I'm beginning to think that "Bugging out early and far" is the trick - and then, when I want to do my disaster services stuff, travel back - at least my family is out of the area

DON'T move to a flood plain

As for storing food, the long term survival folks (OK - let's use the common term - the survivalists ) will tell you "Store what you eat, eat what you store" - aka, the food is constantly turning over, so it never goes bad. Your kids like instant mashed, no problem - you put a box (or 4) in storage (sealed) - you open one, you replace it with a new one - aka, you have a well stocked pantry where stuff is stored well. Apply that kind of thinking to everything

One interesting source for ideas like this are the LDS food co-ops. They believe in having a LOT of food in storage (I believe it's 6 months min, 2 years reccomended - but don't quote me - correct me if I'm wrong)

Our parents, or grandparents generation knew about things like canning and the like - learn
And remember, you don't have to buy it all at once - that would cost a fortune - an extra package of Mashed potatoes next time they go on sale, or canned veggies, or pasta, or.... Just buy $5-10 worth of stuff a week - that's all Before long, you have a LOT of stuff