The short answer
Pick food your household already eats that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold: tinned fish, meat and beans, tinned vegetables and fruit, ready-to-eat soups, cereal with UHT milk, crackers and oatcakes, peanut butter, dried fruit, nuts and cereal bars. Add a manual tin opener. The Food Standards Agency says tinned food is safe to eat without heating. Start with 3 days (Be Ready's advice), build to a week, and rotate it through your normal meals so nothing goes out of date.
The rules for an emergency food box
- No fridge, no cooking, no water. Ready.gov's test for emergency food. Be Ready asks for food with a long shelf life that needs no refrigeration or cooking.
- Food you'd normally eat. Be Ready and Germany's BBK both say this. If nobody likes it, nobody will rotate it.
- Small tins. Once opened, many foods need a fridge. A tin one person finishes in one go avoids waste.
- A manual tin opener, and a spare (Ready.gov).
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says tinned foods are safe to eat without heating.
The shopping list for one adult, 7 days
Our count from the menu below. Multiply by the adults in your home and add a spare or two.
| Item | How many |
|---|---|
| Tins of fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines) | 5 |
| Tins of meat, or a plant-based option | 2 |
| Tins of beans, chickpeas or bean salad | 4 |
| Tins of soup or stew you're happy to eat cold | 3 |
| Tins of veg (sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots, peas, tomatoes) | 10 |
| Tins of fruit in juice, plus fruit pouches | 6 tins, 2 pouches |
| Small UHT milk cartons | 5 |
| Cereal, granola or oats | 3 boxes or bags |
| Crackers, oatcakes, rice cakes, wraps | 4–5 packs |
| Peanut butter, honey | 1 jar each |
| Dried fruit, nuts, trail mix | 3 bags |
| Cereal bars, chocolate, crisps | a few of each |
Check for allergies, and swap in what your household eats.
A 7-day no-cook menu
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cereal, UHT milk, tinned peaches | Tuna, sweetcorn, crackers | Mixed bean salad, oatcakes, fruit cocktail |
| 2 | Oatcakes and peanut butter, dried apricots | Mackerel, rice cakes, carrots | Chickpeas with chopped tomatoes, wraps |
| 3 | Cereal bar, UHT milk, raisins | Ham (or plant-based), crackers, peas | Soup eaten cold, crackers, pears |
| 4 | Granola, UHT milk, pineapple | Fish wraps with sweetcorn | Tinned potatoes with meat or beans, carrots |
| 5 | Overnight oats soaked in UHT milk | Peanut butter wraps, fruit pouch | Stew eaten cold, crackers |
| 6 | Oatcakes with honey, tinned fruit | Tuna and bean salad, rice cakes | Chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes |
| 7 | Cereal, UHT milk, raisins | Mackerel, crackers, peas | Soup eaten cold, wraps, peaches |
Snacks each day: nuts, dried fruit, a cereal bar, some chocolate. Morale matters, especially for children.
Try the cold soup now, on a normal day. Forum users say the same thing again and again: test what you store before you buy a lot of it.
Do you need to count calories?
Not for a week of normal eating. Check the labels: if a day looks light, add peanut butter, nuts, chocolate or cereal bars, which usually carry the most energy per pack.
Eat the fridge first
If the power goes, the FSA's order is:
- food from the fridge;
- defrosted frozen food that doesn't need cooking;
- perishable food kept at room temperature;
- tins, jars and dried food last.
A closed fridge stays cold for up to 4 hours, and a full freezer stays frozen for up to 48 hours (24 if half full). If the fridge reaches 8 °C or above, eat food that needs chilling within 4 hours. In cold weather, below 8 °C, the FSA says you can store food outside in a clean, sealed box, out of the sun and away from animals.
Dates: what's safe
GOV.UK says use-by dates are about safety and best before dates are about quality. Most tins and packets carry a best before date: after it, food is usually safe but may not taste as good. Throw away any tin that's swollen, dented or rusty (Ready.gov), and any food that smells or looks wrong.
Rotate it without changing what you eat
- Store only what you already buy.
- New shopping at the back, oldest at the front.
- Write the month on each lid in marker pen.
