The UK government is stepping up its home defence plan, with Andy Burnham's office preparing a publicity campaign to tell households to prepare for extreme weather events or cyber attacks, according to the Financial Times. Preparation will include ensuring Brits have tinned food and bottled water, as well as knowledge about how to cope in a crisis, in order to free up immediate government resources for the most vulnerable.
European precedents for stockpiling
Other European countries have already issued similar guidance. Finland has been stockpiling essential goods, vaccines, seeds, fuel and grains for decades, with its agriculture minister, Sari Essayah, saying the country must be able to survive independently if something happens. Finland has also hosted rescEU stockpiles since 2023, for the EU's shared emergency stockpiles.
The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency also asks citizens to have emergency supplies to last a week, because in an emergency 'aid will be provided to those who need it most'.
UK risks and expert advice
For the UK, the impact of five heatwaves this summer has been forecast to lead to possible food shortages, according to analysts from the investment bank Shore Capital, while the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned the situation is 'increasingly concerning'. Sir Keir Starmer warned the UK earlier this year there could be a Russian attack on Nato as early as 2030.
Stocking up on long-lasting food supplies would be a wise move. Stephanie Baker, registered nutritionist and founder of Stephanie Jayne Nutrition, tells Metro you should prioritise these 20 items when stocking your emergency stores: canned chickpeas, canned kidney beans, canned cannellini beans, canned chopped tomatoes, tinned sweetcorn, tinned peas, tinned tuna, tinned sardines, tinned coconut milk, rice, pasta, oats, red lentils, dried fruit, nuts, peanut/almond butter, stock cubes, spices, tomato puree, and olive oil.
'These will give you the basis for curries, chillies, soups, stews, pasta dishes, rice bowls, porridge, oat bars and snacks without needing fresh ingredients,' she explains.
Nutritional value and recipes
Gabriela Peacock, nutritionist and founder of GP Nutrition, says you can easily have the 'building blocks for balanced meals' with tinned goods. 'Don't assume that tinned automatically means less nutritious,' she tells Metro. 'Fresh food is wonderful, but canned foods can still be extremely valuable nutritionally and, importantly, they make eating a varied diet much easier when fresh produce isn't available.'
'With canned foods, I'd simply check labels where possible and choose options without lots of added salt or sugar.' Don't forget to stock up on lots of bottled water, too.
Five easy recipes made from tinned food include emergency vegetable & lentil soup, coconut chickpea curry, tuna, tomato & bean pasta, smoky bean & vegetable chilli, and Mediterranean bean & tomato stew. For the soup, Stephanie says to chuck whatever you have into a large saucepan with stock and seasoning and simmer until your barley or lentils are cooked through. For the curry, Stephanie says simply add everything to one pan, simmer for 20 minutes and serve with rice. 'You can also use lentils instead of chickpeas, tinned peas instead of spinach, and even peanut butter can be stirred through for extra calories and protein,' she adds.
