To wonder who did all the stockpiling?

[stayathomewannabee]

Now pictures are emerging of massive food waste...
Who are/were these people.
We have decent incomes as do many of our friends and none of us stockpiled...
We are full time workers with primary school age children.
So who bought all the stuff? And who the heck stockpiled soya milk?

And I wonder if the bosses of some of the big supermarkets 'held' stuff for themselves and their mates - I know that sounds like a conspiracy theory,

Also - catching up here as after posting this i went to bed - my friend was behind someone who spent £1500 on food - this was in Tesco last Thursday...

So some of us bought extra (I bought more rice)
Some of us panic bought.
There was some profiteering- local shops (I saw a woman take the last 7 Pip and nut peanut butter tubs 2 weeks ago - from the shelf at Sainsbury's - what for?)
And I do believe that our 'illuminati' have held back food for themselves..

I don’t know if it was purely panic buying, some may have been. All students at university have gone home and it’s likely when you have shared households that they may have got rid of their food before they left their accommodation. So it may be panic buying but it may also be students getting rid of food that they can’t carry home with the rest of their stuff. Just a different perspective.

DF told me his DP panic bought before she went into self-isolation. They're normally well stocked with food anyway.

At the beginning of Feb I'll admit I bought a chest freezer for the garage which is chock full. Been doing larger online shops since end of January as I had a feeling that people would panic buy.
Nothing has or will go to waste though, especially now dd is home from uni plus I've been passing on tins and packets to DM who is self isolating for 12 weeks.

On a slightly different note, I'm disgusted to see people on ebay selling 40p packs of paracetamol for £15+. Shocking.

We were advised by doctors to self isolate for 12 weeks, two weeks ago. We bought extras to tide us over should their be a problem with food deliveries. This is basic common sense and the responsible thing to do.

We didn't buy a million more loo rolls, or enormous bags of pasta. We simply stocked up the freezer, and restocked the cupboard.

We live in the middle of nowhere, the nearest shop is a 15 minute drive, so we have always had to be organised on the food front, especially in the winter, so we are used to it. This was a christmas shop without the turkey. I think everyone I know did this too, should they become ill.

The supermarkets are full stocked around here, everyone was sensible about what extras they would need and its worked out fine.

I bought more than usual back in January. (Did a big shop with 2 extra bags of pasta, cat food, 2 pack of loo roll, bread flour, pasta sauces, frozen veg, baked beans)

All not to be touched until this had blown over or if we needed it.

Feel a bit pleased with myself I did do it as meant I never had to take part once the actual panic set in and we've since shopped a lot smarter. And been doing fine.

A special kind of idiot would stockpile perishable goods you don't eat on normal days though! I only bought stuff we'd get through anyway.

I'm sorry but I find it very to believe someone spent £1500 on food in a supermarket on one shop. Especially within the last few weeks.

Only a small minority panic bought, most people bought a little bit extra in readiness for isolation. I for instance knew what was coming and bought extra snacks and lunch foods a few bottles of wine a case of beer. I didn't by extra toilet roll, baby stuff or fresh stuff so I wouldn't say i panic bought and in fact we've been in isolation since before the lock down due to covid symptoms and family have had to drop milk and nappies in the porch

Messages I received from Ocado belie people who think that there was no stockpiling and people simply ordered a bit more. According to the head of Ocado, people stockpiled nearly a billion pounds of food - that is not simply adding a few bits here and there!

So no one on here is admitting to 'stockpiling' or 'panick buying' BUT most have admitted to 'buying a bit extra'.

Buying 'a bit extra' is what has actually caused the problem!

Just because you bought an extra 4 tins of beans or an extra box of cereal or 2 extra packets of pasta - why do you not think you are causing a problem?

Those 'extra' packets or tins X 10,000 other stupid people have caused the shortages.

I think the word 'stupid' is way too polite for some of the absolute fuckwits who think that 'buying a bit extra' is ok.

Que all the bullshit excuses that will now follow from people with their 'excuses' as to why they had to buy 'extra'. My DM is ill, my DS has SEN, my DH works long hours!!! Everyone has to eat to stay alive - you are not any different to any other human-being.

Someone may have spent £1,500 but that could well have been for 15 other people too- as our volunteers are doing around here, and it is far safer to go for a number of people at once, than it is 15 individual times.

I've basically realised that "stockpiling" is an entirely natural way of shopping to me.

Not lakes of milk or more fresh food than I can eat. But I grew up in a rural location easily cut off from snow, so a normally stocked cupboard to me is one full to the brim of tins and staples.

Secondly, I hate the banality of remembering to pick up tedious necessities like toothpaste and shower gel and loo roll. We're still working through the five tubes of toothpaste I bought on a deal before Christmas.

When we moved into this place three years ago I excitedly pointed out that we could turn the shed into our own little corner shop of essentials.

