Creating a Two-Week Emergency Food Supply: A Step-by-Step Guide

Having a two-week emergency food supply is essential for any family in case of a disaster. It's important to plan ahead and figure out what you need to feed your family in the event of an emergency. The general rule is to have a minimum of two weeks of non-perishable food on hand. When it comes to emergency food supplies, some people argue that you need six months, twelve months, or even two years of food.

While it's unlikely that an emergency would disrupt your food supply for two weeks, it's still important to have a short-term supply that will last that long. Planning for short-term emergency food needs can be as simple as increasing the quantities of basic, non-perishable foods that you would normally use. If you follow a special diet, have food allergies, or have other dietary needs, you'll need to make replacements when creating your emergency food list. After you make a rotatable food list, figure out what you need to prepare all those meals several times and decide what to add to your food supply.

FEMA and the Red Cross used to recommend storing food and emergency supplies for 72 hours. When you search for examples of two-week food supplies online, you'll find all kinds of different lists. One way to develop a two-week emergency supply is to increase the amount of staple foods you normally have on your shelves. It's also important to consider placing zip-lock plastic bags for storing food or freezing food in your emergency supplies.

If you tend to identify more with the statements in the right column, emergency or long-term freeze dried foods may be more appropriate for your lifestyle. You can also consider canning your own food if canned food from the grocery store now tastes disgusting (it probably always did). No doubt increase to that two-week food store in your pantry and expand your grocery store if your time, inclination and finances allow. However, before you try something like six months or more of food storage, make sure you're already in a strong financial position and have a savings cushion to draw from profit.

Karen Borchert
Karen Borchert

Freelance travel fanatic. Infuriatingly humble internet practitioner. Passionate twitter practitioner. Extreme social media nerd. Web trailblazer. Passionate pop culture advocate.