Rationing is part and parcel of any crisis. Regardless of which country you are in, when there’s a natural disaster or a crisis and access to food and water is limited, the authorities will ration the supplies.
It could be food, water, medicine, etc. Usually, the items being rationed will be the absolute necessities that everyone needs to have. By rationing the supplies, they’re ensuring that everyone survives until the situation can be stabilized.
When you’re at home, you need to ration your food and water too. This is crucial. If everyone in the family helps themselves to whatever they want, supplies that were supposed to last for 5 days might be all gone in 3 days.
You’ll be up the proverbial creek without a paddle if the supplies that you’ve painstakingly squirreled away get used up and/or wasted because of a lax approach and complacency.
There must be a system to ensure that the supplies tide the family over till the crisis ends. In this article, you’ll be given a few pointers to take note of when rationing. Adhere to them closely.
- Have a record book
When you planned for a crisis, you may have decided that each person gets 3 gallons of water a day. Ensure that each person gets their share and not more. Conserving and rationing water is the most important task.
This is especially true in a draught when you have no idea how long it will last. Keep a record book to track the rations. It’ll be easier to know which foods will expire when and how soon you should consume them.
- Plan your portions
During a crisis, the power often will go out. If you’re cooking for the family, in most cases you’ll not be able to store the leftovers in a refrigerator because there is no electricity. So, you’ll need to cook enough to feed everyone and yet, not have wastage.
Do note that in most cases there will be no equal division of portions. The math isn’t that simple. The adults will need more food while the kids need less. So, if you have a family of four, just dividing the portions by four is not going to cut it.
There will be some trial and error as you figure out just how much to prepare. Use your record book to keep track of the food consumption and if there is wastage.
In an ideal situation, you’d have figured out these things in advance and have it all noted down. It’s always best to prepare before crisis strikes.
- Buy whatever you can get your hands on
During a crisis, when everyone is rushing to the mall to grab supplies, you should do so too. It doesn’t matter if you already have supplies in your basement. You should still grab whatever you can, especially bottles of water.
Since it’s a crisis, even if you have no space in your basement, you can place all the extra supplies that you purchase in your living room, bedrooms, etc. What matters is that you have enough food and water to survive. A messy home can always be sorted out later.
Follow these tips and your food and water supplies will last as long as possible. Do not rely on the authorities to help you in time. Very often, roads are blocked, and supply lines get disrupted.
In many cases, human error and incompetence leads to delays and aid gets hampered from reaching the needy quickly. Rely on yourself and your own resources and rationing to stay the course until the situation improves.