Think panic buyers/prepares are both smug and selfish

[Coffeeandgin24]

The scenes from supermarkets have been shocking, you even have people on Facebook and here showing off about how much food they have. What about people that can’t afford to or don’t have space.
What a horrible greedy society we live in.

[DitheringDoris]

As so many people have already said, preppers and panic buyers are completely different.

I don’t blame people for panic buying, it seems there’s not much faith in the government to look after us so people are looking after themselves and their families. I’m not talking about people who buy 100 loo rolls but people who have done enough shopping to last them 2-3 weeks.

I started buying extra in January when reports started coming out of China and did a massive shop 3 weeks ago because I knew it was coming our way. Im neither smug or selfish, I’m looking out for my family. People need to take responsibility for themselves and think ahead so that they are prepared.

[RedToothBrush]

Anti bat wipes sound useful. I have bats. But I like them, and they don’t come close enough to infect me with bat viruses, thank goodness.

😂

Maybe if China had had them....

[borntobequiet]

Anti bat wipes sound useful. I have bats. But I like them, and they don’t come close enough to infect me with bat viruses, thank goodness.

[HomerSimpsonSmilingPolitely]

If everyone was a prepping then no one would have panic bought anything and the shop supplies would be at the normal level. So I don't agree that preppers are selfish at all. That make a no sense.

[Foobydoo]

I have never prepped in my life before however, I could see how things were unfolding.
For the past 6 weeks I have bought an extra pack of loo roll one uht milk and, few extra tins or pack of pasta. I have spent less that ten pounds extra each week.
I haven't needed to buy toilet rolls for the last two weeks, they were available last week but could see that people were starting to panic so I didn't buy any to leave more for others. There are none available near me this week so it is a good job I planned ahead.
Prepping and panic buyers are opposites. Preppers slowly prep so they never need to panic buy.

[RedToothBrush]

Oh can I freeze leeks?
Can I freeze carrots in the same way ? Cauliflower?

Yes. You can freeze most veg. Just prep it as soon as you get and freeze.

I get my veg direct from a local producer. No middle man. I've bought tubs which I reuse for the freezer. I chop and freeze so it keeps longer and so I can have things slightly out if season. It means less waste, less miles, money goes direct to farmer.

Altogether a more environmental way (both locally and on a whole scale) to do things and it supports my local producer better too.

You have to slightly adjust how you cook it if you do it straight from frozen and remember it has a higher water content. Usually it just takes a little longer. It's not great for every recipe but as a general way of doing things it's really handy for cooking on a nightly basis as you've already done half your prep and you can have more variety in all the time.

[LolaSmiles]

The key point is to consider how your actions affect others and don't be a dick rather than casting judgement against others who have made different choices about when and how they've shopped
I agree.
I can't be bothered with smugness over how people do their shopping.

[TorysSuckRevokeArticle50]

I prepped for Brexit. As a result I have been leaving the toiletries, loo roll, pasta and such alone.

The only thing I've been buying the last few weeks is fresh fruit, veg, meat and dairy to make sure we have a full fridge and veg basket.

Panic buying is selfish

Prepping happened months ago and impacted no one.

[RedToothBrush]

Things I have bought at the supermarket in the past three weeks.

Milk, bread, cheese, bread rolls (all normal quantities)
2 jars of Mayonnaise
Tube of tomato paste
Walnuts and pine nuts to make my own pesto
3 bags of desiccated coconut (for brewing it was on offer)
6 packs of mini rolls (they were half price)
10 packs of onion rings
10 packs of bacon frazzles
Chocolate
Fresh chicken
A jar of garlic
Mixed herbs
Two tubes of Toothpaste (on a two for one offer)
Shampoo and conditioner (2 shampoo and 1 conditioner on a 3 for 2 offer)
More chocolate

I get veg delivered.

Aisles I have avoided - tins, pasta and rice.

I'll take the smug accusation on the chin to an extent. I'm not struggling to buy anything.

I saw this coming and made sure that I'd got things in before there was an issue restocking shelves. In terms of supply and demand I bought when demand did not outstrip supply deliberately to avoid contributing to a problem that was highly predicable to anyone watching it play out around the world.

The problem isn't in supply atm for most products - it's just restocking shelves.

I have not got excessive amounts of anything. I don't have anything like long life milk nor spam. Just things I'd normally buy.

I got into the habit of bulk buying certain things in one supermarket one week and then going to a different one the next and buying certain products there after all the Brexit stuff. It's worked out cheaper, more convenient and just generally easier so I kept doing it.

I don't quite know why I have to have other people's approval for shopping in a sensible way to deliberately avoid trying to contribute to shortages.

I'm not however going to share with the entire neighbourhood. Ultimately I've bought what I need but not got a huge amount spare, especially in view of the panicking which isn't clear when it will end. It's not my responsibility to bail out everyone. I'll help others within reason.

The issue lies with supermarkets who right up to when panic buying started had deliberately started to ramp up anxiety and exploit it with strategically placed end of aisle displays of hand sanitisers, hand wash, anti bat wipes and tissues like my local Tesco had. These are psychologically analysed displays based on customer buying patterns, demand and general knowledge / culture. The supermarkets could have restricted / managed demand a lot sooner but it suits them to have helped facilitate a panic. It amazed me to see a 2 for £2 offer on antibac wipes just days before it all kicked off. I didn't need any but it did make me think that the supermarkets were trying to push certain buttons and then are trying to play innocent when it all went crazy.

Aside from all this though can someone explain why it's okay to be self righteous and pompous about how they haven't prepped whilst simultaneously condemning those who have tried to be sensible as smug?

The key point is to consider how your actions affect others and don't be a dick rather than casting judgement against others who have made different choices about when and how they've shopped.

