Real food for the days the stores can't help
Emergency food is a supply of plain, dry staples you keep at home for when buying food becomes hard or impossible. Packed the right way, it keeps for 25 years or more, so it is there the one time you need it.
Being ready is a quiet way of taking care of the people you love.
25+ year shelf life
100% plant-based
When you'd be glad you have it
Hurricanes and floods
Roads close, power goes out for days or weeks, and store shelves empty before the storm even arrives.
Shortages and price shocks
Trucking, port or harvest problems, or a sudden spike in prices, can leave shelves thin for weeks.
Conflict and unrest
War, civil unrest or a large-scale emergency can make it unsafe or impossible to go shopping.
Long power outages
Without power, the fridge and freezer fail within a day or two. Dry staples need no cold.
Quarantine or illness
When the whole household has to stay home, a full pantry means nobody has to go out.
Job loss or hard times
A stored food supply stretches a tight budget for months while things recover.
Every prepared household is one less family in line when supplies are short.
Why plan ahead
Shelves empty fast
Stores keep only a few days of stock. In a warning, everyone shops at once, and what's left goes in hours.
Official advice says so
Emergency agencies such as Ready.gov advise every household to keep its own supply of food and water, so families can manage on their own until help arrives.
Buy once, store for decades
Canned food lasts 1–5 years and must be rotated. Sealed dry staples last 25 years or more and cost less per calorie.
Simple food, kept simply
We choose low-moisture food
Only plain staples that stay stable for decades when kept dry: rice, beans, lentils, oats, pasta, sugar and salt.
We remove the oxygen
Without oxygen, food stays fresh, keeps its flavor and nutrients, and insects can't survive.
We heat-seal it
Each food goes into a special bag, sealed shut to keep light, air and moisture out.
We pack and label it
Into a sturdy food-grade bucket with a sealed lid, labelled with contents, packing date and best-by year.
Inside every bucket
Food is packed almost to the top, then sealed so nothing from outside can reach it. Dry, dark and without oxygen, it simply waits, for decades if needed.
The result: a bucket that asks nothing of you for up to 25 years, and is ready the day you need it.
Free guides: get ready, step by step
What to prepare before an emergency, and what to do in the first hours. Two printable PDFs.
From the journal
All articlesThe buckets
One food per bucket, sealed fresh for the long term and labelled with contents, net weight, calories, packing date and best-by year. All vegan.
Store once. Worry less.
Pictures show the type of food inside and may differ from the exact product. Pickup only, in Hollywood, Florida.
Bundles
A balanced mix of grains and legumes for daily meals, with sugar and salt. The bigger the bundle, the bigger the saving.
One shelf in the closet. Months of calm.
How long it lasts a family of five
2 adults and 3 children eating carefully, about 7,000 calories a day.
How much does my family need?
Enter your household and how long you want to be covered. We size it with our bundle mix and pick the cheapest combination.
Knowing your number is the first step to being ready.
Most people eat less and move less in an emergency. "Carefully" is a realistic long-term ration; children's needs vary with age.
Using your buckets when the stores are empty
Eight steps, in the order you'll need them. Written to be followed by anyone in the family, without power, internet or shopping.
Read it together once. Share it with everyone in your home.
Take stock on day one
- Count buckets by food and write the total on a sheet taped to the shelf.
- Eat fresh and frozen food first, while it is still good. Buckets come after the fridge and pantry are used up.
- Decide how many days the food must last, and plan for longer than you think.
Rule of thumb: one 34-lb rice bucket is about 28 days of calories for one adult, or about 8 days for a family of five eating only rice.Set the daily ration
Measure with a cup, not by eye. In a long shortage, eat carefully: about 2,000 calories a day for an adult and 1,000–1,400 for a child.
Dry food 1 cup dry Calories Cooked White rice about 185 g about 680 3 cups Red lentils about 190 g about 670 2½ cups Pinto beans about 195 g about 670 3 cups Rolled oats about 80 g about 300 2 cups Pasta (shapes) about 100 g about 350 2 cups Sugar about 200 g about 770 — Example day for 2 adults and 3 children (about 7,000 calories):
Dinner alternative: 2 cups beans with 1½ cups rice.
