How to Stockpile Food In Case of Emergency

While we all like to hope that nothing bad ever happens to us, the simple fact is that we don’t know with certainty what tomorrow will bring.  Emergencies are unavoidable, but preparing for them is not.  If there was a natural disaster tomorrow that left you without access to food and money, what would you do?  We will look at how you can store food so that you can have the best chances of survival in the event of an emergency.

First, find a safe place to store your food.  There is no way you can prepare for every eventuality, but tailor your preparations to take into account the kinds of disasters your country or region is prone to.  In California there are earthquakes, in coastal regions you may get flooded, while wooded areas are prone to wildfire.

An underground bunker is the best bet for most of the above, but few people can afford to build one and make it truly watertight and earthquake proof, so the best you can probably do is to pick either your attic (flooding) or basement (earthquakes etc) to store your supplies in.  If a disaster strikes, it’s better than nothing and you have a 50/50 chance your supplies will not perish in the disaster.

Preparing food storage for long term survival starts with taking inventory, then hitting the supermarket.  Make certain that you have non-perishable food stored from every food group, including grains, vegetables, peanut butter, etc.  Grains can last for decades in the proper airtight containers, and you will want to remember to purchase a hand-powered mill to grind them.  When looking to store food for up to a year, you will want about 250 pounds of wheat, 100 pounds of other grain, 45 pounds of rice, 35 pounds of pasta, and 75 pounds of cereals per adult.  Around 75 pounds of beans and frozen meat, as well as 150 pounds of powdered milk is also recommended. You can buy staple foods cheaply in bulk atbulk buy stores such as Sam’s Club and Costco.

Also – it seems like an obvious tip, but don’t forget to store a couple of spare can-openers, or all your canned food will be useless to you.  Don’t forget knives, forks, spoons, plates and plastic cups too, plus a flashlight with spare batteries in case the power goes out.

This is something often overlooked, but if you have pets, then store some pet-food for them and a spare leash for your dog.  Also make sure you have spares of any essential medication that you or your animals need to take daily (insulin shots, painkillers, basic first aid kit etc).

Storing food and supplies for an emergency is something that we should all do, even though we hope we will never need it.  You can never predict what the future will bring, but you want to be prepared.  With these tips, you can certainly ensure that you and your family have the food you need to make it through an emergency.