Right NOW - how long could your food supply last you

[millerjane]

I would say a good month of eating twice a day (pasta, rice dishes) - ie no thrills just sustenance

[BlingLoving]

1-2 weeks eating normally. Which is what I would say I usually have in. But if we went for very basic, and did some serious planning, I'm sure I could eke that out with things like beans, flour, lentils etc that are always around but not usually used much. Very little fresh stuff though. We go through milk at a frightening pace so if we're unable to get stuff, that would be my biggest concern. And the kids won't drink long life milk. Having said that, doing without milk for a few weeks would not kill them so I'm not THAT concerned!

[frugalkitty]

If I can keep DS1 out of the kitchen, I'd say I can feed us for a month give or take. Would still need milk, eggs and fresh fruit/veg so I will have a veg box delivered for as long as they can make deliveries. My mum and dad I worry about more than us, my mum shops daily and doesn't keep much in as 'stock'.

[BlingLoving]

I think it's not being able to get fresh stuff on demand that's going to be the real problem. Supply chains are struggling but they ARE working. The problem is that if you're self isolating and so are your neighbours and no one is around, getting fresh fruit and veg will be hard, even if they ARE in the shops. Online delivery schedules are now much further out than they used to be so even ordering online will require more planning than previously.

[Rhubarbpeony]

Probably 3 weeks, comfortably. I have plenty of portioned leftovers and lots of soup in the fridge, lots of tins of tomatoes and chickpeas (not panic bought! Have had them for ages). Lots of pasta, rice, lentils, couscous. Flour, sugar, margarine etc. A few cartons of oat milk. Two loaves of bread in the freezer and plenty of bread flour and yeast.

[BelfryBat]

1981m I have about six weeks' food, but most of it wouldn't be very interesting as it's tins and dried beans. I haven't panic-bought anything, I simply keep enough food to last me a month or so because three years ago I was seriously ill and unable to go out for a month. I am self-isolating at the moment because of my underlying health conditions - Coronavirus would probably land me in hospital, or worse. You should stop to think a bit before making judgmental comments about other people - you come across as very unpleasant. None of us know what is around the corner - what makes YOU think you'll never have a serious illness or disability or be otherwise vulnerable?

[PieceOfMaria]

Ive done an inventory and I’m starting to use up things that have been sitting in the cupboard or freezer for a long time.Random oddments of pasta into a pasta bake, odd bits of veg and the last bit of a chorizo ring into an all in one rice dish.

Last night I made little Mexican empanadas with a filling of spicy tinned sardines, onions, chopped olives and Tinned chopped tomatoes and some frozen pastry I’d had for ages.

I’ve got absolutely tons of rice as well, all different types. Nice not panic bought anything actually, this is just my normal store cupboard.

[TheReluctantCountess]

Three days at a stretch.

[fortyfifty]

Ishop every two weeks and had a delivery last Friday. I've two weeks of normal meals with stuff that I have in the fridge and freezer. Another week of veggie type meals and then a week of rice and beans or lentils. I've only bought my normal food shopping as I still had a box of tins and UHT milk from buying a few extras in the build up to Brexit.

The one thing I did buy a few extra packs of is bread flour - but that is not uncommon behaviour for me as I tend to buy it in larger quantities when the decent bread flour is discounted. I dread having to shop in the next two weeks.

[Notlong20]

We’ve just done our weekly shop. So a week. As usual.

[MissMatchedClaws]

2 weeks, maybe 3 if we ate absolutely every weird scrap of food in any old combination, but we'd be hungry. Family of 5 including teens, small kitchen, very limited storage space.

[itssquidstella]

About two weeks, I think. Would be fairly basic by the end, though. We don't have a huge freezer so we're limited in what we can store, and I don't batch cook (can't be arsed/don't need to).

[Jennes]

If I cook rice or chappati with dal or pasta with tomato, either one every day, could be a while. Maybe 2 months. Family of 4.

[Rhubarbpeony]

You have panic brought and stick piled at the expense of others

Lots of people have been gradually stockpiling for months because of fears of a no-deal brexit. Some people have obviously panic bought in recent days and that is poor behaviour, but you can’t assume that everyone who has a reasonable store of goods has gone nuts in the last few days when it’s a known phenomenon that people have prepped for brexit.

