I have been through a few periods of 3-4 days without power following storms, but have probably learned more from backpacking and camping.

First, spagethetti is a bad idea because it takes lots of water to cook and lots of heat to boil the water. For hot food the better bet is to look for Instant foods with instructions that say "add boiling water and stir"or "heat and serve". My kids like instant mashed potatoes better than real ones. (Children have weird taste buds.) Go with what your family will eat, but instant oatmeal, hot cocco mix, ramen noodles, instant soup mix are old backpacking standbys that are easy ways to get a little hot food. The coffee bags that look like tea bags work very well and are much better than instant coffee. (I do not know about you, but a hot cup of coffee can sure make the world look better to me.)

Sterno is OK to WARM up water and would work for instant foods. I have never tried it, but would hate to try to cook spaghetti with it. As Chris indicated, a single burner camping stove will work much better.

Make sure you have some food that can be eaten as is without cooking. Again, go with what the kids like. Some thoughts are canned fruit, apple sauce, pork and beans, and the old standby - peanut butter and jelly.

The packs of plastic forks, napkins, etc are a good idea.