Households are being urged to prepare enough food and water to last at least 72 hours, as the government warns of emergencies including extreme weather, power cuts, cyber-attacks and supply chain disruption. Current guidance recommends keeping bottled water, non-perishable food that doesn't require cooking, and a tin opener at home. The government is reported to be preparing new advice urging everyone to ensure they have supplies to get through a national emergency.
Practical advice from a former soldier
Chris Thomas, a former British Army soldier and private investigator at UK Private Investigators, says people shouldn't panic-buy or spend hundreds of pounds on specialist survival food. Instead, they should create a supply of food they already eat.
Chris said: "In real life, survival isn't about hoarding, it's more about being practical. No one wants to eat survival food out of a packet, and a big mistake people make when prepping is that they end up buying hundreds of random tins. Instead, you need to think about breakfast, lunch and dinner for every person in your home and then enough water to last a few days."
In an emergency, electricity or gas may not be available, so food must be edible without cooking. Suitable foods include tinned fish, tinned beans, tinned fruit, oats, ready-to-eat tinned meals, crackers, peanut butter, cereal or cereal bars, long-life milk, dried fruit and snacks, and honey.
A simple emergency snack recipe
Chris shared a favourite emergency snack: a three-ingredient recipe made from oats, peanut butter and honey. "All you need to do is mix 100g of oats with 100g of peanut butter and 50g of honey, and press it all together, and it's ready to go." The recipe has around 1,100 calories, just under half the daily calorie intake needed for an average adult male.
To create an emergency food plan, write it out on paper and then get the items needed. One person's supply could include: breakfast of cereal with long-life milk or cereal bars; lunch of crackers with tinned fish or beans; dinner of tinned soup or another ready-to-eat meal; and snacks of dried fruit, biscuits or cereal bars. Repeat this for everyone in the home to have enough food for three days.
Don't forget children and pets
Consider those with special requirements, such as younger children or pets. Chris said: "Build your emergency supply around your household; a family living with someone with an illness, young children or even pets will have different needs than someone living on their own. For example, in my home, my son is type 1 diabetic, and when his blood sugar levels go low, he eats Jelly Babies to get them back to safe levels. In my emergency kit, I have enough Jelly Babies and Lucozade to last for weeks at a time. You should plan like this too."
Creating an emergency food plan is vital, but the expert warns against rushing out and clearing shelves. "We have all seen how desperate things can be when it snows; there's no bread or milk left on the shelves because people panic. The same will happen if everyone goes out and clears the shelves. Don't do that; what you can do is start adding these extra long-life items to your normal shop so you have built up a few days' worth over time." Chris added: "All you then need to do is check the cupboard every few months and eat and replace anything that's reaching its use-by date."
