Emergency pantry list for Queensland households
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Emergency pantry list for Queensland households (PDF 255kb)
Many households may lose access to water, electricity and food stores during emergency events such as floods, storms, cyclones or bushfires in Queensland.
The following pantry list will help your household to prepare for these events.
The list outlines the food required for two people (aged 12 months or older) for seven days and is based on national nutrition guidelines.
Items do not require refrigeration, special preparation or cooking.
Households should adapt the pantry list for people with food allergies, special diets or other specific food requirements.
Tips for your household
Preparing for an emergency
- Divide or multiply the quantities in the pantry list to meet your household's needs.
- Refer to the food item examples below when considering your purchases. If your household is smaller or larger than two people, other sizes of cans, bottles and packets may be more appropriate.
- Choose the brand, size and variety that suit your household’s tastes, needs and budget.
- Buy familiar foods that your household will enjoy.
- Buy items on special or generic brands to reduce the cost.
- Buy salt-reduced items and avoid adding salt to your meals. Salt will increase your thirst.
- Avoid panic buying. Purchase items throughout the year and stock up gradually.
- Regularly check the expiration dates of all foods in your pantry and use or replace any items which will expire during the storm season.
- Read the Emergency pantry list for infants fact sheets if you have children aged 0-12 months in your household. Remember, long life milk is not suitable for infants.
- Read the following fact sheets for information about how to ensure safe drinking water supplies:
- Prepare your household emergency kit
- Ensuring safe drinking water - Read the Food safety in an emergency fact sheet for information about consuming food from your refrigerator following power failures, and other food safety tips.
During an emergency
- Supplement the pantry list with non-perishable (undamaged) food items from your pantry.
- Discard any opened food that may spoil if not eaten immediately.
- Avoid eating food that has passed its best-before date.
- Do not give whole nuts to children under five years as they may present a choking risk.
Call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) at any time for practical medial advice and assistance.
Pantry list
| Food items | Approximate food quantities | Purchasing examples |
| Breads and cereals | ||
| Breakfast cereal (dry) e.g. muesli, wholegrain cereal | 850g | 28 x 3g single-use bowls/boxes or 2 x 400-450g boxes or 1 x 800-900g box |
| Flat bread (long life, vacuum packed) e.g. pita bread, lavash | 1100g | 4 x 260g packs or 6 x 200g packs or 2 x 567g packs |
| Wholegrain crisp bread/dry biscuits | 500g | 2 x 250g boxes or 4 x 125g boxes |
| Ready-to-eat rice or noodles | 1700g | 8 x 250g packets |
| Fruit | ||
| Canned fruit e.g. pineapple, peaches, fruit salad, plums, berries, apricots | 2400g | 8 x 400/410/420g cans or plastic tubs * |
| Dried fruit e.g. sultanas, apricots, mixed fruit | 200g | 1 x 210g packet |
| Fruit juice (100% fruit juice) | 750mL | 3 x 250 mL tetra packs |
| Vegetables | ||
| Starhy vegetables e.g. canned potatoes | 1050g | 4 x 410g cans * |
| Green vegetables e.g. canned peas, beans, asparagus | 1050g | 7 x 220g cans * |
| Orange and other vegetables e.g. canned beetroot, carrots, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, capsicum, mixed vegetables | 3150g | 14 x 420g cans * |
| Legumes | ||
| Canned legumes e.g. kidney beans, 4-bean mix, chick peas, lentils | 1000g | 4 x 410g cans * |
| Baked beans | 750g | 4 x 220g cans |
| Nuts and seeds | ||
| Nuts and/or seeds (unsalted) e.g. almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, seed mix, nut paste | 450g | 3 x 150g packet |
| Dairy foods (milk, yoghurt and cheese) | ||
| Long life milk or calcium fortified soy milk | 5000mL | 20 x 250 mL tetra packs (cow's milk or soy milk) |
| Long life cheese e.g. cheese wedges or sticks | 400g | 1 x 160g box and 1 x 240g packet |
| Long life custard | 800g | 2 x 4 pack custard cups |
| Red meat, poultry, fish, eggs | ||
| Canned meat and/or poultry or alternatives e.g. braised steak, canned chicken, canned ham, nut meat | 900g |
12 x 85g cans (chicken) or 5 x 400/410/420/425g cans (meat) |
| Canned fish e.g. tuna, salmon, sardines | 1600g | 8 x 185/210g cans |
| Unsaturated fats and oils | ||
| Unsaturated oil e.g. olive oil | 280g | 1 x 375 mL bottle |
| Discretionary foods/treats | ||
| For example, sweet biscuits, muesli bars, chocolate, lollies | 650g | 200g chocolate, 200g sweet biscuits, 250g muesli bars |
| Fluids (for drinking and food preparation) | ||
| Bottled water | 42 L | 21 x 2 L bottles |
| Other equipment | ||
| Plastic crockery, cutlery and utensils (only required if you do not have access to your own crockery and cutlery, or washing up factilities) |
28 forks |
1 x 20 pack and 1 x 10 pack of each cutlery item 2 x 200 pack of each crockery item 3 x 20 pack disposable cups 1 can opener |
| Hand sanitiser (water-free) | 2 tubes/bottles | 2 x 200 mL bottles |
* The weight of these purchasing examples is larger than the amount of food required, to allow for drainage of liquid.
