Emergency food and water:
Because hangry isn't a survival strategy

The mother of all necessities

Let’s face it, in any emergency, food and water rank right up there with breathing. 

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The average person can go three to five days without water before turning into a raisin. But we don’t recommend testing that theory.

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Food is a different story. Our bodies can hold out for a while. Without eating, you might start feeling grumpy pretty early on, but you can survive for several weeks to months without food — depending on your body. But, you won't be feeling like the life of the party. Nor will you be able to tend to basic survival skills. 

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To survive emergencies you need to plan for a healthy number of calories each day, and enough water to keep you hydrated and healthy.

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How much emergency food and water should I have?

Stockpiling food is like trying to cater a dinner party — better to have too much than to see your guests hungry and plotting a mutiny.

 

For water, aim for at least one gallon per person per day, and plan for a two week supply, minimum. If you’re already parched on a day-to-day basis or you live in a desert, stock up even more. Yes, water storage takes up a lot of square footage. It’s also heavy. That’s why we recommend identifying alternative water sources such as rain collection systems so you can filter your own water and replenish your water storage over time.

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When it comes to food, think of it as building your own mini grocery store. Plan for a two-week supply of non-perishables to start — then work your way up to a full year’s food supply. As long as you can rotate your food before it goes bad, keep stockpiling. When you can’t keep up, assess your situation and fill in the missing pieces. 

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Remember, we're talking about survival, so don't be shy about stocking up on essential supplies. When the zombie apocalypse hits or a natural disaster strikes, you'll be the hero with a pantry full of snacks and a basement filled with enough water to host a swimming party — but don’t. Save that water for essentials.

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So, be smart, plan ahead, and stock up on food and water like your life depends on it — because, well, it just might. 

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Food stockpiling strategies

When it comes to stockpiling, or beginning your food and water preparations, you don’t want to just load your cart with … crap. You need to follow strategies so you don’t end up with 47 cans of fruit cocktail and only three cans of chili when the end days loom. I know, fruit cocktail is the food of the apocalypse, but we can change that perception in our own pantries.

 

I mean, it can be easy to shop sales and load up on items that give you the most bang for your buck, but when you’re missing out on essential nutrients because all you buy is clearance-shelf bbq sauce, there’s a problem. With that, let’s dive into a few stockpiling strategies to get you started.

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• Assess your needs. Consider the number of people you're feeding, dietary restrictions, allergies, and how long you want to survive without resorting to eating tree bark. It's like planning for an extended camping trip, but without the marshmallows. Or with the marshmallows. That's for you to decide.
   

• Take into account special circumstances. If you’ve got infants, children, or people with medical conditions, your long-term food storage plan will be different from a pair of healthy empty nesters who eat nothing but ethnic foods. For a family with children, this could mean formula, baby food, and copious amounts of apple sauce. For the empty nesters, let’s just say that most people wouldn’t know what to do with the food on their shelves anyway.
   

• Plan for snack attacks. Think non-perishable, portable, and delicious. Canned goods, freeze-dried veggies, jerky, dried fruits, and nuts are important additions to your survival food. 
   

• Buy a variety of emergency foods. Include a mix of flavors and food groups in your stash, as well as spices to turn the most bland mix of beans into something palatable — and maybe even mouthwatering.
   

What are the best foods to stock up on for emergencies?

You want to stockpile food that has a long shelf-life such as rice, dry beans and lentils, freeze-dried foods, flour, sugar, canned meats and veggies, pasta, and spices.

 

Not sure where to start with long-term food storage? Check out Auguson Farms emergency food. They have a huge selection of dried and freeze-dried foods and their buckets stack easily in almost any closet.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. It doesn’t affect your purchase price.

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What two foods can I survive on?

If you had to pick just two foods to survive on, consider these best emergency food staples:

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1. Beans. Packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients, beans can keep you going for the long haul. Whether it's black beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas, you'll have a versatile source of sustenance.
    

2. Rice. With a decent amount of carbs to provide energy and some essential nutrients, rice pairs perfectly with beans to create a complete protein source. Plus, it's a blank canvas for flavorings, so you can get creative with spices and seasonings to keep things interesting.

 

Now, don't expect a gourmet feast with just beans and rice, but nutritionally speaking, they can cover your basic needs for protein, carbohydrates, and some vitamins and minerals. Remember, though, that this combination might lack certain essential nutrients in the long run, so try to incorporate a variety of foods whenever possible. 

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We’ve known college kids who’ve survived on far worse than rice and beans, but keep in mind that a well-rounded and diverse diet is always the way to go for long-term health and happy eating.

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Water: H2-oh yeah

You can't survive without water, so plan for at least one gallon per person per day. Remember, staying hydrated is crucial, whether you're outrunning zombies or just trying to survive a power outage.

