Two week emergency food and essentials checklist

Getting started

A practical reserve can help your household manage if shops, transport or utilities are disrupted. Use this checklist to work out what you would need at home for two weeks, starting with supplies you already have. Choose familiar food, allow for everyone who may stay with you and build up gradually within your budget and storage space.

Start with three days

The UK Government's current Be Ready checklist uses a three-day starting point. This guide offers an optional extension to 14 days, inspired by the Emergency Pantry List hosted by NSW Health. Two weeks is a UK Ready planning choice, not a UK government requirement or a prediction of an emergency. [1, 2] If you're just starting, read food and water for three days first.

Build the reserve without waste

Check cupboards before buying anything. Add useful items during ordinary shopping, use the oldest suitable stock first and replace what you use. Start with three days, then seven, then fourteen if practical. A smaller, usable reserve is still progress. Set a reminder to review the kit every six months and whenever household needs change. [1, 2]

Safety

This is a stay-at-home planning guide. Follow instructions to evacuate if authorities tell you to leave, and follow current advice from the relevant authorities. Keep essential documents and a small grab bag accessible. [1, 4]

Drinking water

The official planning figure is 3 litres of drinking water for each person each day. The table extends that figure to seven and fourteen days. These are storage calculations, not instructions about how much an individual should drink. Follow any prescribed fluid limits and each baby's usual feeding plan. [1, 3]

Drinking-water calculator

People × days × 3 litres

People in your household

People: 1

3 days: 9 litres
7 days: 21 litres
14 days: 42 litres

These figures cover drinking-water storage only. Allow extra for cooking, washing, pets and individual care needs. Follow prescribed fluid limits and each baby's usual feeding plan.

People	3 days	7 days	14 days
1	9 litres	21 litres	42 litres
2	18 litres	42 litres	84 litres
3	27 litres	63 litres	126 litres
4	36 litres	84 litres	168 litres
5	45 litres	105 litres	210 litres

Add water separately for food preparation, washing, pets and any care needs. The amounts above cover drinking water only. Store sealed bottled water according to the label, where you can reach and move it safely. If space is limited, start with the three-day amount and check your water supplier's arrangements for outages. [3]

Drinking water checked and a realistic storage plan made.
Extra water needs and the water supplier's contact details recorded.

Food for fourteen days

Plan seven days of meals your household would normally eat, then repeat the plan for week two. For someone who normally eats breakfast, lunch and an evening meal, allow 14 breakfasts and 28 main meals, plus their usual snacks. These are meal counts, not a nutritional prescription; appetite, age and dietary needs determine portions.

Count complete meals, not tins

Include all ingredients needed for each meal. A tin of tomatoes is an ingredient, and a small tin of soup may not be enough for a meal. The items below are choices to build your menu from; you do not need every alternative.

DoneFood to considerHow to plan the quantity

Breakfast cereal or other ready-to-eat breakfastEnough for 14 usual breakfasts per person. Include any milk or other ingredients used with it.
Crackers, oatcakes or suitable long-life breadInclude the usual portions needed alongside your chosen lunches and evening meals. Check dates and storage instructions.
Cooked beans, lentils or chickpeas in tins or jarsChoose ready-to-eat products and count the portions required in your planned meals. Dried pulses need cooking.
Tinned fish, meat or suitable alternativesChoose what your household eats. Buy the pack quantities needed for the meals in your plan.
Ready-to-eat meals or meal pouchesOnly count these in a no-cook reserve if the label allows them to be eaten without heating. Check the actual serving size.
Tinned or jarred vegetablesInclude a range with the main meals. Choose products suitable to eat cold where cooking may be unavailable.
Tinned fruit and suitable dried fruitAllow for normal breakfasts, snacks and desserts. Choose options that suit ages, allergies and dietary needs.
Long-life milk or a suitable shelf-stable alternativeCalculate from normal daily use over 14 days. Smaller packs are useful when opened products cannot be refrigerated.
Spreads, snack bars and familiar extrasAllow for normal use over 14 days. Check allergens and choose age-appropriate food for children.

Use the label to decide what can be eaten cold and how to store an opened pack. A product being tinned or long-life does not remove these checks. A product must be suitable to eat without heating before it counts towards a no-cook reserve. [5]

Foods that need cooking

Rice, pasta, noodles, dried pulses, porridge and hot drinks can supplement the list when you have enough water and a safe way to prepare them. For a reserve intended to cover 14 days without power, plan a usable no-cook replacement for every meal that depends on heating. [1, 5, 6]

Household equipment and hygiene

Check equipment once for the household and plan consumables from normal use over 14 days. Keep useful items together and make sure everyone who needs them can find and operate them. These items complement the pantry rather than replacing a household emergency plan. [2, 4]

Babies, children, pets and additional needs

Adapt the list to your household. Medicines, infant feeding and essential medical equipment need individual arrangements — a generic 14-day figure does not apply to them.