[AvocadoOwl]

I prepped. From late January to late February I slowly added extra bits to my weekly shop and built up a good supply of food/toilet roll/cleaning stuff.

My prepping did not impact anyone else because I did it slowly. I was taking tins off fully stocked shelves that were restocked without issues.

I don't consider my approach to be in any way selfish- I'm not the one rampaging supermarkets this weekend and fighting over the last bag of pasta. I have no need to go to a supermarket at all.

Having been mocked and scoffed at last month by the very people panic buying now I will concede that I am feeling a little smug though. Quite unapologetically smug too.

[SirVixofVixHall]

Oh can I freeze leeks ? Never occurred to me, as we buy fresh vegetables several times a week from local market garden. So just a quick flash in boiling water first ? How long for, two minutes ?
Can I freeze carrots in the same way ? Cauliflower?
Fruit is an issue, but I have some frozen berries for smoothies. I think I will make some apple puree to freeze too, nice with yoghurt or muesli.
Every trip to the shops feels like trying to dodge a sniper...

[LolaSmiles]

There's preppers who have routinely kept a stash or stockpile over time. Contrary to their claims, it does require more space than normal (our average sized kitchen is full with kitchen items and food and there's no way we can fit months worth of food in), but a little extra over time means shops adjust their ordering according to what is bought.

There's panic buyers who are selfish and create an issue.

It's wrong to confuse the two.

We sit somewhere in the middle and usually have enough food and toiletries that we could last an extra week as long as we could top up milk/fresh fruit/veg/cheese.

[Finfintytint]

SirVix, you can blanch most veg and freeze it. I got a huge bag of leeks last month for 49p. All frozen now in portions.

[SirVixofVixHall]

I have been buying small extra amounts since January. Bought two sack of rice back then, and have added tins of things, dry food, and basic toiletries bit by bit. There are still things we need, but we do have enough food for two or three weeks at least. We bought a small freezer a month ago, so have also started to cook and freeze extra when making meals.
Fresh veg and fruit is going to be the biggest problem not sure what we will do about that.

[Drivemybluecar]

I did. And before you shout at me there was a reason. I am wheat free , dairy free , I have ibs and a broken bladder that reacts to food by bleeding and water infection. The foods I can eat without making myself sick can be counted on ten fingers.

I went and bought myself at least three weeks worth of my food. If I can’t get hold it I don’t have the choice to get something else. The looks people gave me at the counter were awful.

Yes I have ten packets of wheat free rice crispies and ten bottles of rice milk. But. I needed them. And would have nothing left to eat if I ran out.

[WhatTheFronti]

one more time for the folks in the back.....

Preppers and panic buyers are not the same!

Preppers - prepared
Panic buyers - not prepared

[AllPointsNorth]

The relentless, repetitive ignorance about the differences between panic buying and prepping is ridiculous.
Predictable though ‘I didn’t plan ahead, it’s everyone else’s fault’

[lynsey91]

Of course preppers are not selfish. If some of us were not sensible and always ensure we have a stock of food, loo roll etc then the situation would be even worse.

For years I have always had full cupboards of tinned foods, flours, pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas etc.

In the last 2 weeks I have been food shopping once and that was mainly to buy fresh fruit and veg.

I don't understand people who have 3 days food in the house and are now having to buy like crazy in case they have to self isolate or supermarkets are sold out of everything.

They are the ones causing the problems because they are having to try and buy so much.

It's not true that people can't afford to have a stock because if you buy 1 or 2 extra tins or items each time you shop you gradually get a stock. A tin of tomatoes is around 30p, a bag of pasta around 50p. Most people can afford that.

No one knows what could happen that means they are unable to get to a shop and if the reason is heavy snow or flooding then, obviously, they can't get home deliveries either.

[SonicRevolution]

I started prepping for Brexit back in the autumn. I tweaked it a little about 3 or 4 weeks ago as I watch the news.

I donated 4 bags of shopping to a local foodbank yesterday as I was already prepared. I have not set foot in a supermarket since xmas, I am not to blame for the current panic buying.

[AllTheIceCream]

Preppers are NOT the problem here!

I built up a small stash in case of no-deal brexit, so in the last two weeks, I've bought:
NO loo roll
NO pasta
NO paracetamol
NO hand sanitiser
etc etc

[MacronsPensWiper]

Preppers are people who are '' prepared ''


They won't be emptying shelves because they always have base levels of stock they simply add too.



I've certainly been ahead of this because of some wonderful tips from various posters weeks ago. Since January I've been adding 2 extra pasta bags, 1 extra loo roll, little bits as and when I could afford.

As a result of buying small incremental amounts I was able to give the food bank 2 large bags of food yesterday.

From now on as and when I can I will donate a little more than usual to the food bank.

Panic buyers a re those for whatever reasons didn't quite understand what was going on and have no build up of stocks, and panic.

Can't say I neccsarily blame them either.
If anything I wish supermarkets could ration loo roll, and pasta etc.

The government should promote having 10 days worth of food anyway like Germany does.

If everyone pulls back a little from panic buying, stocks will replenish.

[Willow2017]

Preppers do not panic buy. They dont need to!
people who are unprepared for anything which might affect them panic buy.
How hard is this for some people to understand?

You dont need loads of money to be a prepper nor loads of space to keep a couple of weeks worth of staples as a buffer all the time. It happens over time not all at once.

[Igotthemheavyboobs]

People are stupid to post this on Facebook. They will regret advertising their stash when the looting begins.

[savethecat]

100% agree the preppers aren't the problem. I started building supplies such a long time ago. I haven't even been near the shops in the last weeks.

[AutumnCrow]

I think the Facebook messages from people boasting about their 'stash' prove nothing but how vacuous Facebook users can be