Food preparedness
This web page aims to make it easier for interested citizens to access information about food preparedness and to inform them about tasks, responsibilities and government activities in this area.
In addition to war scenarios, there are also numerous peacetime crisis situations that may lead to a shortage of food and thus to supply bottlenecks. These include, for example, animal diseases or serious accidents in large-scale technical installations.
The following sections will provide you with information about what the state is doing to ensure that the population is supplied with food in an emergency and how you can take your own private precautions to contribute to your food supply in emergency situations.
State precautions
Within the framework of general public services, the German government has created a statutory basis that allows it to control the supply of food in extraordinary circumstances. State food preparedness helps to bridge supply bottlenecks in crisis situations in the short term. However, it requires a supplementary accumulation of provisions in private households.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal government has, on the basis of its supply policy, set up state food reserves whose quantity does not fluctuate over the year. It is only possible to respond quickly to shortcomings in the supply when there are provisions that are available at any time in the event of a crisis. On the one hand, more extensive provisions are often not available in agri-food establishments and the food trade; on the other hand, certain agricultural products cannot be produced from a standing start due to the natural growing and harvesting cycles. In the context of the national crisis provisions, which the Federal Office of Food and Agriculture (BLE) is responsible for buying, selling and monitoring, the Civic Emergency Reserve and the National Reserve of Cereals store food.
Civic Emergency Reserve
The Civic Emergency Reserve consists of rice (long and round grain), pulses (peas and lentils) and condensed milk. This safety reserve of basic foodstuffs aims to contribute towards supplying the population with at least one meal per day in crisis situations, especially in urban centres.
The National Reserve of Cereals
The National Reserve of Cereals consists of bread cereals (wheat, rye) and oats. Its aim is to maintain the supply of flour and bread in a crisis. These reserves are stored near mills because of the necessary further processing.