72-hour kit activity

I took on the daunting task of planning out a 72-hour kit activity for our Relief Society. Tonight was the activity, and I think it was very successful! I had a lot of people come to me and say how much they appreciated it.

We only did the food for the kits. Here is the food for one kit (which all fits into a gallon-sized ziploc bag):

3 oatmeal packets

3 chicken/tuna salad and crackers packets

6 granola bars

3 fruit snacks packages

3 Lipton instant soup packets (chicken noodle)

6 spoons

9 individually wrapped sanitizing wipes

The kits ended up costing about $8 each. It's pretty simple and it's not exactly gourmet living, but it would keep you alive in an emergency.

We got most of the supplies from Sam's Club. Emily, one of the committee members, found out that you can order things from Sam's Club and then pick it up the next day, so she and Chelsey, another committee member, were able to pick it up and load it into Chelsey's van without having to get six carts to buy it all. The soup packets were on Amazon.com. We were planning to do a sleeve of Ritz crackers, a can of chicken, and some mayonnaise packets, but then today Emily found out that the chicken and tuna salad with crackers packets went on sale and she decided to drive to several different stores to buy them and save some money and space. Amazing. I was so grateful for Chelsey and Emily's help with the shopping and set-up, because I certainly could not have done it alone!

At the beginning of the activity we had a short discussion about other items to put in the kits and how to prepare for emergencies. I made a handout that was largely copied from here. We put all the food onto three long tables and then people went through and put together their own kits. It was a lot of food! I feel like it went really well and was helpful for a lot of people. What a relief to have it all done--and to have our 72-hour kit again!