12 Tips For Storing An Emergency Food And Water Supply

With climate change continuing to spark more and more natural disasters, and post-Covid stress having many of us concerned about another pandemic, there's never been a better time to start planning for a possible emergency. After all, mass panic often ensues over weather events, viruses, or potential conflagration, leaving store shelves barren as people stock food and water. If you don't want to fearfully flock to the supermarket to obtain much-needed goods during an emergency, it helps to plan ahead.

Keeping your home stocked with foodstuffs in case of an emergency is crucial. If you prepare yourself ahead of time in case of a disaster, you can avoid the type of chaotic Costco calamities that cause stress, worry, and a lack of available food and supplies for everyone in need. I personally became focused on survival skills of all kinds when traveling the country with nothing but a backpack of essentials. Now that I'm a homebody, I've transferred those necessary emergency-preparedness skills to life indoors, with many friends and neighbors coming to me for advice regarding food and water storage.

Since knowing you and your loved ones are as safe as possible during an emergency is deeply rewarding, I've outlined the best methods to mitigate emergency preparation errors and ensure a properly stocked home. You'll learn to stock your kitchen in a way that's budget-friendly, easy, and doesn't require a lot of storage space — because even an apartment-dweller (like myself) can and should be ready for the worst.

When you're getting ready to make a plan to store food and water for long-term use, you first need to identify where you want to store your goods. You've probably noticed that many food packages, particularly canned goods, recommend storing them in a cool, dry, dark place. This is because heat and sunlight can lead to rancidity in food, or cause chemicals in plastic to leach into bottled water. Instead of keeping food near windows, appliances that radiate heat, or outside in the sun, be sure to keep supplies in a cool, dark area that stays between 40 degrees and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once you've located the ideal spot, consider investing in racks or shelves that can withstand the weight of the items you plan on keeping. Maintaining airflow is important, as food that's stacked in piles can collect moisture (especially if you live in a humid area), causing cans to rust or mold to grow. Additionally, when it comes to storing canned goods, keep in mind that stacking cans too high can lead to catastrophic messes or a dangerous toppling situation. Consequently, shelves are always the safest method for storing a large number of cans.

How much food you're able to store depends on a variety of factors: The size of your space, what your budget allows for, what you're willing to store, and how many people you need to account for. When storing goods for an emergency, any amount is better than nothing at all, of course, but try aiming for at least two weeks' worth of items — though the more you're able to keep, the better.

Strive for about 1 gallon of water per person per day (meaning a minimum of 56 gallons of water for a family of four). While the average person typically uses anywhere from 60 to 100 gallons of water per day, emergency situations call for a good deal of conservation. A single gallon per person provides enough for adequate daily hydration, as well as sufficient bathing and cooking needs.

Now, the amount of food you should keep in your emergency supply will vary significantly depending on the ages, genders, and weights of you and your family. However, anywhere between 1,400 and 2,200 calories per person per day is generally needed to maintain health and keep up energy and regular bodily processes, so keep that in mind.

Having a wide selection of ingredients isn't necessary or important for just a few days' worth of food. But if you find yourself needing to tap into your emergency supply for an extended period of time, having diverse options is crucial. We need to eat foods from multiple sources to ensure we're getting all the nutrients and minerals we need to stay healthy, after all. While it's wise to have extra multivitamins in your pantry, you should still strive to get the majority of your essential nutrients from the food you eat.

When emergency planning, it's easy to reach for heavily processed items (like canned soups or frozen meals), and make them the bulk of your emergency storage. But whether in a crisis or not, eating a variety of whole foods is ideal. Vegetables — especially high-protein veggies like broccoli – fruits, legumes, nuts, meats, and grains are the most important foods to keep stocked. Milk for cooking and drinking, or candy (because you deserve a treat) is also good to have on hand, but not as necessary as the aforementioned food groups.

Items with a long shelf life are always the best options for long-term storage, though the freezer is a good option for goods that don't stay fresh as long. Additionally, many herbs and spices are shelf-stable for years, so there's no need to shy away from flavor when planning a list of disaster-ready food supplies.

Having a diverse portfolio of food options for emergencies is important. Of course, ensuring a large amount of your food storage is high-calorie and full of vitamins and nutrients is just as critical. During an emergency, you want to think of food like energy. In that regard, the more energy you can pack into a space, the better. For example, canned spinach is full of necessary vitamins and nutrients, and has a long shelf life, but it's very low in calories. As a result, it — and foods like it — shouldn't make up a significant portion of your stockpile.

