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Original poster

Ffs why on earth are people stock piling AGAIN 😡

80 replies

granadagirl · 04/10/2020 09:44

Do they not realise that this is going to get to exactly The same situation we were in mo this ago!!
Queuing outside supermarkets
Long queues
Empty shelves
NO online order slots
Less deliveries, running out
hoarding excess

Please don’t let this happen AGAIN, it was
SO stressful
If everyone just does they NORMAL weekly shop, this should NOT happen

I’ve already seen empty and very low stock on shelves

OP posts:
CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/10/2020 10:49

Crunchy... That has been the case for months... What changed?

TwigTheWonderKid · 04/10/2020 10:49

I think in these uncertain times it's also about controlling the things you can. It's a very basic human response to gather resources in times of hardship or danger and as most people don't live rurally and are used to having pretty much unlimited access to food shops whenever they want I can see why this happens.

Kittytheteapot · 04/10/2020 10:50

I agree it is depressing and frustrating, and the situation we had last March was extremely stressful. I usually menu plan. In March, I had to go to the supermarket and just see what there was, think on my toes, and work out what I could make with it. It felt like a return to rationing.

But.....

Others have already made the point. At a moment's notice, we co7ld be told to isolate for 14 days. You can't be sure of booking a delivery online. You may not be able to rely on friends or neighbours. Regrettably, I can understand why people might feel the need to stockpile.

PleasantVille · 04/10/2020 10:50

@CrunchyNutNC

pleasantville

If you were required to self isolate tomorrow then you would not be allowed to go to the shop for 2 weeks.

Why wouldn't you want to be prepared?

I know that but no amount of knowing that will magic up the money and space to be able to have 2 weeks of food just in case

I guess there are people who can do that but probably more who can't. Implying it's somehow a lack of organisation suggests you don't understand the reality of life for many many families.

SallySeven · 04/10/2020 10:50

I live in urban Scotland not that far north.
We have potentially disruptive storms in winter.
I have friends in North Wales who often get disrupted later in the season by snow. None of us are even rural.

MsKeats · 04/10/2020 10:50

I live in the sticks.
Drove 30 minutes to Tesco yesterday and then goodness I went early.

Everything is now restricted.

When I came out queue was 200 people down the road -absolutely ridiculous.

Why?

SpookyNoise · 04/10/2020 10:52

@Whatwouldscullydo if you child gets sent home because a child in their class has tested positive, then only your child needs to isolate, not the whole family. You would still be able to go shopping.

MsKeats · 04/10/2020 10:52

Ps On the shelf on the toilet roll the tag said "next delivery November" -that doesn't help matters.

Kittytheteapot · 04/10/2020 10:52

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Crunchy... That has been the case for months... What changed?
Well,i suppose what has changed is the rate of infections.
MsKeats · 04/10/2020 10:53

[quote SpookyNoise]@Whatwouldscullydo if you child gets sent home because a child in their class has tested positive, then only your child needs to isolate, not the whole family. You would still be able to go shopping.[/quote]
But if your child has Covid symptons -you ALL have to isolate.

WhentheDealGoesDown1 · 04/10/2020 10:54

I think you have answered in your first post OP, no one wants to queue in the cold and then not get what they want so they get it in beforehand. I prepped last year and in the summer months of plenty.

SewingBeeAddict · 04/10/2020 10:54

@Legoandloldolls

I'm in a county bordering London and haven't seen this anywhere at all in the past two months. In fact my nearest Asda was bursting full of stuff. Pallets full in the isles yesterday being unloaded. Still every hour of every day for click and collect at my uni town, hospital city centre Tesco.

I think a lot of this is media / fb hyperbole. Even if there is no bog roll in say Manchester, it's hardly a persistent country wide shortage. Some ours could be sent to you, red cross emergency style

Totally agree Silly thread
WhentheDealGoesDown1 · 04/10/2020 10:56

Loads of toilet rolls and such like on Amazon and you don’t even have to leave your house

Nestme · 04/10/2020 10:58

supermarkets totally normal here. It's perfectly understandable for people to stock up a bit when they could get quarantined at a moments notice for 2 weeks. The shops seem perfectly prepared here. Despite the hyperbole and outrage hysteria everything is normal where I live.