So I haven't panic bought anything. We're working down our stash of fresh food, however crinkly the veg get. On Monday, I'll need to top up. That's it.

I haven’t stock piled, but always have had a healthy stock as we live rurally and I can’t be bothered to shop more than once every 2 weeks...

I did buy a massive bag of rice...a 10kg one as when I went I couldn’t find any bloody rice!! It will last me 6 months maybe more 🤷‍♀️

Sadly the shopping bill has doubled as we are all at home...feeding everyone 3 x meals a day and snacks!

@Lucyccfc68
So no one on here is admitting to 'stockpiling' or 'panick buying' BUT most have admitted to 'buying a bit extra'.

Buying 'a bit extra' is what has actually caused the problem!

Just because you bought an extra 4 tins of beans or an extra box of cereal or 2 extra packets of pasta - why do you not think you are causing a problem?

Those 'extra' packets or tins X 10,000 other stupid people have caused the shortages.

I think the word 'stupid' is way too polite for some of the absolute fuckwits who think that 'buying a bit extra' is ok.

Que all the bullshit excuses that will now follow from people with their 'excuses' as to why they had to buy 'extra'. My DM is ill, my DS has SEN, my DH works long hours!!! Everyone has to eat to stay alive - you are not any different to any other human-being.

Have you actually read any PPs? The people who stockpiled have been doing it for a while. I can't see how me buying a few things extra per week LAST YEAR did anything to cause problems now. In the last fortnight I have bought bread, milk and tins for the foodbank. That's it.

I think the word 'stupid' is way too polite for some of the absolute fuckwits who can't tell the difference between stockpiling and panic buying.

@EmmaBridgewater20 if you think prepping and panic buying are the same you have no idea how food supply works (as well as not having an understanding of basic English). If I buy a couple of items in December then they will be replaced on the shelves in December. That’s how a just in time supply system works. I tend to buy things when they’re on offer anyway (cheaper) so I usually have stuff in. That means I haven’t had to go to the supermarket for over 3 weeks, which is handy as I’ve had to self-isolate for two of the three weeks with no notice whatsoever and I haven’t had to rely on anyone to put themselves in harm’s way due to my lack of preparedness, or participate in the panic buying madness. As well as clearing the way for people to shop who don’t have spare cash to buy a few items in advance.

The people who over-buy perishables are just fools though. I will be eating everything I have at home and nothing will be wasted.

No. But I wish I did! Now items are so restricted I have to go out more often. Not good.

We stockpiled soya milk. Our toddler is allergic to cows milk protein and still very reliant on milk for comfort.

I got extra long life, freezer and home items in about 2 months ago and gradually. Glad I did tbh as we all had to self isolate for a week or 2 before the lockdown as was ill. I've got a toddler who is a nightmare in supermarkets, so started stocking up with deliveries anyway. Nothing has or will be wasted, I would only ever buy stuff we need. It's really helped as recently I've only had to be going out occasionally for fresh stuff.

It's ridiculous to complain about people buying a bit extra. Many people have to do more meals at home now, so of course they need more food than they did a few weeks ago.

Can anyone explain why stockpiling is bad? I mean I don't have as much as I wish I'd gotten. I wish I'd started earlier and after this is over i think it's something I'll prepare for.

But I have yet to see why it's bad.
I mean of course smart people bought more!
More people home constantly = more food consumed at home.

Threat of not being able to leave home at all for an uncertain amount of time = make sure you can live.

@MrsFezziwig I used to work for Arla love, I know exactly how food supply chains work.

This thread and the problems we now face food supply wise isn’t about people who always buy offers and always have a well stocked freezer, supermarkets know who those customers are and they will be accounted for in their forecasting. The OP confirmed that too. You’re not the problem if you always shop like that, it’s people who don’t normally shop like this who at the beginning of Feb started buying immense amounts of certain items and to a lesser degree those who thought oooh I’ll just add a bit extra.

So to explain to you how supply chains work there was a shortage of bread and eggs in the last couple of weeks because a month ago people started buying ridiculous amounts of pasta which meant supermarkets ordered more which meant those pasta manufacturers ordered more from their suppliers - which for pasta included eggs and flour.

and to a lesser degree those who thought oooh I’ll just add a bit extra.

Because they were suddenly eating a lot more food at home, mostly. All those meals usually eaten in cafes and restaurants and work canteens and schools and colleges - now they all need to be eaten at home. Plus people realising they might be housebound for 7-14 days and making sure they'll be able to eat without going out.

£1billion worth of extra supermarket goods now in people's homes is what, an extra £15-£20 per person?

soya milk, bought from last october, to January, dd is allergic to cows milk and needs the calcium and protein to stay well. bought for Brexit. bloody good job too as it turns out.