Food

For 3- and 14-day water and calorie totals, use the 3- and 14-day supply calculator.

You can go longer without food than without water, but a household under stress still needs familiar, easy calories — especially children. The aim is not a novel “survival menu.” It is food you already eat, that does not need a working refrigerator or, if possible, a stove.

How much to keep

Ready.gov asks households to store at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food. The American Red Cross is more specific: 3 days for an evacuation bag, and about 14 days at home.

The most useful method is to plan the meals your household will actually eat:

List breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks for 3 days (go-bag) and for 14 days (home).
Write the foods you already buy that keep without refrigeration, plus a manual can opener.
Plan enough for everyone at home — for a family of four, about 24,000 calories for 3 days and 112,000 calories for 14 days at 2,000 calories per person per day — including infants’ formula or other special diets and pet food.
Optionally, add up the calories in those meals and compare the daily total with the USDA ranges below, so you are not far under what people in the house typically need.

Ready-to-feed formula is simpler than mixing powder if water quality is uncertain.

Calorie needs

There is no single official “emergency calorie” figure that fits every person. Needs vary with age, sex, body size, health, and activity. The figures below are estimated amounts to maintain weight for reference-sized people, from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, Appendix 2, Table A2-2. That edition remained federal guidance until the 2025–2030 Guidelines were released. Use the current USDA DRI Calculator for a personal estimate, and check the current Dietary Guidelines if a new table is published.

In the Guidelines, sedentary means only the activity of typical daily living; moderately active adds the equivalent of walking about 1.5 to 3 miles a day at 3 to 4 miles per hour; active adds more than 3 miles a day.

Estimated calories per day, adults (to maintain weight)

	Sedentary	Moderately active	Active
Females, 19–30	1,800–2,000	2,000–2,200	2,400
Females, 31–50	1,800	2,000	2,200
Females, 51 and older	1,600	1,800	2,000–2,200
Males, 19–30	2,400–2,600	2,600–2,800	3,000
Males, 31–50	2,200–2,400	2,400–2,600	2,800–3,000
Males, 51 and older	2,000–2,200	2,200–2,400	2,400–2,800

Children and adolescents (Guideline estimates): toddlers 12–23 months, about 800–1,000 calories; children ages 2–8, about 1,000–2,000; older children and adolescents, about 1,400–3,200, generally higher for males and for higher activity. Follow pediatric or clinician guidance for infants and for anyone with a medical diet.

Pregnancy and lactation often need extra calories in later pregnancy and while breastfeeding; follow a clinician’s advice.

During an outage, people may be less active than usual, or more active if they are cleaning up in the heat. Treat the table as a range, not a ration. It is better to have four ordinary meals than two favorite ones that nobody will finish.

Using the 2,000-calorie planning figure: four people for 3 days is 24,000 calories; four people for 14 days is 112,000 calories. If you instead add USDA range midpoints for your actual household (for example two moderately active adults at about 2,000 and 2,600, plus two school-age children at about 1,400–1,800), you may land somewhat higher or lower. Count familiar meals first, then use one of these checks so you are not far under what people in the house typically need.

What belongs in the pantry

Useful staples, drawn from Ready.gov and Red Cross kit lists:

Ready-to-eat canned meats, beans, fruits, and vegetables
Canned or boxed juices and shelf-stable milk
Peanut butter or similar proteins
Dried fruit, nuts, granola, cereal, and bars
Crackers and other dry staples in sealed containers
Pouch foods that need only hot water, if you have a safe way to boil water
Infant and toddler foods if needed
A manual can opener, disposable or washable plates and utensils, and paper towels

Store canned goods in a cool, dry place. Keep opened dry goods in closed containers. Check dates when you check the rest of the kit, and eat what is nearing its date as part of ordinary meals.

The simplest way to build a 14-day supply is to buy a little extra of what you already use and rotate it: finish the older packages first, and restock.

Cooking when the power is out

Commercially canned food can be eaten cold from a clean can. If you heat a can, take the label off, wash the can, and open it before heating.

Use charcoal grills, camp stoves, and other fuel appliances outdoors only, well away from windows and doors. Ready.gov says never to use a gas oven or stovetop to heat the house. See Power and lighting for carbon monoxide rules.

If you cannot cook, lean on foods that need no heat at all.

Food safety without refrigeration

Bacteria grow quickly in food between 40°F and 140°F. Ready.gov and Ready.gov power outages use these rules of thumb:

Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
An unopened refrigerator typically keeps food cold for about 4 hours.
A full freezer stays cold for about 48 hours; a half-full freezer for about 24 hours.
Use a refrigerator or freezer thermometer. Food should stay at 40°F or below.
Thawed food that still contains ice crystals, or feels as cold as if it were refrigerated, can usually be cooked or refrozen. When in doubt, throw it out.
Discard meat, poultry, fish, eggs, leftovers, and other perishables that have been above 40°F for 2 hours or more.
After the outage, throw away food with an odd smell, color, or texture. Do not taste it to “check.”
Discard any food that has touched floodwater, and any cans that are swollen, badly dented, or rusted through. Some undamaged canned goods can be sanitized; see the CDC bleach guidance on the sanitation page.

If you expect a long outage, a cooler with ice can save a smaller amount of high-value food. Dry ice is sometimes used for freezers (a common figure on Ready.gov is about 25 pounds for a 10-cubic-foot freezer for 3 to 4 days), but it must not touch food directly and must be handled with heavy dry gloves in a ventilated area.

If medicines that need refrigeration have been warm for more than a day, Ready.gov says to discard them unless the label says otherwise, and to consult a doctor or pharmacist for a new supply.