Open one bucket at a time
- Pull the tear strip and lift the lid. Cut the inner bag straight across, just under the seal, so it can be sealed again. The small packets inside are not food: throw them away.
- Scoop out about a week's worth into a jar or container in the kitchen. Fewer trips into the bucket means less air and fewer pests.
- Fold the bag top down, squeeze out the air and clip it, or re-seal it with a hot clothes iron. A screw-on "gamma" lid makes daily opening easy.
- Keep opened buckets indoors in the coolest dark spot. Use an opened bucket within 6–12 months; oats within 3–6.
Plan the water
Dry food needs water to become a meal. Budget about 1 gallon per person per day for drinking and cooking, more in heat.
Food (1 cup dry) Water to cook Soak first? White rice 1½ cups Optional; 1–2 hours saves fuel Red lentils 2½–3 cups No Pinto beans 3 cups, after soaking Yes, 8–12 hours, then drain Rolled oats 2 cups No Pasta about 4 cups No; save the water for soup Only cook with water that is safe to drink: stored water, or water boiled 1 minute, or treated with 8 drops of plain 6% bleach per gallon and left 30 minutes.Cook with little fuel
- Soak rice and beans ahead. Start tomorrow's soak after dinner.
- Retained heat: bring the pot to a boil with the lid on, then wrap it in towels or put it in a cooler for 30–60 minutes. It keeps cooking with no fuel.
- Beans must boil hard for 10 minutes before simmering or wrapping. Undercooked dry beans can make people sick.
- On sunny days a solar cooker can do the work for free. Never use a grill, camp stove or generator indoors or in a garage.
- Eat cooked food within 2–3 hours, or bring it back to a boil.
Balance the meals
- Grain plus legume (rice with lentils, pasta with beans) gives complete protein. Serve both every day.
- Add a daily multivitamin, cooking oil, and any canned vegetables or fruit you have. Staples alone lack vitamins C and A and fat.
- Salt every meal lightly, especially in heat. Sugar is quick energy and makes oats something children will eat.
- Spread beans and lentils on a light plate before cooking and pick out any small stones.
Watch for problems
- Throw away food that smells sour, musty or of chemicals, has mold or clumps from moisture, or shows live insects.
- A sealed bag that is puffed up, wet inside or torn should be checked carefully before use.
- Keep opened food off the floor, away from heat and sun, and with lids on, so rodents and ants can't reach it.
When it's over
- Re-seal any partly used bags. Mark the lid "opened" with the date and use those first.
- Count what's left and replace what you used, so the next emergency starts from a full shelf.
- Unopened buckets need nothing: put them back and check the labels once a year.
General preparedness information only. In an official emergency, follow instructions from local authorities. See the disclaimers.
Calm starts before the storm
Two short, printable guides from the Standby Pantry team: what to prepare at home before an emergency, and what to do in the first hours when one is declared. Free, in your inbox.
Ten minutes a week is enough to get your family ready.
Ready before it hits
A calm, practical plan for preparing your home and family.
- Know your risks and local check
- Water: how much and how to store it
- Food: everyday supply and long-term pantry
- Power, cooking, health and documents
- Go bag and master checklist
The first hours
What to do when an emergency is declared.
- Five rules for any emergency
- Hour-by-hour plan for the first 24 hours
- Do and avoid for 8 types of emergencies
- Making food and water last
- Emergency numbers sheet
Send me the guides
Tell us where to send them. We'll email both PDFs, plus a few seasonal reminders before hurricane season. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
We use your details only to send the guides and Standby Pantry news. We never sell them. See terms and privacy.
The guides are general information, not professional advice. Always follow instructions from emergency officials.
The Standby journal
Practical, calm reading on preparedness: emergencies, food storage, cooking without power and keeping the family steady. Share what helps.
Author names are pen names used by the Standby Pantry editorial team. Articles are general information, not professional advice.
Your pre-order
Thank you for planning ahead.
Order
Prices include the sealed, labelled bucket. Sales tax, if any, is added on confirmation.
Questions? Write to us
Standby Pantry
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- Hollywood, Florida
Pickup only. We don't ship or deliver. The exact pickup address is sent with your order confirmation.
