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?

@Elsewyre

People stocking up/panic buying is the only reason supermarkets every had bare shelves as ther was no interruption to production

That's simply not the case.

The fact that people were buying more due to being home more (no school lunches, no eating out, no grabbing lunch at Pret etc) was also a significant factor.

@QueenOllie what are the brown packets in the bottom of the cupboard ? Just being extremely nosy

@Choccorocco

"I’m surprised at the level of well-meaning ignorance here."

Funny that - I am too. Millions of people buying 'one or two extra' is what caused the main problem with the supply chain in March. It's about scale.

I made sure I had enough in. Why would I expect my larebts who are both in the vulnerable category to go shopping akd risk it themselves. You cant always rely on deliveries and you still have to open the door to the delivery people. Thats not really isolating then is it or do delievry drivers not count? I certainly don't have room outside my house with the steps to dump 14 days worth of shopping.

I dont get this competitive refusal to shop. You still ebd up with the same abkubt if stuff you just got someone else to do it fir you so you can polish your halo instead.

Bet you will happily borrow stuff off people who did organise themselves.

I have 2 children at 2 different schools and dp and I both work , and im in lesiure/hospitality so fairly high risk of exposure. One chikd is too young to leave at home alone too while I frantically try and get stuff in that i could have got slowly over a few weeks to prepare

Funny that - I am too. Millions of people buying 'one or two extra' is what caused the main problem with the supply chain in March. It's about scale
If it's our normal way of shopping then it isn't extra in terms of the supply chain because the supermarket is used to that number of products being sold.

I'm not a prepper and don't have a month's worth of food, but have always had some float in my pantry. This is a long term way of shopping, not getting to March and deciding to buy a few extra.

Are you seriously going to argue that me having a well stocked pantry and buying the same staples for the last 5/10 years is seriously what caused the shortages?

Are you seriously going to argue that me having a well stocked pantry and buying the same staples for the last 5/10 years is seriously what caused the shortages?

Yes they do.

We used to do a monthly shop fir freezer/tins/cupboard stuff so actually its still less than we used to buy.

I just don't have to call in favours to get it. Cos far better that your neighbour is seen with a full trolly with your stuff and theirs akd their elderly parents stuff than you are

@LolaSmiles

"Are you seriously going to argue that me having a well stocked pantry and buying the same staples for the last 5/10 years is seriously what caused the shortages?"

Obviously that's not what I'm saying. I was responding to a post that was encouraging people to stock up now by buying one or two extra. If that's the way you've been shopping for 5 to 10 years, then clearly you haven't changed your habits, and have performed some impressive mental gymnastics to make my post all about you.

I love the inference that if you don't panic buy (that's what it is if you don't normally shop in bulk), that its somehow morally wrong to ask friends to shop for you if you have to isolate. I did exactly that over lockdown, and again over the summer when I broke my ankle and couldn't drive. I am now repaying the favour by shopping for the people who helped me out. Having a support network works better for us than panic buying loo roll and olive oil.

Why would you if you didnt have to though?

What if your friends get sick or have to go out of town to help family.

What if their dog has puppies and they are all busy with that?

What if their car breaks down ?

Its not something you can one hundred percent rely on one hundred percent of the time is it?

Its a big risk to take when you absolutely can't go out at all.

Its not something you can one hundred percent rely on one hundred percent of the time is it?

Well pretty much, yes. I managed it for nearly 4 months over lockdown so I'm not worried! (Due to broken ankle rather than not being arsed to go myself!)

Rather than arguing the difference between panic buying and prepping, I'd suggest the difference is between normal and abnormal shopping patterns. If you normally buy twelve tins of beans every two months that's gone into the purchasing model of your supermarket of choice. Supermarkets generally don't have space to store more than they expect to sell so that's what they buy.

So if your normal shopping pattern is buying in bulk (I love Costco and have space), operating a one open / one unopened system (Mr Rolla likes to do this) etc. you are not contributing to any problem. If you normally shop precisely for the week and are "just adding the odd packet or tin" then you are.

That said where I live we didn't run out of anything. Some things were occasionally missing from a particular supermarket but could be found elsewhere.

My main friend group were all self-isolating in April when one of us got it. It was actually quite hard to get enough shopping for a family without taking the piss out of the poor sod fetching it for you. And when half your friends can't help you, and you can't ask your parents, can't get a delivery slot...

I need a weeks worth of food in because if we all need to isolate for a corona test, I need to feed the kids.

I'm a general prepper. Have been for years. Very bored with all the silly bollocks equating it to panic buying. When we we were required at very very short notice to self isolate and our only source of "people will shop for you " were elderly relatives, I was glad of it. As were they because I'd made sure they had a buffer of food and household stuff in.
Bought over time 3 for 2 offers.
Fuck off if you are still whining about panic buying.

