30-Day Food Stockpile: Shopping List for 2 Adults

Quick answer: Plan for about 2,000 kcal per adult per day. For two adults over 30 days that is roughly 120,000 kcal, which you can cover with about 45–50 kg (100–110 lb) of shelf-stable food: rice, pasta, oats, dried beans or lentils, cooking oil, tinned fish or meat, peanut butter, milk powder, sugar and tinned vegetables and fruit. Store it cool, dry and dark, eat what you store, and keep a few days of no-cook food for when you cannot heat anything.

A month of food sounds like a lot. In practice it fits on a couple of shelves or in a cupboard, and you can build it over a few months by buying a little extra each week. This guide shows you what to buy, how much, and how to keep it.

How many calories do you need?

The 2,000 kcal per day figure used on nutrition labels is a sensible planning number for adults. Real needs vary:

Smaller or older adults may need less.
Tall, active adults and anyone doing heavy physical work may need more.
Teenagers often eat as much as adults.
Children need less, but growing bodies still need protein, fat and vitamins.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women need more. Ask your doctor or midwife.

During a long outage you may be carrying water, chopping wood or keeping warm without heating. Plan a small buffer above 2,000 kcal rather than below it.

Household	Daily kcal (approx.)	30-day total
1 adult	2,000	60,000
2 adults	4,000	120,000
2 adults + 2 children	about 6,500–7,000	about 200,000

Not sure where your household stands? Check how many days your household would last. The free calculator turns your household into a calorie and water target.

Sample 30-day basket for 2 adults

This basket gives about 136,000 kcal, a buffer of roughly 13% above 120,000. Calorie figures are approximate averages from standard nutrition tables; check your actual packets.

Food	Amount	Approx. kcal	Why it’s here
White rice	10 kg (22 lb)	36,000	Cheap, long-lasting energy
Dried beans or lentils	6 kg (13 lb)	20,400	Protein and fibre
Pasta	3 kg (6.6 lb)	10,800	Quick to cook, popular
Rolled oats	3 kg (6.6 lb)	11,400	Breakfast, no-cook if soaked
Cooking oil	2 L (0.5 US gal)	16,300	Most calories per kg
Tinned fish, chicken or meat	6 kg (about 40 tins)	9,000	Ready-to-eat protein
Peanut butter	2 kg (4.4 lb)	11,800	Dense, no-cook, kids like it
Sugar or honey	2 kg (4.4 lb)	6,000–8,000	Energy, morale, baking
Full-cream milk powder	1.5 kg (3.3 lb)	7,500	Protein, calcium, tea and porridge
Tinned vegetables and fruit	10 kg (about 25 tins)	5,000	Vitamins and variety
Salt, spices, stock cubes	1 kg	–	Makes plain food edible
Total	about 46 kg (100 lb)	about 136,000

Swap freely to match your diet and what is cheap locally. Maize meal, couscous, flour, noodles, chickpeas or tinned soups all work. Vegetarians can replace tinned meat with extra beans, lentils, nuts and peanut butter.

Don’t forget water for cooking

Rice, pasta and beans need water and fuel. Dried beans need soaking and long cooking. If water or gas is tight, lean on tinned beans, quick oats and instant noodles instead. Budget roughly 1.5–2 litres of water per kilogram of rice, and see how much water to store for drinking needs.

Little extras that matter

Coffee, tea and comfort foods. Morale is a real resource.
Multivitamins if your diet will be limited for weeks. Ask a pharmacist if unsure.
Foods for special diets, allergies and babies. See babies and pets in emergencies.

No-cook options

There may be days when you cannot cook safely. Keep at least 3–5 days of food that needs no heat:

Tinned fish, chicken and beans (ring-pull lids, or keep a manual can opener)
Peanut butter and crackers or crispbread
Muesli or oats soaked in water or reconstituted milk
Nuts, seeds and dried fruit
Tinned fruit in juice
Long-life (UHT) milk and juice boxes
Energy bars and chocolate

If you do cook without mains power, use camping stoves, braais, barbecues and grills outdoors only. Ready.gov is clear that charcoal grills and camp stoves are for outdoor use. Indoors they can produce deadly carbon monoxide. More in our power outage guide.

Storing your stockpile

Food lasts longest in a place that is cool, dry, dark and pest-free.

Cool: a stable room temperature or lower. Avoid lofts, garages and spots next to ovens or hot-water cylinders. USDA advice for tinned food is to store it below about 29 °C (85 °F) and above freezing.
Dry: damp rusts tins and spoils grains and flour.
Dark: light degrades oils and vitamins.
Sealed: decant rice, beans, oats and flour into airtight food-grade buckets or jars to keep out insects, rodents and moisture.
Off the floor: shelves or pallets protect against floods and pests.

Shelf life at a glance

The USDA says high-acid tinned food (tomatoes, fruit) keeps best for 12–18 months, and low-acid tinned food (meat, fish, most vegetables) for 2–5 years, if the tins stay in good condition. Throw away tins that are bulging, leaking, badly dented or rusty. For dry goods, follow the best-before date on the pack. Our food rotation guide explains how to keep everything fresh.

Build it step by step

You do not need to buy 46 kg of food this weekend. A calm, gradual approach works better and costs less.

Week 1–2: Build 3 days of no-cook food. See the 72-hour kit guide.
Month 1: Reach 1 week by buying one or two extra staples each shop.
Months 2–3: Grow to 2 weeks, then 30 days.
Ongoing: Use the oldest food in everyday meals and replace it.

For more ways to stretch your money, see stockpiling on a budget.

30-day stockpile checklist

Follow your local authorities’ food and emergency advice, which may reflect local risks, foods and seasons.