We live about 1,000 feet away from the Calaveras Fault. I cross it twice a day commuting to work. My commute also carries me across the Hayward Fault twice a day. In addition, I work about 2.5 miles away from the San Andreas Fault. I also have to drive across San Francisco Bay twice a day. In spite of all of that, I will be the first to admit that we are woefully ill-prepared for any "big one" which might strike.
The problem is, you can go out and buy all sorts of canned food and bottled water, and spend a lot of money. But canned food, and bottled water has a shelf life. What do you do after it has been sitting there for a year or two, and is no longer safe to consume?? Do you keep buying tons of canned food and bottled water once every one or two years, and throw away the supplies from the previous 2 years?? I'll admit that it might be the safest thing to do, but it also seems like such a waste of groceries, especially when money is tight (yes, I know - how could I afford NOT to?? It would be money well spent - don't say it!!).
At least when we lived in South Florida, we had a reasonable idea about when a hurricane might be striking our area, and we could go out and stock up. Unfortunately, there is no similar "forcast" available for an earthquake.
Here is a fascinating web site to look at. I like the photos of visible fault creep on the Hayward Fault, so that is where I will point the link below. However, this entire site is very informative. The "Zoomed Map" is really interesting, albeit a bit slow at times:
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/geology/hf_map/text/creep.htm
You rotate your food....either eat it within a year or donate it to a food bank.
You don't buy food and throw it away. Warehouses, stores, and ships at sea practice what is known as stock rotation.
Buy the non-perishable foods you like to eat in a set quantity. Then as you consume the food (oldest date first) you replace it on a regular basis so as to always have your desired quantity on hand. You will be consuming food within expiration dates and have a store of food on hand for emergencies.