Beef Is Up 20% Already With No End in Sight

During a power outage last year, we made coffee using a camp stove on the back porch. My neighbor smelled it and wandered over. Within an hour, three families were sharing hot drinks and whatever food needed eating before it spoiled. Turns out, the ability to make hot food does more than feed you. It brings people together when things feel uncertain.

Here's what I've got this week.

Cooking When the Stove Doesn't Work

If your power goes out for three days, you'll survive on crackers and peanut butter. But if you can heat water and cook a basic meal, the experience goes from miserable to manageable. Hot food is a morale multiplier that most preparedness plans undervalue.

The simplest option is a portable camp stove. A basic butane stove runs about $25, uses inexpensive canisters, and boils water in minutes. Keep it outside or in a well-ventilated area. Never use fuel-burning stoves indoors. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless. It kills people every year during outages.

Propane is the next step up. A standard 20-pound propane tank (the one on your grill) holds enough fuel to cook two meals a day for roughly two weeks. Pair it with a camp stove that accepts propane or just use your outdoor grill. Most people already own this setup and don't think of it as emergency cooking.

For longer scenarios, a charcoal grill works if you've stored charcoal. Wood fires work if you have a safe outdoor space and dry wood. Rocket stoves are small, efficient, and burn twigs. Each option has tradeoffs in convenience, fuel availability, and safety.

Here's what to cook first: the perishable food from your fridge. Once the power goes out, your refrigerator is a countdown timer. Eat the meat and dairy within the first day. Cook proteins thoroughly. Frozen food stays safe for about 48 hours in a full freezer, less in a half-empty one.

After that, shift to your shelf-stable pantry. Rice, pasta, beans, and oats all need boiling water. Canned goods can be eaten cold but taste dramatically better warmed. Even instant oatmeal and ramen become comforting meals when you can heat water.

One tip people overlook: a thermos. Boil water once in the morning, pour it into a good thermos, and you have hot water for coffee, instant soup, or rehydrating food for hours without burning more fuel. It's the most fuel-efficient "appliance" you can own.

Cook one meal this weekend using only non-electric methods.

U.S. Propane Averages $2.78 Per Gallon — East Coast Pays $3.25

The national average for residential propane sits at $2.78 per gallon as of April 2026, with a nearly $2.00 spread between the cheapest and most expensive states. East Coast households pay an average of $3.25 per gallon. For context: a standard 20-pound propane tank (the one on most backyard grills) holds about 4.7 gallons — meaning a full refill runs roughly $13 to $15 in the Midwest and $15 to $20 on the coasts. The EIA stops collecting weekly propane price data in April until the October heating season begins, so this is the last public benchmark until fall.

A full 20-pound tank provides enough fuel to boil water or cook two meals a day for roughly two weeks — making it one of the most cost-effective emergency cooking backups available.

Source: Propane Cost Per Gallon, U.S. Energy Information Administration, April 2026

Les Stroud filmed Survivorman entirely alone, with no camera crew, for over a decade. In Survive!, he writes about the transformative power of fire in a survival situation. His point isn't about warmth or signaling. It's psychological. A fire means you've taken control of your environment. You can cook, you can purify water, you can see in the dark. Everything changes when you can produce heat.

For home preparedness, Stroud's lesson translates directly: having the ability to cook without your kitchen shifts your mindset from "waiting for the power to come back" to "we're handling this." That matters more than most people realize. It's the difference between enduring and coping.

Beef Prices Hit Record Highs as Grocery Inflation Accelerates Into 2026

Farm-level cattle prices rose 20% from February 2025 to February 2026, pushing retail beef to record highs. Overall food-at-home inflation reached 2.4% year-over-year through February, with USDA projecting food prices up 3.6% for all of 2026. Sugar and sweets are forecast up 6.7%. The tariff pass-through from 2025 trade actions is still working its way through the supply chain, with peak grocery impacts expected between April and October 2026.

For households with a pantry rotation habit, this is important to track. Prices on shelf-stable staples — rice, pasta, canned proteins, cooking oils — are rising slower than perishables right now.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service, FMI Food Price Outlook, April 2026

Camp Chef Explorer 2-Burner Stove

The Camp Chef Explorer runs two 30,000 BTU cast-aluminum burners — enough power to boil a large pot of water in under four minutes or run two skillets simultaneously. It weighs about 12 pounds, folds flat for storage, and works with standard 1-pound propane canisters or a standard 20-pound tank via adapter hose. The three-sided windscreen keeps it usable in breezy conditions. About $150. For home emergency use, this is the step up from a single-burner backpacking stove — it can handle a full family meal and keeps cooking fuel costs low by running on the same propane you likely already have for your grill.

Overrated: MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for home preparedness. They're designed for soldiers in the field, not families at home. They're expensive ($8 to $15 each), heavy, and the taste is divisive(aka not great). Canned goods and a camp stove are cheaper, tastier, and more practical.

Underrated: A good thermos. A quality vacuum-insulated thermos keeps water hot for 12 to 24 hours. Boil water once, store it, and you have hot drinks and instant meals all day without burning additional fuel.

The downside is size. Folded, it's about 14 by 32 inches. It's not going in a bug-out bag. This is a home or car-camping setup. But for the price, about $150, it's the most capable non-electric cooking option I've tested.

Budget alternative: Coleman Classic Butane Stove ($25). Single burner, compact, uses butane canisters. Perfect for boiling water and simple meals.

CDC: Keep Food Safe After an Emergency — When to keep it, when to throw it out. Covers refrigerator and freezer timelines during outages.

CDC: Food Safety During Power Outages — When to eat it, when to throw it away. Print this chart.

Ready.gov: Food Safety — Basic government guidance on food temperatures and spoilage.

Grokipedia: Rocket Stove — Background on efficient small-wood cooking, including DIY plans.

Coleman: Camp Stove Safety — Manufacturer guide on safe stove operation, including ventilation requirements.

Wildfire preparedness. If you're anywhere near fire country (and that's more places than you think), there are specific steps that matter before fire season starts.

PS: That neighbor who smelled my coffee during the outage? She now keeps a camp stove in her garage. That's how preparedness spreads. Not through fear. Through hot coffee.