Disclaimers and terms
Last updated November 2026. Please read before ordering. By placing a pre-order or picking up products you agree to these terms.
1. Information only, not professional advice
Everything on this website, including the calculator, rations, cooking and water instructions, is general information for emergency preparedness. It is not medical, nutritional, dietary or safety advice. Calorie and serving figures are estimates. Consult a doctor or registered dietitian about your family's needs, especially for infants, children, pregnant or nursing women, older people and anyone with a medical condition.
2. No guarantee of outcome
Stored food is one part of preparedness. We make no promise that any quantity of our products will be enough for any person, household or emergency, or that it will be possible to cook, store or use them in a given situation. Always follow instructions from official authorities during an emergency.
3. Shelf life depends on storage
Stated shelf lives ("up to 25 years" and similar) are estimates based on published long-term food storage research for sealed, unopened containers kept cool (below about 75°F / 24°C), dry, out of sunlight and free of damage. Heat, humidity, pests, damage, opening the bag or bucket, or improper handling shorten shelf life. Once a bucket or bag is opened, shelf life is much shorter. Best-by dates are not safety guarantees. Inspect food before use and discard anything with signs of spoilage, moisture, mold, pests or unusual odor.
4. Allergens and dietary claims
- Pasta contains wheat (gluten). Oats may contain gluten from shared growing and milling. Products are packed in a facility that handles wheat, oats, legumes and other foods; cross-contact is possible.
- "Vegan" means the listed ingredients contain no animal-derived ingredients according to our suppliers' specifications. It is not a third-party certification.
- Check every label and ask us before ordering if anyone in your household has a food allergy or intolerance.
5. Safe preparation is the buyer's responsibility
Dry beans must be soaked and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before eating. All food must be cooked with safe drinking water. Never use grills, camp stoves, generators or other fuel-burning equipment indoors or in enclosed spaces because of carbon monoxide and fire risk. Small packets found inside the bags are not edible; keep them away from children and pets and throw them away.
6. Handling and storage
Filled buckets weigh roughly 25–45 lb. Lift with care and use help when needed. Stack no more than three high on a stable, level surface. We are not responsible for injury or damage arising from lifting, stacking, transporting or storing products.
7. Pre-orders, prices and pickup
- A pre-order is a request, not a contract. It becomes an order only when we confirm it in writing. We may decline or limit any pre-order.
- Prices, product mixes and availability may change before confirmation. Confirmed prices are honored for the confirmed order.
- Pickup only, in Hollywood, Florida, at the time and place given in the confirmation. We do not ship or deliver. Unclaimed orders may be cancelled after 14 days.
- Payment is due at pickup unless otherwise agreed in writing.
8. Inspection, returns and refunds
Inspect your buckets at pickup. Report damaged lids, buckets or seals before leaving. Because these are food products, opened buckets and bags cannot be returned. Unopened, undamaged buckets may be returned within 14 days of pickup with proof of purchase for a refund of the product price.
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim relating to our products or this website is limited to the amount you paid for the product involved. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for losses arising from misuse, improper storage, failure to follow instructions, or events beyond our control. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under applicable law that cannot be waived.
10. Website
We try to keep information accurate but do not guarantee that this website is complete, current or free of errors. Product pictures show the type of food and may differ from the actual product.
11. Privacy
Information you send us through the pre-order, contact or free guide forms is used only to answer you, fulfil your order, send the guides you asked for and, if you agreed, occasional Standby Pantry emails. Every email includes a way to unsubscribe. We do not sell your information.
12. Free guides and articles
Our free guides, articles and social posts are general information about household preparedness. They are not medical, legal, safety, financial or other professional advice, and they do not replace instructions from emergency managers, public health officials, utilities, your doctor or 911. Always follow official orders, including evacuation orders. Figures are estimates or general public recommendations (for example from Ready.gov, FEMA, the CDC, the American Red Cross and USDA) as we understood them when written; check those sources for current guidance. Stories and scenarios in articles are illustrative. Author names are pen names used by the Standby Pantry editorial team. Use of any guide or article is at your own risk; to the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for actions taken or not taken based on them.
13. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida. Any dispute will be handled in the courts of Broward County, Florida.