Now, when coming up with a plan for what to store in your just-in-case supply, you can opt for some canned or frozen veggies for diversification, of course. But focus primarily on high-calorie foods like nut butters, nuts, corn, beans, lentils, rice, flour, seeds, canned fish, dried fruit, and honey (which can even be used as a antibacterial first aid option in an emergency). All of these are good examples of nutritious, shelf-stable, calorie-dense ingredients.

Additionally, you may want to consider purchasing some foods that are designed to be eaten in emergency situations, like these 3,600-calorie packs from SOS Food Lab Inc. These provisions offer optimal energy without taking up much space, and are great for throwing in a backpack in case of evacuation.

Unlike dehydrated food — which is heated to reduce moisture, losing a lot of the nutrients in the process — freeze-dried items are frozen at extremely low temperatures (around -40 degrees Fahrenheit), then sealed. This method of preservation helps it retain more of its nutrients and vitamins, while giving it an impressive shelf-life to boot. In fact, some freeze-dried foods can last as long as 25 years at room temperature. Since these items tend to be compact and lightweight, as nutrient-dense as fresh food, and long-lasting, freeze-dried foods make great additions to your emergency stock.

You can freeze-dry meat and produce yourself, although it requires a dedicated machine (plus a lot of time and effort). If you don't have the time or funds to DIY it, you can still track down all kinds of freeze-dried foods, including freeze-dried powdered eggs, fruits, meats, and even complete meals. Freeze-dried fruit is a must-have, too, since it provides necessary vitamins, is easy to cook with, and can act as a tasty treat among the sometimes bland and boring provisions.

Additionally, it's a good idea to plan for a portion of your food to come with you in case an evacuation occurs. This is where freeze-dried goods can really lend a helping hand, since canned items won't fare well in a backpack. Complete freeze-dried meals — like this 30-day supply from Augason Farms – are a popular choice for campers, backpackers, and anyone else focused on emergency-preparedness.

Now that you've got a good grasp on what foods to store and what to steer clear of, you might be tempted to head to Costco or Sam's Club and start scooping up industrial-sized tubs of peanut butter and frozen soup. But as convenient as it is to get one big item and call it a day, consider what will happen after you open those containers. It's much more difficult to keep a large amount of food fresh once the seal is broken, and unless you're living in a large-scale commune, you probably won't go through one of those giant containers of food before it goes bad.

With that in mind, keep your pantry stocked with standard-sized containers of food to minimize waste. While it's a little more inconvenient, this way, you can ensure you'll actually use what you have. Make sure to purchase items that you know you like by sticking to things that you've already eaten, instead of bulk-buying items that sound like they'd be ideal in an emergency, but you've never tried before. After all, it'd be a nightmare to be stuck with a year's supply of something you can't stand.

A great way to ensure you'll always have balanced meals that you love on hand in an emergency is to do the prep work yourself. Simply put, the most environmentally and budget-friendly way to store goods is to preserve foods from your own home. This can be as intricate as drying meat from your own farm, or as simple as dehydrating some herbs from a mini windowsill herb garden.

If you have a vegetable garden at home, learning to can your produce will get you far in the world of long-term food storage. Canning your own foods is easier now than ever, after all, and learning all the ins and outs of the process can be a fun family activity for kids, or a rewarding solo venture. Even if you don't have a garden of your own or a farm operation at home, making your own meals for emergency storage can be as easy as cooking a little extra each time.

For instance, I cook a lot of soup, stew, and curry in the winter. Whenever I do, I double my recipe and save the excess in a chest freezer. It's comforting to know I can enjoy a home cooked meal with minimal effort during a disaster situation, or even if I'm just a little under the weather and don't feel like whipping up an intricate dish.

The freezer offers a tempting option for long-term food storage. You can make almost any meal, toss it in the freezer, and forget about it until your stomach starts rumbling. But storing sustenance for emergencies also requires considering emergency situations, like a power outage. Your fridge and freezer can't store food for weeks on end if there's no electricity, so plan accordingly, and aim to keep the bulk of your supply to shelf-stable pantry items that don't need to be cooked.

