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Homemade 72 Hour Emergency Food Supply Kits

You never know when some sort of disaster might happen, but you can be ready. Please note that this is only a 72 hour supply, so I like to put in some comfort foods, this is in no way similar to my longer term food storage , which is geared to a longer survival period.

MATERIALS:
One gallon plastic food container per kit (it is very hard to fit all the food into the container so I planned on using 1 gallon zip lock bags) Also added a couple of  Oxygen Absorbers in each container for good measure.

Food items on the menu:

3 Day Food Supply for One

  • Day 1
Breakfast          2 Granola bars , 1 can juice
Lunch               1 pkg Lipton soup, 1 pkg crackers
Dinner              2 pkg beef sticks, 1 fruit roll
Snack               9 pieces of candy
  • Day 2
Breakfast          1 hot chocolate mix, 1 fruit roll
Lunch               2 pkg beef sticks, 1 pudding cup
Dinner              1 canned soup, 1 pkg crackers
Snack               9 pieces of candy
  • Day 3
Breakfast          1 fruit roll, I Capri Sun pouch
Lunch               1 pkg Ramen Noodles, 1 pkg crackers
Dinner              2 granola bars, 1 pkg nuts, 1 hot choco
Snack               9 pieces of candy, 1pkg cookies
  • EXTRA ITEMS TO KEEP WITH YOUR CONTAINER
Water- 2 liters per day
Small can opener
Plastic utensils
Garbage bag
  • ONE YEAR ROTATION

Shove the food into the container as best you can and store with your backpack  or  72 hour kit.

Choosing a survival food kit.

Some food items last longer than others. Related: Shelf life of food .

Tip:  If you use mints keep them in a separate baggie or they will make your crackers taste like mint.  GOOD TO KNOW!

This “menu” is purely an example.  You can put in your jar what ever you want. Food preferences and choices are and should be up to the individual making the kit .  I realize lot of you might disagree with the food choices I have used, but it is my choice, you pack yours the way you want, with MREs and long-term food storage items .

51 thoughts on “ Homemade 72 Hour Emergency Food Supply Kits

  1. Hello there, I found your blog via Google while looking for a related topic, your website came up, it looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

  2. I have some similar but put them into ice cream buckets with a handle they work Perfectly also! Thank you!

  3. I have to agree with the army dude, minus the curse words, these lists are so meager, even in a survival situation, you really shouldn’t have to settle for a fruit roll up for breakfast, especially if you’ve already put thought into survival in the first place! A fruit roll up breakfast seems more realistic to a person who did not plan for an emergency and is just digging for what he can get.
    I think adding instant oatmeal packets would be great, no heat needed, only clean water. Pop tarts are great due to the calories and the waterproof packaging, and for lunch and dinner, cans of meat, packets of mayo from the gas station to complement with some crackers, even Spaghettios would be great! Also, you could look into foods with a much longer shelflife if you wanted to lengthen the rotation spans, so dried beans, white rice, honey, hard cheeses encased in wax (25yr shelf life!), alcohol, even pastas and canned fruits will last ages and you’d be eating real foods that just require water, if anything at all!
    No disrespect, the idea is great, I just think it needs more creativity and research on what can be crammed in the container! Use it as a jumping off point:)

  4. When this artixcle was posted these were really meant to see someone through a 72 power outage/winter storm. Not intended for long term survival needs. Especially if you have a house full of kids.

  5. As a former regular army infantryman, i can say with some authority that your little ration jugs are wholly inadequate in terms of carbohydrates, fat, protein, essential vitamins and minerals but worst of all you would be one hungry motherfucker if you had to live on that. You would be better off filling your pockets with snickers bars, Beef jerky, and a couple of cans of tuna and crackers. Whoever gave you the idea that your little ration packs are adequate needs a really harsh beating.

  6. Seriously? Whoade these kits. A teenager who’s only experience in survival comes from playing video games? A fruit roll up for breakfast? A meat stick for dinner??? You wouldn’t eat that for your normal meals…why on earth would you want to try to during that during an emergency when you’re already stressed out. This would put a healthy person in the hospital after 48hrs…let alone someone with diabetes/hypoglycemia, heart problems, or other health risks. Obviously you don’t want every meal to be some big production, but there are a ton of smarter choices.

