The best foods to stockpile for an emergency

There's no single best emergency food. The best food for your household is long-life food that everyone will eat, that suits their diets, and that keeps without a fridge. This list is built from SupKit's product catalogue, the same one the app uses, with what we know about each food's allergens and diets. It isn't a ranking, and no food suits every home.

How we chose these foods

Every food here:

• Keeps without a fridge until it's opened.
• Is easy to find in an ordinary shop, not a specialist supplier.
• Is something people already eat, so it gets used and replaced rather than forgotten.
• Adds something: energy, protein, fruit, or simply comfort.

Some foods need the fridge once opened, which matters in a power outage. Some contain common allergens. We note both, but recipes vary between brands, so always read the label of the product you buy.

The list

Meals in a tin or pouch

Protein and sides

Staples

Snacks and fruit

Drinks

Energy per pack is SupKit's catalogue estimate. Allergens and diets describe the main ingredient, so always read the label. SupKit estimate

Each linked food has its own guide covering how much to store, what the date on its label means, and allergens to check.

Special diets

If anyone at home has an allergy, intolerance or medical diet, plan around them first and keep their food separate so it's never used by mistake. Check every label, including "may contain" warnings, each time you buy, because recipes change.

Babies and young children

Babies need their usual milk or formula and feeding supplies; don't swap to something new in an emergency. Young children do best with food they know. Some foods, such as whole nuts, are a choking risk for young children.

Building a balanced shelf

Aim for a mix rather than a lot of one thing:

• Staples for energy.
• Protein such as canned fish, beans, pulses and peanut butter.
• Fruit and vegetables, canned or dried.
• Drinks such as shelf-stable milk.
• Treats. A bar of chocolate or a favorite snack does a lot for morale in a hard few days.

Our food quantities guide turns your household into a target, and the food quantity calculator turns any food on this list into a number of packs.

Storage and dates

Store these foods somewhere cool, dry and dark, and use the oldest first. Best-before dates are about quality; use-by dates are about safety.

Your shopping checklist

• A manual can opener, if you don't have one.
• Two or three staples your household likes.
• Two or three kinds of protein.
• Canned or dried fruit and vegetables.
• Shelf-stable milk or a suitable alternative.
• Snacks and a treat or two.
• Anything specific to babies, special diets or medical needs.

SupKit keeps track of what you've bought and when each item is due, so the shelf stays useful rather than forgotten.