Whatwouldscullydo · 04/10/2020 10:59

when

Last time amazon was selling packs of always for 80 pounds.

Do not rely on amazon

DGRossetti · 04/10/2020 10:59

OP, can I respond to your question with one of my own ?

Who would you trust to tell you that you don't need to stockpile and that everything is going to be OK ?

If there's a valid answer to that question, then your question is also valid.

For myself, unfortunately, I don't trust anyone anymore so will use my own judgement. And if that means buying a bit extra because we all had our fingers burned even before lockdown, then that's what I will do.

But even if there is someone you do trust, maybe there are many more that don't.

That's the problem. Notice how it's all about trust - no mention of any specific issue ....

Alternista · 04/10/2020 11:00

We live half an hour from the nearest supermarket, so I do online shopping. I always keep several days worth of dried meals (pasta, rice etc) in the cupboard just in case, especially in Autumn and Winter when adverse weather can and has made it almost impossible for us to get there.

Slots aren’t as easy to come by, so rather than doing them weekly I’m doing them fortnightly and I’m doing a massive shop each time, to minimise trips out.

We’ve already had to isolate for 14 days once. And I’m sure we will again.

I’m organised and prepared for my life circumstances, including the current extenuating ones. If you don’t want to do the same that’s absolutely fine, but as someone else said, this is the only country I know of where being organised is seen as a sign of irresponsibility.

linerforlife · 04/10/2020 11:00

This really isn't happening where I am - south east. I can book a delivery slot for up to the end of October. No queues at the supermarket. No shortages in the shops either. Is this happening mainly in the local lockdown areas?

megletthesecond · 04/10/2020 11:02

pleasant well, yes. Unless you have a way of shopping if you have to isolate at no notice for two weeks.

WhentheDealGoesDown1 · 04/10/2020 11:02

@Whatwouldscullydo

when

Last time amazon was selling packs of always for 80 pounds.

Do not rely on amazon

I buy all mine when on offer, got it cheap a month ago from Amazon, people should think ahead then they won’t have to pay high prices, only the foolish leave it until it is too late. No price rises yet though.
CrunchyNutNC · 04/10/2020 11:03

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Crunchy... That has been the case for months... What changed?
Cases are increasing? More people are now having to self isolate? The odds of having to self isolate for 14 days are shortening? Dunno!

I have had 2-4 weeks supplies in the house for the whole of my adult life, so I really couldn't say what's suddenly prompting people. I'm well stocked now having run them down in April and gradually built back up over the summer.

wakemeupwhen · 04/10/2020 11:04

The supermarket did looked mugged yesterday, but no queues. Half the problem is that families like mine have gone from eating a lot of lunches and dinners out a week to having to eating all our meals in. I now have 3 adults at home everyday, plus no more after school dinners or breakfast clubs for the school age DC...supermarket shopping has doubled. Swings and roundabouts as saved elsewhere, but it does feel obscene when I see the size of my weekly shop.

VioletCharlotte · 04/10/2020 11:04

This doesn't seem to be an issue here (SE). Whereabouts are you OP? If you're in an area where cases are high, I can understand people wanting to stock up as they may well have to isolate.

Also, it's pay day weekend for many people. The shops are always much busier than normal.

slipperywhensparticus · 04/10/2020 11:05

[quote SpookyNoise]@Whatwouldscullydo if you child gets sent home because a child in their class has tested positive, then only your child needs to isolate, not the whole family. You would still be able to go shopping.[/quote]
Yeah a seven year old with sen can be happily left alone so I can shop

Or I can make sure i have food to to last two weeks

CrunchyNutNC · 04/10/2020 11:07

pleasantville if those who could afford to buy and store a couple of weeks of provisions all did so, then those who can't are less likely to have difficulty getting things. Arguing that everyone should buy last minute misses the point that if others do have plenty and can buy a bit less if things are scarce, then there will be more chance that you get what you need.