Saturday, October 4, 2008

Results of the First CNI Poll--Food Preps

The first poll went well. It kind of gave a snapshot of how people are preparing, at least by having food stored for a disaster, and I think the results may just mirror how prepared our larger society is. Here's the results and some commentary:

The Question: How much food do you have put aside for a disaster?

Answer #1--Enough to get by until payday. 17 votes
Answer #2--Enough to cover one month of meals. 45 votes
Answer #3--Enough for six months and increasing. 31 votes
Answer #4--Enough for a year or more. 3 votes

This data looks pretty much, I think, like how prepared people are in general. You see quite a few people chose number one which should not be too surprising judging by the huge increase in need that food banks have seen in the last year. People don't have enough food to make it from paycheck to paycheck and are therefore relying on food banks to help them make it until the next payday. The scary part about this is that during a disaster, food banks won't be available so it is imperative to build up some type of food stores, even if you need to sell whatever spare stuff is on hand on Craigslist and buy a huge bag of rice and a huge bag of beans. At least you would have something to eat for a week or so until help arrives.
Having a month of food stored was the most popular answer. This is great. It is much more than the government's recommendation to have three day's worth of food available and can give a family something to fall back on during a job layoff, illness, windstorm, or other short-term disaster.
Having six month's worth of food stored was the second most popular answer. It is reassuring that so many people, slightly less than 25%, are prepared to this extent.
Finally the hard-core survivalists who could sustain themselves and their families by having a year's worth or more food on hand were only three. I think this reflects general society where there will only be a handful of ultra-prepared people who will be able to take care of the majority of their needs without outside assistance.
Thanks for participating!

1 comment:

  1. Holy Moly, Code- you had 96 answer the poll and less than 3% are ready for a year or more. Less than one third are ready for six months.Together, those two groups don't make a third. I think your poll, and observation, are very indicative of what the 'rest' of the world is doing: seeing all the warnings and ignoring them. Damn, that is frightening. To think so many reading survival blogs and ignoring the warnings is ominous in its telling. Damn, we're going to be in for a very hard time WTHSH!
    (Color me 'Anonymouse Yellow' for now- gonna start hiding in the bushes.)

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