Besides having a supply of emergency preparedness food, it is always a good idea for a family to also have clothing and communication items in store in case of a crisis situation such as a terrorist attack or tornado. Communication items may include: a hand-powered radio, or one that runs on batteries along with extra batteries and a flashlight.

Your first priority in any emergency is to have plenty of water along with a variety of emergency preparedness foods. It is extremely important to store at least one gallon of water per person per day for everyone in your family. If you live in a very hot area of the country, you may want to store two gallons of water per person per day. When storing emergency preparedness foods, it is vital to have a large variety of foods that are already cooked and do not require refrigeration.

For example, soups, broths, beans, some fish and select meats can be eaten straight out of the can and will require no refrigeration besides storing well. In addition, peanut butter and jelly, dry granolas and cereals, trail mixes, meat jerky, cookies, crackers, hard candy, nuts, seeds and dried fruits are also nutritious emergency preparedness foods that will store well without any electricit
y. You can extend the shelf life of these foods by vacuum-sealing small amounts of them into bags and then storing them with your canned foods.

It can be helpful if you swap some of the older foods for fresher food as time passes so none of it goes to waste. A good way to remember to do this is to put reminders in key places on your calendar. If you are expecting a baby or have a little ones be sure to include baby food and formula. Do not forget having specific food for any seniors in the family who may have special nutritional needs. Some other ideas for emergency preparedness foods are dried soups, instant potatoes and rice, powdered drink mixes, instant oatmeal, grits, pudding and dry milk. These foods do need heat to cook and can be prepared very easily over an open fire or in a fireplace. Throughout the year put aside any extra food you may have to store in case of an emergency. To save money, you can dry leftover meat in a dehydrator to make homemade jerky, and then put it into small bags and then vacuum seal them.

When you plan ahead in case of an emergency it helps to relieve stress on everyone involved when the environment around them is more stable. Be sure to stock enough emergency preparedness foods, clothing and communication items so everyone can be well provided for until the crisis is over.