When disaster strikes, the last place you want to be is stuck in a line at the corner grocery. Having a backup food supply - or what doomsday preppers would call a survival or disaster pantry - is essential if you want to live through a disaster and its aftermath. What are Short Term Emergency Foods? There are long term emergency foods and there are short term emergency foods. Long term emergency foods are those that have long shelf lives and will sustain you indefinitely. These are the food items that can stay shelf-stable for a long time. Foods marketed as long term emergency foods usually come in big cans or packs and may not resemble the food that you eat on a regular basis. Short term emergency foods, meanwhile, don't last as long but will still keep you nourished while you ride out the worst of the disaster. These may include food items that you normally eat and/or favorite foods, i.e. food items that aren't necessarily long-lasting or particularly nutritious but are important because you and your family enjoy eating them. Learn more in this book: Self Sufficiency: A Complete Guide for Family's Preparedness & Survival