People have seen several catastrophic incidents in the recent few decades. Most of these events were sudden and quite devastating. Millions of people did not get any chance of fighting for their life just because there was nothing left to eat and drink. Only few people bothered to actually make an emergency food supply.

You may think that such things will never affect my life, but nobody can predict such events. The natural disasters and man-made disasters can take place anytime and anywhere. You will have to be prepared with everything that is necessary for survival. You should start with the emergency food supply. Food is one of the most basic needs of human being that people do not get enough when a catastrophic event takes place.

Why is the emergency food supply essential for you?

Have you ever wondered how people survive when an earthquake destroys their dwelling or when a storm causes a catastrophe? Those, who succeed in saving their lives during such events, they struggle a lot to find food and a safe space for surviving.

You can find a bug out location for getting rescued soon, but what about food?

Don’t you think finding food and fresh water would be a very daunting task?

That’s what happens when a disaster takes place and there’s no point in sugar coating it. You can deal with such situations easily if you have an emergency food supply ready in your house. By doing sou, you can collect enough supplies to feed your family for a few days until help arrives.

A recent earthquake took place in Nepal and many people suffered a lot due to the lack of food and fresh water. Though the whole world stood up for helping Nepal, many people were still starving because it was very difficult to ship all the needed supplies.

Such events can take place in the future and again it will be difficult to survive for those, who don’t have an emergency food supply. I’m pretty sure you may not like being one of those individuals. Therefore, you should prepare an emergency food supply for such scenarios.

How much food should you store?

Many survival experts share ideas regarding how much food you should store for survival. You cannot completely trust those suggestions because one size does not fit for all when it comes to storing an emergency food supply.

You need to understand how many calories your body will require under catastrophic conditions. Your emergency food preparation should depend on your and family’s food demands and not on what others suggest. You should first consider for how long you want to store the food. This is how you will easily know how much food you should store. Here are a few suggestions that you must consider.

Storing food for three days:

If you believe there will be a short-term emergency situation, you should make an emergency food supply for at least three days. Nowadays, this is a must-have emergency food kit that everybody should have at home. This food kit will be lightweight, and you can access it easily during the emergency situation. It would be quite easy to carry this food kit with you in the car.

If you cannot drive, still you will be able to haul this food supply kit with you. You should never keep pop-top cans in a short-term emergency food kit. Such cans will destroy the whole food supply if they explode during a catastrophic event. You should also avoid storing salty foods. Those foods will causes dehydration and the daily water consumption will slowly increase.

Things you should store in a 3-day emergency food supply:

The short-term emergency food supply is est for a person, who lives alone. However, you can also prepare different packages for the whole family. These packages should be easily accessible so that you can quickly hold them and run out of the house if needed. Some preppers use 5-gallon buckets to make food storage kits and those are easy to transport.

There are many things you need when storing an emergency food supply for a short while. Water should be your main priority. People can survive without food for a few weeks, but not without water. It is what people crave when they are scared and exhausted. Every individual needs at least one-gallon of water per day. So, you must keep at least three gallons of water in your emergency food kit.

Related article: Establishing How Much Food And Water To Store

When it comes to storing food, you should store only non-perishable foods. That should be no problem since you can get many varieties of non-perishable food at any grocery store. You should also concentrate on the foods that require little to no cooking.

Those foods can be eaten anytime and even on the trail. Most people cannot carry a cooking stove with them and few know to improvise survival cooking methods in the wild. Not to mention that it would be really tough to find any working cooking appliance after a disastrous event.

Therefore, you should store only the ready-to-eat products. You should store meals which are best for survivalists and you can even make your own. The famous Pemmican is very nutritious and it can last for months without the need for refrigeration.

The food quantity should be enough for at least three days as state previously. Choose products that you actually eat and pay attention to their calorie count (it should be higher). The non-perishable food items such as trail mix, granola bars, crackers, canned tuna, meat, beans, Chef Boyardee, and some other such non-perishable meals would be the best for the short-term requirement of your body.

Storing food for 90 days:

You might be wondering why I should store food for a longer time. Just to give you a quick example, take a look at how hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and do a little research about the dramatic outcome of that disaster. Around 10000 people had suffered because of this natural disaster. Many people had no food and no water for weeks and they had to rely on others to survive.

This is only one example that should make you consider all the possibilities. An extended short-term emergency food supply will not only assure that you have enough meals for your survival, but it will also encourage you to push forward and help others if any disaster takes place.

Any edible, non-perishable and non-refrigerated item, can be a great choice for a three-month emergency food kit. You should focus on storing canned foods that will take minimal space in the food supply kit, with a good shelf life. Though you will have to spend some extra money for compiling the food supply for three months, it will also last for more than 90 days if you stretch and ration it when you get in trouble.

The food items can be the same as the short-term emergency food supply, but the quantity will increase based on the extended timeframe. You will have to store more water that you can use since you will be using it not only for drinking but also for some light cooking and sanitation chores.