It's old fashioned good housekeeping to have enough in for your needs for a week or two, in case of tough times.
If people who have the money and space to have a bit extra in do so, there is more left for people who can't in times of difficulty.
When I first had my own home money was very tight, and it was more cost effective to buy what was on offer, save and freeze leftovers, and I gradually built up a bit of a stash that way. It's a habit that's continued, and it meant we were well away from the shops in March (and able to help a few friends out)

I'm not whining, it's just been utterly unnecessary for me, even living 5 miles from a shop, with a broken ankle in the middle of a pandemic lockdown after a Brexit deal.

@frumpety bird and blend tea! I have a herbal/fruit tea issue they're all sample sizes so do 1-2 teapots

@bellinisurge

I'm a general prepper. Have been for years. Very bored with all the silly bollocks equating it to panic buying. When we we were required at very very short notice to self isolate and our only source of "people will shop for you " were elderly relatives, I was glad of it. As were they because I'd made sure they had a buffer of food and household stuff in. Bought over time 3 for 2 offers. Fuck off if you are still whining about panic buying.

It is tedious. It's almost in the same category as free council houses. That took a long time to hammer home there are still people out there who are determined to think they're free though.

I’ve inadvertently stockpiled all the important stuff; coffee, tomato purée and curry paste. I genuinely didn’t mean to but the coffee was on special at 3 different shops at 3 different times... DH has an IBD so we have ALWAYS had a stockpile of loo roll bought from the cash and carry.

@dentydown

I need a weeks worth of food in because if we all need to isolate for a corona test, I need to feed the kids.

Same. It's just taking personal responsibility isn't it?

I'm surprised at the naivety of some people. What we saw in March was a mild disruption to the usual supply/demand ratio, which had a huge impact on the availability of goods. Supermarkets round here had no fresh fruit or vegetables after 8am each day. No toilet paper, no pasta, no fresh meat (except Waitrose, who had venison). No tinned food. Freezers decimated. Cleaning products gone.

What on earth would happen if there was major disruption? Not necessarily a SHTF scenario, but something to prevent deliveries for a few days or weeks. You can't assume that shops will cope, that they will even be open.

Making planned extra purchases, a few extra items on top of your normal shopping each week, is responsible and is common sense. It's no different to the behaviour humans displayed for centuries: in the autumn you salt meat and preserve what you can to tide you through the winter when fresh food will be scarce. Stockpiling, even "hoarding", are not the same as "panic-buying". In March the stockpilers and "hoarders" weren't the people queuing outside of supermarkets for an hour each morning, they were safely at home.

Ignoring the current circumstances, it is worthwhile keeping a month or so of food in your home at all times. You might suddenly lose your job and having the food will help take some of the pressure off. In these times it's even more sensible, because you could be ordered to isolate at any moment.

Making planned extra purchases, a few extra items on top of your normal shopping each week, is responsible and is common sense. It's no different to the behaviour humans displayed for centuries: in the autumn you salt meat and preserve what you can to tide you through the winter when fresh food will be scarce.

How quickly we forgot.

My main friend group were all self-isolating in April when one of us got it. It was actually quite hard to get enough shopping for a family without taking the piss out of the poor sod fetching it for you. And when half your friends can't help you, and you can't ask your parents, can't get a delivery slot

My parents asked me to be on standby fir them in lockdown. Obviously I agreed as of course you would. But it did present somewhat if a dilemma. They weremt keen on the idea of paying morrissons prices ajd we would never have been able to get our shop at aldi and lidl. It would have meant me queuing outside 3 supermarkets.

Reverse is also true if they had had to go shopping fir us. They would have had ti visit 3 supermarkets or feel bad about all the things they couldn't get ..not things you can substitute really either.
.its a bigger ask than people realise I think

What still fascinates me is that this emptied shops didn't happen where my family lives in centra europe. They had articles in newspapers about uk and no toilet paper! They didn't believe it was that bad until I sent pics from local supermarkets when we went shopping... They all laughed their arses off and send pics from their stocked up supermarkets 🙄
If anything I would think it would be the other way around tbh...

@DollyDoneMore

The shops did run out of food?

No, they didn’t.

There was plenty of food.

There were some temporary shortages of some types of food.

Buy different food.

Oh bloody hell, I knew, KNEW I wouldn't be able to clock in this thread without getting sucked into an argument. Curse you OP

@DollyDoneMore.... . Many shops ran out of key staples.

Obviously I missed the really important thing, which is that you, personally, were OK. Phew. Big relief there, I was worried! But unfortunately, a lot of people were not so privileged as you.

I'll give you a few minutes to see if you can think of some groups who might have struggled, and then I'll help you out. Ready? OK, go.

Time's up! How did you do? Be honest now. OK, here are some people who couldn't just 'buy different food'.

People short of money who are dependent on low price staples, such as basics pasta and rice, to feed their family affordably.
Exhausted NHS staff fresh off a 48 hour shift who just need something quick and vaguely nourishing. Remember her, Dolly?
People with SEN or allergies who can only eat a limited range of foods.
Vulnerable elderly people, e.g. with dementia or similar.
People dependent on food banks. This is an important one Dolly - can you guess why? It's because nobody is going to donate to food banks if they've only barely managed to get enough for themselves.
People with eating disorders.

I'm sure I've missed others out, but those are the groups I can think of off the top of my head.