Basic Survival Food List
Certain foods are key to short-term survival, and a wider variety is necessary for long-term survival preparation. This survival food list covers both the basics for a few days without power as well as what would be needed for a long emergency. Check out the Survival Food List Blog for recent posts and discussions on survival topics.
Foods and Supplies to Store for Emergency Survival:
♦ Water, water filters, hand pump, water purification drops.
Access to clean water, or a store of safely treated water, is primary when it comes to building an adequate food storage. Not only is water essential for hydration, it’s needed to reconstitute freeze dried food, cook, and for basic hygiene — washing hands, brushing teeth, cleaning cuts and more. Ensure that this aspect of your preparation receives top priority. For a few days without power, a gallon of water per person per day stored and rotated is sufficient. For long-term survival, a reliable water source is critical. Those on well water can take advantage of hand-operated well pumps for a continuous water source in a grid-down situation.
♦ Flour, whole grains, rice
Properly stored bulk whole grains will last for years and even decades, making them a perfect choice for home food storage. They are also 
one of the cheapest items on a per-pound basis to buy; you can get great discounts for buying in bulk. These are the suggested amounts are for one adult’s one-year supply: Whole grain wheat berries, 350 lbs., other whole grains (barley, corn, oats, popcorn, rye), 100 lbs., rice (whole, brown, wild) 45 lbs., pastas (lasagna, egg noodles, spaghetti, wheat, veggie) 35 lbs. Whole grains, and not white flour, white rice and white pasta, are packed with nutrients, protein and even oils. Do not substitute empty calories for these recommended whole grains.
♦ Cereal
While commercially prepared cereals, such as Cheerios and Raisin Bran, have shorter shelf lives and need to be rotated on a monthly or quarterly basis (use the oldest items and replace with new purchases), whole rolled oats, grits, quinoa and similar dry grains processed for making gruel or hot cereal will last much longer. Choose a variety of several types of cereal, 75 pounds per adult, for a well-rounded one year’s supply of stored food.
♦ Beans 
As with all categories, it’s important to store foods that you know how to prepare tastefully and that your family actually eats. In the beans/ legumes section of your home food storage, the recommended one-year amount is 75 lbs. for each adult. Consider a combination of black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans (great for making hummus) lentils, pinto beans, navy beans, split peas and other varieties as per your taste and favorite recipes.
♦ Meat, frozen, dried or freeze dried
Buying a side of beef and storing it in the deep freeze is one way to ensure a source of protein as long as the power stays on. Aim for about 75 pounds of canned or frozen beef, chicken and fish per adult if you go that route. Dried beef, typically in the form of jerky, doesn’t require power to remain preserved. It still has a relatively short shelf life, however. Unopened cans of freeze-dried meats can last for decades, making them the most stable and reliable way to store beef for long-term survival. See our freeze dried meat blog post for more about buying and using this type of food.
♦ Dairy products, powdered milk, freeze dried butter 
Find and store powdered milk, buttermilk powder, dried yogurt culture for making yogurt, dehydrated or freeze dried butter and cheeses. The goal is to have about 150 pounds of these items per adult as well as about 25 dozen powdered eggs and two dozen cans of evaporated and condensed milks. If you have a milk cow and egg laying chickens, obviously, this eliminates the need to store these hard-to-preserve items.
♦ Vegetables/ fruits
Frozen, canned, jarred, dried, and freeze-dried vegetables and fruit, such as peaches in #10 cans, are another component of a well-rounded bulk food storage for a family. Consider how much fruit and vegetables you like to eat in a week and multiply by 52 to build a year’s supply.
♦ Sweeteners: honey, natural sugar, stevia, maple syrup In addition to sweetening foods, tea, coffee and other little luxuries, sweeteners are a baking catalyst; necessary for making breads and rolls with yeast as leavening. About 50-75 pounds per adult, depending on your usage, will be more than enough for a year.
♦ Oils, fats
Good fats are necessary for your body’s survival under any circumstances. Plan to acquire and store at least 60 pounds of oils and fats (including olive oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, and lard) for each adult benefiting from your food storage for long term survival.
♦ Leavening: yeast, baking powder, baking soda
Critical for baking, about 2 pounds leavening (yeast, baking powder, sourdough starter) per person is typically sufficient for the year.
♦ Salt
Plan to have 5 pounds of salt on hand for each adult.
♦ Treats; chocolate, coffee, nuts, dried fruit,
At your discretion and according to your taste, store up coffee beans, tea, nuts, chocolate and other treat items. Store candy in moderation as too much sugar has a taxing role on the body. A little now and then may be a great morale booster, however.
Wow, your survival buddies are so lucky – you’ve included not only sugar but chocolate, too! Very informative article about what kinds of food to put away and how long they last.
very interesting and informative. I will print and use this as a guide for my long term food storage
This is a great list! I have been trying to find a LDS cannery in my area so I can take the next step on our preps list.
Give me your state and I’ll tell you where to find LDS food centers
Concerned about country’s future regarding disasters/survival. Please help me out with a LDS food center in Tampa Bay Florida area. Bless you….
looking for survival kits
GO TO THE GUN AND KNIFE SHOWS.
