A two-week emergency food supply is the gold standard for household preparedness. It covers you for virtually any realistic short-term emergency — power outages, extreme weather, localised supply disruptions, or sudden job loss.
The good news: it does not cost much. Here is how to build a complete two-week supply for one person for under $50.
Why Two Weeks and Not Just Three Days
FEMA recommends a minimum 72-hour emergency supply. Three days is the bare minimum. But two weeks is where genuine security lives. Hurricane recovery, widespread flooding, severe winter storms, and extended power outages often take 7-14 days to resolve. Two weeks means you never have to scramble.
The $50 Two-Week Shopping List
This list is designed for one adult for two weeks (approximately 28,000 calories total).
Bulk staples:
- 5 lb white rice: $5-7
- 3 lb dried beans: $4-6
- 3 lb rolled oats: $5-7
- 2 x large peanut butter jars (40oz): $10-12
Canned goods:
- 8 x cans tuna or salmon: $8-12
- 6 x cans vegetables (corn, peas, green beans): $6-8
- 4 x cans fruit in juice: $5-7
- 4 x cans soup: $5-7
Supplementary:
- Multivitamins (30-count): $8-10
- Salt and basic spices: $3-5
Total estimated cost: $59-81. Split across two months if needed — buy bulk staples in Month 5 and canned goods in Month 2.
Calorie Check
- 5 lb rice: ~8,000 calories
- 3 lb beans: ~4,650 calories
- 3 lb oats: ~5,100 calories
- 2 jars peanut butter: ~10,400 calories
- 8 cans tuna: ~960 calories
- Canned goods (soup, veg, fruit): ~3,500 calories
Total: approximately 32,610 calories — enough for 16 days at 2,000 calories per day.
Three Sample Days of Emergency Eating
Day 1:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with peanut butter
- Lunch: Crackers and tuna with a can of sweetcorn
- Dinner: Rice and beans with canned tomatoes
- Snack: Peanut butter from a spoon, hard candy
Day 7:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with honey and dried fruit
- Lunch: Bean soup heated on camp stove
- Dinner: Rice with canned chicken and mixed vegetables
- Snack: Crackers with peanut butter
Day 14:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with peanut butter
- Lunch: Tuna and vegetable rice bowl
- Dinner: Bean stew with rice
- Snack: Canned fruit
Where to Store It
Cool, dark, consistent-temperature location: under bed in flat storage bins, bottom of a wardrobe, or kitchen cabinet away from oven heat. Transfer bulk dry goods into sealed food-grade containers with oxygen absorbers.
Cooking Without Power
- Portable gas camping stove: $20-35. Most reliable.
- Solid fuel tablets (Esbit): $8-12 for 20 tablets.
- No-cook design: White rice can be pre-soaked in cold water for 12 hours. Beans from a can are edible cold. Oats can be cold-soaked overnight.
Never use fuel stoves indoors without ventilation. Carbon monoxide is odourless and fatal.