How prepared are you for a natural disaster?
Do you have an emergency food supply set aside in case disaster strikes?
I know I am not as prepared as I should be, especially for living in a country prone to natural disasters—Japan.
This summer alone, I experienced heavy rain, an earthquake, a heat wave, and a typhoon. After each natural disaster hit, I was arrogantly unphased by the event and unconcerned about my own safety. That was until Typhoon Jebi hit on September 4th of this year. The typhoon came through quickly and hit hard, with strong winds that left me without power. I found myself cooking dinner with a gas stove out on my balcony, under a small light I removed from my bike, throwing all the ingredients I thought would go bad into a pot of boiling water. Other than the food already in my fridge, I had no emergency food supply set aside for such a situation. Luckily enough, my power returned the next morning and my fridge kept most produce inside fresh. From this experience, however, I knew I needed to be more prepared for next natural disaster.
Last Sunday, INTERNASHOKUNAL hosted a workshop called The World of Emergency Food You Don’t Know. The event was aimed at teaching participants about emergency food practices, such as rolling stock, and offered the chance to try various emergency foods. Participants examined emergency foods for their taste, how easy they are to prepare and eat, package design, and value. Taste testing a variety of samples, from freeze dried rice and curry to canned bread and rice cookies. In the end, data was collected to create a database that could be used in the future to provide a better understanding of emergency foods on the market.
The event was a huge success and now INTERNASHOKUNAL is looking to do it again. If you live in Japan and find yourself unsure of how to prepare an emergency food supply or are unsure of what emergency foods you should buy, please let us know! Give us your feedback and show your interest! We are looking to hold another Emergency Food Workshop to give you the opportunity to learn more about the world of emergency food.
