Survival Food Storage Ideas for Families in a Disaster

Your family’s safety and survival plays an important part in your parenting role.  Check out these survival food storage ideas if you’re facing a disaster or emergency with your family.

In a disaster or emergency situation, having adequate food and water should be your top priority for your family!

You can survive without power and many of the creature comforts you’re accustomed to, but you cannot survive without food and water.  So, regardless of whether you choose to stay at home or in a shelter, or even get stuck in your car during an evacuation, you must think about your food and water supply.  I want to help you with survival food storage ideas so you’ll be prepared for an emergency.

Having emergency or survival food storage doesn’t have to be a costly or complicated process.  In fact, you probably have a lot of what you’d need right in your own pantry.

Before running out to the store (or ordering a massive supply on Amazon), figure out how long you want to prepare for.  Generally, having at least a week’s worth of stored food and water is great during a natural disaster.  During your planning, you must keep in mind that you have to ride out the storm and be prepared for any extra time it takes for clean up, rescue efforts, and power restoration.

How to Be Ready for a Disaster With These Survival Food Storage Ideas

Before we get started, I’m sharing a 14 page Family Disaster Preparedness Workbook.  Just join my newsletter and you’ll get it for FREE.  But, that’s not it.  You’ll get instant access to a library of free printable resources for parents!

Water Supply

Your number 1 priority should be water.  You can live longer without food than you can without water!  So, when preparing for a disaster, make sure you are always thinking about this survival resource.

Though we hope, in any emergency, we’ll have running water, it’s not a guarantee.  Don’t depend on your home water source as the only way to get drinking water.

It’s never a bad idea to have store bought water bottles on hand.  Just be sure to cycle through them before their expiration date.

If you have warning that a disaster is likely, begin filling up milk jugs, soda bottles, and/or other clean containers you have around the house.  Filling up a clean tub is another great way to have plenty of available drinking water in the event you’re without power for an extended period of time.

Non-Perishable Food Items

Once you’ve ironed out details about your water supply, it’s time to think about non-perishable food items your family will eat.  You want to choose foods you can eat as-is as well as offer some protein.  These can be:

• Crackers & Peanut Butter
• Canned beans, soups, etc
• Canned tuna or chicken
• Bread with non-perishable sandwich toppings
• Granola/protein bars
• Beef Jerky

Think of things you can eat straight out of the package.

If a family member has food allergies, make sure to stock up on an assortment of items for them as well.

Plus, if you have a baby or toddler who takes formula, it’s a good idea to stock up on extra water and formula packets!

Cooking

If you have a [easyazon_link keywords=”camping stove” cloak=”n” locale=”US” localize=”y” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″]camping stove[/easyazon_link] or outdoor grill, you might also stock up on foods to heat and serve.  Think about items that you can heat with hot water like:

• Instant oatmeal
• Coffee or hot chocolate
• Soups
• Instant Rice

Special treats

When surviving a disaster with kids, it’s always important to think of ways to alleviate stress for them as well.  Keeping them full and happy will make the entire process go a little more smoothly.  Stock up on a few special treats like:

• Chips and Pretzels
• Chocolate candy bars
• Cookies
• Muffins
• Snack cakes

These items might make getting through a disaster with kids a little more bearable for everyone.

In summary, make a list of things you know your family will eat.  These should be things you know you’ll use up even after the disaster is over.

Afterward, round out your stockpile with things that will keep the family full and healthy.

What if I don’t know I need the food?

A good plan of action is to purchase a small supply of food you will go through easily.  Make it part of your regular grocery shopping list and eat the food during the week as you normally would.  During each grocery shopping trip, replenish your stock.

Do not stock up on items you’re not certain you’ll eat.  If you’re not a fan of tuna, save your purchases of items like this for a time you’re more likely to need it.  In our case, I wouldn’t buy a can of tuna until right before hurricane season.

Lastly, make sure you have your family give you input on their survival food storage ideas.  Giving everyone a sense of control and responsibility will help keep the peace in what could be a stressful situation.  The last thing you’re going to want to do in a disaster event is to fight over food when there are no other options.