TOTAL COST: £166.98

In the first week of August I happened to be in the room when a professor friend received a surprise phone call from the Association of European Journalists (or was it the European Federation of Journalists?) asking whether he would comment on possible food shortages in the UK. “Should I be worried?” I asked. His reply was worryingly non-committal.

Later that month Radio 4 ran a short news feature reporting that the Government recommends keeping three days’ worth of supplies at home. The UK Government has historically been very reticent to ask us to do this kind of thing, so if they are actually asking us, then I want to take this seriously. However, I wasn’t sure where to start. I finally had some time in October to think through a plan that would work for us.

“Just buy a bit more of what you already have” the UK Gov calmly suggests. That doesn’t really work if you cook from fresh, or do your own prep. Beans? Yeah sure, I have dried beans. Rice, yeah sure I have brown rice. These sorts of foods are not great in a minimal water and fuel type situation. So, for stockpiling I just bit the bullet to prioritise long life foods rather than our usual diet.

I also thought that if push comes to shove, then I am going to be stressed, the kids are going to be stressed, and this will be the time to give them biscuits, hot chocolate, and fruit bars – foods that I usually avoid as being a part of our routine. This was perhaps not a good idea, as the kids were so excited by these products that we decided the food pile wasn’t safe in our house and had to ask the grandparents to store it, but I am sure that won’t be everyone’s problem!

For me it was easier to plan a three-day stockpile that I can put away in one 84-litre Really Useful Box and hopefully forget about until next September rather than at every twice-weekly shop think ‘should I buy more of that just in case?’. This approach won’t suit everyone – it’s heavy on the immediate budget and on storage space, but if you find family meal planning already arduous this way you don’t have to think about stockpiling as well. If you can do the shopping in store rather than online that might be preferable as you can have a look at the sell by dates. A few of our online orders will expire in July/August time which is obviously not ideal for a September re-set.

THE PLAN –  Based on a Three Day Outage

Fuel – We already had a camping stove. I stocked up on fuel, just in case food shortages also come with electricity/gas outages.

Water –  I followed the UK Guidance for drinking only. That is 3 litres per person per day, a total of 45 litres. We store these in 5L bottles our dining room, but the children love to trample on them, which obviously is not great.

MENU

Breakfast – Porridge with UHT Milk (can be left standing overnight to reduce cook time)

Lunch – Soup – Comes in lots of grades and types. I bought some posh (Biona £4.51 per jar) and some Heinz Tomato Soup. Alternatives: Baked Beans and Sardines (lower in forever chemical pollution than tuna).

Dinner Day 1 – Pre-prepared chilli with couscous

Dinner Day 2 – Pasta with pre-prepared sauce

Dinner Day 3 – Rice with pre-prepared source. I brought white rice which you boil yourself, but you can get pre-cooked stuff in a sealed packet.

For added flavour: Dried Garlic

Snacks – Peanut Butter, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Dried Apple, Oat Cakes, Ryevita, Biscuits, Fruit Bars.

Drinks – Coffee and Hot Chocolate (add water only), Miso, Herbal Tea (squash alternative).

A note on vegetables: I am not personally happy with the lack of vegetables on this list, but at this stage I cannot bring myself to buy pre-cooked tinned veg, which I think is the only long-life ambient alternative. I am hoping the dried fruit will carry us through.

TOTAL COST OF FOOD AND WATER: £166.98

Shopping List and Price Breakdown:

Suppliers used: Tesco, Lidl, Buy Whole Foods Online (WFO).

If you find this post useful do let me know 🙂

Post updated 10/11/2026