Emergency Food

Emergencies can strike at any moment, taking away any kind of power or transportation.  It’s always important to make sure you’ve got an emergency food supply in case something happens.  Whether it’s a flood, a hurricane, a tornado, or an earthquake, you’ll be glad you have an emergency food supply ready for you and your family.

Emergency Food List

While there isn’t necessarily a list of specific foods to put into your emergency food storage, it’s always good to have a general idea of foods that you might be grateful to have on hand.  If you’re preparing food storage for a family, make sure you do the math and prepare enough food for each person for at least a month.  You never know how long you’re going to have to live off of it, so make sure you have plenty of food and water for each person.  Here are some ideas to get you started with your emergency food storage:

  • •     Make sure the foods that you buy are nonperishable.   If you’ve got your food in storage, it’s really easy to forget about it and not switch it out for fresh food, so make sure it will last for a really long time.  If you want fruits and vegetables, you’ll either have to can them or dry them.  For breads and meats, try storing crackers and frozen or dried meats, such as jerky.  Check your food periodically, roughly every 6 months, and replace any foods that are close to their expiration dates
  • •     Put foods into your emergency food storage that are ready to eat, meaning you won’t have to cook them or prepare them in any way.  If it is a major disaster, you most likely won’t have access to a stove, or any kind of power source for that matter.  You won’t have access to heat or water sources, so you’ll want to have things such as canned soup and beans if you don’t mind eating them at room temperature.  Avoid any kind of pasta or rice, as these things need to be cooked in order to be eaten
  • •     Make sure all of the foods you store are dense in nutrients, like peanut butter and dry cereals.  These foods will keep for a really long time, but they are also fairly high in fat and calories, which will be good during a natural disaster, as you’ll want something with a lot of nutrients that will keep you fuller for a longer amount of time, allowing you to be conservative with how much food you eat
  • •     Purchase foods that are easy to store.  Don’t worry about trying to buy extra milk, just in case.  Instead, purchase powdered milk that you can mix later with water bottles.  Good things to have are granola bars, packaged cookies and crackers, jerky, juice boxes, and instant oatmeal.  When you go to the grocery store, look for things that can just be mixed with something else, like powdered juice mixes
  • •     Make sure you account for any specialty items that you might need.  If you need any extra medications, make sure you’ve got plenty.  If you’ve got younger kids or babies, make sure you have foods that they can eat as well.  Babies and young children won’t understand the emergency, so make sure you’ve got plenty of foods that they will eat.  If you have picky eaters, make sure you get foods that they will eat

How to Start an Emergency Food Supply

If you’ve never had an emergency food supply, it can be really hard to get one started, especially on a budget.  There is a lot to account for, but it can be really expensive to start an emergency food supply.  Here are some tips that can get you started:

  • •     Start with getting the essentials and the basics that will last for a long time, such as beans and canned foods.  These things will make up the majority of your emergency food storage.  Whole grains are really good to have on hand, because they are full of nutrients and they will keep you full for a long time
  • •     Get plenty of dried and frozen meats.  Meat has a lot of protein, which is really important to consider when you’re eating from an emergency food supply.  Protein will keep you feeling full, which is really important in an emergency situation.  Also, stock up on canned meats, such as tuna and chicken.  These are really good because they have a lot of nutrients, and they are ready to eat.  Just make sure you have a can opener.
  • •      Make sure you’ve got enough nutrient dense foods, such as peanut butter and dried fruits.  These can be high in fat and sugary, but you’ll appreciate them when the alternative is another salty cracker.  When you’re in an emergency, you probably won’t be quite so concerned about eating healthy; you’ll most likely be more concerned about getting enough nutrients
  • •     Get containers that won’t allow your food to spoil.  It takes a lot of time and money to stock up on food storage, so you don’t want it to spoil.  Get airtight containers that won’t allow your food to get moldy or stale.  It’s also important to keep worms and things out of your food
  • •     Buy in bulk.  It’s easier to stock up on an emergency food supply if you buy in bulk.  The more you are able to purchase, the better.  If local stores don’t carry foods that you need, try finding online stores that carry food storage items

 Emergency Food Essentials List

Food storage is vital, but it’s also important to have other things.  You’ll want blankets in order to keep you warm.  Flashlights and flares are also good to have on hand.  Batteries are important to keep your flashlights powered.  Also, make sure you have plenty of water.  You should have enough for each person to have at least a half a gallon of water each day.  Try and store enough water for at least a week.

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