Long term storage:

The long-term emergency food storage can be challenging and very confusing for certain people. You may often wonder what to store that can remain nutritious and edible for a long period of time. We all have read about how people survived in deserted areas by eating anything they got. A long-term food supply can help you in surviving longer and never losing the hope to get rescued.

Storing foods, which contain above 10% moisture, is not a great idea for long-term survival. You should check the list of meals online that contain 10% moisture and provide enough energy to survive the whole day. There are a lot of foods that can outlast you and you need to make a proper research before stocking up your pantry.

The water would be a big issue for long-term storage survival. You should try to store as many bottles as you can keep in the emergency food kit. It may not be enough for long-term survival and therefore you will have to find some additional help. You will concentrate your effort on collecting and purifying water from natural sources.

How to make an emergency food supply when the budget is tight?

Budget always creates issues for preppers, especially for beginners. The budget issue is a constant problem, whether people plan to buy a new vehicle, home goods, or foodstuff for their emergency food supply.

Many companies provide packages of emergency food supplies for the survivalists and preppers. It is also a fact that everyone cannot afford to pay a small fortune for buying such food supply. So, what you can do if your budget is not high and you still want to prepare for any adverse event in the future. There are a few simple tips that you can follow to store food for survival at affordable prices.

Take benefit of sales:

The local supermarkets and grocery stores often provide items at significantly discounted prices. You should not miss any opportunity of buying low-moisture and canned foods at affordable prices. If you know what to buy and what to store in the emergency food kit, you can quickly pick the required items at very affordable prices.

You can also plan to store some extra food in the emergency food kit that will help you in helping others or use it for bartering for surviving longer during a disastrous situation. That’s one smart way to help you never run out of money and still get all the essential foods to survive the worst.

Help your neighbors for some necessary rewards:

If there are fruit trees in your neighborhood and if your neighbor does not have time for picking them, you can always give a helping hand. Your neighbors will thank you for your help and they can also give you some of the produce for helping them keep their garden or backyard clean.

You can use the fruits for making jam or jelly and you can even can them to complete your emergency food supply. These food additions will help improve the diversity of your food stock and will provide a lot of nutrients and vitamins that needed for your body to deal with adverse conditions. You will not spend any penny and you will get a sufficient food supply to survive for a few days.

Powdered milk and eggs:

Powdered milk is a delicious item that you can store in the emergency food kit and it will satisfy both young and old. The one you pick for your pantry should be dehydrated and it should have a long shelf life. Know when the next sale is at your grocery store and buy a few milk powder cans for storage.

In addition to the milk powder, you should also buy powdered eggs (egg powder). It is also rich in protein and provides many other nutrients needed during harsh famine days. It will cover minimal space in your food kit and work as a power booster when you do not get the regular meals you are used to.

Canned and dehydrated meat:

Have you ever heard about biltong? It is an African survival meal that looks like beef jerky, but it is more delicious and affordable than beef jerky. We are not suggesting to buy the canned meat from the market because you may need to pay a good amount of money for nutrition-rich canned meats.

What you should do is learn how to prepare biltong at home. You can also store beef jerky if you like to prepare both of these foods. The shelf life of biltong and beef jerky is quite long and you will not go hungry. You can prepare these meals and store them in your pantry to use during a disaster. Biltong will boost your energy levels when you will have nothing else to eat during an emergency situation.

Suggeste article: How To Make Biltong With A 5 Year-Shelf Life Or More

Powdered drink mixes:

The powdered drink mixes are another cheap and delicious solution for preppers. These items require minimal space in the emergency food supply kit. You can easily store 10-20 powdered drink mixes in your kit and use them when you want to have something powerful during your survival days. I’ve noticed there’s an increasing trend in preppers stocking powdered drink mixes designed for athletes and body builders due to their high content of nutrients.

Check super cheap emergency food supply available online:

Do not worry if your budget is low. There are companies, which work to provide affordable food storage solutions for preppers. You can find a lot of emergency food packages under your budget if you are willing to spend the time and look for deals. Though you may like to prepare the emergency food kit on your own, you should still check what is available online.

It will help you in adding some more cost-effective products to your emergency food supply kit. You will save some extra bucks, get high-quality meals for emergency food storage, and thus you will be ready for any upcoming disaster. Not to mention that a lot of people use couponing to get big discounts for such items. It’s no shame in using the same tactic as long as you are preparing for the unknown.

Get ready to deal with any dangerous situation:

The climate change has recently caused some scarring disasters that led to a lot of people losing their lives. Natural disasters are occurring more often and they are just one of the topics of emergency preparedness alongside, wars and social or financial meltdown. These events can take place anytime, anywhere and no one is completely safe.

Just follow the news and you will understand that the atmosphere is not quite well around the world. It is your responsibility to be prepared and keep the emergency food supply ready. That’s how you can hope to survive and face any tough situation that the future may throw at you.

Useful resources to check out:

Survival Lessons from the 1880s Everyone Should Know

Find Out What’s the Closest Nuclear Bunker to Your Home

Learn how to Safeguard your Home against Looters

The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us