Looking at the 'stockpiling' threads..

[EinsteinaGogo]

Is there genuinely ANYONE who could afford to get a couple of weeks shopping into the house, who hasn't?

And if so, WHY?

If I have to isolate then someone in the village will shop for me.

I could but dont as would still have to go to the shops for bread, fruit etc so what's the point, having loads of food in the house makes me feel quite anxious tbh.

I have several tins, packets and jars and the all essential tea and long life milk plus 6 litres of water. I used to have none of this but the heavy snow back in 2018 changed me, the shops were closed for three days and it took weeks for stock to get back to normal. My winter stockpile became my Brexit stockpile and is now my Covid stockpile. I really hope it can go back to being a winter stockpile next year :/

@MillieEpple that’s fair enough I do the same pretty much but I don’t go as overboard as some people on MN do haha

I have a two week supply of the basics in because if we have to isolate I don't have to worry about being unable to get a delivery.

I will admit to prepping a year ago for Brexit and we used that stock up over lockdown when we couldn't get a delivery and I didn't want to risk going to a supermarket very often. I was thankful that I had prepped so when we were out of lockdown I started prepping again for the second lockdown/Brexit/isolating.

I did not buy anything in a panic. It was a very carefully thought out plan based on experience (this time) and collected over several weeks.

I think it depends where you live? We are a 20 min drive to the nearest supermarket. No takeaways deliver to us. Supermarket slots are pretty much fully booked. In “normal” times we do a supermarket shop every 2/3 months and buy locally fresh food regularly, so we have a well stocked food cupboard of tins and cleaning stuff etc. So I’m not shopping any differently to usual, except I went 6 months between shops this time.

The lockdown has changed the way I shop though. I don't think we are specifically prepping but the way we shop means we can last a couple of weeks without needing supplies.
We bought a chest freezer. We always have enough meat frozen for a couple of weeks. Apart from our weekly delivery we really just need fresh bread, milk and eggs.
Though we have some bread frozen just in case and some long life milk in the cupboard just in case.

I could afford to (just about) but I've not and don't plan to...in fact, we're in the process of using up everything we have because we're moving house soon and don't want to take loads of half used stuff with us

I live within a 10 minute drive of 5 massive supermarkets. I had to drive around a few but I could get everything I needed during March with a bit of effort and planning so I'm not worried about it happening again

If I had to isolate I have my Mum and sister nearby who would help out so I'm sure we'll be fine

Someone on a thread yesterday ( I think ) have a code for 50% off the company called Who Gives a Crap ( toilet paper if you don't already know ) and after some thought I put an order in today for a box.
It's 48 rolls of loo paper I hope they deliver under the cover of darkness as don't want to be accused of hoarding.

Haven't really got the room.

Why would anyone do that? The grocery shops will still be open. I'll still hang to go out everyday to go to work.

I have no idea what to eat for dinner tomorrow let alone the next 14 days. Mind you in March we did panic buy some spicy rice which I had to eat for dinner tonight and it was foul, and a tin of Tesco own brand tomato soup, which I suspect will also be foul. So my experience of stockpiling a packet of rice and a tin of soup just wasn't one I'd want to repeat.

I suspect preppers don't work, otherwise they'd just pick stuff up on the way home.

Janevaljane - no i didnt go to work when we had to self isolate for 8 days without warning. I do normally go to work though.

Do you not have anyone who could pick stuff up for you?

@Janevaljane

I suspect preppers don't work, otherwise they'd just pick stuff up on the way home.

I suspect people who don't prep work part time else they'd be panicking and dashing home from work while praying traffic doesn't stop them getting there in time for pick up from after-school care like us truly hard-working souls.. ;)

I work in food retail. There is a good supply currently - though with the 'just in time' supply chain certain items will run short very quickly with extra demand. I have definitely built up a backstop after the last lockdown (and I'm thinking forward to Jan 1st with doom...
What amazes me though, is how many people go shopping SO often - I really think it's to get out more than through need? Is this the only acceptable leisure activity people feel they have left?

I could afford to but I won't. We are a healthy family and I am bringing in a decent wage. If I get to a supermarket and the budget friendly stuff I usually buy is gone then I can afford to buy whatever there is instead.
Once upon a time I would have NEEDED to buy that cheapest version and if people such as I am now had gone out and bought it just cus they could we would have been royally fucked.

Plus I don't want to be tripping over loads of food I can't stuff into my cupboards. If nobody takes too much, we will always have enough.

I could afford to buy two weeks of food but I haven't because... Why would I?

Maybe it helps that I live in a country where supermarkets never had any issue delivering groceries, even during the strict lockdown. No idea why the UK's supermarket delivery infrastructure was so weak tbh.

People do understand that it's no use to you if the shops are open if you're self isolating, don't they?

And that any of us could have to do it at any time. Often our whole household.

All these people saying they haven't bothered to make sure they've got a bit of food in because they'll just pick something up are alarming me.

Do people not understand what self-isolating means?

Do they think you can still go to the shop when you're self isolating?

I grew up in rural Scotland. We always had a couple of weeks worth of food in the cupboard/freezer. It is a habit I have always continued.

Ridiculous to suggest the shopping pattern I have used for decades deprives someone who shops daily from buying food. Supermarkets react to shopping patterns. If everyone started buying two weeks worth of food, the stores would change their orders to keep up with supply. The only reason there have been shortages is because it took supermarkets by surprise. They soon caught up.

We tend to be the shoppers for other people in the family (mainly elderly or ill). We did have neighbours drop of milk and bread but they all tend to get weekly deliveries so Its actually quite a big ask to get somone to go buy a weeks worth of food for you when they arent actually going to the shops. But we had stuff to tide us over anyway so we didnt have to put anyone out.

I have a village full of people who will shop for me.
SourcePlease I can't speak for the entire country but I didn't have any trouble getting what I needed in the UK during lockdown.

@ChavvySexPond

People do understand that it's no use to you if the shops are open if you're self isolating, don't they?

And that any of us could have to do it at any time. Often our whole household.

All these people saying they haven't bothered to make sure they've got a bit of food in because they'll just pick something up are alarming me.

Do people not understand what self-isolating means?

Do they think you can still go to the shop when you're self isolating?

Not at all. I have a circle of people and between us we have a plan to be able to shop for each other should isolation become an issue. None of my dc or myself have any kind of food allergies or issues where we NEED particular things so to me it simply isn't worth panicking about.

No idea why the UK's supermarket delivery infrastructure was so weak tbh.

It wasn’t weak. It previously coped well with demand, you could get a shop delivered the next day with no problems. Are you suggesting it should have had a million more slots standing by in case demand increased suddenly? Supermarkets did pretty well to add millions of slots over a short period of time and ensuring priority went to those who need it.