Do we actually need to get two weeks of food in?

But this wouldn’t remove the existing food. Why can’t we just buy a few tins and a pot noodle then?

You're clearly on the windup however..

Russia targets our internet/banking/power/general infrastructure regularly.

Let's say power goes out for large areas of the country. This means we have no power in our homes, it means we have no water coming out of taps, we can't flush the loo, we have no heating, the petrol pumps don't work so you only have what is in your tank, the shops are closed because their doors/security systems/tills/CCTV/Barcode readers dont work. The internet is down, our phones are all down because we no longer have analogue land lines. Transportation of food etc in warehouses etc grinds to a halt because the internet is down and phones are down and people are struggling to communicate with workers even if they can access the warehouses and systems. Any food in these amazing everlasting corner shops is rapidly purchased by those who happen to have a large supply of cash because the ATMs don't work (or the owners say "err no thanks I'll have that for my own family" and keeps the manual doors firmly locked).

This only needs to go on for two weeks and the entire country would be in chaos. It isn't an unimaginable scenario. Multiple cyber attacks on our systems are intercepted every single week. At some point they are going to start getting through.

Would it not be a good idea to have a week's worth of food? Even if it's literally cereal bars, crisps and cans of coke. The government certainly thinks so and is therefore telling us to do this. This isn't just about floods and weather events.

Only extremely foolish people ignore that sort of advice.

That wouldn’t remove the existing food.

I’ve seen some stuff about the government advising us to get a few weeks of food in the cupboards but I can’t fathom how it’d come to that in the present or near future. If we do need it, can someone tell me why? Is there seriously a concern that we won’t have food, electricity or water between now and Christmas? Aibu to think that just won’t happen?

I remember Aldi during Covid. Bare shelves.

No tinned toms, no passata, no pasta sauces, no pasta at all, no toilet roll. Lots of empty spaces. Meat was running very low. No flour of any type. Lots of pop however.

Other shops had people trying to get delivery slots like it was Christmas for what food they had available at any given day.

Fortunately I only ever needed to pop in for the odd fresh thing and mostly found it.

I’d of been fucked however If I was a person due to do a big food shop that didn’t have cupboards full and only just got paid that day to buy food.

That’s a real life recently happened situation where lots of shops all sold out of the exact same items pretty much.

Those that had full cupboards then were not joining the hordes clearing the shelves on the announcement.

We stayed home, ate without worry of the empty shelves and wiped our arses. Avoided all the panic.

Water companies have back up generation and so loss of mains electricity would not means that the taps don’t work.

Mobile companies too have backup generators and they wouldn’t all go dead the minute the grid goes down.

There are petrol stations with generators. The public may not be able to fuel their cars (and it does make sense for people living rurally to stock up), but emergency vehicles and food distributors would have fuel.

Major supermarkets also have generators.

If somehow the Russians were able to take down water, electricity, gas, the internet, and all generators and resilience, we would be in a national emergency and the shops would not be making the decisions as to when and if they opened.

It’s like worrying about being struck by lightening or being bitten by a shark.

Can you think of any scenario where all food vanishes from the shelves of all shops simultaneously?

Because like in Covid you and millions of others all want that pot noodle and tin of beans. So then it’s all sold out within hours.

No but if the tills don’t work they won’t sell it to you!

"If you knew shortages were coming".
What level of certainty would you require in order to make you act?
This much? www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/25/uk-to-warn-citizens-to-stock-up-on-food-amid-threat-from-climate-crisis-and-hostile-states

You can either stock up or tool up. Do you remember how people were fighting over toilet paper during Covid? This is much worse. I have already boarded up my windows and everything but the front door and armed myself and my family. I have a panic room in the basement and am fully prepared to defend myself and to keep my children safe. I have seen the terrors of the mobs at the Reform conference and during far right. Imagine what will happen when things really happen?

I'm surprised you haven't been asked to advise COBR.

Water companies have back up generation and so loss of mains electricity would not means that the taps don’t work.

Mobile companies too have backup generators and they wouldn’t all go dead the minute the grid goes down.

There are petrol stations with generators. The public may not be able to fuel their cars (and it does make sense for people living rurally to stock up), but emergency vehicles and food distributors would have fuel.

Major supermarkets also have generators.

If somehow the Russians were able to take down water, electricity, gas, the internet, and all generators and resilience, we would be in a national emergency and the shops would not be making the decisions as to when and if they opened.

It’s like worrying about being struck by lightening or being bitten by a shark.

People were ridiculous. But the shops never ran out of food. Those of us who neither stockpiled nor panic bought never struggled to buy meat or vegetables. The fresh food, the bakers, butchers etc were always fine. I can’t imagine how much passata went to waste.

My God, there's being obtuse but this is a whole different level.

There are plenty of scenarios described above where panic-buying strips shelves bare in a matter of hours. Most of us witnessed it first hand during Covid-19.

More than that, there are also plenty of scenarios where massive cyberattacks (or hot attacks on physical infrastructure - take your pick) mean that access to the food sitting nicely on supermarket shelves is switched off at a national or regional level immediately: collapse of electronic payment systems, power cuts, electromagentic pulses. All are plausible with the geopolitical situation we have right now.

At a more localised level extreme weather can easily cut off even large towns at the same time as rendering the one supermarket out of action.

If the electricity is down in the shops how will we cook the food?

My local Co-op regularly puts signs up saying cash only when their card machines go down.

The scenario where there is food in the shops but they are all locked and everyone who stockpiled sits at home in the dark eating their cold beans and everyone else starves is simply not plausible. We have seen major power cuts affecting thousands of people for days at a time in recent years. That is not what happens.

Water: if you live in a high-rise building, an apartment complex, or a hilly area, you will likely lose water almost immediately. Gravity-fed reservoirs generally hold about 24 hours’ worth of water.

Mobile coverage: most towers rely on batteries that last 4 to 8 hours under normal traffic loads. High-traffic areas drain batteries faster, sometimes reducing uptime to 3 to 4 hours, particularly as demand increases in an emergency.

Re electricity, an outage would take out streetlights and traffic lights.
Unless the store which is a five minute walk away from you is a major supermarket from a chain which has prioritised generator installation, you should be aware than most stores use battery-powered Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) to keep essential security lighting running just long enough to execute a safe evacuation of customers and staff.

If you want to understand the actual likelihood and impacts of these and other risks, take a look at the UK government's recently updated National Risk Register assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a50d66b1228eb26a4cab76c/National_Risk_Register_2026.pdf

Well me and DH did not have to go near a shop for ages during the lockdowns but plenty of my neighbours and friends said the shops did run out of food.

Surely you saw the news showing bare shelves?

Why are you so obsessed with cold beans?
And how have you not yet figured out how to cook your food? It’s not rocket science. This is about paying attention to what’s actually happening, staying informed an being aware that problems can arise. The more people who take REASONABLY steps to prepare, the less overall chaos and pressure there will be IF something does happen.

But how oh how will wheelhouse cook their food. You have to wonder. And wonder. And wonder some more. You might have to eat cold baked beans. 😉

I don’t think COBRA meets to discuss fantastical situations which have neither happened nor are likely to happen.

It's COBR.

How do I cook the food without electricity and gas? Please do tell me?

Why are people buying dried noodles or beans? They will not be able to cook them.

Sounds like everyone could stick a loaf of bread in the freezer and be sorted.

I didn’t know baked beans needed cooking.

But I would have several ways to cook or heat up my food. Or it’s quite possible to eat cold food too, if you have planned what meals that could easily be put together or be cooked with minimal resources.