JennyC:

A poll on who stocks, and how much, might be very interesting

I agree with Pat..get one started!

 If you still have problems with it, email me at pat@stretcher.com and maybe I can help. 

Lynnea Berr:

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but there is a DS blog

 I had not noticed that one. Thanks for adding it here.

I agree with those who say that list is a good start, but maybe not realistic for some. I live in an apartment and have limited storage space, but I think I might make a little list for myself... especially with winter well on its way, and the likelihood of being snowed in and power lines snapping.

I'd replace things with... Canned tomatoes, dried beans, pasta, peanut butter, pickles, canned corn, cereal or granola, oatmeal, coffee. I'll also think about non-food things, like toilet paper and paper towels. 

Does anyone know of a regular grocery store that carries whole powdered eggs? 

I've not seen powdered eggs in any retail store around here, but a friend has gotten some at a camping-type store.  We've ordered them online before and need to again.  They're very good when you first open the can, but after awhile, they start to turn a little off-color and lose their fresh taste.  Next time, I'm going to try to order them in smaller containers...Liz

Mason jars and lids.  Vinegar, because you can pickle without salt, but you will need it for the beans and starches.  Dried beans and canned beans.  Canned greens and carrots, for nutritive value. Oatmeal, quick grits, and rice.  Cooking oil or non-stick spray.  Plenty of tomatoes, canned with mild green chiles if you like them, and, like the fruits, fortified with Vitamin C.  I personally love cracked wheat or bulgur, but it's mostly calories and not much vitamins.  Calcium citrate pills, because powdered milk always tastes toxic. Any canned meat, and jerky-homemade or bought- to flavor the beans.  Vitamin pills, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and anti-bacterial detergent, since living with a water shortage and in close quarters will breed bacteria. Free plastic buckets and lids from the grocery deli or from the school cafeteria. I have lived through an extended period of unemployment, part-time wages, and full-time bills (and have had utilities cut off).  My extremely large supply of home-canned fruits and pickles--in the city, from free fruit and farmers' markets-- sales on canned beans,and markdown meats, and a local spring saved my hiney.  Know where springs are located, but recognize that you might not have gas to get there.  A well, cistern, or a five-gallon bucket or several under the roof overhang for bath and cleaning water, cut with a smidgen of chlorine bleach.  Wait five minutes for the bird droppings to wash off the roof, then put the buckets out.  Try not to have to drink this water.  All bets are off in a drought. 

I would also add, have several extra blankets or better yet, cheap sleeping bags, packed first into Space Bags and then into airtight plastic totes to prevent mildew, dust mites, and decompression. 

 I store the powdered eggs in a plastic container in the freezer. Babs

littlepitcher:

Calcium citrate pills, because powdered milk always tastes toxic.

I had trouble with powdered milk until my husband told me to make it in the blender - just a little pulse takes care of it. It'll make a small head of foam which doesn't reconstitute, but I skim that off and give it to our critters. I also store the milk in glass jar instead of in plastic pitchers, which makes a huge difference in the taste. I bought borscht in beautiful quart bottles some time ago, and now use those for our milk. Of course, if we're talking about severe troubles, we probably won't have the electricity to run a blender, but for normal times, it works beautifully for us.

Are you recommending calcium citrate pills for yourself instead of milk, for nutritional value? Or do you powder and add the pills to the milk?

JennyC:

I just put in the powdered milk and the water, screw on the top, and shake the heck out of it.   I get a big head of foam, too -- I wonder if that might be a way to replicate your blender method without power?

Either that or use a whisk or hand held egg beater in it.