I have no doubt we will be better able to contain or slow the spread of the disease than the impoverished countries in Africa where people are dropping like flies. But the fact is none of us know how bad things will get.
I don't stockpile food in the way that survivalists do. But I do buy large quantities of regular food items when they are on sale: Ragu for 99 cents, pasta for 50 cents a pound, cheese for $3.00 per pound, sugar at 25 cents per pound, and so forth. The photo above shows items that I've purchased at very deep discount -- half to two-thirds off. For example, I've got about 60 bottles of Ragu, 50 pounds of pasta, 80 pounds of sugar, and so on. If disaster strikes I'll have a little something to eat. If not, I'll save on our grocery bill.
Ash wanted to know why I had the Hefty storage bags in the photo. "You can't eat Hefty bags," he declared. And indeed you can't. But they are great for food storage, which is part of ensuring enough to eat. Several years ago, while still living in Kentucky, I was able to find Hefty storage bags on sale for $1.50 with 50-cent coupons attached to the boxes. The coupons were doubled, bringing the per-box price down to 50 cents. I bought 50 or 60 boxes, and in fact just this year found myself running out of some sizes.
We probably won't have a massive ebola epidemic; neither the sun nor a nuclear bomb is likely to cause an electro-magnitic pulse; we aren't likely to have a massive earthquake. But in a world where bad things might happen it's better to have food and not need it than to need food and not have it.
I make a point of not spending "extra" on survival food; I just buy lots of stuff on sale. But given that ebola has now made landfall I'm likely to buy a little powdered or shelf-stable milk, a little extra cooking oil, and so on.
Beat the rush -- stock up on non-perishable groceries now; because if disaster strikes food will not be available. As they warn at the dog track, "Don't be shut out."
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