  7. Thanks, we believe that everyone should make one that fits their personal taste.

  8. This is brilliant! Ignore the vile comments. Some people have obviously never been in a survival situation. When the power goes out in the dead of winter and there’s two feet of snow outside your door, I can easily make one of these last me four days. With a few changes I can make one that lasts me a week. The size is small enough to fit in a bug out bag, and I’ve been stuck in airports and campsites where one of these would have been a godsend. People need to learn to do with a little less or they’ll never make it in a real emergency.

  9. I had a thought…what about adding hardtack biscuits, and maybe some broth powder to flavor it, when you soak it so you can eat it? It would last forever, and it would be filling! LOL

  10. for the diabetics, this is a great idea for us, as you mentioned, it is a choice as to what you put in your bag. Carbs are our enemy and we need to research the labels to find things to eat that will fit our needs. There are several you mentioned that will work in my bag. If longer than 3/4 days I may be in a fix but I can cross that bridge when I get there. As fir the rest of you–well some of you are rather vicious in your comments. I found this sight interesting and it gave me many options . Thank you for posting and for all of you and your suggestions.

  11. I work in homes that support people with disabilities and by licencing standards we have to have emergency food supplies. Of course we cant let these foods go bad, so we keep a sheet on top of the bucket listing all the expiration dates so we can easly replace the items when they are close to expiring. πŸ™‚

  12. This is an awesome idea. Going to make a couple this week!

    Sidenote, I was going to share this on twitter but I didn’t see any social sharing buttons. You might want to add those

  13. I’ve made these in gallon baggies. 2 instant oatmeal packs, a granola or energy bar, fruit roll up or raisins, a pouch of tuna, salmon or spam, a Hormel Compleats meal, crackers or cookies, hard candy, and drink mixes (hot chocolate, instant coffee, crystal light mixes). I made sure one drink stick in each pouch was a sports formula to keep electrolytes in balance during a crisis. Nuts and jerky didn’t store well.

  14. We live where we have Typhoons from May through November. This is perfect for us. We always have to have emergency kits ready. This will be so much easier. Thank you so much.

  15. I just joined this blog site primarily for the subject matter, but also for the excellent way in which you used a simple photo to get your message across. Nice job, I very much like what I see so far…. πŸ™‚

  16. I use the gallon pickle jars you can get at most supermarkets. Besides the 72 hour emergency rations, I find they are great for storing rice, beans, noodles, or just about anything that will fit in them. Great article!

  17. Wow..some commenter are a bit sad. Clearly this is a SURVIVAL kit, not an all you can eat buffet. It is small, portable and meant for a true emergency. Use some common sense and pack it with foods that fit your dietary restrictions and preferences, but don’t act like a jerk and belittle someone for giving an excellent example of emergency preparedness/awareness. And for all the people who think this food gets wasted if an emergency doesn’t happen to crop up….get real. Use your brain and either eat it or give it to someone in need. Thanks to the poster for putting the time and energy into shedding some light on one way to help from becoming a tragic statistic by actually preparing for emergencies instead of running around like a headless chicken when disaster strikes.

  18. I enjoy reading your blog love your idea love to have excess to your sight thank you and god bless you. .

  19. I do disaster assessment and relief as well as search and rescue. I’ve met plenty of people that would love to have something like this! I may make smaller versions to hand out when we’re the first ones in and see a need. Love the container idea! Durable and see through. Thanks for the idea. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Short term, this would work in the real world.

  20. I love these! Something like this, made for me and my bf’s tastes as suggested, will be perfect for putting safely in the boot when he gets his car. Putting them all together per day (or maybe even per meal for us) makes life simpler and protects the food from knocks and some pests. I love this idea, it’s brilliant for us. Also I quite like the choice of food you have there, gonna steal the fruit roll idea ;p
    Maybe I’ll make mini meals in containers complete with drink inside (somehow leak proofed)… Then for simple issues we get caught out and don’t wanna have to go buy food we can just have a meal, or if we are in a survival situation we have the food to survive all day.
    Thank you for your efforts!

