There's concern government agencies would struggle to provide the public with necessary food supplies in the event of a major disaster.

A senior academic at Lincoln University has researched New Zealand's response to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.

The study found if it weren't for expert management and professional staff at Foodstuffs and Progressive, the situation on the ground could have been far worse.

Doctor Mark Wilson said it seems nonsensical, and almost negligent, that these grocery chains aren't included in current emergency discussions.

"There seems to be very little planning within the Civil Defence and Emergency Management framework to actually include these supply chains into the planning of disaster responses."

Mr Wilson said food supply chains run very lean, because they are commercially-focused, so there's not usually excess supply of food.