Residents stock pantries to prepare for pandemic

MERIDIAN, Idaho – Twenty-one hundred pounds of wheat are carefully stored in Diane Anderson’s pantry, along with hundreds of pounds of canned fruit, salt, legumes, herbs and toilet paper.

Anderson isn’t running a food bank or a shelter. She’s a member of the Mormon church and an adherent to belief that church members should be prepared with live-saving food and water in case of disaster.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls the practice “provident living.” In the wake of hurricanes and other natural disasters – and the possibility of a bird flu epidemic – provident living is getting more attention.

“When it hits, we’ll have a couple of weeks to get ready and that’s it,” said Vaughn Killeen, the head of the Red Cross of Greater Idaho – an organization charged by the federal government with handling shelter, food and care in times of disaster.

In the case of a bird flu pandemic, shelters would likely be avoided because of the risk of spreading disease. The donations that pay for such operations would also dwindle during a pandemic because the entire nation would be struggling within a matter of weeks, Killeen said.

A pandemic could cripple the nation’s transportation system, as the illness strikes drivers, pilots and train conductors. That means medications and food could be hard to come by, he said.

“Most of Idaho only runs a backlog of about three days’ worth of food in their grocery stores because we don’t have any warehouses. If you don’t have shipments backing that up, you could potentially have problems,” Killeen said.

The federal government has recommended that people keep water and extra food on hand in case of a pandemic. Mike Leavitt, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said during a recent summit on pandemic flu that people should consider storing powdered milk and canned tuna fish under their beds, just in case.

The Red Cross is considering publishing pamphlets in several languages to tell Idaho residents what they can do to prepare for a disaster.

State officials are taking similar measures.

“Everyone should try to prepare,” said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “They’ll need extra food, water and medical supplies for people who will be sick with the flu.”

But Anderson, a Meridian resident, is ready.

“It’s just very basic things that will save your life in the event of a disaster,” Anderson said. “Instead of buying two cans of green beans, you can buy three or four cans and put away the extra. After a few months, it’s surprising how much you can stock up.”

Anderson, who lives in a large house on several acres with a fruit orchard, a garden and a milk cow, acknowledges that not everyone is able to save up as many supplies as she has. At one end of her living room sits an antique stove that can burn either coal or wood and is suitable for both cooking and providing heat. In her two large pantries, bottles, cans and containers filled with everything from dried lavender – good for bruises – to powdered cocoa – a quick nutrition source – line the shelves.

“It’s a lot easier to do this within the church because we do workshops and have little classes on it,” Anderson said. “But people are really busy, and unless there’s an emergency they see as close to home, they don’t really respond.”

Preparedness isn’t just about the food, Anderson said.

It’s storing up on alternate energy and light sources – candles, flashlights with fresh batteries – and being out of debt so that if someone can’t work for a time, they don’t lose their house or car.

As more agencies begin recommending that people stock up on food and water in case of emergencies, Anderson anticipates that Mormon church members will get calls from friends seeking advice.

“If you have a neighbor that’s done it, then you ask them about it over the fence. It’s definitely a neighbor-to-neighbor thing. As more people learn about it, it will generate excitement,” she said.