Field guide: food without normal utilities

For three days, food should lower workload rather than create it. Use familiar ready-to-eat food and protect water, medication routines, infant needs, older adults, and restricted diets.

Plan first

Make one short inventory: ready-to-eat items, refrigerated food, foods needing water or fuel, a manual opener, utensils, and special diets. Choose meals requiring little water, fuel, and cleaning. Eat regularly when possible; fatigue makes decisions worse.

Keep safety simple

Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. When in doubt about a perishable item, discard it; do not taste food to decide. Discard food exposed to floodwater, leaking or swollen packages, and food with unusual odor, color, or texture. Keep raw food, hands, and utensils away from ready-to-eat food.

Heat safely

Commercially canned food can often be eaten without heating. Fuel-burning devices belong outdoors and away from openings. Do not improvise indoor combustion or leave a flame unattended. If safe cooking is unavailable, choose food that does not require it.

Scope: Follow local public-health instructions after flooding, power loss, or a food recall.