When it comes to preparing for an emergency, it's important to have enough food and water to last you and your family. According to Healthline, the average woman needs to eat about 2,000 calories a day to maintain her weight, while the average man needs 2,500 calories. However, other factors such as age, height, current weight, activity levels, and metabolic health should also be taken into consideration. To ensure you have enough food for an emergency, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recommends packing at least 2,000 calories of food per adult per day and one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and disinfecting in clean plastic containers.
When it comes to stocking up on emergency food supplies, it's important to plan ahead. This means you can plan nutritionally balanced meals as well as focus on survival and energy. Consider packing zip-lock plastic bags for storing food or freezing food in your emergency supplies. You should also rotate your pantry of food and ingredients so that you have 1-3 months of regular meals stored up.
When deciding what type of food to store for an emergency, ask yourself a few simple questions about each item. You can also increase the amount of staple foods you normally have on your shelves to create a two-week emergency supply. Individuals and families can reduce stress and worry by planning ahead for their emergency food needs. The amount of food you need to store will depend on the number of people in your household, their preferences, any special health conditions they may have, the ability to use food in an emergency, and the storage space available.
It's important to remember that some disasters can take more than a week for emergency personnel to reach the most affected areas and months for basic supply chains to recover. The minimum storage requirement for the 72-hour emergency kit suggested by FEMA is 6,000 calories and 3 gallons of water per person.
