Pandemic Prep…Friends and Neighbors
Last week we spoke about caring for our extended family. Hopefully, now you have a plan for their care and also a plan to help them prepare. This week we want to focus on our friends and neighbors. Let’s face it, many of them know we are storing food and that we are preparing for challenges ahead. I was listening to a radio show one day and the hosts were discussing the financial mess and natural disasters. they agreed they knew they should be preparing but they were not. One said she had a couple cases of water and the other said he had about a week’s supply of food. The thing that really got me was their final statement. I’ll just find a Mormon friend, they prepare. Hmmm… What would you do? We know not all Mormons are preparing and we know many of you are not Mormons but you understand the need to prepare and you are doing it. If your friends know you are preparing, guess where they will come when times get tough.
It’s time to get those we care about, outside of our extended family to not only hear our concerns but to prepare. Take some time to inform those around you and volunteer to help them get ready. You could send a letter to neighbors and friends and invite them to your home for an informational meeting. You could send or email information from the media and government sources about the continuing concern of a pandemic. You could start a food buying group and purchase case lots or large amounts of staples together. If you are LDS and have a cannery close by you could invite others to go to the cannery and can their own. I found when I went to the cannery I really got motivated by all that food and the thought that no matter what, my family wouldn’t go hungry. Give food storage as a gift. Give a preparedness book as a gift. Mother Hubbard & That won’t Happen to Me are available on disc and would make great Mother’s Day gifts (hint, hint) If you want 10 or more let me know and I’ll give you a discounted price.
But what if they don’t listen? You need to prepare to care for some of their needs. I can hear some of you saying “they are on their own”. I certainly understand that view but could you really do that? If you knew the neighbor’s children were sick and hungry could you really just ignore it?
What about civic unrest? When people are hungry and feeling desperate they do things they would never consider doing under normal circumstances. There have already been food riots in other countries, this year. One of the consequenses of increased government programs over the last few decades is that as a society we now expect others to meet our needs. Look at what happened after Katrina. We all saw the destruction. How could anyone expect the government to get in there with food, water, and shelter while they were trying to rescue those still trapped? But, they did expect it. During a pandemic there will be those who expect others to meet their needs. We must prepare to do that. If I have food to give it is much more likely that my neighbors will help me protect my home from those who would invade it.
I have prepared to share. I will not allow others into my home during a pandemic. They are welcome to share what I have but not inside my home, where they may expose my family to illness. I have stocked up on plastic zip type baggies in various sizes, foil, and foil baking pans. I will make food and even deliver it to those who are ill. I will drop it on the doorstep and when I am gone they can open the door and retrieve it. They can keep the containers. For those who are not ill I will share my food and I hope they know how to cook with rice, beans and wheat. One of the reasons I asked you to share recipes for our March Give Away was an effort for all of us to increase our stash of recipes.
Now is the time to develop a plan to help our friends and neighbors prepare. Create a plan and work the plan now.
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Over the years I have witnessed the kindness and generosity of many people. During a pandemic it may be that we will need to help and comfort children who are taking care of ill parents. In that case, when you deliver food, it would be a good idea to tell the child how much food to portion out to each family member–and tell them how much to try to give to their sick parents. Maybe our paper plates will best be used in this instance in preparing an individual plate for each family member. A child may not realize that extra food would need to be put in a cool place, so sending only what was needed would be better. Then food would need to be delivered constantly, which would be a comfort to the child, and neighbors would know how things were going and if more help was needed. Those of us who are already preparing might make up an easy to follow list for the children in our family and talk about this kind of problem. Have others already done this?
Jeanette,
Those are fabulous suggestions. I think as mothers we assume that we will be the one caring for our family, but that role very well could be easily be reversed. I’m adding more paper plates, foil pans, and plastic bags to my storage this week.
I think this is a very difficult subject to deal with, and may be doubly so when it becomes reality. There is a limit to how many people I can feed, but the moment my neighbor knows I have extra to share, the whole hungry community will be beating a path to my door. As with all preparedness planning, it’s hard to know how to prepare for the unknown. I live in a community where there are few LDS members and few people who know I am LDS. I feel a little guilty saying it, but in some ways I’d rather not ‘push’ preparedness to my neighbors–knowing they will likely NOT do anything to prepare themselves, but simply know “where to go” (MY house) when catastrophe strikes. Prudence and Prayer are essential in these trying times. I want to share, and I plan to share, but hope my family will be blessed, rather than be subject to dangerous circumstances as a result.