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

But there’s very little you can buy that keeps that
doesn’t need heating.

Have they suggested families rush out and.spend £££ on camping stoves and gas? Because I can see a lot of people wasting money for nothing. You need to store gas safely. What about youngsters at uni, those in flats or without gardens to use said stoves and the elderly?

Why hasn’t there been proper info info if they’re serious about camping stoves.

Not all 'cupboard stuff' needs heating up, and if it does, plenty of people have already shown they can manage that with alternative cooking methods including portable gas stoves. Talking about armageddon and punctuating it with eye rolls is why we are so behind other sensible countries who prepare sensibly as a matter of course and don't treat it as some kind of affront to their sensibilities. Yes you can have cash to hand, thats sensible, but as the majority of shops, including a lot of local ones now, rely on electricity to even open and close their doors (and are highly unlikely to wedge them open in a power outage) it wouldn't always be the answer. Being prepared for at least 3 days is pretty manageable for most people.

Don’t really want to buy a gas stove as it’s not something I would use ( if the crisis doesn’t happen) & storage space is limited. I’ll have a look & think about it. I wouldn’t last long without a cuppa.

Climate change is a big part of this. Less food , and less working infrastructure. Plus all the wars.

I wish I had a pound for how many times in my life we’ve been threatened with all sorts of Armageddon. 🙄

If we lost power, then stockpiling freezers, or cupboard stuff that needs heating up, blending, cooking and other stuff won’t be much use.

If it did happen, then shops, banks, garages etc won’t be able to take cards etc - so you’d probably be better stockpiling cash indoors. 🙄

In those unlikely circumstances, cash will shout the loudest.

A week's food/provision is not a stockpile. It's a week's shopping.

Both is sensible. A portable gas stove and canisters is the best option as a standby for heating food and water, but food that doesn't need heating should be part of anything you decide to store.

NRTFT. What sort of food are people stockpiling? If we lose power so can’t cook pasta, rice etc what are people planning to eat? Canned fish, cold beans ? Any tips on what to stock up on? We rarely have power cuts here & never for more than an hour or so.
Tbh I’m not one for having loads of food in as we don’t have a huge amount of storage space. I also tend to buy mainly fresh ingredients to cook from scratch. Eg never eat tinned soup, always make my own. My food cupboard will usually have rice, pasta, tinned toms, tuna, beans, ketchup, stock & herbs/spices. This advice has thrown me a little.

So are we supposed to be storing food that can be prepared with or without access to heating it?

Just to add, for anyone thinking it's scaremongering and we just shouldn't prepare because, well, it's all going to be fine...The extreme weather events including El Nino, yes are one good reason, but the extreme weather also gives good basis for government to push the preparedness narrative without causing more alarm by actually saying what they're, actually trying to say: this is also because we know a cyber attack or interference with our power infrastructure is very possible and very soon. The emergency alert last month citing wildfire risk was relevant, but also a good opportunity for them to test the system. It wasn't all about the wildfires. I don't understand the reluctance if you're in a position to do so to put away supplies that will deal with a few days plus emergency, leaving emergency services to help those who literally haven't been able to do so or are perhaps alone/vulnerable/had no means to do so. Plenty of other civilised nations encourage their citizens to do just this, on, usually, a 72 hour basis, to leave emergency services and aid for those who really need it if it becomes necessary.

This is not scaremongering. Any sensible person who can put stores and emergency supplies by for at least 3 days and doesn't because it's 'scaremongering' is very short sighted.

But both our local corner shops, one CoOp, recently upgraded to all electric doors, for example. They're certainly not going to wedge them open...even the staff have 'jokingly' said, no way we'd be open in a power cut. Shops that previously may have been able to function in difficult conditions no longer can.

We need to import more than we consume. This means we are vulnerable to shortages regardless. Even if we are a richer nation.

Famine in a country which is exporting food is a recipe for civil unrest. It's also likely to increase attacks on foreign nationals in that country out of resentment. It means travelling may become a lot more difficult or dangerous.

They have been hinting at something for 2 years now. The elite have built underground bunkers. The government website recommends wind up radios, batteries and supplies. No idea what coming but time will tell.

Stop scaremongering. El nino is going to drive up the price of cocoa, coffee, some soft fruits, sugar, rice, soyabeans and some grains. It will be a disaster for desperately poor people in some countries who rely on rice and soyabeans. For people in the UK there will be lots of other foods to eat.

Of course there's a reason they're telling us to stock up. Shit is going to hit the fan in a major way this side of 2030. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been in a coma this last 5 years.

Linked to the war in Ukraine and Iran ( oil and pesticides shortages )as well as El Nino which is and will be disrupting crops in a lot of places in the world (think rice and coffee for example). You just need to read the news to understand why it's being talked about.

Can’t say I’ve ever kept track on how long I can use one for.

However we use normal pans and frying pans on ours. We have a little tin kettle.

Regularly take it and do hot drinks and hot dogs/bacon sarnies at the allotment for around 6 and the canister lasts a few trips.

Not true. We had a short power cut in our high street. Local independents just asked for cash and wrote down purchases. The corner shop did a roaring trade.
The fish and chips shop fryers still worked as well. It was the chains who were stymied.
But that power cut was a short one and I only knew about it because I was out shopping. I appreciate in a longer power cut corner shops would soon be bare.

For the camp stoves with 227g butane cartridges, how many gas cans is sensible? I have no idea how long one would last if I wanted to boil up some pasta in sauce for the teens. And would a regular saucepan do or should I get a camping cooking pot?
TIA if anyone has experience

We are very rural so any help would come to us last.
Ive got water stored in old wine bottles but you can use jam jars and plastic bottles. Dried milk is very useful.
We have A log burner and a camping stove and A decent supply of medicines. I do need to go through and restock the tinned goods. I’m also going to buy some treat foods and wine for emergencies.
When the co op (nearest supermarkets for us) had the cyber attack it was a month or more before it was back to normal. There was always some food on the shelves but it was a very odd selection some days and it was usually gone by lunchtime.If there was a simultaneous cyber attack on Tesco, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s I think there would be major disruption.
The harvest where we are has actually been really good despite the lack of rain.

I remember seeing people somewhere else using small tents inside their houses as an extra to stay warm but they had snow upto their windows so pretty bloody cold.

Sleeping bag would be a better buy than a hot water bottle and power bank.

You can sleep in them and they will keep you warm on zero power.