From food shortages to cyberattacks, we’ve been ‘soft-prepping’ all year

I’ve bought a couple of power banksthat also double up as flashlights so we can see where we’re going,” says Liz Blackshaw. “I’ve already got a wind-up radio combined with a flashlight. We’re a family full of food intolerances, so I’ve been stocking up on gluten-free pasta and some snacks I like to eat. It’s enough to see us through a couple of weeks.”

Blackshaw, a Labour councillor for Mountsorrel, in Leicestershire, does not identify as a “prepper” – someone who believes waror disaster is imminent, and prepares for it as much as possible. She does not have a bunker in her basement or a pantry full of groceries that will last a month. But she does read the news and believes that being prepared for unforeseen events is sensible.

While the war in Iran and across the Middle East raised significant concerns about gas supplies and sent fuel costs soaring earlier this year, new threats from Russia and this summer’s heatwaves, has led to reportsthat Andy Burnham’s government will tell households to stock up on tinned food and bottled water to prepare for extreme weather or cyber attacks on the country.

According to the Financial Times, the government is accelerating work on its “war book” – a manual for the defence of the nation against external threats. As you can do to improve domestic resilience, like having some bottled water and tinned food. It will be common sense, not scaremongering.”

“I’m aware the war can cause problems,” says Blackshaw, who lives with her husband and has two daughters, aged 19 and 17. “I think you have to be pragmatic about things. The old adage of failing to prepare is being prepared to fail.”

She began “soft prepping” earlier this year after seeing a post from the National Grid asking people to be ready in case the power suddenly goes off. That was when she bought her spare power banks. “I look after my mum, who is a vulnerable, elderly lady. I’ve made sure she’s prepared should something happen. We haven’t got landlines anymore, so making sure we can power our phones is important. And I need to be confident she can see if all power goes, as she has osteoporosis, so if she falls over, she’s breaking something.”

Power outages are a serious possibility. Back in 2024, a worldwide Windows glitch took most of the world’s infrastructure offline, with flights grounded and TV channels taken off air, while last year, Spain and Portugal experienced a 10-hour power surge that caused a widespread blackout.

Keir Starmer’s government had previously warned the public to be prepared in case of prolonged disruption during a cyberattack, and has a “preparedness plan” advising people to have non-digital alternatives to radios, as well as power banks, torches in case of power outages, and enough food and water to manage for several days if services are disrupted.

But Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at UCL, believes we should all be prepared to last for a minimum of two weeks, especially in the light of increased global threats.

“If there’s a national power outage due to a solar storm, it could take that long or longer to replace the transformers and get the power going. If there’s a nuclear conventional attack, the UK government will be distracted, and the priority cannot and should not be prioritising individuals.”

He recognises that not everyone has the financial means to prepare to live for two weeks off-grid, especially given the cost of living crisis, but urges those who can to prepare food and water supplies. “Running out of gas is not an issue if you’re ready. Having lorries off the road so supermarkets aren’t getting food supplies isn’t an issue if you’re ready. Having water supplies cut off is not an issue if you’re ready.”

Earlier this year, high fuel prices due to Trump’s strikes on Iran saw the AA advisedrivers to stop “non-essential” journeys. Blackshaw foresaw this when news of the first strikes came out. “It was obvious the price of diesel would rocket, so my husband and I both filled our cars up, even though we normally run them down to the flashing red lights.”

Ema Brown, 37, a makeup artist in Nottinghamshire, has been quietly stocking up on supplies ever since she saw a TikTok asking: would you be able to survive a blackout?

“I panicked and thought absolutely not. After one video, you go down rabbit holes. It made me think I need to be ready. I’ve not gone to extreme lengths, but I do have a box of important things I can grab if I need to.”

In it, she has torches, backup batteries, wind-up radios and solar chargers that she’s been purchasing online for a few years. Since war broke out in Iran, she’s bought even more, and has enough supplies of food and water to ensure that she, her husband and their two children, aged 13 and 17, will be able to last two weeks.

“What’s going on feels scary at the minute,” she says. “I’d much rather be semi-preparing than not at all. Obviously, I’m scared of war breaking out. But it’s also just that we’re so used to surviving on things we take for granted. I think it would be good to learn to live more off-grid and be more self-efficient.”

Her ”self-prepping” has become a bit of a family joke. “Me and my husband always have a laugh about it. I call it my just-in-case box. But should my family need it, they’ll be glad I bought it all.”

Leigh Price owns a prepping store, The Bug Out, in Wales and has found business is busier in the wake of threats from Russia and Iran. “You do get a lot of first-timers, especially when there’s something going on in the world. People start thinking – what if something happens? What do I do? The most sensible people are the ones who do it every day and don’t leave it at the least minute.”

But he warns beginners not to panic, encouraging them to simply buy a few extra tins of food during their weekly shops, and invest in simple things like a camping stove, wind-up radios and torches.

“It’s not rocket science; it’s common sense. It’s an insurance policy on your way of life. You insure your car, your house – prepping is like an insurance of your way of life, so you can be prepared for the mundane things like the car breaks down, the power goes off, the water goes off, the heating goes down. It’s just being more prepared.”

Mark*, 53, a business owner who lives just outside Cheltenham, is another “soft-prepper”. He grew up on a farm with frugal grandparents who believed in storing as much as possible, and now that he’s financially successful, he can afford to do more.

“We’ve got log burners in the house, so we don’t have to worry too much about oil,” says Mark, whose mum, in her seventies, often stays with him. They recently had a log burner fitted for £4,500, and switched over to an electric Aga cooker, showers, and central heating, but have the option to use oil instead.

“I also have three fridge freezers full of food, like bread, and the basics you can freeze,” he says. “I recently bought more oil, but because of the prices, I spent £1,500 for oil I would normally buy for £500. Even though I’m a high-bracket earner, it is still getting difficult to prepare with prices. And I can’t get more oil till the start of April, which does hit home hard.”

He began ”soft-prepping” after the Covid pandemic showed just how hard it could be to suddenly access supplies, especially due to panic-buying, and he recently bought a wind-up radio and phone charger after seeing hype on social media about preparing for war.

“Instagram does portray a lot of scaremongering tactics,” he acknowledges. “But maybe it is good to just be a little bit prepared. Things do feel really uncertain now, and fuel costs are escalating, which is affecting the business, so all we can do now is just try to survive.”