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Emergency water storage and purification

Store water in clean, food-grade containers and keep them safe from contamination. Don't forget to rotate your water supply every so often to keep it fresh. If you need to purify water from questionable sources, always strain out the larger debris and invest in filters or tablets to complete the filtration process. 

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High quality home water filtration systems like the Berkey  are typically designed to remove or greatly reduce over 250+ contaminants commonly found in drinking water or fresh water. These types of filters are an excellent way to produce clean water when living off grid, during emergencies, or in disaster scenarios.

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The contaminants these filters remove may include:

• Sediments such as dirt, sand, rust, and other suspended particles

• Chlorine and chloramines which are often used in water treatment for disinfection

• Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, etc.

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals like benzene, toluene, and other solvents

• Pesticide and herbicide residue from agricultural activities

• Bacteria and viruses, harmful microorganisms that can cause waterborne illnesses

• Protozoa and cysts, parasitic organisms like Giardia and Cryptosporidium

• Fluoride

• Pharmaceutical traces often found in municipal water sources

• Industrial chemicals and other contaminants from industrial runoff

 

One last word on water filtration: Do it. 

 

Nothing ruins the day like a bad case of waterborne ... well, you know.

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How many years can you store water?

Properly stored and treated, water can last for a long, long time. For long-term water storage, you need to take a few precautions:

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1. Use clean, food-grade containers specifically designed for long-term storage. Don’t repurpose old soda bottles or milk jugs. You want containers that will keep your water safe and free from any contaminants or chemical leaching.
    

2. Store your water in a cool, dark place. Avoid extreme temperatures and direct sunlight, as they can encourage bacteria and algae growth as well as degrade the quality and taste.
    

3. Even though water can last a long time in the right conditions, it’s recommended to rotate your water every six to 12 months. That means using up your stored water supply and refilling the containers.
    

To ensure there are no contaminants in your water when you fill your storage containers, you can also use a sanitizing solution in the right ratios.

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How do you store food and water long term?

Find a cool, dry spot to stash your emergency food and water. It's like playing pantry Tetris, but with higher stakes. Avoid hot attics, damp basements, or any place that could assist in degrading the quality of your food storage. 

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Check the dates  and rotate

Regularly check and rotate your stockpile. Keep things fresh, and if something has seen better days, bid it a fond farewell and restock like the survival pro you are. 

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Prepper tip: Some foods can safely be eaten well beyond the “best buy” date while others can become toxic or rancid. Foods that contain oils are especially susceptible to going rancid in a short period of time. 

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Enjoy nature’s cuisine: garden, forage, hunt, and fish

There’s an abundance of life-sustaining goods on this earth that rarely make it to the supermarket shelves. These include plants, mushrooms, fish, and wildlife. These are the ultimate emergency preparedness foods. Buy some foraging and mushroom identification books like and practice finding your own food before disaster strikes. Get familiar with the foods you can forage in your area. Some of them are pretty tasty and grow like … well, weeds. 

 

Mushrooms can be tricky, so make sure you have reliable resources to consult. Some of our favorite musthroom books include:

• Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America

• Mushrooms Demystified

• The Complete Mushroom Hunter

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Learn how to fish and hunt, raise and process livestock, and how to forage. All this will help your food storage stretch to new levels — and when you master the art of nature’s cuisine, it can become your main source of food. Add some gardening in the mix, learn to preserve your harvest, and you’ll be eating like a king when the people down the street begin to wonder how hard it is to digest tree bark. 

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Prepper tip: Never eat any plant you’re not 100% sure about. There are lookalikes that can make you mildly ill and others that can stop your heart — permanently. Don’t take the chance. There are a lot of easily identifiable foods you can enjoy and they’re likely all around you. 

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Cook in style, even during an emergency

Cook like a chef despite the pillars of smoke rising from the nearby community. Keep an emergency stove on hand such as a Camp Chef, Coleman Stove, or a single-burner dual-fuel stove. Make sure you have a barbecue grill where you can cook with wood or briquettes, and learn to cook over a fire. And, make sure you have the right fuel stored away to power your cooking equipment. 

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Get started with your emergency food and water

​The biggest thing to remember when starting your food and water storage is to start small. Set achievable goals for how much food and water to keep on hand. This may be a two-week goal but eventually you can store enough to last you for three months and eventually a full year. 

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This isn’t a one-time endeavor. It’s a new way to stock your pantry which includes: 

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1. Shopping for foods that can be stored long term 

2. Eating the oldest foods from your shelves first

3. Rotating the foods on your shelf so you know which are next in line to expire

4. Replenishing with new long-term foods you can store 

 

This keeps your food fresh and safe to eat for the longest time possible. 

 

Of course, there are also those foods that can last up to 30 years when properly stored. These can be packed away in the corner of your kids’ closets and forgotten about for much longer.

 

Remember, being prepared doesn't mean sacrificing flavor or fun. Buy foods you like to eat anyway, keep spices on hand, and make sure you stockpile some snacks.