None of us really knows our future, so it makes sense to be prepared, including having an emergency food supply at home. The disasters that could have us tapping into our food storage range from a sudden job loss that has us struggling to pay for groceries to something like an EMP attack that destroys critical electronic infrastructure across the country (1). The Department of Homeland Security recommends keeping at least a three day supply of both food and water in storage (2). But just what kind of food should we store? Let's lay down some general principles, and then consider a couple specific possibilities.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Store food you like.

If you're munching on your emergency food, you're probably already under some stress. No need to make that worse by falling back on a diet of lima beans. (That is, unless you like lima beans.) Furthermore, if you store foods you like, you can eat them even if no emergency ever materializes. At our personal residence, we organize our emergency food by expiration date. As the date approaches for an item, it gets moved from emergency storage to the pantry, and is replaced.

2. Store easily prepared food.

Fortunately many of the types of food that store well already fit this requirement, but it is still something to keep in mind. Do you depend on an electric stove for cooking? Well, that electricity may not be something you can count on in an emergency. Moreover, if you are forced to flee, you may literally have no means of preparing food at all.

3. Keep a balanced diet.

Your body doesn't suddenly abandon its need for certain nutrients just because of an emergency, and depending on the nature of the emergency (airborne disease?), a healthy body may be even more important than under normal circumstances. Storing a multivitamin can help, but keeping a diverse selection of foods around can also help prevent you from getting bored.

4. Keep foods high in calories.

Calories are, very simply, energy, and that's something you always need. Store foods high in calories and you can store less of them, and if you need to grab food and run you can carry more energy with you - two pluses.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

1. Peanut Butter

I can't speak to whether you regularly use peanut butter or not, but if you don't, have you considered what you might be missing? Mmmm. You can purchase peanut butter with a storage life of a few years that never needs to be refrigerated, even after opening. Is it high in calories? The container I have sitting on my desk right now contains 6600 calories. In fact, you may have heard of "Plumpy'nut," a sort of fortified peanut butter used in areas experiencing famine (3). And can it be easily prepared? While it may not be your first option, since this is an article about worst-case scenarios let's go ahead and mention it: you could eat peanut butter with your fingers if you had to.

2. Applesauce

Canned fruits and vegetables are another good option. While they may not be as filling they tend to be much higher in vitamins. (Applesauce is very high in vitamin C, for example.) And, if purchased in single serving sizes, you don't need to worry about refrigerating what you don't eat.

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(1) Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: A Preventable Homeland Security Catastrophe, by Jena Baker McNeill and Richard Weitz, Ph.D

(2) Ready.gov: Food

(3) Hope for Hungry Children, Arriving in a Foil Packet, by Michael Wines

Learn more about this author, David Shane.
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