- Use one or two items from the front each week.
- Replace them on your next shop.
- Check everything every 6 months, as Be Ready suggests.
Germany's BBK says the same: use older food first and mark the purchase date on anything without a label.
Babies, allergies and higher-risk people
- Babies: Be Ready says keep ready-to-feed formula of the kind your baby already has, as you may not be able to boil water. We don't link to or promote first infant formula. See the NHS guide to making up formula.
- Higher-risk people (young children, pregnant women, older people and people with a health condition): the FSA says take extra care and make sure food is steaming hot if you heat it.
- Heating food: most camping stoves are for outdoor use only (FSA). Read cooking without electricity first.
What about freeze-dried "survival" meals?
They're light and last for years, which suits a go bag or the car. At home they need hot water, which you may not have, and they cost much more than tins. Start with the supermarket.
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What to buy
About these links: plain links to ordinary retailer pages. We may earn from some links in future; we don't now. We haven’t tested these and we don’t rank them: they are examples that were in stock when we checked. Prices change. Check what you already own first. Full kit list
Manual tin opener
Look for: Works without power. Keep it with the tins.
Food that needs no cooking, for 3 days
Look for: Tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts: food you already eat. Check dates every six months.
Go bag food and ready meals
Look for: No cooking needed, long shelf life. For the home store, ordinary tins you already eat are cheaper.
- Seven Oceans Emergency Food Ration 0.5kg 2500 kcal · EVAQ8 · £9.79 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Pains Wessex Emergency Food Ration 500g · MilitaryKit.com · £8.95 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Wayfayrer Ready to Eat Meal Beef & Barley Stew · MilitaryKit.com · £7.45 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Radix Nutrition Freeze-Dried Meal Mexican Chilli · MilitaryKit.com · £8.45 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
Frequently asked questions
What tinned food is best for a 7-day emergency box?
Tins you'd eat anyway that are fine cold: tuna, mackerel and sardines, ham or chicken, mixed bean salad, chickpeas, sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots, peas, fruit in juice, and ready-to-eat soups or stews. Ring-pull lids help. Add crackers, oatcakes, cereal, UHT milk, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit and cereal bars.
What can I eat with no cooking at all?
The Food Standards Agency says tinned food is safe to eat without heating. Overnight oats soaked in UHT milk, cereal, tinned fish with crackers, bean salads, peanut butter wraps and tinned fruit all need no heat. Try cold soup or stew on a normal day first: not everyone likes it.
How do I keep a food store without changing what we normally eat?
Store only what you already buy. New shopping goes to the back, the oldest to the front, and cook one or two items from the front each week. Replace them on your next shop. Germany's BBK gives the same advice: use older food first and mark the purchase date on anything without a label.
Are freeze-dried survival meals worth it?
For a go bag or car, maybe. For the home, they need hot water, which you may not have in a power cut, and they cost far more than tins. Official UK advice is food you'd normally eat that needs no fridge or cooking.
Can I eat food past its date?
GOV.UK says use-by dates are about safety and best before dates are about quality. Food is usually safe after its best before date but may not be as good. Tins carry best before dates. Never eat from a tin that's swollen, dented or rusty (Ready.gov).
What do I eat first in a power cut?
The Food Standards Agency's order: food from the fridge first, then defrosted frozen food that doesn't need cooking, then perishable food kept at room temperature, and tins, jars and dried food last.
Sources
We opened each page on the date shown. Official advice changes: if a source says something different now, follow the source.
- GOV.UK Be Ready: be ready for emergencies (checklist) (read 1 November 2026)
- Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK): Food safety in a power cut (read 1 November 2026)
- GOV.UK: Best before and use-by dates (read 1 November 2026)
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Food (read 1 November 2026)
- BBK (Germany): Stockpiling (read 1 November 2026)
- Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF): Home preparedness, prepping for at least a week (read 1 November 2026)
Related guides
- Emergency food stockpile list: a calm UK list for 3 days, then 2 weeks
- Emergency food at home: a 72-hour UK cupboard
- Stock rotation at home: first in, first out
- Fridge and freezer in a power cut: how long is food safe?
Free tools
We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.
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