Best Emergency Food Storage
In an emergency, you want the best, most nutritious meals for your family. Here are our top ten picks for emergency food storage companies:
Our Recommendation

My Patriot Supply

Caloric Value

200-500 calories/serving

Variety

Good. Lack of reliance on carbohydrates, but a good selection of protein and sprouting vegetables. Multiple package sizes, protein packs

Shelf Life

Up to 25 years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Offers a deal of the day, also has a buy now, pay later option

Price

$7.00-$10.00 per 2000 calories (lowest price available)

BePrepared.com

Caloric Value

225 calories/serving

Variety

Large variety of food, includes #10 can kits and eat-on-the-go kits—high protein value

Shelf Life

25+ years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Regular discounts for buy in bulk

Price

About $1 per serving

BePrepared.com

Caloric Value

225 calories/serving

Variety

Large variety of food, includes #10 can kits and eat-on-the-go kits—high protein value

Shelf Life

25+ years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Regular discounts for buy in bulk

Price

About $1 per serving
Our Recommendation

My Patriot Supply

Caloric Value

200-500 calories/serving

Variety

Good. Lack of reliance on carbohydrates, but a good selection of protein and sprouting vegetables. Multiple package sizes, protein packs

Shelf Life

Up to 25 years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Offers a deal of the day, also has a buy now, pay later option

Price

$7.00-$10.00 per 2000 calories (lowest price available)

BePrepared.com

Caloric Value

225 calories/serving

Variety

Large variety of food, includes #10 can kits and eat-on-the-go kits—high protein value

Shelf Life

25+ years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Regular discounts for buy in bulk

Price

About $1 per serving

My Patriot Supply

Caloric Value

200 calories/serving

Variety

Good. Readywise is focused on providing food supply not just for emergencies, but also for camping and wilderness survival

Shelf Life

Up to 25 years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free and organic options available

Deals

Free shipping

Price

Starts at $1 per serving

Legacy Food Storage

Caloric Value

360 calories/serving

Variety

Kits for pet emergencies, fuel and energy options available, large variety of protein

Shelf Life

25 years

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Free shipping

Price

$2.70 per serving

Survival Frog

Caloric Value

2,000 calories/day

Variety

Backpacking, emergency gear, and water storage options available. Has food storage options available from ReadyWise, large selection of protein.

Shelf Life

25 years, , including for canned meats

Dietary Considerations

Gluten-free options available

Deals

Discounted equipment available

Price

About $2.90 per serving

Frequently Asked Questions

How much emergency food storage should I have?

The amount of emergency food storage you should have on hand depends on your circumstances. The bare minimum is to keep enough non-perishable food to last you 72 hours. But having a more extensive food supply can help to serve as a sort of insurance against longer-lived disasters, such as supply chain interruptions, storms, or hyper-inflation. Keep in mind that the 72-hour minimum is per person in your household. So if you have a household of seven people, you’ll need to store significantly more food than a household of one or two people.

How much water should I store?

The recommendation from FEMA for water storage is 1 gallon per person per day. You might be thinking, “I don’t drink a gallon of water every day,” and you probably don’t. But you should also store enough water to provide for your basic hygiene needs. FEMA’s recommendation for water storage is a 2-week supply per person. Your water storage will likely end up taking more space than your food storage will.

How can I increase the shelf life of my emergency food storage?

There are several things you can do to increase the shelf life of your emergency food supply. Firstly, choosing dry foods rather than canned foods will increase the shelf-life of your supply. This is because freeze-dried foods will tend to last the longest. You should also make sure that you store your food supply in an area that is cool and dry and unlikely to experience any kind of flooding or over-humidification.

What are the best foods for emergency food storage?

In an emergency, you will be focused on getting enough macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Carbohydrates will provide you with energy bursts, but protein is vital to help your body avoid malnutrition. Foods like dried beans and rice are easy to store and exceptionally inexpensive, but freeze-dried meats, fruits, and vegetables can all contribute to better nutrition in an emergency. Keep in mind, if you are preparing for an emergency, it can be hard to know for sure how long the crisis will last, so the greater variety you have access to, the better your nutrition will be.

What are other important things to store for emergencies?

Emergency food storage is just one piece of the emergency preparedness equations. You should also consider other things that would be helpful to have on hand in an emergency. A few things that we recommend storing are:

  • 300-500 dollars in cash, small bills. In an emergency, you’ll want to be able to produce exact change whenever possible.
  • Knives, cooking utensils, a small stove, and fuel for the stove. Some emergency preparedness sites provide solar-powered stoves.
  • Battery operated radio, solar chargers for phones
  • 1-2 changes of clothes
  • Basic hygiene items (i.e., toothpaste, toothbrush)

This is not a comprehensive list, but it should give you a good idea of where to start while stocking up for an emergency.

When will I use my emergency food storage?

You can use your emergency food supply whenever you think it is appropriate. There are no requirements stating that you must only use your food supply in the case of a hurricane or weather-related emergency. It may also be helpful in the case of job loss, pandemic, economic downturn, or other non-weather emergencies.

Advertiser disclosure

Best Emergency Food Storage is an independent advertising review and comparison site. Companies that appear on this list are companies through which Best Emergency Food Storage receives compensation. This compensation affects the order in which the companies appear on this list. This list is not comprehensive of all of the available products on the market.