Supply Shortages: Food, Fuel and Medicines
Shops hold only a few days of stock. A strike, a storm, a cyberattack on a logistics company or a border closure can empty shelves and fuel stations quickly, and panic buying makes it worse. The answer is not to hoard when the crisis starts. It is to build a modest stock slowly, in normal times, and use it in rotation.
1. Before: build a rotating stock
- Buy a little extra of what you already eat each time you shop, until you have at least 7 days at home. Use the kit calculator.
- Choose food that keeps and needs little cooking. See Home kit for 7 days.
- Rotate: put new items at the back and eat the oldest first.
- Store drinking water. See Water outages.
- Keep extra supply of regular medicines when your doctor or pharmacist allows it, and basic first aid and hygiene items.
- Do not forget baby food, nappies, pet food and special diets.
Fuel and energy
- Keep the car at least half full, or charged above half.
- Store fuel only in approved containers, in small amounts, away from the home and following local rules.
- Have a way to cook and stay warm without the grid: a camping stove used with ventilation, warm clothes and blankets.
2. During a shortage
- Buy what you need, not what you can carry. Panic buying creates the shortage for everyone else.
- Use your home stock and plan meals around what will spoil first.
- Save fuel: combine trips, share cars, walk or cycle.
- Follow official information about deliveries, rationing and distribution points.
- Share with neighbours, especially older people and families with small children.
- Be careful with offers at inflated prices and with sellers you do not know, especially for medicines.
3. After
- Restock gradually, not all at once.
- Note what ran out first and adjust your stock.
Quick checklist
- 7 days of food in rotation
- Drinking water stored
- Extra regular medicines
- Baby, pet and special diet supplies
- Car at least half full
- Camping stove and fuel
- Cash for when card payments fail
See also Financial crisis and payment failures, Power Outages and all risks.
Sources
- FEMA / Ready.gov: Food
- DSB Norway: Egenberedskap (PDF, Norwegian)
- EU Preparedness Union Strategy (Euronews, March 2025)
Educational material. Always follow instructions from your local authorities. Last reviewed: November 2026.