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?

Don't feel the need so not crossed my mind. Thinking logically my cupboards are never bare & I have 2 freezers so 1 is always close to full. Realistically I'm unlikely to run out of stuff before the shops restock, yes I might not have what I really want but so what I can make do.

We have a full sized freezer that's full, plus kitchen cupboards are full, so I reckon we (family of 4) would be good for a month or more if necessary. I've not bought extra stocks, that's just how we always operate.

We'd run out of fresh fruit and veg, bread and milk after maybe a week, but we have frozen/tinned/dried fruit and veg, bread flour and I guess oats for oat milk at a push. We'd be eating fairly weird food combinations by about the third week, but honestly, I can't see us starving.

TBH if we did self isolate, it would probably be a good opportunity to run down and clear out the freezer a bit!

@EinsteinaGogo what do you think will happen if you didn't have a buffer?

I always have extra in, and have done pre covid, pre Brexit panic etc. It just seemed logical to me not to get down to bare bones before shopping again.

This did mean that when the shops were manic when others were panic buying we didn't really need to go out. 🤷

Same here. I wouldn't consider myself a prepper and I certainly don't have a big stockpile, but I've always ran a well-stacked pantry. I feel happier having spares of my pantry staples so that should anything happen we have some float.

It meant that when people were panic buying bread flour and pasta, we could do our normal shops for fresh produce and not have to worry. It all gets eaten, no living off tinned goods for a month and gives me peace of mind. Me making sure I've always got cheese, flour, pasta, rice, canned beans and pulses in for years isn't the cause of panic buying shortages.

I could afford to, but what's the point?
Really I had more than enough to get through a while when covid first became a thong, so I didmt stockpile, but also havent now.

Costco didnt run out of anything that I required last time, and I'll have more than enough opportunity to go in and shop when we need to, somehow.

Just a few weeks ago when people thought we were going into lockdown I saw people panic buying, I saw there was no toilet paper, even people who regularly bulk buy were losing their shit. It isnt a good look at all

I haven't got space, we are in a temporary rental. My fridge holds food for about 3 days and we have a tiny icebox that barely fits peas and the much more essential ice cubes. We do however have 36 bottles of wine under the stairs so don't worry about us!

I've already had my brush with covid and if we had to self isolate the paper shop man delivers milk and bread and the butcher meat and veg.

If everyone stockpiles by just buying a little more than they need each time, supermarkets run out and vulnerable people are left with nothing

only if they all buy the same thing at the same time - eg the loo roll thing in March

But if I eg buy a tin of fruit and a packet of porridge oats every time I go in, there is plenty left and the shop orders more.

I could afford to but haven't because I don't see the need. I live close to family and friends who if I had to quarantine would happy go and collect my weekly click and collect for me. I always have enough in to last me over a week anyway, so I wouldn't feel a desperate panic if I needed to self isolate for two weeks.

I can afford to and have chosen not to for a few reasons.

The shops never closed last time and we never had problems getting food.

We have plenty of friends nearby who will keep us stocked with bread, milk, chocolate and prosecco.

Just Eat deliver. And Uber Eats. And lots of other places deliver.

People still don't seem to get the difference between prepping and panic buying. Because I was preparing for brexit it meant I didn't need to go to the supermarket when it all kicked off, leaving more flooding the shops for other people. Me buying some loo roll in 2018 and storing it didn't deprive anyone as there was plenty of stock available at the time.

The shit will hit the fan when there is even slightly a hint of difficulties in getting things into the country, affecting the just in time system. I will also not be depriving anyone any food as I won't need to go to the supermarket then either.

Preppers only buy things extra when there is lots on the shelves. Stockpilers and panic buyers are the ones who deprive others of goods.

OP you seem to think you're occupying some sort of moral high ground here?
As PPs have pointed out, the problem last time was not just down to "panic buying" or shelf-stripping - it was because of more general sudden changes in buying patterns, such as lots of people suddenly buying eg 20% more than usual. Whether this was because they were stockpiling, or simply because they'd stopped eating out, the supply chain couldn't cope. I work for a small food delivery business and witnessed this first hand. None of our customers were panic buying, they were just trying to get a buffer in place. We didn't have the capacity to manage the increased demand, and nor did our suppliers. We sorted it out pretty quickly but it was a chaotic and quite scary few weeks (quite scary because for all we knew, we were witnessing the beginning of the collapse of our food system). Hopefully the past six months have given the various industries involved in supplying our food, a chance to become a bit more robust, but don't kid yourself that by buying more than you need regularly you are not part of the problem.

