Quick answer
- Store food in a cool, dry, dark place. Utah State University Extension says 40–60°F is best.
- Seal dry staples like rice, wheat and beans in Mylar bags or #10 cans with oxygen absorbers.
- Label everything with the date and eat the oldest first.
- The Red Cross suggests a 2-week food supply at home and 3 days for evacuation.
- Throw out cans that are bulging, leaking, heavily rusted or deeply dented.
A good food store is not a pile of buckets you never open. It is food your family already eats, packed so it lasts, and used in order. This guide covers what to store, how to pack it, and how long it keeps.
How much food to store
Start with a short goal and build up.
- Evacuation kit: a 3-day supply, per the American Red Cross.
- Home supply: a 2-week supply, per the Red Cross.
- Longer term: add a month, then three months, as your budget and space allow.
Ready.gov advises at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food. Pick foods your family will eat, and plan for special diets, babies and pets.
Store water too. Ready.gov says at least 1 gallon (3.8 L) per person per day. Food is useless if you have no water to cook dry beans or rice.
The four enemies of stored food
Heat, moisture, oxygen and light all shorten shelf life. Pests are a fifth problem.
Heat
Heat is the biggest factor you control. Utah State University (USU) Extension says the best range is a steady 40–60°F (4–16°C). It also says shelf life is cut in half for about every 10.8°F rise in temperature.
The USDA says canned goods keep best below 85°F (29°C). Temperatures over 100°F (38°C) harm them.
Good spots: an interior closet, a cool basement that stays dry, or under beds. Bad spots, per the USDA: above or beside the stove, under the sink, or in a damp garage or basement.
Moisture
Moisture causes mold and spoilage. USU Extension says foods for long-term storage should have 10% moisture or less.
This matters for oxygen absorbers. USU warns that moist foods sealed without oxygen can cause botulism. Only seal truly dry foods this way.
Oxygen
Oxygen makes fats go rancid and lets insects live. Sealed containers with oxygen absorbers fix both problems for dry goods.
Light
Light fades color and breaks down nutrients. USU notes that light quickly fades dry beans. Keep clear jars in a dark place.
Pests
Insects and rodents ruin more stored food than age does. USU says rodents can chew through plastic bags.
If dry food already has insects, USU advises freezing it at 0°F (−18°C) for 3 to 4 days. That kills insects, larvae and eggs.
Which foods last longest
These are the best staples for a deep pantry. The numbers below come from USU Extension and the USDA.
| Food | Packaging | Shelf life |
|---|---|---|
| White rice | Sealed, oxygen-free, cool storage | Up to 25–30 years |
| White rice | Sealed with oxygen absorbers at a steady 70°F | Up to 10 years |
| Dry beans | Food-grade plastic bags | 1 year or more |
| Dry beans | #10 cans or Mylar, oxygen removed | 10 years or more |
| Wheat (whole grain) | #10 cans | Still made acceptable bread after 32 years in a BYU study |
| Low-acid canned food (meat, beans, most soups, vegetables) | Store-bought can | 2–5 years |
| High-acid canned food (tomatoes, pickles, most fruit) | Store-bought can | 12–18 months |
These are best-case numbers in cool storage. In a warm house, expect less. USU’s own rule of thumb for wheat is to rotate so nothing is older than 5 years.
Old beans get harder over time. USU says they take longer to soak and cook, and very old beans may need to be ground into flour.
Good everyday foods to stock
- Canned meat, fish, beans, soups, vegetables and fruit
- White rice, pasta, oats and wheat
- Dry beans, lentils and split peas
- Peanut butter and nuts
- Powdered milk
- Salt, sugar and honey
- Cooking oil (rotate often)
- Crackers, cereal and dried fruit for no-cook meals
Containers that work
Mylar bags
Mylar-type bags have a foil layer. USU says it sharply cuts the oxygen and moisture that pass through.
Mylar is thin. Put the sealed bags inside a bucket or bin to protect them from rodents and punctures.
Food-grade buckets
Food-grade 5-gallon buckets with tight lids keep out pests and light. Use only buckets sold for food.
A plastic bucket on its own does not stay oxygen-free. USU says buckets and plastic bags will not hold an oxygen-free environment. Line the bucket with a sealed Mylar bag for long storage.
#10 cans
These are large commercial-size cans. USU recommends ones with a food-grade enamel lining. Some stores and canneries sell dry foods already packed in them.
PETE bottles and glass jars
USU says to use only PETE plastic bottles that held food before, with lids that have a plastic seal. Glass jars work for small amounts if kept in the dark.
How to pack dry food with oxygen absorbers
- Choose dry foods only: white rice, wheat, dry beans, oats, pasta.
- Check the food for insects first.
- Fill the Mylar bag or can, leaving room to seal.
- Have everything ready before you open the oxygen absorbers. Follow the maker’s directions for handling them.
- Add absorbers in the amount the maker lists for your container size.
- Push out extra air and seal the bag with a hot iron or impulse sealer.
- Label it with the food and the date.
- Store the sealed bags in a bucket or bin, off the floor.
Do not seal moist foods this way. USU links this to a risk of botulism.
Label and rotate
A food store only works if you use it. Follow “first in, first out” (FIFO).
- Write the packing or purchase date on every item in marker.
- Put new items at the back of the shelf.
- Take from the front.
- Check your stock every 6 months.
- Replace what you use on your next shopping trip.
Keep a simple list on paper or in a spreadsheet. Note what you have, the date and where it is.
Canned food safety
Commercial canning is safe and long-lasting. But a damaged can may hold Clostridium botulinum toxin, which causes a deadly food poisoning. The USDA gives clear rules.
Throw out the can if:
- It is bulging or swollen.
- It is leaking.
- It is heavily rusted.
- It has a deep dent you can lay a finger into.
- It has a deep dent on any seam.
- The food smells bad or the liquid looks milky when it should be clear.
Small dents are usually fine. The USDA says a can with a small dent that is otherwise in good shape should be safe. Light surface rust that wipes off is not serious.
Never taste food to check if it’s safe. The USDA is clear on this.
Cans that froze and swelled must be thrown out. The USDA also says cans that thawed and refroze are not safe.
After a flood, the USDA says not to eat any food that may have touched flood water. It also says to throw out food in damaged cans.
Common mistakes
- Buying food you don’t eat. Twenty buckets of wheat won’t help if no one knows how to cook it.
- Storing in the garage or attic. Summer heat ruins food quickly.
- Using non-food buckets. Paint and hardware buckets are not made for food.
- Sealing moist food without oxygen. This risks botulism.
- Forgetting a manual can opener. Ready.gov lists one in the basic kit.
- Never rotating. Food that expired years ago is not a food supply.
Food storage checklist
When the power goes out, you’ll need a safe way to heat this food. See emergency cooking without power.
For safe water, read how to purify water in an emergency. To grow fresh food alongside your stores, see starting a survival garden.
Sources
- Shelf-Stable Food Safety — USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency — USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- Storing White Rice — Utah State University Extension
- Storing Dry Beans — Utah State University Extension
- Storing Wheat — Utah State University Extension
- Packaging Foods — Utah State University Extension
- How Can I Get the Most Out of My Food Storage? — Utah State University Extension
- Storing Canned Foods — University of Missouri Extension
- Food — Ready.gov (FEMA)
- Build a Kit — Ready.gov (FEMA)
- Be Red Cross Ready Checklist — American Red Cross