Food
How much food should you store for an emergency?
How to plan an emergency food store that suits your household, from a 3-day starter to a few weeks. What to buy, how much, and how to rotate it.
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Food & water · Free tool
Emergency Food Storage Calculator
Work out how many calories and roughly how much food your household needs for 3 days to a year, with a printable shopping checklist.
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How to use it
- Enter how many adults and children under 12 live in your home.
- Choose how many days to plan for. Three days is a sensible first goal.
- Pick a dietary preference and activity level. Add any allergy notes for your own checklist.
- Read your plan, then print it or download the checklist to take shopping.
Your food plan
For 2 adults over 3 days, plan for about 12,000 kcal.
- Calories per day
- 4,000
- Food by weight
- 5.6 kg
- Oil and milk
- 1.6 L
Shopping checklist
Grains & starches (40% of calories)
- Dry rice, pasta or oats: about 1.4 kg (4,800 kcal)
Ideas: dry rice, dry pasta, porridge oats, crackers or crispbreads.
Storage: Keep dry goods in sealed, airtight containers off the floor, away from damp and pests.
Protein (20% of calories)
- Tinned fish or meat: about 1.3 kg (2,400 kcal)
Ideas: tinned fish, tinned meat, tinned beans or lentils.
Storage: Check tins for dents, rust or swelling before use. Store at room temperature or below.
Fruit & vegetables (15% of calories)
- Tinned or dried fruit & vegetables: about 2.6 kg (1,800 kcal)
Ideas: tinned vegetables, tinned fruit in juice, dried fruit, tinned tomatoes.
Storage: Tinned fruit in juice and dried fruit both store well. Rotate by the best-before date.
Fats & dairy (15% of calories)
- Cooking oil: about 0.1 litres (900 kcal)
- UHT milk: about 1.5 litres (900 kcal)
Ideas: vegetable or olive oil, UHT milk, nut butter.
Storage: Oil and nut butter keep best somewhere cool and dark. Once opened, follow the label.
Comfort & other (10% of calories)
- Comfort foods and drinks: about 0.3 kg (1,200 kcal)
Ideas: biscuits, chocolate, tea, coffee and hot chocolate, stock cubes and spices.
Storage: Familiar treats help morale, especially for children. Choose things your household already eats.
The same household over longer periods
| Days | Calories | Food (kg) | Oil and milk (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12,000 | 5.6 | 1.6 |
| 7 | 28,000 | 13.1 | 3.7 |
| 14 | 56,000 | 26.2 | 7.5 |
| 30 | 120,000 | 56.2 | 16.0 |
| 90 | 360,000 | 168.6 | 48.0 |
How this is calculated
The calculator turns your household into a daily calorie figure, multiplies it by the number of days, and then splits those calories into five food groups. Finally, it converts each group’s calories into an approximate weight using typical energy densities for long-life foods.
Step 1: daily calories
- Each adult (12 and over): 2,000 kcal a day, the adult reference intake used on UK food labels.
- Each child under 12: 1,500 kcal a day, a planning average across ages. Younger children need less; older children more.
- High activity multiplies everyone’s figure by 1.25. Choose this if you expect hard physical work, such as clearing up after a storm or flood.
Total calories = (adults × 2,000 + children × 1,500) × activity factor × days.
Step 2: split by food group
| Food group | Share of calories |
|---|---|
| Grains and starches | 40% |
| Protein | 20% |
| Fruit and vegetables | 15% |
| Fats and dairy | 15% |
| Comfort and other | 10% |
This is a simple, balanced split for planning. It is not a dietary prescription.
Step 3: convert calories to weight
We use these approximate energy densities for common long-life foods:
| Food | kcal per 100 g (or 100 ml) |
|---|---|
| Dry rice, pasta or oats | 350 |
| Tinned beans or lentils | 100 |
| Tinned fish or meat | 180 |
| Nut butter | 590 |
| Cooking oil | 900 |
| UHT milk | 60 per 100 ml |
| Tinned or dried fruit and vegetables | 70 |
For fats and dairy, half the calories go to oil and half to UHT milk (or nut butter for a vegan diet). For vegetarian and vegan diets, the protein line is split equally between tinned beans or lentils and nut butter. There is no single density for comfort foods, so we use the dry-goods figure as a stated assumption.
Assumptions and limits
- Weights are approximate and based on averages; check the label on the products you buy.
- Tinned weights include the liquid in the tin, so real-world tin counts vary.
- The calculator plans calories, not every vitamin and mineral. A varied store with fruit and vegetables helps.
- It does not plan water. Use the water storage calculator for that.
- If you have no way to cook, choose foods that can be eaten cold or need only hot water.
Frequently asked questions
How much food should I store for an emergency?
A good first goal is enough food for everyone in your home for 3 days that needs no fridge, freezer or mains power to prepare. Once you have that, build towards a week or two by buying a few extra items each shop.
Why does the calculator use 2,000 calories for an adult?
2,000 kcal is the adult reference intake printed on UK food labels. It is a planning average, not a personal target. Larger, more active people need more; smaller or less active people need less.
Does the calculator account for allergies?
No. You can add a note so it appears on your checklist, but the numbers do not change. Check every product label yourself.
Is my information saved?
Your inputs are saved in your own browser so they are there next time. Nothing is sent to Stay Prepped. Use the clear button to remove them.
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