  21. great idea. this is the kind of thing that u can tailor make to your own likes and nutritional needs. the possibilities. I think I will add a small box of strike anywhere matches in a zip lock bag to my kit. the zip lock should keep everything from smelling like sulfur don’t you think? thanks for the idea

  22. You all will think I’m nuts but, I’d make some with cans of sardines. My other suggestions would be cheese wrapped in wax, trail mix, the single servings of fruit. And yes, instant coffee or tea. If you pack for two people, they now have packs of quinoa and rice that you just need to open and heat up. The possibilities are endless.

  23. Hey Staff Writer, Awesome topic, Something easy to do with items we would have in the house anyway and if not go shopping for, Easy to stash and durable containers that double as water container if need be. If SHTF we will need all the resources we can mustar. And as for the whiners and criers let them over think themselves into not doing SOMETHING, We’ll Done and Thanks

  24. I love this idea. I think I’ll stock up on pouch tuna, canned chicken, and instant soup. Maybe a box of jiffy muffin mix (they can make griddle cakes), and canned/ powdered milk, and the snacks you listed (granola bars and jerky). Crackers… maybe like wasa bread. Those tuna lunch kits would be handy too. Extra water purification tablets as well as water… sounds like I have my next weekend project!

  25. I personally like the food list…my family would much rather eat these foods than try to choke down an MRI. It’s only a3day kit people!

  26. Thank u for your blog…I appreciate all u r doing to help others. Thank u for including information to care for our beloved pets..

  27. Wow. Ya know what I find just…astounding?How much people are bitching about this kit! I pinned this specifically because It’s relatively compact, it’s cheap, and in an EMERGENCY SITUATION I would be SO thankful for some candy and some crackers and a can of soup. Clearly, half of you don’t understand the point of the post. If you are someone with serious time and space availability on your hands; then this obviously isn’t for you. If you are someone like me, living in an Apartment with limited space; then this is Perfect in a pinch. If you don’t like it–go elsewhere. No one asked you to be here and act like bullies and assholes. Grow up.

  28. Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!

  29. Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thanks

  30. Holy crap you guys are acting like assholes. In the post it CLEARLY says “This “menu” is purely an example. You can put in your jar what ever you want.” Yet you all come on here and blast them for the food that was in the EXAMPLE!!!!! Maybe you would be better off take a reading comprehension class and put off blasting someone for giving an example of what they like to do! If you are a true prepper that you already know that your preps fit YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!! Preps are not universal especially food preps, you might be diabetic while I am not, you might have heart disease while someone else doesn’t. What I’m saying is quit being such assholes to each other and understand the info you are reading before you come and put down someone who is trying to help you.

  31. Where do you find the plastic food containers? I am doing this for Christmas for family members and like the container idea.

  32. Being diabetic, I couldn’t eat any of this except the nuts, beef sticks, and soup. There sure isn’t anything healthy here except the nuts.

  33. Please note that this is only a 72 hour comfort food supply, so I like to put in things I would like, this is in no way similar to my longer term food storage, which is geared to a longer survival period.

  34. this is ridiculous. this “3day” amount of food would last a normal adult a little over 24 hrs. All of this is snack food. In a high stress situation, this will get you nowhere. Get a clue.

  35. Lame. How much food is going to go to waste on this? If you are making survival packs, get food with a longer shelf life.

  36. Thank you for the post. The list is made up of small packaged items. I was thinking that this is a good list of items to keep in my desk at work where I do not have a lot of room.

  37. I forgot to ask do you put the water you need in this same container so it is all together? Also can you heat the soup up in the can it comes in?

  38. Hi, Are the containers just the food part of the 72 hour kits? because as I was reading I was thinking what about this or what about that. Also if you have four legged family members maybe make one for them as well.

  39. Hi yes I do love you food storage it is wonderful. It will be good for me and I know that my son loves everything you have in there as well, he it is what you need to eat..and put in what we eat so cheers for that. Hey if you are able just email me..Rez

  40. Suggest 10, 25, or 50 lb capacity pet food containers. Seal water tight, more space for high calorie foods. Don’t want to have to scrape by if you can help it.

  41. Hello u have a cool blog. I wanna thank you for publishing this interesting articles with us. Keep up this good job.

  42. This example is geared towards a camping or scouts trip, but you can add anything that fits your need. I do like the container idea and I like to add instant coffee & tea bags too.

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