Medicines and medical suppliesKeep an accurate medication list, order repeats in good time and ask a pharmacist or prescriber how to maintain access during disruption. Follow the prescribed dose and storage conditions; do not obtain extra medicine simply to meet a generic 14-day target. [1, 4]
Essential equipmentAgree a backup plan with the care team or supplier for equipment that needs power or water. Include spare glasses, hearing-aid batteries and other aids you rely on. A normal phone power bank may not power medical equipment. [3, 4]
BabiesPlan the baby's established feeding supplies, suitable food where needed, nappies and wipes. Ready-to-feed formula can help if you cannot boil water, but feeding equipment still needs sterilising. Follow NHS and product instructions for opened formula and discard leftovers after a feed. [1, 8]
Children and dietary needsInclude familiar, age-appropriate food and any allergy-safe or medically required alternatives. Use each person's normal needs; do not automatically halve adult quantities for a child.
Pets and assistance animalsAllow for 14 days of their usual food and necessary hygiene supplies. Add their drinking water separately and plan medicines with the vet. [2, 4]
Support and accessMake instructions readable and accessible, agree who can check on you and consider the relevant utility support register. England, Scotland and Wales use Priority Services Registers; Northern Ireland uses Customer Care Registers. [1, 4]

Safe storage and preparation

Before storing it, check the packaging, dates and storage requirements. Avoid bulging or leaking cans and cans with damage that compromises the seal. Keep supplies in a suitable dry place. Follow use-by dates and all instructions for storage after opening. [5]

Without refrigeration, open only the amount you can use safely at that meal. Long-life milk, many jars and ready meals may need chilling after opening. Do not treat an opened pack as safe for the rest of the two-week period. [5, 8]

During a power cut, keep fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible and follow current Food Standards Agency advice. Their storage times are estimates and depend on temperatures and conditions. Use perishable food only while it remains safe; do not rely on smell to check food with a use-by date. [5, 6]

Safety

Never use a barbecue or camping stove indoors or in a tent. Keep fuel-burning generators outside, away from doors, windows and vents, following the manufacturer's instructions. Carbon monoxide can be fatal. [7, 9]

During a water outage, follow your water supplier's instructions about drinking, boiling or avoiding tap water. Use the drinking-water reserve for essential needs and seek help early if it is running low. [3]

What you still need to buy

List every ingredient in your meal plan and every consumable you need. Use the same units for each item, such as litres, grams, packs or nappies. For an item used daily, multiply normal daily use by 14. For an ingredient used occasionally, count only the meals in which you use it.

Example

If one person normally uses 50 g of cereal and 200 ml of milk each morning, 14 breakfasts need 700 g of cereal and 2.8 litres of milk. This is an arithmetic example, not a recommended portion size. Choose milk packs that can be finished safely without refrigeration.

Still need = planned quantity minus usable stock already at home, with a minimum of zero. Round shopping quantities up to suitable pack sizes. Medicines and specialist care supplies follow their own agreed plan. Add one row for each ingredient or product, using the same unit across that row.

Shopping worksheet

Each row uses one unit for planned, existing and still-needed amounts. Still need = planned − already have, never below zero.

Item	Unit	Planned quantity	Already have	Still need	Remove
				42 litres

Household sizeChecked onNext review

Sources and further guidance

Sources checked: 1 November 2026

Numbers in the text refer to the links below. The 14-day meal counts, calculation examples and shopping worksheet are UK Ready planning aids. Adapt them to your household; they do not certify nutritional adequacy or replace individual care advice.

[1]UK Government Be Ready: Be Ready checklistThree-day starting point, drinking water and general household preparation.
[2]NSW Health: Emergency Pantry ListOriginal 14-day pantry framework; prepared by the Australian food and grocery sector. UK guidance is used here for safety advice.
[3]UK Government Be Ready: Water supply interruptions or outagesExtra water needs, supplier information and care planning.
[4]Ready Scotland: Make an emergency kitEquipment, access needs and household supplies.
[5]Food Standards Agency: Home food fact checkerTinned food, food labels and storage.
[6]Food Standards Agency: Food safety in a power cutTemperature, refrigeration and safe preparation.
[7]NHS: Carbon monoxide poisoningCooking appliances, generators and carbon monoxide risks.
[8]NHS: How to use infant formulaSterilising feeding equipment and handling ready-to-feed formula.
[9]HSENI: Safety tips for using a portable generator in an emergencySafe outdoor placement and manufacturer instructions.

UK Ready is an independent information service. In an emergency, follow instructions from the relevant authorities. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.