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This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC - safer, healthier people.

When it comes to food and beverages, most of us have an abundance of choices–just down the street at the local grocery store. But sometimes things go wrong, due to snow storms, power outages, and other natural and manmade disasters.

It doesn't take a large catastrophic disaster for any one of us to find ourselves in a situation where we were stuck in our home, maybe for a period of days, without food and water available to us other than what we have there.

If you were stranded at home, what would you want on hand?

"Tuna–in packets. We have peanut butter."

"Dried fruits."

"Canned goods."

"Nuts."

"Bread and milk."

"Chicken in the can."

It's important to have the right things on hand because, as we know, emergencies do happen. Experts stress that it's best to be prepared with at least 3 days of food and water.

You don't need special foods. You can use foods that are around the house–those non-perishable things that you have every day–canned soup, dried food items.

Stockpile things you like and normally buy–just buy a little more of them. Stockpile foods that are non-perishable and don’t need refrigeration or cooking.

When the power goes out, the first thing you should use is the food out of your refrigerator, then move to the food in your freezer. After that, that's when you go to your stockpile of canned goods and non-perishable products. Just make sure you have a manual can opener as well.

In a disaster situation, you need to maintain you strength by eating at least one well-balanced meal per day. And you need to make sure you drink enough liquid for your body to function properly. Having a supply of clean water is a top priority.

You need to have enough water for hydration, food preparation, and daily hygiene. Store at least one gallon of water, per person per day. You can buy packaged bottled water or store safe tap water in sanitized plastic containers.

Place the water in a cool dark place and change every 6 months. If you run out of your stored water supply during an emergency, you can treat tap water to make it safer.

Contaminated water can cause diseases, such as dysentery, typhoid, and hepatitis.

To treat tap water, two generally accepted methods are to boil water for at least 1 minute or by adding sixteen drops of regular, unscented household bleach to 1 gallon of water.

The things people can do to prepare for emergencies are very simple–just require common sense, but are so important. Preparing your home for an emergency is something you want to do ahead of time. It's so much better for our well being should something happen.

To access the most accurate and relevant health information that affects you, your family and your community, please visit www.cdc.gov.