Enter the meals you need to cover
Count the people eating from this food supply, choose the number of days and set meals per person each day. Three meals is the starting value; change it if your plan covers a different number. Plan infant feeds and pet food separately.
Read the result
Two people for three days at three meals each need 18 individual meal portions. That could mean six breakfasts, six lunches and six evening meals. At two meals each per day, the same household needs 12 portions. One family meal may supply several portions; one tin may supply less than a complete meal.
The calculation does not assess calories, portion sizes or nutrition. Count snacks, drinks, allergies, prescribed diets and any extra needs in your own menu. Check pack labels and how much your household normally eats.
Turn the total into a cupboard list
- Write down meals everyone already eats. Include options that need neither refrigeration nor cooking.
- Check the cupboard and subtract usable portions you already own. Keep a manual tin opener with tins that need one.
- Read storage instructions for opened packs. Choose pack sizes you can finish when refrigeration is unavailable.
- Add missing food gradually during ordinary shopping and use the oldest suitable items first.
For example, a no-cook lunch could use ready-to-eat beans or fish with crackers and tinned fruit, adjusted for preferences and allergies. Follow the product's ready-to-eat and storage instructions.
Build the rest of the plan
Use the no-cook meal guide for menu ideas and the rotating cupboard guide to avoid waste. Estimate drinks separately with the water calculator.
Your entries and privacy
This calculator works in your browser and does not save your entries. Reloading the page restores the starting values. The tool does not submit your entries to a server.
Source: UK Government emergency preparation emergency checklist.