You may not be able to cook if there's no power, for example — especially if your range is electric — while things like flour and rice become useless without the means to cook them. If you have the space, it's wise to invest in a small gas stove. I use this Coleman camp stove as an alternative to my electric stovetop, and always keep a few small propane tanks on hand for it. Make sure you only use a gas camp stove or grill outdoors, and store propane tanks outside in a cool area that doesn't see a lot of sun. Of course, if you do find yourself in a situation where there's no electricity for an extended period of time, start by eating the food in your fridge and freezer first so that it doesn't go to waste.

Finding a dedicated spot for your water may seem trivial, but it's an important step that — if done incorrectly — could wreak havoc on your home and ruin your water supply. Most people, like myself, store 5-gallon water containers as their emergency water source. I use an office-style water cooler, but you don't need a water cooler to make use of these handy containers.

The garage or basement is the best place to keep them or any other containers that you choose to keep water in (as long as they're properly sterilized). If stored on the second floor, leaks could be catastrophic, causing severe damage inside your home, so the lowest possible level is best for large water containers. Once you locate the perfect spot in your garage or cellar, remember that concrete floors can fluctuate in temperature. This can cause moisture build-up and contamination, meaning you should keep your water containers elevated to prevent stale moisture from accumulating underneath them. Just like with food storage, air flow is key to preventing contamination.

Furthermore, storing water off the ground also discourages rodents from gnawing away at your containers, though it unfortunately doesn't completely prevent potential ambushes from pests. With that in mind, keep an eye on any water you have stored for a long period of time and treat the area for pests as needed.

Water is the most important thing to have access to during an emergency situation, so if your stockpile runs out, it's important to have a back-up plan. Water purifying tablets and filters can help to make potable water out of natural water sources like streams, rivers, and lakes. While they may not remove all the impurities in water, they'll offer a viable solution that's far better than going thirsty.

Not all tablets and water filters are created equal, so be sure to find one that suits your needs and will guarantee months, if not years, of reliability. The Sawyer Squeeze water filter is a popular choice for backpackers and emergency preppers, as it's lightweight, compact, and offers superb functionality at a low price point.

Water filtration tablets, like these Aquatabs, are even more compact than a filter, making them a good space-saving choice. To use these tablets, simply collect water from a nearby stream; be sure to find water with the least amount of sediment possible. Then, drop a tablet in, and wait about 30 minutes for it to work its magic. I recommend filtering the water through a bandana or coffee filter before drinking for additional safety. These tablets can leave water tasting a little funky, but it beats having nothing to drink at all.

Since storing food preemptively serves the purpose of not having to make a mad dash to a big-box store right before (or during) an emergency, rushing to the store to get as stocked as possible in a day's time is counterproductive. And whether you're storing two weeks or two years' worth of food and water, the easiest way to prepare for the worst is to acquire everything you need slowly, over time.

Stocking up this way is easier on your budget, causes less stress, and ensures that you won't accidently buy too much or overfill any limited space you have. To gradually store items for long-term use, start by adding a few extra things to each grocery run — a few cans of beans here, an extra 5-gallon water jug there. Before you know it, you'll have a sufficient amount of food and water to get you through any crisis.

I add a few extra cans or an extra bag or two of frozen vegetables to each grocery trip. I also occasionally — about once every few months — will take inventory, then shop specifically for foods for my emergency provisions. This way, I know I have a diverse selection as opposed to too much or too little of something. Some items (like freeze-dried meals and water filters) may need to be purchased separately from regular grocery stores, so make a list of such items, then purchase them when your budget allows.

Finally, we come to what I personally deem the most important, yet frequently overlooked, aspect of storing provisions for emergencies: rotation. While some people believe stocking up on food requires buying a bunch of cans, dried goods, and water bottles and keeping them indefinitely, actually storing food for an extended period of time can be as simple as keeping an excess of whatever you already use. This means always having a fully stocked pantry, and making sure the food items in your freezer never reach below a certain point.

To effectively rotate through items in your kitchen and keep them fresh, establish a point where you consider your pantry and cabinets empty (even though there's still food left). This stash — preferably enough to sustain you and your family for at least a few weeks — is your emergency supply. When you reach this point, push what's left behind to the front, and restock the back with new, fresh items.

Labeling anything that isn't obvious, decanting dried goods, and marking everything with dates guarantees a fresh food supply, as well as an easy rotation (and minimal pantry waste). Even canned foods can go bad, so practice rotating everything in your pantry, cabinets, and freezer, including non-perishables.