Don't have time to stockpile? Worried Brits are buying £700 emergency food kits - with sales QUADRUPLING in recent weeks

Worried Brits are splurging £700 on emergency food kits that can keep a person fed for six weeks, amid growing fears of blackouts, cyberattacks and other future crises.

Retailers say sales of long-life food packs and water filtration equipment have skyrocketed in recent weeks following renewed interest in household preparedness.

Some of the kits contain enough freeze-dried meals to feed a person for weeks, while others are designed to provide months of emergency food with a shelf life of up to 25 years.

The trend follows calls for households to be better prepared for possible disruptions to infrastructure, power supplies and essential services.

'Over the last eight weeks, orders have quadrupled, if not more,' James Blake, manager of Emergency Food Storage, told the Daily Mail.

'It's so busy that our stocks are out. They're completely depleted.'

Meanwhile, Laura Gardener, co-founder of Base Camp Food, said demand has reached levels the company has never experienced before.

The business was originally set up to supply freeze-dried food to adventurers heading to destinations such as Antarctica or crossing oceans by yacht. But in recent weeks, survival food has become its fastest-growing category.

This £169.99 bucket contains 60 servings of freeze-dried food - enough to last one person eating 1,800 calories a day for six days

This three month 'Standard' emergency food pack costs £719 and provides a person with two meals a day for six weeks

Earlier this month, households were warned to 'be ready' for a national crisis as part of a new campaign launched by Andy Burnham's Government.

Stockpiling three days of food and water and having enough cash to get by if the electronic payments system collapses are among the precautions recommended.

While some people have been purchasing tinned products and large bottles of water, those who don't have the time or headspace to stockpile have been turning to pre-packaged survival kits.

However, the kits are a far cry from the stereotypical tins of beans and packets of pasta once associated with stockpiling.

Instead, many contain freeze-dried meals such as macaroni cheese, chilli con carne, pasta alfredo, teriyaki rice and creamy chicken dishes that can be prepared simply by adding water.

Some packs also include breakfast options such as granola, porridge and powdered milk, along with snacks and drinks.

The meals are sealed in oxygen-free packaging and are designed to last for up to 25 years, making them suitable for long-term storage in a loft, cupboard or garage.

Six weeks' worth of emergency food – providing two meals a day – can cost around £700, while larger supplies providing up to 18 months of meals can run into the thousands.

One 12-month family pack, which contains enough food for four people, is priced at a whopping £34,500. 

Some of the dishes include Southwest beans and rice, savoury stroganoff, cheesy macaroni and creamy pasta and vegetable rotini

Some of the kits contain enough freeze-dried meals to feed a person for weeks, while others are designed to provide months of emergency food with a shelf life of up to 25 years

This 12-month family pack, which contains enough food for four people, is priced at a whopping £34,500

Retailers say the appeal is convenience, allowing customers to buy an entire emergency food supply in a single purchase rather than building a stockpile item by item.

Emergency Food Storage said its most popular packages include one-month and three-month food supplies containing freeze-dried meals that only require water to prepare.

Its one-month emergency food pack, which provides one main meal and one dessert per day per person, is priced at £355.

However, its three-month 'deluxe complete solution' emergency food pack, which provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert for one person for 120 days, is priced at £2,395.

Unlike dehydrated food, freeze-dried meals are cooked first before the water is rapidly removed in a vacuum chamber, helping preserve their nutrients and flavour.

Mr Blake said the process allows products to remain edible for around 25 years.

He added that water filtration systems were proving almost as popular as food supplies, adding: 'You've got a few days without water, whereas you can survive much longer without food.'

Two shoppers were seen stocking up on bottled water at Costco in Manchester after the Government advised households to keep three days' worth of supplies on hand

More shoppers were pictured queuing outside the Costco in Manchester. The trend follows calls for households to be better prepared for possible disruptions to infrastructure, power supplies and essential services

Some Brits have already started stockpiling. Pictured: Mother-of-four Clare Foges in the garden shed she's turned into a fully stocked survival bunker

Customers are also snapping up filters that can turn river, stream or other untreated water into safe drinking water during an emergency.

