Survival Food

Discover the best food for survival during a disaster

Government organizations recommend that families store several weeks' worth of non-perishable food items in case a disaster or emergency strikes. Doing so will ensure that your family is taken care of and not dependent upon emergency social services in times of trouble.

Many families simply store ordinary canned food or boxed goods in their survival kits. Although such goods can last for a long time without refrigeration, there are some important reasons why they are not appropriate for a properly constructed disaster kit.

First, most store-bought non-perishable foods are not nutritionally complete and are low on proteins, vitamins and minerals. Although they may do for a few days, it's not a good idea to depend on them as a sole source of nutrition. Second, store-bought foods tend to take up a lot of room due to bulky packaging, and they can also be difficult to store properly. There are some great canned food storage solutions on the market that can make the most of your limited space, but you will also want to look into different types of preserved foods.

If you're serious about constructing an emergency kit, consider purchasing specially prepared survival food. Survival food comes in a variety of forms. The most common types are vacuum-packed ready-to-eat (RTE) meals such as stews and casseroles, and light-weight freeze-dried foods that can be reconstituted in hot water.

Another option for low-cost survival food is to prepare and store your own supplies. If you're interested in how to prepare survival food, the process is simple: just select some recipes that focus on shelf-stable staples, such as beans, rice, TVP (textured vegetable protein), dried meat and canned goods. Then, measure and store the ingredients in individual zip-top bags or plastic bins alongside your bottled water and emergency candles.

Why Is Survival Food Important in a Disaster Kit?

  • You may not have access to fresh foods for several weeks after a disaster.
  • Make sure that your family has nutritionally complete meals in case of an emergency.
  • It may be impossible to store refrigerated or frozen foods if the power goes out.

Things to Consider When Buying Survival Food

  • How much storage space do you have for your survival food?
  • How do you plan to store your survival food? Where do you plan to store it? The answers to these questions may dictate the kind of survival food you choose to buy.
  • Would you prefer freeze-dried, canned or ready-to-eat food supplies?
  • What are the daily nutritional requirements of each of your family members?

Recommended Brands of Survival Food

  • Mountain House Foods
  • North Bay Trading
  • Nitro Pak

Basic List of Survival Foods

Maybe you aren't quite ready to prepare and store a selection of survival foods complete with branded items like the ones listed above. That's fine. It's still a good idea to always keep some non-perishables on hand in case of a minor emergency, however. You never know when a natural disaster could strike or a prolonged power outage could occur. At the very least, we recommend keeping the following food items on hand at all times:

  • Bottled water
  • Rice
  • Canned beans
  • Canned green vegetables
  • Powdered milk
  • Sugar or honey
  • Oil
  • Salt
  • High calorie sweets like chocolate