AIBU to think the stockpile advice suggests something to come??

Whisky. Keeps you warm from the inside 😅

also people the medical cupboard not just your prescription stuff.

and I know in a real shit hits the fan situation it wouldn’t matter but I always have spare toothpaste and shower gel.

Cheese
Anything in a tin or jar has already been cooked. Might taste odd cold but is fine. Make sure you've got a tin opener for when the ring pull comes off in your hand
You could go mad on cakes,sweets,biscuits etc - no cooking there
Crackers (to go with the cheese)
Wine (to go with the cheese)
UHT milk if you can stand it
Jam,honey,marmite etc
Nuts
Cereals
Butter lasts a fair time
Long life juice
In fact anything long life

The challenge I suppose is to find a balanced intake,but maybe you'd forget about that when survival is more important.
But wine helps

I do stock a lot of pasta, we've got the little gas ring and a lot of canisters for it. It's no coincidence that the sales of the canisters have rocketed everywhere. Also as someone else said we have means to cook outside and a lot of wood. But non cook I always include as tinned fish, cereal etc all as mentioned by another poster.

If you have a gas camping stove then you can boil water and cook food. Often for around £15 plus gas cans. Homebargains often sell the cans in a pack of 4 or 6 I forget which for around a fiver.

We camp and have an allotment so have one anyway for bacon Sarnies and hot drinks at the Alloment.

What food do people stock pile? I’ve stocked tins of food, but not pasta, which needs warming, and assume we might not have cooking facilities if something kicks off.

I don’t think they mean for a zombie attack or total melt down. Just a oh shit foods stuck at the port, snowed in, flooded, lack of electric.

Though a gun, bow and arrow or cross bow are always good. A good sling shot could get you some squirrels to eat if your a very good shot but a bit smelly. But then you’re getting more American preppy.

won't count for shit unless you have some guns

For completely non cook your looking at tinned fruits, tinned fish. Any long dated Cereals, crisps, rice cakes, Pepperami doesn’t need a fridge to stay good.

If you can at least boil some water even a cup then noodles, tinned hot dogs, cup a soups.

Apart from if you are trying to hide so no smoke you can always make a fire to cook on which then even without a pan opens up all tinned foods.

Im Sure there are more non cook foods but we have a camp stove and a log burner so I haven’t thought about it too deeply. I guess if you are willing to eat cold tinned meatballs and curry you could get that.

Lots of booze. Good to keeps spirits high and also good fire starter or for barter 😅

That's the spirit, literally!

I'm prepared. Both wine racks are fully stocked and I have at least 3 bottles of gin, plus loads of other spirits. I should probably get some more tonic water though.

This type of advice seems to bring out the "nesting" instinct in many. Now I can stock up and be prepared since I was advised to do so and I'm not a mad prepper see? then, sit back happy in the knowledge that I have enough to get through a week comfortably. But I haven't enough X, Y, Z so better go and buy some, and while I'm at it, top up the water bottles, charge up the power banks while I can, withdraw some cash, see where the candles are. Whew, I feel great now. Get the picture? Then the same stuff is still in the "drawer" (😊) a year later!

I think we would all like to have something put by anyway along the lines of the above.

So I am trying to figure out what I can stock up that does NOT require cooking and will last. What would you choose? Looking for inspiration in case there's no electricity or gas and I've no other means of cooking.

What ?? Do tell !

I'm sure I read that this was the start of a government campaign. There's a really obvious reason behind this that few want to acknowledge. Get prepping.

Off to Farmfoods I go.

It isn't new guidance, its existed for years. Whenever the government update it in any way the media jump on it and report it in a sensationalised way to hype everyone up.

if I learned one fing from COVID, it was never have less than 700 bog rolls about the house.

It's making me laugh too. DH stockpiling in the drawer definitely made me laugh too.

Ok, I'll elaborate because of all the interest - it's a big drawer in our large pine chest of drawers. It's full of tins, plus we have a stash of large water bottles in the wardrobe.

I'm actually going to move said stockpile of tins under a bed and add some rice bags as our next move.

If I find a hidden stash of gold I'll report back.

It's because of things like insecurity in the food supply chain - a cyber hack of Tesco could cut supermarket food supply by a third, I think I read. Would only make a difference of a few days, it's not about going crazy but most European countries have been recommending having a few days of supplies, a torch etc for years.

How much do people eat? Unless someone has a very small drawers, contents of a drawer would easily keep me going for 1-2 weeks. For example, a 1kg pack of rice would last 10 meals, and having 5 of those would leave 80% of the drawer still free? Likewise, tinned fish or biscuits take no space at all.

My stockpile is about 2 shoeboxes worth, excluding water, and I think that's really excessive, but frankly I went for variety/ options.

Bear in mind in an open-ended emergency, you are unlikely to be having big meals, but rather, rationing. Also generally you're looking at 72h max unless it's something really serious.

This is speaking as someone who has been through several extended emergencies and a minor war.

Will lemonade and soda water suffice 😁

My cat has just left the room in as unobtrusive a way as possible.......

Lol 🙈😅 on a serious note though it's been, I believe, popping up online and in the Independent recently...?