Buy food you already eat and can serve without a cooker or a working fridge. Start with enough for a few days, then add to it during your normal shopping.
A bag of rice lasts a long time in a cupboard. It still needs water, fuel and a pot before it becomes dinner. For a short disruption, put ready-to-eat food first. You can buy most of it at the supermarket.
How much food to put aside
UK Be Ready recommends three days of non-perishable food that needs no refrigeration or cooking. It says to choose food you would usually eat and build the supply gradually.
Start by writing down what everyone would eat over three days. Include breakfast, lunch, dinner and the snacks they normally need. Two people eating three main meals a day need 18 meals between them over that period. That is a planning example, not an official serving allowance.
Then check the labels. A packet described as four servings might only contain four small side dishes. Count enough food for your household's usual appetite and energy needs. A tin of vegetables or a cereal bar does not make a full meal on its own.
Check your cupboards before buying anything. Keep the food you set aside in your normal meal rotation and replace it as you use it. If you want a longer reserve, build a usable three-day supply before extending it to a week or more.
Food that works without cooking
Crackers, oatcakes and crispbread are useful when fresh bread runs out. Try a packet before buying several. Pick a type that everyone can chew and eat with the toppings you plan to store.
Peanut butter adds energy to a meal of crackers or dry cereal. Buy it only if your household eats it and nobody needs to avoid peanuts. If you use another nut or seed spread, check its allergens and whether it needs refrigeration after opening.
Ready-cooked beans, chickpeas and lentils can go into cold meals. Buy canned versions or pouches whose labels say they are ready to eat. Dried pulses need cooking and do not belong in the part of your supply that assumes no heat.
Choose ordinary supermarket products that suit your diet and have the right storage instructions. Try them before buying a large pack. Read the current label for ingredients, allergens, portion sizes and after-opening storage; a food role is not a recommendation of one brand.
Add some other foods your household likes:
- Tinned fish, chicken or other meat that is shelf-stable and ready to eat. Choose portions you can finish at a meal, and check any dietary advice that applies to you.
- Tinned vegetables and fruit in juice, or shelf-stable fruit pots. They add variety to meals that would otherwise be mostly dry food.
- Dry cereal, cereal bars, dried fruit or nuts for breakfast and snacks. Check allergens and choose age-appropriate foods for children.
- Small cartons of UHT milk or a shelf-stable alternative, if you use them. Once opened, follow the refrigeration instructions. A large carton is awkward without a safe fridge.
- A familiar treat. If you normally drink tea or coffee, remember that making a hot drink needs safe water and a safe way to heat it.
Keep a manual can opener with the food unless every container opens another way. Try it before you need it. Add spoons and whatever clean utensils you need to portion or spread the food.
Turn the shopping into meals
Try one no-cook lunch at home before buying the rest. You will find out whether the crackers crumble, the portions are too small or somebody refuses the cold beans.
A day's menu could look like this:
- Breakfast could be dry cereal with a small carton of shelf-stable milk and a fruit pot.
- Lunch could be crackers with peanut butter, plus fruit.
- Dinner could be ready-cooked chickpeas with tinned vegetables and more crackers. Ready-to-eat tinned fish or meat is another option.
- Add your usual snacks and enough extra portions to meet your needs.
This is a meal pattern, not a calorie target or a complete diet plan. Work out the portions from the food labels and what each person needs. Write the amounts on your shopping list, multiply by the days you want to cover, then subtract what you already have.
Plan around whole packs where possible. Two people may finish a can together, while someone living alone may need a smaller container. Do not plan to keep opened food until tomorrow if it needs refrigeration and you cannot keep it cold.
Store drinking water separately. Food in juice or sauce does not replace your water supply. Powdered milk, instant soup and dehydrated meals need extra safe water, so count that before buying them.
Buy for the people who will eat it
Check every label for allergies, including cross-contact warnings. Do not assume that oatcakes are gluten-free, that a plant-based food is free of nuts or that two flavours of the same product have the same ingredients.
Keep food for a prescribed diet separate if that helps avoid mistakes. If you need to limit sodium or manage a medical condition, follow your existing clinical advice rather than swapping to unfamiliar emergency meals. Ask your care team about a backup supply if you depend on specialist feeds.
For a baby who uses formula, plan suitable ready-to-feed formula and clean feeding equipment. Powdered formula needs safe preparation, including hot water under the relevant feeding guidance. Do not assume bottled water alone makes it safe. Follow the formula's instructions after opening.
Include foods that children already accept. Choose textures that suit anyone with chewing or swallowing difficulties. Pet food and pet water need their own supply.
What can wait
Rice, pasta and dried beans can be useful in a longer pantry plan if you have safe water and a safe cooking method. They should not be your only food for a power cut. Keep them separate on your list from meals you can eat without preparation.
Freeze-dried camping meals and emergency food buckets are optional. Before buying, read the full instructions. Check whether the total calories cover the meals you intend to replace. Check how much water each meal needs and whether you can heat it. Follow the exact product's storage conditions rather than assuming every pack lasts for decades.
Do not buy a stove just to make your first food supply usable. If you already have a barbecue or camping stove, use it outdoors according to its instructions, never inside a home, tent or garage.
Store it safely and use it
Keep the food somewhere cool and dry, away from chemicals and pests. A car or a hot shed is a poor place for a home food reserve. Leave labels and storage instructions attached. Put older packs at the front, and add a six-month reminder to check the supply.
Shelf-stable means the unopened product can sit in the cupboard under its stated conditions. It does not mean leftovers can stay on the counter. Follow the label after opening. Without safe refrigeration, open only what you will eat at that meal and discard perishable leftovers.
Throw away swollen, leaking or badly damaged cans. Do not taste suspect food to check whether it is safe. If flooding reaches your food, follow the official disposal advice rather than assuming a sealed pack is unaffected.
Keep fridge and freezer doors closed during a power cut. Use a thermometer and the local food-safety guidance to decide what you can keep. Food that still smells normal can be unsafe.
The Food Standards Agency's power-cut advice applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, follow Food Standards Scotland's advice. For stored food, use-by dates concern safety and best-before dates concern quality. Neither overrides the storage instructions or damage to the pack.
On your next shop, buy the missing ingredients for one day's no-cook meals. Eat a trial meal, adjust the amounts and build up the rest as you can.
Go to the source.
Supporting sources, checked 27 October 2026. Our explanations and product examples are editorial choices, not hands-on tests or official product approvals. Equipment quantities are starting suggestions, not a safety guarantee.
UK GovernmentBe ready for emergenciesReady.govFoodFood Standards AgencyFood safety in a power cutFood Standards ScotlandFood safety during a power cutGOV.UKBest before and use-by datesHow we use sources