Establish Your Emergency Kitchen Location
After Hurricane Harvey, when thousands of flooded homes were gutted out down to the wall studs, many families chose to live on the second floors of their homes. For months, they made do with simple emergency kitchen setups. Many thousands more spent the duration in hotels, putting up with the daily hotel breakfast, the room’s electric coffee pot, and a mini-fridge.If your kitchen is damaged, has no power, or is otherwise inaccessible, you must first designate an area for your emergency kitchen. If your home is safe enough and has power and water, then the kitchen can be in any other part of the house that is still livable.
An outdoor kitchen can be set up in the garage or on the patio, where you might already have a grill. In some parts of the world, this is called a “summer kitchen,” which makes it sound exotic! This setup works even without power if you have a water source. With some basic plumbing skills, you can set up an inexpensive utility sink, which gives you a handy station for dishwashing and laundry. Add a table for meal prep and another one for dining to complete your outdoor kitchen.
If you have no choice but to stay in a hotel, that’s not a bad option since you’ll have power, water, and likely a mini-fridge in your room. Hotels are used to accommodating refugees from disasters of all kinds, and many have small appliances such as blenders and toasters to loan out. Choose a hotel with a daily breakfast, and that will be one less meal to worry about, and you’ll be able to use the lobby or breakfast area as a dining room.
Cooking Your Meals
Once you have a designated kitchen area, one of your first tasks will be to decide how you’ll do the actual cooking.
If the power is out, then an outdoor grill or a camping stove is ideal. Make sure you have plenty of fuel, as it will be in high demand and short supply. This is where a solar oven, such as a Sun Oven, comes in handy. As long as there is enough sunshine for the solar oven to cast a shadow, it will be hot enough to cook a meal. The beauty of a solar oven is that it requires no fuel and emits no smoke or fumes.
Another option for power-outage cooking is a small electrical appliance and a power bank, such as those made by Jackery and Goal Zero. Before buying either, though, make sure the size of the power bank provides enough wattage for the appliance. For example, a Goal Zero Yeti 1500X can store 1516 watt-hours worth of energy. A solar panel setup will help keep the power bank charged if there is no other power source. Remember that it may take more than 12 hours to charge the power bank, depending on the method of charging: solar panels, a car battery, or an electric outlet.
Emergency kitchen cooking is much easier when power is available. Now, even though you may be cooking out on the patio or in the upstairs master bedroom, you have your choice of small appliances. The Instant Pot, an electric skillet, a rice cooker, a toaster oven, and an air fryer will make meal preparation so much easier and provide lots of meal options.
Whichever appliances you choose, be creative in their use. For example, an electric griddle can cook quesadillas, fry eggs, grill fish, and cook up French toast. The electric skillet can do all of that, but with its deeper sides and lid, it can also cook meatloaf, fried chicken, and even cornbread. A rice cooker can make hard-boiled eggs, bake a cake, and steam veggies.
Basic Kitchen Supplies and Tools
Make your life easier by equipping your emergency kitchen with only the most necessary supplies. Have a large trash container handy, along with plenty of plastic trash bags, and use paper or plastic utensils, cups, bowls, and plates to minimize the need to wash dishes.A heavy-duty cooler can act as a temporary refrigerator for short-term food storage, and plastic bins of different sizes will help keep your food and supplies organized.
Other must-have kitchen tools are a can opener, measuring cups and spoons, a cutting board, spatulas, a small colander, large serving spoons, and sharp knives in different sizes. If you have access to a stovetop or will have a hot plate, then add a non-stick skillet and a saucepan or two with lids.
Aluminum foil, food storage bags, and containers will all come in handy too.
Adapt this list to the cooking method you’ll be using. For example, thin metal cooking pots work best for a solar oven, and cast iron skillets and pots are perfect for using over a campfire.
Best Meal and Food Choices
A smart strategy is to plan on making small meals to minimize leftovers and shop for groceries every two or three days. Your storage space will be limited, and with only a mini-fridge or cooler to keep food cool, you must be judicious about what you purchase and prepare.Canned foods are an excellent choice for emergency kitchen meals since they can be stored at room temperature and are ready to eat. In a big enough emergency and if you’re hungry enough, ravioli can be eaten straight from the can.
A lot of grocery stores sell fresh meal kits, and although they can be pricey, they’ll also give you the option of having a meal made from fresh ingredients without having to do any prep. Warm them up in a HotLogic, solar oven, toaster oven, or microwave—there are plenty of ways to enjoy that meal!
Freeze-dried meals and pouches of soup mixes from companies such as Bear Creek are made by just adding hot water for a perfect hearty and healthy meal.
Include salt, pepper, and the spices and seasonings you use most often, and buy the smallest containers possible.
Plan on making just one actual meal per day and then having sandwich fixings, fruit, and snacks on hand to keep tummies filled. Leftovers can present a problem if your refrigerator space is limited, so prepare only what you’ll need or plan on sharing with others in the same predicament.
When You Need a No-Cook Day
A crisis or disaster that drives you out of your home or destroys much of it will be stressful enough even if you don’t have to worry about providing meals three times a day. Go easy on yourself and schedule takeout and meals at your favorite restaurants.Connect with local Facebook groups and NextDoor.com to discover where free groceries and meals are available. Churches, community groups, local businesses, and relief organizations all pitch in to help people through difficult times, and often that includes free, hot meals.
Disaster recovery is never quick or easy. Some basic tools, supplies, and a plan for quick, nutritious meals can help alleviate the stress of mealtime prep when your life is disrupted.
