Where to Store

• What you'll need first is a place to store food supplies. It should be naturally cool (in case the power is out), secure and dry. A basement or underground storm cellar is a perfect place for your storage area. The soil behind outside walls stays cool year-round and provides a dry and cool storage place. If you don't have underground storage, find a spot for your pantry on the north side of the house away from outside walls exposed to direct sunlight. Insulate and ventilate the pantry closet well. Dry air should circulate from a cool place if possible.
  
  

How Long to Store

• Although most emergencies only last a few days, many survival experts recommend storing up to six months' worth of food, water and basic supplies. Illness or injury can be as disastrous as a natural or political disaster. Once you've built up a supply of staples, you should dip into them regularly and continue to restock new items to keep supplies fresh. Shelves should be arranged so that old stock is toward the front of the shelves and new items are in back. Write expiration dates on the tops of cans so you can easily track how fresh items are.
  
  

How to Stock

• Putting back six months' worth of food can be expensive. It's more economical to build up your supplies over time. Take advantage of sales to build your supplies. If there's a "buy one get one free" sale, grab as many of those items as they'll let you have. Vary purchases over time so the pantry stock has a nice variety. Living on hominy and Lima beans for three months would not be fun. Find a comprehensive "survival pantry" list and tape it to the inside of the pantry door. Check off items as you add them to your store.
  
  

What to Stock

• If you buy extra of what you are already buying, your emergency supplies will grow over time to reflect your normal eating patterns. For perishables, simply look for similar items that store well. If you buy frozen fish for your family one week, throw in some canned salmon or tuna for the pantry. If you buy bread, pick up some flour, yeast, oil and powdered eggs so you can make bread. You will have a well-stocked emergency larder in no time. Remember, once it's stocked, continue to shop as usual, but instead of using what you just bought, put it to the back of the pantry and pull out the older stock to keep things fresh. Don't forget to stock bottled water, cooking fuels like canned heat and camp stove fuel, basic first aid supplies and medicines like aspirin and cold and flu medications. Clearly mark expiration dates on top of the boxes.
  
  

How to Store

• Educate yourself about storage. Things like flour, canned goods, pasta and beans have a long shelf life in proper containers that protect against moisture, insects, mildew, mold and rust. Use natural and powered systems to dry and ventilate the storage area. Learn all you can about how to preserve, store and cook foods by alternate means. Make sure you have a place where you keep tools you'll need in an emergency, like knives, axes, generators and blankets. You want everything within easy reach in a disaster, so you don't find yourself digging in your hall closet looking for the flashlight you know is "around here somewhere".