Stock food and water supplies in preparation for emergencies - Tifton Gazette

Posted: 19 Mar 2020 11:00 AM PDT

News of the coronavirus has many people feeling uneasy and helpless. Building a supply of emergency food and water will help ease some of the stress and help Georgians prepare for any kind of emergency, be it a medical quarantine, a snowstorm or a major power outage, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension experts say.

"Flash floods, tropical storms, blizzards, whatever the disaster — it pays to be prepared," said UGA Extension food safety specialist Elizabeth Andress. "Every family should have at least a three-day emergency food supply to fall back on. If you are concerned about virus quarantine, you should plan on a two-week supply according to our public health agencies."

Natural disasters, or the slim chance your family is quarantined by the coronavirus, will prevent you from shopping for supplies.

The size of your personal emergency food supply depends on the size of your family and home storage area. Select non-perishable foods that do not require refrigeration, little or no cooking, and little or no water for natural disasters. For quarantine, you can plan on having your utilities.

"Chances are, if you're in an emergency situation, you aren't going to have the luxuries of electricity and running water," Andress said.

Include ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables. Select containers that can be used in one meal or snack, since you most likely won't be able to refrigerate leftovers.

Add canned juices, soups and canned or powdered milk. Include bottled water for drinking and extra water for mixing powdered milk and diluting the soups. Supply enough fluids (milk, juice, water, etc.) so each family member has at least one gallon per day.

"A person who's normally active needs to drink at least two quarts of water each day, but hot environments can double that amount," she said.

Include staple foods, like sugar, salt and pepper, too, and high energy foods like peanut butter, jelly, granola bars and trail mix.

"Don't forget to throw in some comfort foods like cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals, and instant coffee and tea," Andress said.

When stocking your emergency supply, remember to include food items specifically for infants or elderly family members.

Don't forget to include a hand-operated can opener, scissors and a knife for opening foods in foil or plastic pouches. Add disposable plates, cups and utensils, too.

Be sure to date items and make a list of dates when items need to be rotated out. Canned foods can last two years, but for best quality, use them within one year, Andress said.

Powdered milk may be stored 12 to 24 months. Use most other foods within one year, or rotate them out. Over time, replace any rusty, leaky, dented or bulging food cans.

Place your emergency supply items together in a box and store it in a cool, dry place. Dry supplies should be stored above floor level.

If an emergency causes a power outage, Andress says to use any perishable items from your refrigerator first. Next, use foods from your freezer and then begin using your emergency supply.

"Eat refrigerated foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheeses, deli items and leftovers only if they have not been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours," she said. "Discard them if the power is off for more than four hours."

Condiments like jelly, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise last a little longer, she said.

"Eat frozen foods only if they have ice crystals remaining or if the temperature of the freezer has remained at 40 F or below," Andress said. "Covering the freezer with blankets will help to hold in the cold. Be sure to pin blankets back so that the air vent is not covered."

For information from UGA Extension and UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences on how to compile short- and long-term emergency food supplies, go to https://t.uga.edu/3wB.

Gas is cheap. Your car is isolated. Here are 9 ways to take a scenic drive around Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Times

Posted: 20 Mar 2020 08:00 AM PDT

You're avoiding public spaces, practicing social distancing and working remotely. You've stocked up on snacks, and have an endless variety of movies to stream as you stick close to home.

And yet, you can not stop thinking about getting away from your house, or even your immediate neighborhood, for just a little while. You've even started to miss your commute.

Maybe it's time for a drive. A scenic cruise behind the wheel to nowhere in particular. You don't have to get out of the car.

According to AAA, the average price of gas in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater as of today is $2.06. Traffic has thinned out pretty much everywhere. As long as you've got a reliable vehicle and some food for an in-the-car picnic, you can get away briefly and still avoid contact with other people.

Yes, taking advantage of inexpensive fuel may require a trip to the gas station. Take the precautions you would normally take when venturing out to a store for supplies right now. Keep your hands (and form of payment) sanitized and away from your face. Mind what you touch, and what you touch it with.

A car ride might open up a chance to talk about things with your family. Or maybe you need to cruise solo and silent to clear your head. Maybe you'll get engrossed in a deep podcast or a new audio book. Roll the windows down and get some air. You've got options.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

There is no shortage of beautiful drives over water in Tampa Bay. One of the best is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting Pinellas and Manatee counties. If you time it right, you can drive south over the span and park right near the water at the South Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier and rest area to watch the sunset.

The north fishing pier and rest area at the other end of the bridge has an equally breathtaking view of the bridge itself, which is now illuminated at night.

Courtney Campbell Causeway

The Courtney Campbell Causeway is one of 26 roads officially designated by the state as Florida Scenic Highways. If you've ever crossed the 9.5-mile bridge between Tampa and Clearwater, you know the aqua blue water sparkles, especially in March when the water is usually clearest. It's also not unheard of to see dolphins there.

