Why do people here have a stash for Brexit?

[ssd]

I can see the point if it's medicines or medical supplies, but I've seen a few threads here where people are stashing tuna, toilet rolls and sweets!?

Are you all fucking mad?

I'm a total remainder but come on, I know it'll be shit but you'll still find asda and tesco will be open

[Fraggling]

I think some people like having a project.

For some it might make them feel more in control if they are worried in general.

For others they may genuinely think its armagedden.

It's fine really.

[RedSkyLastNight]

If we have no deal then prices will inevitably go up and there may be shortages of some items.
Having a stash means I can buy items at cheaper prices and avoid shortages of favourite foods.

Also, one person's "stash" is another person's "normal" - there are often threads on MN asking how long people could survive with the food out of their cupboards, and there are always loads who can last several weeks and would not specifically consider this to be a food stash.

[Camomila]

I guess short term some things might be hard to get if there are delays at ports

Long term prices may go up due to tariffs(??), might stock up on olive oil!

[HirplesWithHaggis]

Tesco and Asda may well be open, but what will there be on the shelves? Think how quickly stores empty when the snow falls, and multiply that by every store in the country.

[SalrycLuxx]

Sigh.

Because we don’t produce either finished products (lots of the food we like) or raw materials for products (bog roll). And because we were paying attention when the French started their ‘Brexit customs’ practice run and noted that lorries were queuing from Calais to Belgium (strangely absent from uk news - you had to be watching foreign sources). And because we understand the UK imports 60% of its food. And the supermarkets in the UK rely on just in time delivery which means after 3 days of no deliveries they are empty. And because there aren’t enough lorry permits letting uk drivers drive in the EU available to allow deliveries to continue as usual.

It’s not a question of the supermarkets disappearing. It’s a question as to whether there’s anything on the shelves.

And everyone should, frankly, keep a well stocked pantry.

[Miljah]

What salryc says.

It has been made perfectly, abundantly clear that there will be 'shortages'.

Why wouldn't you do what you could to protect yourself and your family from a No Deal Brexit?

[unlimiteddilutingjuice]

I guess short term some things might be hard to get if there are delays at ports

This is my reason. I'm not expecting civilisation to grind to a halt but I think its possible supermarkets may short of some things for a week or so.
I've got a 10kg bag of rice and a load of tins.

[AwdBovril]

Because I would rather have a stash & not need it, than need one & not have it.

[Camomila]

I wander where they make nappies? (DC2 due in Jan)
Goes off to google!

[Janista]

They are deluded that's why. Brexit "preppers" are truly bonkers

[ElPontifico]

Why not?

[Morgan12]

Because they think people will starve and wipe their arses with old their old towels after Brexit?

Fuck knows.

They will use the stuff anyway eventually so I suppose it's not a total waste of money.

[verticality]

Because we don't have much faith in the government to handle a no deal scenario in a way that doesn't lead to panic buying and shortages.

Tesco will want to stay open - but whether they can get food through the congestion at the ports is another question. It's common sense to have a week or two's supplies in readiness, just in case. The things people are storing last for years - cans etc. - so it's not like they will go to waste.

[DownByTheRiverside]

I’d love to be bonkers, Janista. I’d love to be wrong, and for Brexit to happen so smoothly and seamlessly that I don’t even notice.
But just in case our noble and wise leaders have got it wrong, and the effects on the low incomed and average are more severe, I have a stash. So that I can shop without a sense of panic and desperation in November and December at least.

[AutumnCrow]

Because we're fucking mad, yes. That's exactly why. Good spot.

[EssentialHummus]

What salryc said.

I know what the shelves in our local (enormous) supermarket look like after just a light dusting of snow and have drawn my own conclusions. If nothing else we'll have lower bills for a little while.

[MustardScreams]

Calling someone ‘bonkers’ for preparing for their families in case of the worst happening is really fucking low @Janista. I see your arguments on the whole Brexit debate are just to namecall and nothing more. It’s really quite embarrassing.

[Kazzyhoward]

one person's "stash" is another person's "normal"

That's me. I've done nothing specifically because of Brexit. I've always had plenty of food/supplies in the house, simply because I always bulk buy when I see the multi-buy/BOGOF offers. I've done that for years.

We could "survive" several weeks without doing any shopping at all - yes, it would be boring and we'd have no fresh stuff, but we'd "survive" on tins, packets, cartons etc and have plenty of loo rolls, soaps, shower gels, etc.

None of that has been bought specifically for any potential problems. It's all stuff we routinely use anyway and is in fact used on a rotational basis according to sell by dates etc.

[JenniR29]

Because as a country we are not nor have we ever been self sufficient in food production. Same goes for medical products.

If we abruptly rip ourselves away from our closest trading partner overnight as would be the case in a no deal scenario I would not consider it ‘mad’ to be prepared for shortages. You can’t eat optimism or ‘blitz spirit’!

[Simkin]

We do it just to piss you off.

[Kazzyhoward]

My "stash" was useful 3 years ago with Storm Desmond which wiped out our city's electricity for a few days, meaning nothing was open, fridges/freezers were out of action, etc. We just started using our stash for a week or so, and then went shopping again the following week once everything was back to normal.

Lots of other people were panicking because the shops were closed and then even when they re-opened, they didn't have full stocks until deliveries replenished over a few days.

It really highlighted just how some people can be very badly affected due to a fairly minor/short term disruption. Lots of people around here now "stash" in case something similar happens.

[PancakeAndKeith]

You need to look into ‘just in time’ manufacturing.

For example, Mars don’t make chocolate from cocoa beans in this country. The beans are processed elsewhere and then shipped here as cocoa powder, fats and butter (I might be misremembering the actual ingredients but the point still stands). They don’t carry any stock of those products at the manufacturing site. They just have exactly enough to run the plant for that day / week. The new stuff arrives ‘just in time’.
The cocoa products are difficult to transport and require specialist transportation. They all come through one port in Belgium that is good at dealing with stuff like that.
Now the problem comes when Brexit happens and suddenly there are delays at the ports. This means that the cocoa products may go off before they get to the factory, or that they won’t arrive ‘just in time’.

Now change this for just about every food stuff and consumable.

I’m not saying that we should be stockpiling but this is why some people are doing it.

[centrifugal]

I think that remainers do such ott things as stockpiling, to justify their 'it's a disaster' stance on it.
If they didn't outwardly behave as if the sky were falling down, then, their insistence that it IS falling down would ring rather hollow.

[RobinOnTheFence]

It used to be normal for people to have a stock cupboard.

Where I live we can have bad winters and I always get in a stock of stuff which means I can choose when to go to the shops.