10 Things Ice-Storm Veterans Keep So You Can Eat for a Week

Seven days, one box of small cans, one opener. The ice-storm winter my husband Walt was on the lines, two kitchens on our road went dark the same night. One had a chest freezer full of meat. The other had one shelf of small cans and a hand-crank opener. By day five, only one of them was still feeding anybody. Here are the ten things that kitchen kept, counted down to the one she did that you can pack tonight. **In this video** · Why the first thing on the list isn't food at all · How much water to set by for a week, and why the snowbank is not a free fridge · The big-can mistake I made my first winter alone · A supper you can eat cold that's already cooked · A 96-cent can against a $230 freeze-dried bucket whose maker prefers boiling water · Why the big carton is a trap when the fridge is dark · The one-person no-cook week box, and what's already in your pantry to fill it **Chapters** 0:00 Seven days, one box, one opener 0:34 10. The can opener that doesn't plug in 1:15 9. Water, and why the snowbank isn't a fridge 1:59 8. A box of saltines 2:39 7. Small cans of fruit, never the big one 3:31 6. The peanut butter you already own 4:12 The one rule for the rest of the list 4:29 5. Canned beans, eaten cold 5:19 4. Canned fish vs. the $230 bucket 6:35 3. Little boxes of shelf-stable milk 7:24 2. Honey, raisins and nuts 8:24 What happened to the two kitchens 9:05 1. The one-person no-cook week box **Tell me in the comments:** Which one's already in your pantry, the peanut butter or the canned fish? I read them all. **Sources** Ready.gov, *Build a Kit* (manual can opener; water) — ready.gov/kit FoodSafety.gov, *Food Safety in a Disaster or Emergency* (1 gallon per person per day, at least 3 days; making ice) — foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/food-safety-in-disaster-or-emergency FoodSafety.gov, *Winter Weather Food Safety* (don't use the snow as a fridge) — foodsafety.gov/blog/winter-weather-food-safety FoodSafety.gov, *Food Safety During a Power Outage* (the 2-hour rule) — foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/food-safety-during-power-outage NDSU Extension shelf-life guide via Great Plains Food Bank (crackers, canned fruit, canned fish) — greatplainsfoodbank.org National Peanut Board, *How Long Will That Peanut Butter Last?* — nationalpeanutboard.org USDA FSIS, *Shelf-Stable Food Safety* (canned food is cooked in the can) — fsis.usda.gov Case Western Reserve University, Lindsay Malone RD, on rinsing canned beans — case.edu/news CDC, *Carbon Monoxide Poisoning* (no camp stove or grill indoors) — cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide Mountain House, *How to Rehydrate and Prepare Freeze-Dried Food* (boiling water preferred) — mountainhouse.com/blogs/general/prepare-freeze-dried-food Smithsonian Magazine, *The Science Behind Honey's Eternal Shelf Life* — smithsonianmag.com CDC, *Home-Canned Foods: Botulism Prevention* (throw out bulging or leaking cans) — cdc.gov/botulism/prevention/home-canned-foods.html Prices are what we found at Walmart on 27 Sep 2026 (opener, water, saltines, applesauce cups, peanut butter, beans, tuna, milk boxes, honey, raisins; ReadyWise 30-day bucket $229) and will vary by store