Most of the government's three-day list is supermarket stock: water, tins, pouches, long-life milk, wipes, batteries. Which means the easiest way to build the kit is not a special trip at all. It is a slightly longer version of the online shop you already do, spread over a few weeks so nothing looks or feels like stockpiling. The driver carries the heavy part, and the only person who sees your basket is you.
Add two or three kit items to each weekly order for four or five weeks. No empty shelves, no panic, and the kit assembles itself. The exception is water: supermarkets hold it by the pallet, so a couple of multipacks in one order is fine.
Where to order
A note on money: none of the links on this page earn us anything at the moment; they are plain links to the shops. If that changes, this note will say so, and it will never cost you more. Pick whichever shop you already use; the kit costs about the same at all of them. More on the about page.
Tesco
Own-brand still water in 6 × 1.5 L and 2 L bottles, the widest tinned range, Clubcard prices online. Delivery saver plans if you shop weekly.
Shop at TescoSainsbury's
Good own-brand tins and pouches, Nectar prices, and generally the easiest site for building a saved list you can reorder from.
Shop at Sainsbury'sAsda
Usually the cheapest of the big four for water and basics. Useful if the kit is the thing pushing you over a minimum basket.
Shop at AsdaMorrisons
Strong on tinned fish and meat, and one of the few that still does a decent range of long-life milk cartons online.
Shop at MorrisonsOcado
Best for the odd items: ready-to-feed formula, speciality diets, bigger water packs. Regular new-customer offers that can cover the whole kit.
Shop at OcadoAmazon
For the non-food items a supermarket will not have: the wind-up radio, a decent torch, a power bank, a first aid kit, water containers. Water multipacks too if you have Prime.
Shop at AmazonCheapest of all, in person: Aldi and Lidl
If you are near one, the kit is cheapest at Aldi or Lidl: own-brand water and tins are usually a third less than the big four. Neither delivers groceries nationally (Aldi does small orders through Deliveroo and Uber Eats in some areas), so this is the in-person option. Take the list below on your phone, buy a few lines a week, and remember that nobody at Aldi has ever looked at anyone else's trolley.
Aldi
Cheapest water in the country most weeks, strong tinned fish and pulses, and the middle aisle occasionally has torches and lanterns for a few pounds.
Find your AldiLidl
Same story: own-brand water, tins, long-life milk and crackers at the lowest prices. Lidl Plus app coupons often cover the water.
Find your LidlThe list: copy it, paste each line into the search box
This is a complete three-day kit for two adults, as the government's checklist describes it, in supermarket terms. It works as a paper list for Aldi and Lidl too. Double it for four; the calculator gives exact numbers for any household. Everything on it is own-brand-able.
Two-adult kit, one order
| Search for | Quantity | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Still water 6 x 1.5 litre | 2 packs | 18 litres, drinking for two for three days |
| Baked beans tin | 4 | Meals |
| Tuna tin | 4 | Meals |
| Chickpeas tin | 2 | Meals |
| Chilli con carne tin or pouch | 2 | Meals |
| Microwave rice pouch | 4 | Meals, eaten cold |
| Sweetcorn tin | 2 | Vegetables |
| Peaches in juice tin | 2 | Fruit and fluid |
| Rice pudding tin | 2 | Pudding |
| Long life milk 1 litre | 2 | Cereal and drinks |
| Crackers | 1 box | With tins |
| Oatcakes | 1 box | Breakfast |
| Mixed nuts | 1 bag | Snacks |
| Dried fruit | 1 bag | Snacks |
| Cereal bars | 1 box | Snacks |
| Chocolate bar | 2 | Morale |
| Manual tin opener | 1 | The item every kit forgets |
| AA batteries | 1 pack of 8 | Torch and radio |
| Hand sanitiser | 1 | Hygiene without water |
| Wet wipes | 2 packs | Hygiene without water |
| Toilet roll | 1 pack | Three days |
| Bin bags | 1 roll | Waste, and keeping things dry |
| Paper plates | 1 pack | No washing up |
| Paracetamol | 1 | First aid top-up |
| Plasters | 1 box | First aid top-up |
About £35 to £45 at any of the big four. Add nappies, ready-to-feed formula, pet food and anything for special diets from the family guide. The radio, torch, power bank and water containers are on the recommended kit page.
Three ways to do it
The slow way, recommended
Add five or six lines from the list to each weekly order for four weeks. Water in the first two. It costs about £10 extra a week and nobody, including you, notices.
The one-order way
Paste the whole list into one delivery. Fine for water, fine for tins; it is one normal-sized shop. Choose a slot when you are in, because the driver will want to hand over the water rather than leave it on the step.
Click and collect
If delivery slots are scarce or you would rather not pay for one, most supermarkets will load a collection into your boot in the car park. You still never carry the water further than the cupboard.
For someone who can't carry it
The real barrier to the government's list, for a lot of people, is weight. An older parent, a neighbour with a bad hip, anyone in a flat with no lift. A delivery removes it entirely. Set one up to their address with the list above, or add it to a shop you already arrange for them, and pair it with the free things that matter more for them: the Priority Services Register, numbers on paper, and someone who knocks when the power goes.
Keeping it fresh
Because it arrives with the weekly shop, rotation takes care of itself: use the oldest tin when you cook normally and add one to the next order. Twice a year, when the clocks change, do the ten-minute check and reorder anything near its date.
Common questions
Is it more expensive to get the kit delivered?
Not if it rides along with a shop you were doing anyway. Delivery slots cost nothing to a few pounds depending on the supermarket and time, and most require a minimum basket of around £25 to £40, which a normal weekly shop clears easily. The kit items themselves are the same price online as in store, and own-brand water is usually cheapest online because nobody is lugging it.
Won't a big water order look odd?
To whom? A delivery driver carries water multipacks all day. Two packs a week for a few weeks is invisible, and that is the right pace anyway: never strip a shelf, online or off. If you would rather do it in one go, water is the one item where that is fine, because supermarkets hold it by the pallet.
Which supermarket is cheapest for the kit?
For water and tins the own-brand ranges at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons are within pennies of each other, and Aldi and Lidl are cheaper still but mostly do not deliver. Pick the one you already use so the kit is just a slightly bigger version of your normal order. Amazon is best for the few non-food items: the radio, a torch, a power bank, a first aid kit.
Can I set this up for an older relative?
Yes, and it is one of the best uses of this page. Set up a delivery to their address with the list below, or add it to a shop you already arrange for them. It removes the carrying, which is the real barrier for anyone who cannot easily manage heavy bags.