Emergency food supply
A small stock of long-life food means your family can eat even when shops close or the power fails. This page explains what to store, how to build it up and how to eat safely during an outage.
Foundation for every scenarioPrepare
- Store at least several days of non-perishable food your family actually eats.[1]
- Aim to be able to go a week without shopping.[2]
- Choose foods that need no fridge, little water and little or no cooking.[1]
- Stock canned meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, cereals, nut butter, dried fruit and bars.[1]
- Include special diet foods, infant formula and baby food if needed.[1]
- Add one or two extra long-life items to every regular shop.[2]
- Keep a manual tin opener and eating utensils with the food.[1]
- Store tins somewhere cool and dry, and boxed food in sealed containers.[3]
Use and maintain
- Eat food from the fridge first, then the freezer, then your stored food.[2]
- Keep fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible.[1]
- Throw out perishable food that has been above 4°C (40°F) for two hours or more.[1]
- Never eat from swollen, dented or rusty cans, or food that smells wrong.[1]
- Use camping stoves and grills outdoors only, on a surface that cannot burn.[1]
- Eat commercially canned food straight from the tin if you cannot heat it.[1]
Review and restock
Watch: 60-second guides
Power cut? Is the food in your fridge still safe?
Videos need an internet connection. Some videos mention numbers for other countries: in the UAE call 999 police, 998 ambulance, 997 fire. More on our YouTube channel.
Official sources
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Food
- Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF): Access to food during a crisis
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Build A Kit
- Get Prepared (Public Safety Canada): Your Emergency Preparedness Guide
Steps are written in our own words from these pages. If advice from your local authority differs, follow your local authority.