The Daily Mail's taste test

Laura Gardener, from Base Camp Foods, was kind enough to send me the 60-serving emergency food bucket to try.

This £169.99 product contains 13 different meal types including cheesy lasagna, teriyaki and rice, tomato and basil soup and savoury stroganoff.

All of these meals are freeze-dried, helping to preserve their flavour and give them a shelf life of 25 years.

The amount in this bucket can provide nearly a week of food for one person at 1,800 calories per day, or much longer if you rationed them out.

To see what they taste like, I decided to test the 'loaded baked potato casserole'. This is described as a 'cheese and bacon flavour casserole with dehydrated potatoes and chives'.

And to be honest, I was impressed.

I simply poured some into a bowl, added hot water and waited a few minutes for the meal to rehydrate.

While it's obviously not the same as a fresh baked potato, I can discern the key flavours and there's even a bit of crunch – which I quite like in a packet meal.

It really tastes much better than I would have expected for a meal which has an expiry date of December 2051.

It's the kind of thing that I can put in the cupboard under the stairs and – hopefully – forget about.

But if the need ever arises, it's nice to know I've got enough food to keep me going for a while.

'It's gone mental,' Ms Gardener, of Base Camp Food, said. 'I've not seen this before, even with Covid.'

She revealed that more than 320 personal water-filtering straws were sold in just four days.

The simple devices allow users to drink untreated water directly from streams, rivers and other natural sources.

Stocks of some larger gravity-fed filtration systems have already been exhausted across the UK, she said.

'As quickly as the stock comes through the door, it goes out,' she added. 'We cannot process those orders quickly enough.'

Ms Gardener said demand for long-life emergency food with expiry dates stretching into the 2050s has also surged following recent preparedness announcements.

Most of her company's emergency food comes in a type of bucket, costing £170 for 60 servings or £329 for 120 servings of food.

She believes there is 'no doubt' the surge is linked to growing public concern about emergency preparedness.

Ms Gardener revealed customers are increasingly opting for products with shelf lives of 25 years or more because they can be stored in a loft, cellar or cupboard and forgotten about.

'Hopefully nothing does happen,' she said. 'But at the same time, you are covered.'

Mr Blake agreed, describing emergency food as a form of 'food insurance'.

While the UK Government advises households to keep three days' worth of supplies on hand, some specialists warn that is nowhere near enough.

Instead, they recommend stockpiling enough food, water and other essentials to last for up to two weeks.

Doing so could help families through anything from extreme storms and widespread power outages to terrorist attacks and even a nuclear emergency.

Emergency stockpile list

Source: New South Wales government 

This list should only be used as a guide for items that may assist in an emergency situation and should be customised to meet your individual household needs.

It is suggested that households should hold a sufficient supply of food, water and essential items to enable a household to be confined at home for up to 14 days.

Food supplies should be continually used and replenished.

Ensure food is rotated, and use-by dates are checked regularly.

Ready-to-eat canned/bottled food

• Meat

• Fish

• Fruit

• Juice

• Vegetables

• Soup

• Pasta sauce

Dried and long-life food

• Ready-to-eat meals

• Breakfast cereal

• Flour/bread

• Milk powder/UHT milk

• Soup mix

• Dried vegetables

• Rice and pasta

• Long-life cheeses

• Tea/coffee/drinking chocolate

• Sugar

Snack food

• Dried fruits

• Nuts

• Biscuits

• Spreads

• Crackers

• Snack bars

Drinks

• Bottled water (3 litres per person per day)

• Water sterilising tablets

• Concentrated juices/sports drinks

Baby supplies

• Baby food/baby formula

• Nappies and wipes

Pet food

• Pet food (canned/dry)

Toiletries/cleaning products

• Toilet rolls