The purpose of a disaster supply kit is to help you survive from the moment an emergency happens to the time you can get to more supplies and help, rescuers arrive, or the incident is over. This could be three days, five days, a week, or longer.
Two important parts of your disaster supply kit are water and food. You can only last three to four days without drinking water. Though it’s still important, you can last three to four weeks without food. You need to have both. Here’s some tips and things to consider when adding them to your kits.
Rules of Three to Four
– You can only last three to four seconds if you panic and don’t perform the correct protective actions
– You can only last three to four minutes without breathable air
– You can only last three to four hours without adequate shelter in extreme conditions
– You can only last three to four days without drinkable water
– You can only last three to four weeks without food
Water
The minimum recommendation of water is one gallon per person per day. That’s half a gallon for drinking and half a gallon for hygiene and sanitation. If you are planning on your kit lasting even a minimum of three days, are you going to have three gallons packed in it? One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. That’s about 25 pounds of just water. Your kit should probably be no more than 40 to 50 pounds. Three gallons of water would be half that weight. It is just not practical to carry that much water. We recommend packing a maximum of one gallon in your disaster supply kit. If that is still too much weight for you to carry, try half that.
Our preference for emergency kit water is the 4.23 oz. emergency rations water pouches. They pack easily and have a five-year shelf-life, so you don’t need to rotate them as often as other options. You’ll need to pack 32 for a full gallon, or 16 for a half gallon. They are divided into four-ounce pouches, and even though they are durable, if one does break open, you won’t lose your whole water supply. Once you open a pouch and drink the water, you can dispose of the pouch or use it to carry other things, but it won’t be much use for water.
All of the pouches together are only about one day’s worth of water. Since you can’t carry more with you and still have room for other supplies, carry an empty water storage container like a hiking bladder or collapsible water bottle that you can refill if you come across another source of water.
Additionally, carry water treatment supplies like water purification tablets and a compact water filter to treat water that you are unsure of. Do you need both? Tablets kill live pathogens in the water but don’t remove anything. Filters, on the other hand, depending on their quality, can remove sediments and most pathogens. Together, purification and filtration will remove most any contamination in your water. Follow the manufacturer’s directions to be sure you are using the product properly and safely.
You may want to include electrolyte powder packets to add to your drinking water. This improves the taste of the water and helps your body absorb the water better. This is especially helpful with young children who may not be drinking as much water as they need during an unfamiliar and stressful time.
Water items to include in kits:
💧Half a gallon to one gallon of water in 4.23 oz. water ration pouches
💧Refillable two or three-liter hydration bladder or collapsible water bottle
💧Water purification tablets
💧Individual water filter
Food
Food is essential for maintaining energy and health in normal life and even more so during an emergency. An average adult needs around 2000 calories a day, more or less, depending on body size, health, and level of physical activity. Calories give you energy and help you maintain your body’s temperature. In your kit, your short-term focus is just on calories. After a few days, you need food beyond your kit with more nutritional value to help maintain your overall health.
An average adult needs around 2,000 calories a day, more or less, depending on body size, health, and level of physical activity.
There are many options for food in disaster supply kits. For the most part, you just need to have at least a three-day supply of ready-to-eat or simple preparation, nonperishable foods. Food preparation takes time, fuel, and cooking supplies, all of which will be in short supply. On the other hand, warm food can contribute to your mental and physical health. Find a balance between ready-to-eat and simple preparation that works for you.
Be sure you and your family like and can eat the food in your kits. It would not work for you to be in the middle of an emergency situation with less access to medical care and then find out the hard way that someone is allergic to peanuts or something else you packed.
Some people like emergency rations bars because of their longer shelf-life (five years) and simplicity. You just open and eat. Many taste like a bland sugar cookie, but you can find other flavors as well. You eat three bars a day, each bar about 400 calories, to make 1200 calories a day. These were originally designed for survivors on life rafts who would not need many calories as they were sitting and waiting to be rescued. We recommend not using them exclusively, but using them as a supplement with other foods.
Other ready-to-eat options include trail mixes, jerky, dried fruit, or granola bars. Many of these have a three to six month shelf-life, so you’ll need to rotate them often. You may also want to throw in some hard candies in your disaster supply kit as a morale-boosting comfort food. But, even if you love it, stay away from chocolate because it easily melts and makes a mess.
It’s a good idea to include things like packets of powdered cocoa and cider, and dehydrated soup. This takes simple preparation by just adding hot water. Hot liquids can do a lot to help your body stay warm in a cold climate, not to mention the emotional soothing of a hot cup after a stressful day.
If you have room in your kit and can spare the weight, you may want to consider freeze-dried meals or the military style Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs). Freeze-dried meals can have up to a 25-year shelf-life and, though bulky, are lightweight. The downside is that they need to be reconstituted with hot water, so you’ll need to plan on carrying extra water or have plans for getting more. MREs are “ready-to-eat” and full of liquid, so they are heavier. They taste much better warm, so have a plan for heating them. Some MREs come with water-activated flameless heaters, so check to see if that is an option you want before purchasing them.
Remember that you are limited in space and weight in your disaster supply kit. Stay away from heavy, bulky items like cans and bottles of food and water if you can avoid them.
Food items to include or consider in kits:
🍴Emergency ration bars
🍴Trail mix, nuts, dried fruit, jerky, granola bars
🍴Hard candy – not chocolate
🍴Packets of soup, cocoa, and cider
🍴Freeze-dried meals
🍴Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs)
There are many different options for what you can put in your disaster supply kits. You will probably even have differences according to tastes, needs, and abilities within your own household. The important thing is that each kit meets the survival and recovery needs of the person it is made for. Be Ready Utah can give you guides and ideas, but your kit needs to be uniquely suited to you.
Visit BeReadyUtah.gov for more information on water and food in disaster supply kits and other emergency kits.
Do This:
💧Determine what water treatment supplies work best for your disaster supply kits.
🍴Determine what food options work best for your disaster supply kits.
🎒Put those in your emergency kits.
♻️Rotate as necessary.
So, what do you have for water and food in your disaster supply kit?
What about water and food in other kits, like a work or vehicle emergency kit?
Does your food and water change with the seasons?
We’d like to hear your thoughts, ideas, and questions on this topic.
Send us an email to [email protected] with “Water and Food in Kits” in the subject line.
Videos: Watch and share with someone you care about
- Be Ready Buzz: One Gallon of Water Per Day (1.5 min)
- Be Ready Buzz: Food in Disaster Supply Kits (1.5 min)
- PrepCast: Importance of Water in an Emergency (7.0 min)
Printable brochures: Read and share with someone you care about
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