Emergency Supplies Table
| Household | Water, 3 days | 7 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 3 gal | 7 gal | 14 gal |
| 2 persons | 6 gal | 14 gal | 28 gal |
| 3 persons | 9 gal | 21 gal | 42 gal |
| 4 persons | 12 gal | 28 gal | 56 gal |
| 5 persons | 15 gal | 35 gal | 70 gal |
| 6 persons | 18 gal | 42 gal | 84 gal |
| Household | Cans (cases), 3 days | 7 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 9 (1) | 21 (2) | 42 (4) |
| 2 persons | 18 (2) | 42 (4) | 84 (7) |
| 3 persons | 27 (3) | 63 (6) | 126 (11) |
| 4 persons | 36 (3) | 84 (7) | 168 (14) |
| 5 persons | 45 (4) | 105 (9) | 210 (18) |
| 6 persons | 54 (5) | 126 (11) | 252 (21) |
| Household | 3-day kit band | 7-day band | 14-day band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $87 - $210 | $107 - $250 | $142 - $320 |
| 2 persons | $114 - $270 | $154 - $350 | $224 - $490 |
| 3 persons | $141 - $330 | $201 - $450 | $306 - $660 |
| 4 persons | $168 - $390 | $248 - $550 | $388 - $830 |
| 5 persons | $195 - $450 | $295 - $650 | $470 - $1000 |
| 6 persons | $222 - $510 | $342 - $750 | $552 - $1170 |
One table instead of four open tabs: pick your household size and read off the water, the canned-meal count, and what the kit should cost. The numbers follow the federal rule - at least one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation, three meals a person a day of shelf-stable food, and the fixed-plus-per-person kit items underneath - all scaled across 3, 7 and 14 days so a full work-week outage is no longer a guess.
This is the reference sheet for the household; the calculators are the workflows. When you want the walk-through - refilling a water plan meal by meal, or pricing the kit item by item - the emergency water, food and kit calculators take the same inputs and explain the arithmetic. The table stays here as the printable answer.
How to use
- Find your household row - the tables assume one gallon per person per day and three canned meals per person per day.
- Read across for 3-day, 7-day or 14-day coverage; cases round up because stores sell by the case of 12.
- Check the kit band for your budget, then price the calculators below for your exact household.
Frequently asked questions
How much water should I store per person?
Ready.gov puts it at one gallon of water per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation. A normally active person drinks about three quarters of a gallon daily and the rest covers food prep and hygiene - and children, nursing mothers, sick people, hot climates and medical needs all push the number up, not down. The table stores nothing less than the full gallon.
How many cans of food is a one-week supply?
Three shelf-stable meals per person per day means 21 cans per person for a week - 84 cans, or exactly 7 cases, for a family of four. Choose no-cook or just-add-water items, because a real outage rarely comes with a working stove, and round up to the whole case: a partial case is a pantry gap waiting for a second storm.
What does a one-week kit cost a family of four?
The table bands it at $248 - $550: the fixed items everyone needs once (crank radio, first-aid cabinet, can opener, water containers), the per-person items (flashlight and whistle each), and the food-and-water cost that scales with people times days. A solo 7-day kit bands at $107 - $250; the per-person math is the whole difference.
How often should I rotate emergency supplies?
Once a year, on a date you cannot forget: review the kit, check the bottled-water and canned dates, and replace what aged out. Ready.gov's maintenance advice is a review habit, not a panic habit - tying it to the clocks-changing weekend means the same reminder that resets your smoke-alarm batteries also resets your pantry.