Plan for about 2,000 calories per person per day. Store at least three days for an evacuation and aim for two weeks at home, with one month a strong target if you have the space. For a family of four, two weeks is roughly 112,000 calories, or more simply, 56 person-days of meals. Below is the math, what to store, and how the main storage approaches compare.
About 2,000 calories per person per day is a sound planning baseline. It is deliberately generous: in a stressful emergency you want energy and morale, not a crash diet. Active adults, manual work, and cold weather push the number up, while young children need less. Treat 2,000 as the average across your household and adjust for who you are actually feeding, including any medical or dietary needs.
Match it to the scenario, the same way you would for water. Three days per person is the common minimum for a grab-and-go situation. Two weeks is the more meaningful home target, because the real risk is a longer disruption to stores and supply chains. A month or more is a reasonable goal once the basics are covered, especially if you live somewhere remote or prone to extended outages.
The clean way to plan is in person-days: people, times days, equals person-days, times about 2,000 calories each. For a family of four storing two weeks, that is 4 times 14, or 56 person-days, which at 2,000 calories is about 112,000 calories. You do not need to count every can. Aim for the calorie total using foods your family will actually eat.
Favor food that is calorie-dense, shelf-stable, low-effort to prepare, and familiar. Staples like rice, beans, pasta, oats, and canned proteins and vegetables form a cheap, flexible base. Add fats and calorie-dense items like peanut butter and cooking oil, since calories matter more than volume. Keep some comfort foods, because morale is part of preparedness, and account for allergies, baby formula, and special diets. Remember that many staples need water and heat to prepare, which ties your food plan to your water and power plans.
| Approach | Shelf life | Cost | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotating pantry of staples | 1 to 2 years | Lowest | Needs regular rotation | Everyday value and familiar food |
| Canned goods | 2 to 5 years | Low | Heavy, rotate | Cheap, no-cook calories |
| Long-term buckets, freeze-dried | Up to 25 years | Higher | Low, set and forget | Deep reserve, minimal upkeep |
| Ready meals, MREs | About 5 years | Highest per calorie | None, ready to eat | Grab-and-go and no-prep needs |
Most well-prepared households blend these: a rotating pantry for daily life and the first weeks, a layer of long-term buckets as a deeper reserve, and a few ready meals for evacuation. Stock what your family eats, so storage doubles as groceries and rotation is painless.
Keep food cool, dark, dry, and pest-proof, since heat and humidity are what shorten shelf life. Use a first-in, first-out system: shelve new items behind older ones and eat the oldest first. Label items with dates, keep a manual can opener with your supply, and make sure you have a way to cook without grid power, which connects back to your backup power plan.
Plan for about 2,000 calories per person per day as a baseline. Active adults and larger people need more, young children need less, so adjust for your household rather than treating it as exact.
Using 2,000 calories per person per day, a family of four needs roughly 112,000 calories over 14 days. It is easier to plan in person-days: 4 people times 14 days is 56 person-days of meals to cover.
Commercially packed freeze-dried and dehydrated foods in sealed buckets can last 25 years or more. Canned goods typically last two to five years, and a rotated pantry of staples like rice, beans, and pasta lasts one to two years when kept cool and dry.
Often yes. Freeze-dried and dehydrated meals, rice, beans, and pasta all need water to prepare, so your food and water plans go together. See our water cluster to size that supply.
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