Food & Water

Protect the basics before expanding the pantry

Food-and-water preparedness is easiest when you plan for normal household use first. Store foods your household already eats, rotate them through ordinary meals, and make sure your emergency cooking method is safe for the location where you intend to use it.

Cold food during an outage

Opening the refrigerator repeatedly spends the cold you have left. USDA says a refrigerator generally keeps food cold for about four hours if unopened. A full freezer can maintain temperature for roughly 48 hours, or around 24 hours when half full, if the door stays closed.

• Keep appliance thermometers in refrigerator and freezer.
• Freeze water containers or gel packs ahead of predicted outages.
• Group frozen food together to retain cold longer.
• Have coolers available for longer outages.
• When food safety is uncertain, use official temperature/time guidance rather than smell or appearance alone.

Water planning

Consider drinking, food preparation, hygiene and any household-specific needs. Municipal water can sometimes remain available during a blackout, but pumps, treatment systems or local infrastructure can also be affected. Keep stored potable water and know where your water authority publishes advisories.

Cooking without normal power

A no-cook layer is valuable because it works immediately and consumes no fuel. Add outdoor cooking options only after you have a safe location and understand the combustion risk. Never move charcoal grills, camp stoves or other combustion devices indoors to escape bad weather.