The Best Food Storage Containers for your Boat Galley

Deciding on the best food storage containers for your boat will result in better organization and longer lasting provisions. They are one of the most important pieces of galley “equipment.” Without good ones, your food may be inedible before you can use it.

On a boat, you’ll use special containers for just about everything. Besides flour and sugar that you put in canisters ashore, think of rice, pasta, box mixes, even dog food!  And don’t forget about everything in the refrigerator. Use them for leftovers, foods that you want chilled and foods that are stored there, such as cheese.

Musts for Food Storage on a Boat

There are three “absolutes” when it comes to food storage containers:

• Lids can’t pop off. You don’t want a bowl of pasta salad (or worse, gazpacho) spilling in the bottom of the refrigerator.
• Airtight. It’s important to keep bugs out of dry foods and to preserve food quality.
• Unbreakable. Thin, brittle plastic tends to crack just with the motion of the boat, leading to spills and bug infestations.

But there are some other things to consider, too.

Other Considerations

As in most areas, living on a boat has unique concerns:

• Use of space. Obviously the containers need to fit where you want to use them.  But square corners and straight sides waste less space than round dishes and sloping sides.  Containers that are larger than they need to be also waste space.
• Dividing up stocks. I prefer to divide my stock of most foods between two or more containers.  First, should one have a problem such as getting bugs (hopefully all my precautions will prevent this) or have some other problem, I haven’t lost all of a particular item.  Second, I can keep one container in a location that’s easily accessible and store the rest wherever there’s room.
• Cleanability. Weird little nooks and crannies take more time and water to clean.  (Read my article on cleanability.)

Recommended Food Storage Containers

My favorite food storage containers are the Lock & Lock containers (Amazon).  I know, you can buy much cheaper big sets of plastic containers.  That’s what I did initially.  I learned the hard way as lids popped off, food spilled and containers cracked and broke.  Ditto for re-using margarine and yogurt tubs.  Then I got some better Rubbermaid containers. They didn’t break. But without positively locking gasketed lids, I still had problems with bugs sometimes getting in and lids popping off.  It was only when I discovered the Lock & Lock, Sterilite and Rubbermaid Lock-Its (all available on Amazon) locking containers that I stopped having problems.

If you’re just starting to outfit your galley, you’ll be surprised at how many containers you’ll end up using. And how much money you’ll spend on them.  I know I was!  To a certain extent, it helps to plan what containers you’ll use where. And think about many can actually fit in various lockers and so forth.  However, you’ll also use a number of these containers as serving dishes, especially at potlucks or dinner on a friend’s boat.

All three brands of containers (there may be some other brands available in other places, too) have the basic features that I like.  However, when I have a choice, I prefer the Lock & Lock. There is less wasted space — particularly in how much of a lip there is on each container as shown in the photo at right. The one with the blue gasket is the Lock & Lock, the one with red is a Sterilite. Tubbermaid Lock-Its have more steeply sloped sides and waste even more space.

While I’ve written other articles about “special” containers that I like — such as the serving/salad bowl and the egg carton — here are links to many of the everyday containers.  While I can find some Lock & Lock containers at local stores, I find that the selection online is much better:

• Lock & Lock on Amazon (check out this multi-pack for a great deal compared to buying individual items and see related items)

The pieces with handles are great for taking food in the dinghy — makes it much easier to hand items from one person to another!

Cruisers Recommend

Of course, experienced cruisers make great recommendations.

Stick to One Brand

Jean, the organizer of the Cruiser’s Rally to El Salvador, had a great recommendation:

After getting tired of trying to store all different shapes and sizes of storage containers, we decided to buy only one brand and one size. Now we don’t have to search for the correct top to match with the correct bottom. And storage is much simpler.

Tupperware Modular Mates

And Jackie Bartz suggests the Tupperware Modular Mates (Amazon) she’s using in her galley aboard Lively Lady.  While they aren’t all exactly the same size, many of the lids are interchangable. And they stack nicely together without a lot of wasted space.

I haven’t used the Modular Mates myself. But I have had a few pieces of true Tupperware and found it to be good on the boat.  It doesn’t have the positive locks that some other brands do (which are good on long offshore passages where conditions can get pretty rough). But they are good for coastal cruising and short hops where you can pick your weather windows.

The Modular Mates come in several basic shapes, including the ovals that Jackie has, “super ovals” for deeper cupboards, squares and rectangles.  If they’ll fit in your lockers, the squares and rectangles make the best use of space.  One benefit is that you can see into them, making it easy to grab the correct container without having to read all the labels. It’s also easy to see what you’re running low on.

Like all good plastic food storage containers, the Modular Mates aren’t cheap.  I initially balked at the price of “good” storage canisters and bought the cheap stuff. Eventually, I got rid of them and bought good stuff as I could find it where we were cruising.  This cost me far more than just the extra cost of the set I got rid of. I had a lot of spoiled and spilled food, and hours spent in cleaning up messes.  And I ended up with a hodgepodge of different sizes and brands that I picked up along the way.

Klip-It Containers

Cruisers from New Zealand and Australia have recommend Klip-It Containers, now available from Amazon. However, Julie Birbeck noted that the seals are not always perfect and liquids can escape. However, they’re generally a good option.

Snap-Ware

Susan Parker’s favorite containers are made by Snap-Ware (Amazon). They have several benefits:

• Air rightness.
• The lids are attached so you never lose them. , square for efficient storage, attached lids thatThey are air tight
• Square shapes store efficiently.
• They open and close easily. with a snap.
• They come in a variety of sizes.

Vigor Polycarbonate

Cheryl Curtis recommends Vigor polycarbonate containers available from an online restaurant supply store. The lids are color coded for organization. And the polycarbonate material is virtually unbreakable. You can also write directly on the containers which are also transparent.

Reusing Existing Containers

Budget conscious and environmentally aware cruisers can use 1 litre/1kg plastic screwtop containers that fruit comes in. They stack well, a good size for things rice, coconut, lentils, beans, leftovers in the fridge and in the “shed” for nuts and bolts too. Another advantage is you can see what is in them. And if you write on the lids you can see what’s in them from above. And it reduces the amount of plastic you need to dispose of.

Cruiser Mark Dobkin uses a lot of screw on lid containers from health supplements from 8 ounce size and larger. They are very strong, fit galley lockers well, and they cost nothing. You can ask the local juice bar, health food store, or gym with prepared food/beverages to save some for you, or find out where they place them after use.

The Storage Learning Curve

Figuring out how to storage food on your boat has a steep learning curve. But it doesn’t have to. It’s why we created courses for cruisers. Provisioning, Meal Planning, and Food Storage and Storage Solutions for Life Aboard are available as standalone courses. Or save money by taking advantage of the All-Access Pass.

Just don’t underestimate how having a good food storage plan can save you hours of effort and money for wasted food.

Share your favorite food storage system in the comments.

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