Bayshore Boulevard

Same for Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, if you're headed north. If you turn around and take it back south, it's all mansions and palm trees, and Ballast Point Park near the southern end has parking spaces that face the water. A perfect spot to sit in the car and eat or watch for pelicans.

Suncoast Parkway

The Suncoast Parkway (FL-589 Toll) is the only other Tampa Bay road in the state designated one of Florida Scenic Highways. It runs 42 miles, from Lutz, where it splits from the Veterans Expressway, up through Odessa, and becomes really desolate as it passes through Starkey Wilderness Preserve in Pasco County. You can also get on in Spring Hill and drive south. The Tampa Bay Times has previously said "the road's wide, open space and lack of 'visual pollution' contributed to its calming atmosphere."

Toward the beaches

A drive toward the beach is always kind of magical, even if you're not able to go to the beach. One of the absolute best views in Pinellas County is the final stretch of the Pinellas Bayway bridges heading west after Isla Del Sol toward St. Pete Beach. There is at one point a simultaneous view of the waterfront homes along the Intracoastal and the Don CeSar resort on the beach.

The view of waterfront homes, boat docks and the Intracoastal Waterway from atop the Pinellas Bayway bridge heading west toward St. Pete Beach. [SCOTT KEELER | TAMPA BAY TIMES]

Once in St. Pete Beach, the gravel lot at grassy Larazillo Park is a good place to park for a minute.

Go rural

If the bridges and waterfronts are not your thing, driving through farmland can be equally peaceful. Agricultural southeastern Hillsborough County has plenty of it.

If you start at the north end of Balm Riverview Road at its intersection with U.S. 301 in Riverview and drive south, past the high school and the planned communities, you'll find the scenery grows progressively rural until it becomes nothing but woods as you pass through the 969-acre Triple Creek Preserve.

When you come out on the other side, it's wide open farmland and a few grazing cows in Wimauma. If you follow the fork left and east onto County Road 672, a.k.a. Balm-Picnic Road, you'll soon drive past the University of Florida-Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, a research campus and farm where scientists breed new types of strawberries, and Tampa Electric's massive Balm Solar Farm.

Related: The scientist making Florida strawberries bigger, sweeter and sometimes grape-flavored

Keep driving a few hundred yards and you'll find a good spot to park, the Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve parking lot (15102 County Road 672, Wimauma), which is where hikers and mountain bikers leave their vehicles before heading into the 4,900-acre preserve.

At this point, you could head back, or meander in any direction and drive past thousands of acres of more farms: strawberry, blueberry, citrus and fish. The area is home to dozens of fisheries that produce tropical fish for pet stores.

Head east

If you're willing to venture even farther into the state's interior, you could set out east from Tampa on Interstate 4 and exit north on Highway 27. You'll pass through what years ago was once the heart of Florida's famed citrus groves. Keep an eye out for the Showcase of Citrus, a kitschy, old-Florida, gift shop with "U-Pick Citrus" painted in orange on the roof, and eventually the 226-foot Citrus Tower and Presidents Hall of Fame, built to look like a miniature White House.

Head west a 5-minute drive from there, and you can park in the parking lot along Lake Minneola at Clermont's Waterfront Park to eat. Take a short cruise through Clermont's historic downtown before you turn back, and you'll be in Tampa in about an hour and 15 minutes.

Cruise downtown

You don't necessarily have to leave the city. Stpetemuraltour.com has a map of all the urban murals in St. Petersburg. You could pick out a couple you haven't seen in person yet and drive by. A great place to park and stay in your car is the lot behind the Vinoy Park Beach Volleyball Courts. On one side of the lot is the arboretum. On the other side is the bay.

Drive-in movies

How about a scenic drive-in theater? The nation's largest theater chains, Regal and AMC, will be closed until further notice, but Tampa Bay's three operating drive-in theaters will be open this weekend. All three allow you to bring your own food and tune in to the movie's sound through the radio.

The Ruskin Family Drive In plays first-run movies. The sound comes through your radio. [Tampa Bay Times (2010)]

Tampa's Funlan Swap Shop drive-in (floridaswapshop.com/tampa) is $7 for adults, $2 for kids and has two screens. The Ruskin Family Drive-In, which focuses on family-friendly films (ruskinfamilydrivein.com) is $6 per person and $1 for kids, with a $5 fee for bringing food (cash only). The Joy-Lan Drive In (joylandrivein.com) in Dade City, which sometimes shows classic movies, is $6 for ages 10 and up, and $2 for younger.

Check each drive-in theater's website for details on their movie schedule. Show up early to get a good spot.

Search This Blog

Acuarium