Food shortages

[Piixxiiee]

Longer term do you think food shortages will be an issue?

[Chelsea567]

No. I work in a supermarket and we've got good stock levels on everything except pasta. I guess long term we may have a bit less choice but that's no bad thing.

[Pipandmum]

It's not a problem in a lot of places now. We are well stocked - even pasta is back on the shelves. So no not expecting there to be a problem with food.

[nellythenarwhal]

I think we'll see food shortages at the end of the year because of Brexit kicking in.
I'm not looking for political debate - just a hunch based on people's behaviour over Corona and people buying extra at Xmas anyway .

[PickAChew]

All I'm struggling for is flour. Picked up a bag of plain flour, earlier this week, but can't get bread flour.

I'm finding the variety of meat and veg to be a little limited. I can't get pork mince in markses, for example, but I made a lovely Thai style curry with turkey mince, last week and a very tasty ragu using pork shoulder steaks, this week. Plenty of beef mince but beef doesn't always agree with me so I don't eat a lot of it.

I do think we are going to have to be more flexible, for a while. Also, we'll have to eat more seasonally than we're used to, at times, for a while.

Oh, talking of seasonally - rhubarb. Where the fuck is all the rhubarb?

[GarlicSoup]

Yes I do think there may be shortages due to lack of staff to harvest crops, transport problems, lack of movement between countries. Surely the stock we have now on many goods was created before the pandemic so I don’t think that means the levels will continue as we go toward. Hope I am wrong.

[GemmeFatale]

@PickAChew pretty sure the rhubarb is all in my garden. Swing by and pick some. Please. Pretty please 🙏

[Qasd]

Given is a global crisis and so much of our food is imported I would guess it would hit supply chains at some point.

Not sure how much none medical essential workers have been impacted in other countries. I keep being told everyone else’s lockdown is stricter than ours but has that filtered down into food manufacture and distribution in countries that could impact here for example or is everywhere else the same as hear minus the jogging?!

[LizzieSiddal]

Yes I do. They are saying that unless tens of thousands go and plant and pick crops ion UK farms, we will be short of food this summer.

[LooseleafTea]

I’m with garlicsoup. I started a thread on this a week or so ago as I looked up how much food the U.K. imports as felt unsettled , but no one answered.
Hopefully we’ll adapt and also hopefully this will pass however intense , before food security is ever really in danger.
My way of keeping positive is planting many types of vegetables as they are so nice anyway and lovely things to share!

[middleager]

There was a piece on the land army in the news and how they need more pickers at £15ph to pick fruit and veg.

And how imported fruit and veg from overseas could become an issue.

I guess we may have to eat more seasonally and more locally - which must be a good thing.

I remember when I was a child my mother telling me how she hadn't seen a banana until she was about 10 and finding that a hard concept to grasp.

[Lillyhatesjaz]

Farmers local to me were saying there was no one to harvest their crops on the local news. A week later they were saying that they had employed lots of people who normally work in different jobs, hopefully this has happened in other areas too.

[PickAChew]

@GemmeFatale I gladly would!

[Notcontent]

Yes, I think it’s a big concern. At the moment we are fine because we are eating food from earlier harvests. But what about all the food that is meant to be harvested in the coming weeks and months, to feed us in the future? It’s a scary thought.

[WomanIsTaken]

I'm with Garlic and Looseleaf; once the shortage of pickers and packers plus transport, both nationally, continentally and globally kick in, we will definitely experience shortages and likely price-hikes in some fresh produce and certain grains.

[Piixxiiee]

Yes sorry didnt really explain my question- I dont mean the shortage weve had recently due to demand and supply chain, I mean the actual cropsnot being harvested/ planted etc, I tend to agree with others that there will be a shortage- veg patch started!!