[MissMatchedClaws]

Bread flour (all flour) has gone the way of the loo rolls in my online shop. Not a scrap apart from gluten free! I do a lot of baking. Usually...

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I think it's really selfish people who have months worth of supplies stored away, especially rice and pasta and hand sanitizer when others can't get hold of any. I have genuinely run out of bread, pasta, hand sanitizer, toilet roll and can't get any more because of these people.

Except many of us preppers told 'normal' people that it was worth having a decent buffer and were told we are weird and paranoid and survivalist. Now were selfish.

I have two months of supplies and we haven't shopped any differently this month. We already had rice and tinned food and pasta.

When everything goes back to normal, I hope everyone who can gets in a buffer so that emergency services can help those in genuine need, as we preppers have been advocating for years.

[goteam]

About 4 months but would run out of milk, bread and juice after around 6 weeks

[Wiaa]

Probably around 6weeks of 3 meals a day probably be some strange combinations and dry cereal for breakfast and we'd run out of bread pretty quick as i buy that weekly and lack of milk would be a bit of a nightmare as my 3year old loves milk. I've probably got a month's worth of baby milk for my 10mth old but i could probably stretch that by giving more water instead as he eats well. I've not been panic buying as I always have a load of basics in and do a big monthly shop at the start of every month which luckily for us was before the shelves started to empty. Only got 1 pack of 9 toilet roll though as I buy 1 in the monthly shop and then usually get another on my weekly fresh food top up shop no chance of that this week though tbf could just use a towel or shower. I've got about 2weeks of nappies but if they announced a long term isolation I'd fashion some sort of washable nappy for daytime use.

[IndieTara]

Maybe 9/10 days at a push

[PieceOfMaria]

I used to live very rurally and getting out in the snow with small DC was difficult so I’ve always kept a well stocked pantry and freezer, but I’m not silly about it. I don’t hoard like a prepper, and I don’t panic buy. I just like to have a good range of store cupboard stuff to hand. Even though I live within spitting distance of a supermarket now, old habits die hard. I grew up with empty cupboards though, so I’m a bit twitchy about it.

[HarrietM87]

Like a pp said, we stocked up last year in case of a no deal Brexit and have been maintaining the supply. Very glad too! I haven’t bought anything extra in the last few months but still reckon we could survive for 2-3 months without shopping, though it would get boring fast.

[kirinm]

If we ate what was in the house regardless of whether it constituted an actual meal you would choose to eat, I think maybe two weeks although that would involve some really not that nice meals.

[PieceOfMaria]

Except many of us preppers told 'normal' people that it was worth having a decent buffer and were told we are weird and paranoid and survivalist. Now were selfish

Yes I agree. Don’t blame the preppers, they aren’t the ones clearing the shelves of pasta now - they’ve had theirs for months!

[Strawberrycreamsundae]

4-6 weeks probably. I haven’t panic bought anything because I always have a well-stocked pantry and freezer ( comes from living in the country, 8 miles from a supermarket). Apart from fresh fruit, vegetables and milk/bread I have probably enough, even if it would get a bit boring. I don’t have much pasta (half a pack) or rice, mainly because we don’t like it!
I refuse to panic buy, it’s often pure greed and not considering others imo.

[millerjane]

can you freeze milk and fresh juice?

[TwinkleLightsRubberDucks]

Family of 4, two preteens. Probably about 4-6 weeks at 3 meals a day each and maybe one snack each, a bit longer if DH and I only ate 2 times a day instead of 3. Fresh stuff would run out within a week but we have frozen and tinned fruit and veg and would have smoothies etc instead of fresh fruit.
DH has just started batch cooking so we have a few yummy homemade meals in the freezer ready to bung in the oven and we could probably stretch those out to a couple of weeks worth of a main meals a day without touching the other stuff in the freezer.

We are lucky enough to be able to always have about 3-4 weeks worth of food in at any one time anyway, nothing fancy but enough to get by with. We have been in the situation a few years ago of not being able to do that and we had to borrow money to be able to buy basic food in, so I understand just how difficult it can be for people to have a 'stock' of food in to see them through.