping it in the dark recesses of the cupboard or (in our case) in the cellar then stick to tins, bottles, strong plastic boxes etc.

JamNan · 15/10/2014 13:55

Did anyone mention bottles of water?
firelighters?
A large kettle to put on an open fire?

Wandathewindfairy · 15/10/2014 15:02

There are some fab ideas here. I will sit down this evening and make do an online shop just for this I think.

We don't have mains gas but I have a gas hob which runs off gas bottles, so we have the hob as long as those last.

I had never thought about part baked bread before that is a fab idea.

Our emergency sore is in the garage, but think you are right rockdoctor we need to make sure is vermin free.

OP posts:
ThatBloodyWoman · 15/10/2014 15:08

We don't stash food.If the snow is too bad for cars dh gets his winter gear on and big rucksack and goes across country to the village.Trouble is sometimes the shops in the village run out of bread etc.
I do keep a powercut supply.Camping stove and cylinders, kettle, old style phone, wind up radio and lanterns, battery radio and lanterns, colemans lantern and cylinders, old fashioned hurricane lamps, candles and matches -and wood and firelighters for the fire.

ThatBloodyWoman · 15/10/2014 15:11

Apparently not long before we moved in, a power cut lasted several days.
We've been tgrough a few od around 24 hours.
Once we had both the water and electric off for separate reasons and had no gas anyway.
It felt like the dark ages -especially since I was about 36 weeks pregnant!

Clutterbugsmum · 15/10/2014 15:13

Our emergency sore is in the garage, can't see that being very useful Grin.

BiddyPop · 15/10/2014 15:40

I forgot a bottle of oil - as you may want to fry eggs, sausages, bacon, chops etc. if you only have a ring.

I don't necessarily have all that as a winter stash, I tend to keep well stocked cupboards anyway, and we are pretty adventure/outdoor types when we get the chance (but don't have camping gear). But I was both a girl guide and a scout (up to and including leader) at various points, and do plenty of preparedness stuff at work and at home in general. I also grew up in the countryside and we were occasionally without power (just storms knocking lines could put you off-grid for 2 days, and when I was in primary, there was a period where the country as a whole was not making enough electricity to meet demand and also there were a lot of strikes (1980s) so there were brownouts and blackouts then too), and also bad weather like snow meant a big run on the small local shop, so people tended to have some stocks put away for then.

I did my homework by paraffin lamp and candlelight many's the night!! And well know the feeling of boredom when there's no tv and DF won't change the radio from boring radio 1 (the equivalent in UK would be slightly less highbrow R4 - R1 here is not music but the main talking channel) but also won't let you go to another room to read in peace because of only heating 1 room and children cannot be trusted with naked flames combined terrors!

YeGodsAndLittleFishes · 15/10/2014 15:41

Squirrel and rat traps?

Wandathewindfairy · 15/10/2014 19:22

Fray Bentos pies. Yum.

We have two woodburners and a big log store, so heat wise we are ok. I am really low on candles though so must still up there.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 15/10/2014 21:13

I quite like the soft, slimy underlayer of pastry on a tinned pie, but is there a way of cooking them that avoids it?