Why do people panic buy bread when it snows

[Plun]

There is more food than bread. Yet bready things like English muffins and crumpets don’t get a look in.

Plus tins of soup. Don’t people have store cupboards anymore? I have enough food in for about a month. Though run out of FnV but at the end of the period, it will be any food for any meal

Last night I watched a tv documentary on BBC4 from the 1960s about the Big Freeze of 62/63. Anyone who is mid 60s or older will remember this. Devon, Dorset and Cornwall were the worst affected. 14ft snow drifts, villages completely cut off.

People now can’t cope with a single snowflake ❄️

I don't think I could fit rolls in their either.
We buy a lot of frozen food 😂

I don’t think they do..

When I first started working in schools it was the rules that you reported to the school nearest your home if you couldn't get into your actually school.

You couldn't do that now. First and foremost parents would be up in arms. Insurance would also never allow a HT to use a random person who claimed to be staff at another school, even if they had their ID badge and the likes.

The big reason schools close more now though is that children travel further. My kids will be fine tomorrow if the school is open because we live at the end of the street. However, the kids down the road from us get the bus to their school from outside the school in the street. That didn't happen remotely as much years ago.

Chapeau 👏

Impressive interdiction of bread talk.

To be honest I could never buy a loaf of bread again and I wouldn't miss it.

Well, presumably the people who are buying bread when it snows like it more 😂

Yes definitely !!
I think my "rule" might cover biscuits too 😂😂
My whole point was if you think you're going to be stuck indoors for several days why do people panic buy the two products that can go off fairly quickly.
Surely you should panic buy long life stuff.

I think people are missing my point.
There's nothing wrong with bread but if you're going to be stuck indoors for several days doesn't it make more sense to stock up on more long life products?

I was 10 and lived in South Devon on the edge of Dartmoor that year. It snowed on Boxing Day and didn't melt until March. Aunty Gladys had come to stay for Christmas - she lived about 20 miles away - and was with us for a month!
I thought it was great, LOL. My school was closed for weeks because the heating broke and couldn't be mended for ages😁
Must have been a problem for adults, though. Like most people we didn't have central heating, just open fires and paraffin or electric heaters so we kept warm ok even though every pipe in our house froze - even the toilet outlet. There was a public tap in the street nearby which connected to a spring which surprisingly didn't freeze and folks were using that.
I don't remember any food problems - so supply can't have been very, very serious.

I think people are missing my point.There's nothing wrong with bread but if you're going to be stuck indoors for several days doesn't it make more sense to stock up on more long life products?

But lots of people probably have more long life products such as canned or frozen foods, so when they are at the shops, will get more fresh stuff like bread and milk.

Do people panic buy bread? I suppose they might if it’s a staple of what they eat. We don’t really eat much bread, so it wouldn’t be what I’d rush to buy, but I assume it’s a cheap filling food that you can have for all meals (toast, with soup, sandwiches) and complements store cupboard staples like soup or beans.

I did stock up on fresh food and milk on Friday because we live rurally, down lanes that don’t get gritted at the bottom of a long steep drive, 15 minutes from the nearest supermarket. If it’s truly bad and there’s been no gritting, we’ll be stuck here for a day or two and I’d like milk in my coffee. I absolutely would not die eating baked beans for 2 days, but I’d rather eat something nice. Didn’t buy any bread though.

But bread and milk is perishable.... that's my whole point 🤷
If you have a good supply of long life food/drinks already then why panic buy anything?

@mindutopia it's the stereotype that the media seems to always focus on.

Not if you have room in your freezer for them, which some do, though I generally find that fresh milk lasts well enough without freezing it or if you have enough people in the house to get through the bread you’ve stockpiled before it goes mouldy. And most people will only be snowed in, or choose not to go out in treacherous weather, for a few days. If you live on a remote cottage, on a steep hill or on a small island then stocking up on long life products may make more sense

How does that work during a power cut? I assume people buy food that they can eat without any power - bread is an obvious choice.

I suppose to put all those tinned beans, spaghetti hoops and tomatoes on. To go with the tinned soup. To eat with the tinned Spam.

@HoldingTheDoor well yes if I had a nice big freezer I might buy more bread.
I actually fancy a really nice sandwich now thanks to all this bread talk.
Husband bought a new loaf yesterday so I am sorted 🥪

I worked in a supermarket on the edge of the North York Moors. When snow was forecast we'd get people in from the farms high up on the moors who might struggle to get out for a couple of days, or until the ploughs could get through to them. They'd stock up with bread and milk rather than have to struggle down into town for the next few days. Their freezers were usually full already and they didn't want to risk opening them if the power went off.

Yes but you can actually eat those foods without bread if needs be. Your life won't fall apart 😂

I do agree that ‘panic buying bread’ is a bit of a tabloid myth, though - like a cypher for ‘the country’s going to hell in a handcart under Heath/Wilson/Johnson/Starmer’.

But bread and milk is perishable.... that's my whole point 🤷

But it lasts a good few days and by then, the snow is likely to have melted!

And I don't want to drink black tea or eat spaghetti hoops without toast, so we buy bread and milk. It's not panic buying-we bought a loaf and 2 big milks yesterday.

I don't need to buy long life tinned or frozen stuff as we already have it.

Yes but you can actually eat those foods without bread if needs be. Your life won't fall apart 😂

But it'll be crap, and the shop down the road sells both milk and bread, so why would we have to 😂. You go ahead though.

You can do, but if it's very cold, you want extra carbs to fill you and warm you - particularly if you lose power, or are struggling to keep the house warm. It's bad enough being stuck indoors and cold without being hungry too!

But if you can't get to the shop down the road it's not really a priority is it?
I've actually changed my mind about having a sandwich.... I might have hoops on toast.
I of course have to announce this in the Gene Hunt voice of "I'm 'aving 'oops".

But they’re nicer with bread and people want familiar comforting foods. Most are just inconvenienced by snow. It isn’t a life threatening event for your average household so why would you want to eat bizarre combinations of food or beans with no toast if you don’t need to? If it’s a much more severe event and you could be stranded for weeks then yes you might choose to sacrifice flavour and familiarity for convenience and non perishable or longer lasting products but most people don’t need to do that over something that usually only lasts for a few days.

I agree. Some people do panic buy but not that many. Most are just being sensible and taking an extra loaf or carton or two of milk so that they don’t have to go out or if they can’t go out, or buying for elderly relatives too but it’s still enough to leave the shelves bare when there’s inclement weather. It doesn’t mean that they’ve bought ridiculous amounts of food.