Emergency Food Storage

If you’ve lived through a power outage, flood, fire or serve storm, a small stash of emergency food has probably crossed your mind.

It makes sense to keep an small supply of food and water on hand incase you’re unable to get supplies easily. It doesn’t matter if you live in a wild or mild weather area, man made or natural disasters have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

An emergency food stash doesn’t have to be a big deal it can be as simple as some food and water tucked away or as elaborate as a full long term setup.

Here are some easy tips to consider if you’re thinking about creating an emergency food storage stash:

Go for low maintenance

Go for low maintenance and choose foods that keep over long periods so you don’t have to keep rotating food in and out. Think about things like canned foods, dried foods and nuts.

Water, Water, Water

You’ve heard it before but in any survival situation water is the most important thing our bodies need. Store plenty of bottled drinking water. Water in the pipes cannot be trusted after an event like flooding, fire or power outage as it could be contaminated.

Seal it up

Seal up things like things like cereal, vegetables and dried meat. Think about getting a gadget that removes the air from storage bags and locks in the freshness.

Cooking supplies

Keep canned stove fuel handy. If there is no power making heat without starting a fire is difficult. With canned fuel you can use camping store to boil water, cook food or even make a cheeky coffee to boost moral.

Keep the emergency food storage small

Don’t go crazy and overbuy. First, a small stash is cheap to maintain over time, second you don’t want to stuff your storage area with too many items you’ll never eat or may have to throw out.

Where to put the emergency food

Not everyone has a purpose built survival shelter in their homes. So you might need to spend a little bit of time thinking through where you will keep your stash. Here are some emergency food storage ideas:

Stairways

If you have a stairway in your home, the space under the stairs could be used.

Garages

Most garages are not climate controlled environments, so it’s not a good idea to keep food there. You can however store things like the canned fuel, toilet paper and any other non-foodstuff items.

Under your bed

If you’re really struggling for space you could utilise the space under a bed. This space is climate controlled, dark, dry and perfect for food storage.

Book shelves

Obviously a bucket of food is not as attractive as the Lord Of The Rings trilogy on the book shelf, however, how about setting up a bookshelf system in a closet of spare room. These areas are up high, and would avoid possible flood damage.

Purpose build solutions

Another thing to try is a custom build solution. Checkout this article at Livingprepared

About Justin

Justin is a survival enthusiast who loves camping, the outdoors, gadgets and being prepared.