Freezing leftovers is a great way to eat healthy and to save money, too. Buy foods like onions in season and dry to preserve for the entire year.
how do you dry onions? Ive chopped them up and bagged in freezer, but would like to have some not relying on the freezer.
We have an Excalibur food dehydrator, which is excellent. It has solid tray sheets you can use for things like minced/ chopped onions, which are too fine to go on the regular woven surface.
See the Excalibur dehydrator and accessories on Amazon for reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P2J3K0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=survfoodlist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001P2J3K0
I am building a survival stash…need any advice I can get.
Jean, do you have any specific questions about creating or implementing your survival food storage plans? The list on this page is a great place to start!
For those of you looking for survival options here is a few things to prepare for….
1. Economic collapse which we all know is in the near future.
2. I am sure most of you have seen Doomsday Peppers (False Media) This show is only showing what might happen if some natural disaster occurs. The media will not show what we should truly be worried about.
3. Our Government Martial Law, This will happen and you will not have a huge window opportunity to escape from the cities or towns.
4. Deadly Virus, Bill Gates and many others whom have come on the air have talked about controlling world population (Agenda 21) These people are the worst of the worst. What Virus you ask? Avian Flu which is 65% lethal. Scientists have studied 5 mutations just to get to a lethal percentage of 65%.
What are my back ups?
Bill Gates announcement on Depopulation
http://youtube.com/F3WXcRfsrTQ
65% Lethal Virus Man Made
U.S. has asked two leading scientific journals not to print them, fearing terrorists might learn how to develop the lethal virus.(Why make it in the first place?)
And you might ask yourself How? Airports
Inject a major international Airport the virus will spread airborne and you will have carriers whom will bring it to you.
So now that I have stated what is backed up through research how can you prepare? How can you inform the community? How can you survive?
Thank you for your insightful post — I really appreciate your comment.
Personal preparation as well as community-building within a network of friends, family and neighbors is crucial for all of us.
Survival food storage is just the start!
Thanks for posting this. I am helping my parents by ordering our family bulk food for the year, we still have 400 pounds of food from last year, but now I see that we need approx. 6,648 pounds of food to live on nothing but what’s in our pantry.
This helped me get an exact amount we need for our family of 6. I am the eldest daughter in a homeschooled family out in the mountains of Idaho.
-aMandalin
Yes, it is staggering to realize how much is really needed. How are your preps going? Your family is lucky to have you!
This is a great list. It really helped me for school and now I’m inspired to start my own survival kit. Thank You
I like planning ahead, however, some of these estimates are way too much. I don’t use two pounds of salt per year, if I did my blood pressure would be through the roof. Honey is great for so many things, it can preserve food as bacteria cannot survive in honey, and it is a great triple antibiotic in case of injuries. As foods go, canned meat and soups are the best, high calorie items, tuna, for example are great health wize also. Peanut butter is a staple of the survivalist. But 60 pounds of oil per person. That’s over a pound per week. I fry foods in a tablespoon of oil, some people use half a cup and throw out the remainder or reuse, but two 32 ounce bottles will last me a year, that’s 4 pounds, not 60. Perhaps a happy medium of 20 pounds could be settled on. And be much healthier too. And if you are planning for a year, consider seeds for a garden to have fresh veggies, and maybe chickens for eggs.
Salt is crucial for food preservation and preparation, especially in a grid-down scenario. Salt is currently very cheap and ti costs little to over-stock this item — use the extra for bartering when the time comes.
The fat recommendations have always seemed high to me; those are following a LDS list. I will research these more thoroughly and update as needed.
As always, tailor these recommendations to your own lifestyle — and store what you eat, eat what you store!
Thanks for stopping by and for the comment.
I have begun to properly can soup and broth. As well I am packing pastas as well as essential bathroom products. Each month I plan on preserving more and more food and not spending money on sundries like going to the movies or travel. As much as I miss my friends and family I think it is more important to stock my rented home with what I will need for the future. Not easy being a women alone in this world but that is how I have begun to see myself in this quest to make sure I will have all I will need.
I think you are on the right track … just be sure to keep your relationships healthy while you prep. In a survival situation, connections and community will be just as important as food storage and survival items.
Anyone have suggestions or resources on how to properly store this food? I live in a townhouse so I don’t have a lot of extra room. Thought about the attic but it gets VERY hot up there in the summer and I worry the food will go bad. Suggestions?
Tiffany,
You’re right that the attic is not a good option at all — everything from wheat berries to packaged foods will suffer from the extreme temperatures.
Basically, you’ll need to be creative and stash your survival foods and gear throughout your home instead of in one specific location. Think of unused space — under beds (canned goods lined neatly in plastic under-bed storage drawers) or in linen closets (first aid and bottled water), under bathroom sinks (sealed plastic bins or 1-gallon buckets of grains).
Use a sea chest as a coffee table, fill it with survival food and keep it locked from prying eyes. Put a decorative cloth and some flowers or another arrangement on top — none will guess you’ve got gallons of water, MRE’s and a crank-power flashlight in there.
Finely, keep a list of what you have stored and where it is — don’t rely on your memory when you’re in a stressful survival situation.