I can afford to but I choose not to because shelves are full where I live, and other than flour, we had no issues in lockdown.

The stockpilers on MN are not reflected anywhere in my RL.

[quote ghostee]@EinsteinaGogo what do you think will happen if you didn't have a buffer? [/quote]

What do YOU think?

I co-ran a temporary emergency supply service during the last lockdown... there were many local people who would have struggled without it because they could not get out to buy their necessities.

I could completely afford it. We have a pantry which is always well stocked and a fairly full freezer.

I haven't done it because I live in an urban area with lots of shops and delivery services. There was no disruption to supply at all during the peak. Since then supermarkets and suppliers have had more experience of the supply chain under pressure. So are better placed to ensure no disruption. Therefore just no need to do it because of supply.

I suppose if I needed to isolate because I'm ill then I'd have to have a lot in to just eat from the cupboards for a fortnight. Or it would be pretty boring. So I wouldn't stock pile in the event of this happening. I'd ask a friend, neighbour or family member to get me some bits. Just seems like no need and would be annoying to manage and would get in the way.

At the risk of sounding like Marie Antoinette, if the shops run out of food I’ll just order takeaway!

Trying to track down pasta was about the only entertainment to be had in lockdown. Why would I want to miss out on that?

Most people on this thread don't understand the difference between stockpiling and panic buying it seems.

I definitely don't understand the difference. What is it?

Buying a few things as you go along does not mess it up for anyone else,

Surely it depends on the numbers who do this. If everyone tmw bought 1 extra tin, 1 extra pack etc then stocks would deplete.

Plus I don't understand the process of 1 extra tin here & there which somehow manifests itself into a 2 month stockpile. Surely you need to be adding an extra item for like a yr prior to build this amount up?

We have gradually got enough stuff in to last two weeks. Also got a chest freezer, we are mainly vegetarian and have found we really enjoy frozen veg!

We have two adults who teach in schools, a young adult who is at uni and 2 kids in bubbles of hundreds.

If any of us have symptoms it's preferable that we don't have to go out to shop, and all of us are in higher risk situations.

Our parents are older and we already do their shopping.

We already did monthly shopping on payday weekend for toilet roll, dishwasher tabs, washing powder etc so that isn't any more of a drain on the system as it's our regular habit.

Only thing we are now doing is getting Christmas presents etc a bit early.

I have bought a few extras such as kids snacks, made a few meals from scratch and froze them just incase we get sick and stuck in, made some soup for the freezer but had loads of soup stuff in the larder cupboard. That's all generally stuff I do in the winter. We eat a LOT of veg and fruit in our house which I definitely couldn't grow myself, I could kill a cactus so I do need to do a weekly fridge shop for that stuff. Bread we could live without. I generally do a Costco run for dare I say it toilet roll and washing powder. Which I didn't stockpile haha! Oh and I did buy a huuuuuge bag of tea bags to get me through working from home

I co-ran a temporary emergency supply service during the last lockdown... there were many local people who would have struggled without it because they could not get out to buy their necessities

Why couldn't they?

I am a dick and can afford to but am just too lazy.

We have a few extra supplies of the key staples - still do - rice, passata, baked beans, sardines, simply to save my sanity as grocery slots were rare and we were caring after elderly couples sheilding - they worry yet dont want to feel a burden. They eat sparingly and needed simple wholesome fresh food with their basics. There is a sensible line to be taken. I hope people have realised the food machine won't grind to a halt.

Meant to say I've tried to get deliveries 5 times in the last two weeks and only managed it once. That's why we now have a chest freezer!

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Trust me every available inch is crammed with our stuff, my dd has to climb past boxes when she stayed. Living in a tiny 2 bed when you used to live in a 5 bed is challenging! (Good news is the searches are back on our house purchase and it's twice the size of the rental)

I think it reflects how 'spoilt' we have become in this country in recent decades, many people can't comprehend shortages, or a change in circumstances that makes near-daily shopping difficult.

As the full impact of our departure from the EU kicks in after Christmas it'll be a miracle if there aren't delays in the supply chain. So many either don't believe it, or imagine that they'll be the only one experiencing difficulties and friends/family can bail them out.