Build a three-day, no-cook outage food supply
Stock three days of no-cook, non-perishable food, with a practical list, water quantities, storage rules and outage safety thresholds.
For an outage, prioritize food that is safe at room temperature, can be eaten without cooking and comes in portions your household can finish at one sitting. Build a three-day baseline, then add more if outages in your area commonly last longer.
Ready.gov recommends at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food. Its suggested foods include canned meat, fruit and vegetables; nut butter; cereal or granola; dried fruit; bars; canned juice; and shelf-stable milk. Keep a manual can opener and eating utensils with the supply (Ready.gov).
Three-day shopping list per adult
Use this as a planning template, not a universal nutrition prescription. Adjust for age, appetite, allergies, medical diets and foods the person will actually eat.
| Food | Three-day starting quantity | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-eat canned or pouch protein | 3–6 servings | Tuna, chicken, salmon, beans or shelf-stable meat |
| Peanut, seed or other nut butter | 6 servings | Pair with crackers, tortillas or fruit |
| Canned fruit | 3 single-meal containers | Fruit cups or pull-tab cans |
| Canned vegetables | 3 single-meal containers | Choose pull-tabs or keep an opener handy |
| Crackers, tortillas or crispbread | 6–9 servings | A no-cook starch for meals |
| Dry cereal or granola | 3 servings | Eat dry or with shelf-stable milk |
| Shelf-stable milk or alternative | 3 single-serving containers | Check that the label permits room-temperature storage before opening |
| Protein, cereal or fruit bars | 3–6 bars | Simple snacks or meal components |
| Dried fruit or applesauce cups | 3 servings | Compact and ready to eat |
| Familiar snacks | 3 servings | Choose something the household already rotates through |
Plan nine meal slots per adult: three meals for each of three days. Assign an actual combination to every slot—for example, tuna and crackers with canned fruit—rather than counting cans without checking serving sizes. Compare the finished plan with the person’s normal daily intake and the calories and servings on each label; package sizes vary too much for a can count alone to establish that the supply is adequate.
USDA’s emergency list similarly includes shelf-stable meat, poultry and fish; canned produce; peanut butter and jelly; cereal; granola bars; crackers; dry milk; juice and foods for special diets. It recommends small containers so an outage does not leave leftovers that require refrigeration (USDA FSIS).
Add water to the plan
Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for several days for drinking and sanitation. Children, nursing mothers, sick people and people in hot conditions may need more (Ready.gov).
For three days, that means:
- One person: 3 gallons
- Two people: 6 gallons
- Four people: 12 gallons
Ready-to-eat food protects that water supply. Dry beans, rice, pasta, powdered meals and soup mixes may be shelf-stable, but they consume water and require a safe cooking method. Treat them as secondary supplies unless you have planned for both.
Choose packages that work after opening
“Non-perishable” generally describes the unopened product. Shelf-stable milk, canned meat and other foods may require refrigeration after opening. During an outage, use single-serving packages or serve a larger container to enough people that nothing remains.
Read each label before putting a product in the outage bin. A container that requires refrigeration before opening does not belong in the room-temperature supply.
Commercially canned food can be eaten without warming, according to Ready.gov. Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern or portable camping stove inside a home, tent or camper; these devices can produce deadly carbon monoxide (CDC).
Store and rotate the supply
Keep cans and other shelf-stable foods in a cool, dry place—not above a stove, under a sink or in a damp garage or basement. USDA says high-acid canned foods such as fruit and tomatoes retain their best quality for up to 18 months, while low-acid foods such as meat and vegetables can retain best quality for two to five years when stored appropriately (USDA FSIS). Follow product dates and rotate the food into normal meals before its quality declines.
Do not use food from leaking, bulging or badly dented cans; cracked jars; jars with loose or bulging lids; or containers that spurt when opened. Do not taste suspect food to test it.
Review the supply twice a year. Replace damaged packages and items that no longer suit household dietary needs. Store the manual opener and eating utensils in the same place. For food, lighting, medicine and backup-power planning, use the complete outage kit checklist.
If the outage has already started
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. The CDC says an unopened refrigerator keeps food safe for up to 4 hours; a full freezer for 48 hours, or 24 hours if half-full. Frozen food can be refrozen or cooked if it still contains ice crystals and feels as cold as refrigerated food (CDC).
Use the refrigerator food-safety guide for keep-or-discard decisions. Do not treat warming perishables as part of the shelf-stable supply.