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Food planning

Food Storage Calculator

Create a household food plan that distinguishes ready-to-eat supplies from foods that need a safe cooking setup.

Plan your emergency food

Start with the household, duration, and whether food must work without power, water, or cooking fuel.

Household and duration

Ages 19 and over.

Children who need meals.

1-90 days.

How will you prepare food?

No-cook is the safer starting choice for a power outage unless you have a proven safe cooking setup.

Use the result well

Build a food supply your household will use

The output is a planning framework, not a prescribed diet. Choose familiar foods, account for allergies and preparation limits, and pair the result with enough safe water.

  1. Step 1

    Choose the household size and planning period, then decide whether safe cooking will be available.

  2. Step 2

    Select familiar categories that cover energy, protein, fruits and vegetables, snacks, and special needs.

  3. Step 3

    Buy in stages, label dates, use the oldest items first, and replace what the household eats.

Questions about this estimate

How much emergency food should I store first?

Start with a short plan your household can afford, eat, and rotate, then extend it. A smaller usable supply is more reliable than a large stockpile of unfamiliar food.

How should I handle allergies or medical diets?

Build the plan around foods that are already safe for each person. For medical nutrition needs, ask the relevant clinician or dietitian how to plan for an outage.

Can I count refrigerated or frozen food?

Treat it as a short-term layer, not the whole plan. Keep appliance doors closed, use a thermometer, and follow current USDA food-safety guidance after an outage.