“I’m hungry.” But what do you do when there’s no power for cooking? You may be surprised at the variety of foods that can be prepared even if there is no gas or electricity for cooking. Here’s a list of foods that require no cooking.

Breakfast

• Fruit or canned juice
• Ready-to-eat cereals or breakfast bars
• Breads or crackers with jams, jellies, margarine, peanut butter, cheese, or cheese spreads
• Milk (canned, evaporated or reconstituted powdered milk, which may also be used in coffee or tea)*
• Instant coffee, tea, or cocoa (if tap water is hot enough)

Lunch or Supper

• Processed cheese or cheese spreads*
• Canned vegetables*
• Peanut butter
• Canned meats, fish, poultry*
• Canned beans (baked beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, etc.)*
• Raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery, etc.
• Fruits (canned or fresh)
• Bread, crackers, cookies
• Canned puddings*

Snacks

Fruits (fresh, canned, dried), milk*, juices, cheeses*, ready-to-eat cereals, nuts and seeds, fruit leathers, crackers, cookies, raw vegetables, raisins, hard candy, granola bars, beef jerky

* These foods must be refrigerated after opening. You will have to eat it all in one sitting.

For more information on disaster preparedness and recovery visit the NC Disaster Information Center.