When the power goes out, mealtime doesn’t have to be stressful. Keeping a few shelf-stable ingredients on hand means you can put together simple, satisfying meals without turning on the stove. Here are six easy meal ideas to keep your family fed until the lights come back on.

🥪 1. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

A classic for a reason! Pair PB&J sandwiches with applesauce cups, bananas, or whole apples for a quick, filling meal.

🐟 2. Tuna Salad Cracker Kits

Mix a tuna pouch with a mayo packet and serve it with crackers and fruit cups. It’s packed with protein and requires zero cooking.

🧀 3. DIY Adult Lunchables

Fill a divided container with crackers, peanut butter packs, beef sticks or summer sausage, mixed nuts, dried fruit, and applesauce cups for an easy grab-and-go meal.

🌯 4. Chicken Salad Tortilla Roll-Ups

Mix canned chicken or chicken pouches with individual mayo packets, roll it up in tortillas, and serve with chips or pickles if you have them.

🥣 5. Cold Cereal & Shelf-Stable Milk

Shelf-stable milk is a pantry staple worth keeping on hand. Add your favorite cereal and top it with a banana or dried fruit.

🍎 6. Fruit & Snack Plate

Arrange crackers, beef sticks, mixed nuts, dried fruit, applesauce or fruit cups for a simple snack-style meal that’s surprisingly filling.

💙 Hurricane Tip: Keep a couple of ice chests stocked with frozen water bottles before the storm. They’ll help keep refrigerated foods cold longer if the power goes out, and you’ll have cold drinking water as the bottles thaw.

Hopefully you won’t need these ideas, but it’s always better to be prepared. Stay safe, look out for your neighbors, and take care of one another. ❤️