Build it from your grocery list, not a separate stockpile
The nearest full grocery store is a drive out of town, and a storm that closes US 25/70 makes that drive longer or impossible. That is the case for keeping a two-week emergency food supply at home. The problem is that most emergency food ends up in the back of a cabinet, untouched, until it expires and gets thrown out. That’s not a failure of willpower, it’s a sign the food wasn’t something the household actually wanted to eat. Two weeks is the target worth working toward here, because a closed road can outlast a short stock. Ready.gov starts households at a several-day supply of non-perishable food and is the place to begin if two weeks feels like a lot: Food, Ready.gov. The easiest way to get there is to buy a little extra of what you already eat: canned soup, pasta, rice, peanut butter, canned vegetables and fruit. Use the oldest cans first and restock as you go, the same way a grocery store rotates its shelves.
Don’t forget the manual can opener
It’s the single most common thing missing from an otherwise solid food supply. All those cans are only useful if you can get into them without power. Keep one with your food, not loose in a kitchen drawer where it’ll wander off when you need it most.
What happens in your fridge and freezer when the power goes out
A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours if the door stays closed; a half-full freezer, about 24 hours. The refrigerator is faster, food stays safe for roughly four hours once the power’s off and the door stays shut. Every time you open the door, you lose some of that time. The threshold to remember is 40 degrees. FoodSafety.gov says to throw out any perishable food that has sat at or above 40 degrees for two hours or more, and an appliance thermometer left in the fridge and the freezer is the only way to know for sure rather than guess by feel. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service covers exactly what to keep and what to throw out afterward, including which foods are safe to refreeze: Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. FoodSafety.gov’s power outage chart is a quick companion reference for the same questions: Food Safety During a Power Outage, FoodSafety.gov. Worth bookmarking before you need it rather than guessing in the moment.
What belongs in a two-week emergency food supply
Canned meat and fish, powdered or shelf-stable milk, crackers, nut butter, dried fruit, and anything else that doesn’t need refrigeration or much prep. If your household includes a baby, count formula, bottled water for mixing it, and baby food in the two weeks, and rotate them the way you rotate everything else. If someone eats to a specific diet, buy the shelf-stable version of what they actually eat rather than assuming a substitute will do. We cover prescriptions and medical equipment in a separate post.
Assume the stove is out
Most of a two-week emergency food supply assumes a working stove, and in this series the stove being out is the normal case. Keep enough food that needs no cooking at all to cover several days, then a way to heat the rest. A camp stove or a grill works, outdoors only, never in the house, the garage, or a covered porch. Weight the shelf-stable half of your supply toward things you would eat cold and be fine about it.
One thing to add to your next grocery trip
The next post in this series covers backup power and generator safety, worth reading if you’re the type who’d rather keep the freezer running than empty it. One small thing this week: add two or three shelf-stable items to your next grocery trip, and put a can opener next to them.
Resources mentioned in this post
- Food, Ready.gov: https://www.ready.gov/food
- Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/emergencies/keep-your-food-safe-during-emergencies
- Food Safety During a Power Outage, FoodSafety.gov: https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/food-safety-during-power-outage