September is Preparedness Month and the first full week focuses on saving money for disaster kits. 

Emergency Management Services Coordinator Bob Kempf says that a person should have a portion of their income set aside for an emergency kit for their vehicle and household. Kempf explains that the emergency kits should not have expensive items that include water, change of clothes, first aid materials, blankets, a flashlight and much more.

“Then once you’ve got your kit built, then you have to stop and think, you know, some of the nonperishable stuff, the granola bars, for example, they’re non-perishable. It’s easy to keep them in there for a year, but you don’t want them in there for three years. So then you need to take a look at changing those batteries out, maybe changing those granola bars out.”

Kempf says do not break the bank to form an emergency kit because most of the items are usually already in a household’s cupboards and can be supplemented with cans or other items collected at a local store. He also encourages those to think about their pets when building an emergency kit.