Stocking up without panic buying

By SGWNI. Checked on 2 November 2026.

The way to stock up without panic buying is to add an item or two to your normal shop, over weeks or months, until you’ve got enough. The government’s Be Ready checklist says this directly: you don’t need to do it all at once, and you can build up gradually by picking up an extra item or two when you can. Nobody is asking you to fill a trolley. The target is 3 days, and much of it may already be in your cupboards.

The British Red Cross says the same thing from the other side: building a kit should not cause panic-buying or shortages of certain supplies.

Why slow works better

It’s easier on your budget. In the UK’s 2026 survey, 29% of people named not having enough money as a barrier to preparing. Be Ready suggests picking up missing items during your regular shopping trips to help spread the cost. Two extra tins a week is a smaller decision than a big one-off shop.

You make better choices. Food bought in a hurry is often food you won’t eat, and that’s how a stockpile ends up going out of date. A quarter of people in the same survey (25%) said not wanting products to go out of date was a barrier. Buying what you’d usually eat, a bit at a time, deals with that.

It’s kinder to everyone else. If you’re ready before anything happens, you won’t be in the queue when something does, and the people who couldn’t prepare in advance can get what they need.

Start by counting what you have

Before you buy anything, look in your cupboards. Be Ready’s first step is to see what you already have. You may have more food than you think, and water is the likely gap: in the same survey, 82% of people had less than a day’s water at 3 litres a day. Our supplies calculator shows you which of the two is holding you back, so your first purchase goes where it does the most good.

What to buy first

If you can only do a little at a time, this order comes from the British Red Cross’s priorities for preparing at home:

Medication. If anyone relies on it, this comes first. Don’t leave repeat prescriptions until the last minute. Be Ready says to request them up to 5 working days before you need them.
Water. 3 litres per person per day for drinking. A pack of bottles on each of your next few shops will get you there.
Food. Things with a long shelf life that don’t need a fridge or cooking, and that you’d normally eat.
Staying informed. A battery or wind-up FM radio.
Staying connected. A charged power bank, and a paper list of phone numbers.
A plan. Who you’d call, and where you’d meet. This one is free.

The checklist also lists a torch with spare batteries, and blankets and warm clothing. You may already own those, so check before you buy.

A slow build, in practice

This is an example for two adults. Change it to suit your household.

Week 1: Count what you have. Add one 6-pack of 2 litre water bottles. That’s 12 litres, or 2 days for two.
Week 2: Two tins of something you’d eat anyway, and a jar of peanut butter.
Week 3: A second 6-pack of water. You now have 4 days at 3 litres each.
Week 4: A pack of crackers and two more tins.
Week 5: Batteries for a torch you already own, and check the phone numbers you’d need.
Week 6: Dried fruit and nuts. Then count again.

You might not need all of that, and you may have a torch and blankets already. The slow-build planner makes a list for your own household and timescale. It doesn’t use prices, because we don’t have reliable ones, and yours will depend on where you shop.

Things that cost nothing

The government says many of its steps are quick and cost-free. Some of the most useful ones are:

writing down important numbers on paper
finding out whether your phone works in a power cut
checking whether you qualify for the Priority Services Register, which is free
swapping contact details with a neighbour
making sure you know where your torch is

If a story in the news makes you want to act now

That’s a reasonable feeling, and there’s a calm way to use it. Pick one thing you can do today, like counting your water or writing down your numbers. Then add one item to your next shop.

There’s no deadline on the checklist, and the government describes Be Ready as a three-year campaign that will build gradually over time. If you find you’ve bought more than you need, the checklist suggests you could donate extras to people who can’t afford to prepare.

What to skip

You don’t need to buy a ready-made emergency kit or specialist long-life food. The Be Ready checklist asks for ordinary things, and says it’s best to buy food you’d usually eat. Extra tins of what you already like will do.