Eating after the storm

After a storm, food safety matters before convenience does. Protect cold food, use safe water and cooking methods, then look for a hot meal only after the basic checks are done.

The longer answer

Storm-week food has its own memory in Baytown: the grill in the driveway cooking everything in the freezer before it turns, the neighbor who shows up with a pot of rice, the long line at the one place with a generator, the first cold drink when the power comes back. It's a town that has learned to feed itself in the dark.

This page is for that week: what's safe to keep, what to throw out, and how to find a hot meal when the kitchen at home is down.

What's still safe in the fridge

The federal food-safety guidance is simple, and it's worth taping inside a cabinet door: - The refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours without power, if you keep the door closed. - A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 hours if it's half full, again with the door closed. - Throw out refrigerated perishables (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, leftovers) that have been at 40°F or warmer for more than 2 hours — or for more than 1 hour when temperatures are above 90°F. - Frozen food that still has ice crystals, or is at 40°F or below, can be refrozen. It may not taste as good. - Never taste food to test it. When in doubt, throw it out.

An appliance thermometer in the fridge and one in the freezer can turn guesswork into a number. Buy them before storm season, not after the lights go out. The FDA adds one more habit worth having before a storm: freeze containers of water ahead of time, so there is ice to pack around what matters when the power goes.

If the water came in

Flooding changes the rules. The CDC says to throw out food that may have come into contact with floodwater or stormwater, and food in cardboard containers, including juice, milk and baby formula boxes. The FDA says the same about anything that was not in a waterproof container. That covers a lot of a pantry, and it is a hard thing to do when the shelves were full, but a wet cardboard box is not a food-safety judgment call. If you're unsure, throw it out.

Cooking without power

Grills and camp stoves stay outside and away from doors, windows and vents. Never use one in a garage or inside the house. Carbon monoxide has no smell. More on staying safe when the power's out is on A medical plan for storm season, and the wider checklist is on Hurricane preparedness.

Water

If the city issues a boil-water notice, follow it for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and making formula until it's lifted. Watch for City of Baytown alerts.

Finding a hot meal

• Open now shows places whose posted hours say they're open. After a storm, posted hours can be wrong. Call before you drive, because a restaurant with no power is closed no matter what its hours say.
• 2-1-1 Texas (dial 2-1-1) connects people to food assistance and disaster help, including feeding sites after major storms.
• If food bought with SNAP was destroyed, Texas has a replacement-benefit process. Under the normal Texas rule, the loss must be reported promptly (generally within 10 days of discovering it), while disaster waivers can change procedures. Call 2-1-1 Texas or check Texas HHS for the current disaster instructions.

Some places post round-the-clock hours in normal weather, which gives you the most chances to find one lit. Waffle House at 7203 Garth Road, IHOP at 5001 Garth Road and Whataburger at 1900 Decker Drive all post 24 hours. The McDonald's at 4503 Garth Road and the Laredo Taco Company at 4061 East Freeway do too. None of that is a promise after a storm, because a kitchen needs power, water and staff who could get to work. Treat the list as where to try first, and call before you spend gas on it. The long-hours list is in Restaurants open late, and the early-morning version is the 4 a.m. breakfast map.

Food help that isn't a restaurant

Two local groups do food work all year, and they are worth knowing before you need them. Love Network Of Baytown, at 206 N Whiting Street, lists food among its basic-needs help for Baytown and West Chambers County, and its website says food pantry appointments do not require an application. The site posts Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hearts and Hands of Baytown Food Pantry, at 307 Cedar Bayou Road, runs a client-choice pantry; our listing has it on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 to 2. Hours move after a storm, so contact either group before you go.

The neighbor with the pot of rice

The best storm food is usually cooked by the person next door. If your power comes back first, bring a plate, share ice, or help with safe charging or cooling if you can do so safely. If you've got a grill and food that is still safe, feed the street. Those weeks are when a working town shows what it's made of, and it's rarely the storm people remember. It's who showed up.

An appliance thermometer in the fridge and one in the freezer can turn guesswork into a number.

Buy them before storm season, not after the lights go out.

Before you go

• Call any restaurant or pantry before you drive, because posted hours mean little when a building has no power.
• Keep the fridge and freezer doors shut, and check the thermometer before you decide what to keep.
• Throw out anything that touched floodwater, along with food in cardboard boxes that got wet.
• Cook on a grill or camp stove only outside, away from doors, windows and vents.
• Report destroyed SNAP food promptly, generally within 10 days of discovering it, through 2-1-1 Texas or Texas HHS.

More

• Hurricanes with little ones
• Where to eat: when the lights come back on

Sources

FoodSafety.gov (USDA/HHS), "Food Safety During Power Outages"; CDC, "Keep Food Safe After a Disaster or Emergency"; FDA, "Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods"; CDC, carbon monoxide safety after a disaster; Texas HHS, Texas Works Handbook B-340 (replacing benefits); 2-1-1 Texas (Texas HHS); Love Network of Baytown; Hearts and Hands of Baytown; HERE listings.