Canned Food

Let's start with something basic: Canned food. It lasts years on a shelf, it's packaged in waterproof, pilferage-proof containers, and the food can be heated in the can. And canned food is relatively cheap.

Each time you go to the grocery store, buy a few extra cans of what you normally buy. Just two or three cans, each week, is an inexpensive way to stock up over time.

For maximum shelf life, store in a cool, dry place, away from heaters, windows, or light sources. You can buy a few sturdy plastic totes from Walmart or another retailer (I recently bought an 18-gallon Sterilite tote from Walmart on clearance for $4.80). Write "Canned Food" on the tote lid with a marker, along with the earliest "Best By" date on any of the cans (for example, if the soonest "Best By" date on any can is March 23 2012, write that date on the tote lid).

Why is this date important? For rotation. Once you've built up an adequate supply, you'll need to rotate items to prevent spoilage of your supplies. When items approach their expiration date, take them out, put them in your cupboard to use, and put a new item in (from your regular grocery shopping). Write the new soonest "Best By" date on the tote lid and remove the old date with rubbing alcohol.

You can use this method of rotation with more than one tote, obviously.

What exactly is "an adequate supply"? Well, answering that question involves setting goals for yourself. "Experts" recommend stocking three days' worth of food and water. This figure is based on the typical time for government agencies to begin providing relief. Emphasis on the word "begin". Full relief may take much longer- for example, following Hurricane Katrina, some people in the disaster area didn't "begin" recieving relief until almost two weeks into the disaster, and even then, the flow of supplies was not fully reliable.

So, I recommend starting with a reasonable (and attainable) goal of stocking 30 days' worth of food for each person in your home. From that point, additions can be made (providing for persons likely to shelter with you, for example). Stocking this much food could take months, buying it a few cans at a time. This is not a problem. Start stocking a little bit at a time now, and in several months, you'll have your 30-day supply.