To think that people don't seem to have noticed that the shelves are empty. ?

[Finknottlesnewt]

I have just popped into my local co-op (decent sized supermarket not a corner shop) . I wanted a chicken to roast, some Maris piper potatoes and some frozen peas... nothing. In fact no frozen veg. No pork as a chicken substitute. Salad potatoes but nothing I could roast.

I went to Tesco and got the last chicken. Also successful with Potatoes but no frozen peas.

I am not after unicorn tears. I mean it doesn't get much more normal than chicken spuds and peas. ! Tesco had NO fruit and (much to the consternation of many in the queue) only about 4 packets of cigarettes - none of which were the variety people were after.

Am I just living in a very badly affected area (rural southeast) .. or is anyone else starting to find this worrying ?

I work in food retail. It's awful. So many angry customers. But we can't help it.

It's not really happening
don't talk about Brexit
It was worse in March 2020
don't talk about Brexit
It's just a local thing
don't talk about Brexit
It's just some supermarkets
don't talk about Brexit
These threads make people hoard, it's irresponsible
don't talk about Brexit
We have too much choice anyway
don't talk about Brexit
We are all fat anyway
don't talk about Brexit
Can't you just eat a can of mushy peas? I mean really
don't talk about Brexit
Etc etc

No issues down south, at least where we are and no one complaining on local Facebook pages.

Having said that, my mum did complain about the empty shelves in Waitrose today. It’s turns out the only empty shelf was the “food bag” one. She could get food/sandwich bags; just not the ones she wanted.

@Finknottlesnewt

I have just popped into my local co-op (decent sized supermarket not a corner shop) . I wanted a chicken to roast, some Maris piper potatoes and some frozen peas... nothing. In fact no frozen veg. No pork as a chicken substitute. Salad potatoes but nothing I could roast.

I went to Tesco and got the last chicken. Also successful with Potatoes but no frozen peas.

I am not after unicorn tears. I mean it doesn't get much more normal than chicken spuds and peas. ! Tesco had NO fruit and (much to the consternation of many in the queue) only about 4 packets of cigarettes - none of which were the variety people were after.

Am I just living in a very badly affected area (rural southeast) .. or is anyone else starting to find this worrying ?

You are absolutely NOT alone. At the supermarkets a lot of the shelves look full but the cans etc are all at the front with very little behind them. At asda, there was literally empty chest freezers. I was tempted to take my phone out. I am absolutely shocked! This had been happening for weeks now. Waitrose had a sign apologising for the lack of certain items.

Nothing unusual here, Isle of Wight

@stealthninjamum

Op I’ll be interested in whether other people have had this experience, I haven’t.

From my experience (I shop in a mixture of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Marks, Waitrose) some shops seem to have a whole empty section but are ok with the rest of the shop. So Sainsbury’s ran out of bottled water one day and Waitrose ran out of chocolate. There was a big empty fridge section in one shop too but I can’t remember which one.

So far I’ve managed to get most things I need.

In the south east too.

Duesnt this mean you HAVE experienced it? Gaps in stock on the supermarket shelves? I’ve noticed in Sainsbury’s a lack of bin bags and sponges and other random items

Surely if it was mostly because of Brexit we would ALL be affected at every supermarket?

There’s literally no difference where I am.

There ARE serious issues with supply. FACT. Its being going on for weeks / months now.

Yay! Another thread encouraging the anxious panic buying. Superb.

@safariboot

Birmingham and nothing that bad. I've noticed empty sections here and there though. Like Morrisons had nothing where ice lollies should have been, but they had tubs. And a few times the fruit and veg has been empty.

But this has ALWAYS happened. Since the dawn of the supermarket.

No issues here, west midlands. Unless you count that Lidl don't have the chocolate brioche swirls that I like. They do have chocolate brioche loaf and rolls though so I didn't panic too much...

Teesside (medium Sainsburys) and Leeds (Sainsburys superstore) - weekday afternoons in both shops, when shelves appeared stocked, but in reality, single 'representative' items were positioned at the front of the self, with nothing behind them. Aldi, serving a large village in the Selby area, has had gaps in the fruit & veg section for several weeks now.

Re OP trying to "stir up panic". I read the news - reports of shortage of labour to harvest fruit and veg, shortage of HGV drivers to deliver stock, etc, etc - and I see the gaps in shops in the places mentioned above and I have read several threads on MN. I'm not panicking - not yet, but I'm stocking up.

Not that I’ve noticed but I’m not saying you’re wrong.

No lamb mince but It might be out of season?

When I did my usual shop in Lidl this week, weirdly the shelves did seem empty but I was able to get everything on my list, which isn't always the case in Lidl.

Stopped for petrol on the way to work at a rural garage that's a mini supermarket for locals. Absolutely nothing at in there except a few bags of ice and a few sandwiches. All the other shelves were totally empty - just wire.

Only Tesco seems to have a problem round here- Sainsbury is fine and Ocado not had any problems with delivery x

I have to say I haven't noticed this is S London. When I've been to the supermarket it's been fine, and supermarket deliveries have been normal. That's a mix of Ocado, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. I've been expecting shortages, because I can very much believe that the disruption due to Brexit is real and significant, but personally I haven't experienced any of it.

Zero issues here in Cumbria.

Just went this evening and got everything no problem here!

People haven't noticed because it's not true.

SE London here and no, nothing like you describe, the only empty gap in aldi the other day was tinned sweetcorn but meat and fresh fruit and veg was all fully stocked.

@KingsleyShacklebolt

Yay! Another thread encouraging the anxious panic buying. Superb.

I am so shocked. Its no joke! Behind rows of cans at the front, there is nothing. Noone wants to encourage panic buying but this is happening. There are definitely issues.

I'm in Ireland and it's happening here too. I buy Lidl washing powder. It's wasn't available for my last two shops. Cat food is very low in all supermarkets. I've notice the variety of cereal bars and crackers shrinking. There is still plenty of food but there are obviously issues with stock.

I've just mentioned this on another thread.

An email sent out from the school, reassuring parents that it is understood that many basic uniform items have not be available for some time, and students have returned to school without a full uniform.

No black skirts! Plain navy blue was approved at the start of September, but now tartan and patterned is being allowed too. The email just asks parents to do their best, and act in good faith