Fresh, Frozen or 'Frigerated?

When the apocalypse hits, and the power goes out, it won't just be lights you'll be missing: it'll be ice cream too. 

The brutal truth is that our modern world relies almost entirely on the miracle of refrigeration for our food storage. Dairy products, meats, fruits, vegetables and even some grains are stored frozen or just refrigerated in many a modern household. So what happens when the power goes out. 

For many folks, a power outage means a panicked trip to the local Home Depot in search of a generator. For others, they already have one. But what will you do when the power fails?

A good disaster shelter should be stocked with plenty of canned foods and maybe some often-rotate powdered ones as well. But what about a freezer?

You could stock your freezer with plenty of stuff that could last days without power. For one, modern freezers often act like coolers, keeping out heat while protecting their contents. Loaves of bread, meats, and cheeses could be stored in a freezer, stretching their lifespan out several days in emergencies. But can you really eat that much chilled chow?

Refrigerators are in every home, and most are at least partially filled when owned by families. Even if you do consume all your milk and dairy before it goes bad, don't forget that the refrigerator is, even without power, a giant breadbox. You can get several more days out of your loaves just by keeping them in these air-tight containers. 

The food product though that is going to go bad the fastest is also the one you should worry the least about: fresh food. Fresh food probably wasn't stored anywhere that required power before disaster struck. It was going to go bad regardless of any armageddon. You were going to eat it within the next few days. So why change that?