What long-shelf-life food belongs in an emergency kit?

Questions about long-shelf-life food

How much emergency food should I store?

Ready.gov suggests at least several days for an evacuation kit and two weeks for staying at home. Choose food that needs no refrigeration, little water and little or no cooking, and that your household already eats.

Which foods last longest in storage?

Freeze-dried meals, canned goods, and dry staples such as white rice, dried beans and oats kept airtight in a cool, dry, dark place. Check printed dates and rotate: eat the oldest first and replace it.

Do I need a manual can opener?

Yes. An electric opener does nothing in an outage, and Ready.gov lists a manual can opener in its basic kit.

Free: printable checklists and prep spreadsheets, including a water and food calculator and a power budget. For answers with no internet: Survival LLM.