How long will the supermarket madness go on?

[theneverendinglaundry]

This is my main worry. I can get my head around social distancing, the kids being off school, as long as we have a roof over our head and we can eat.

How much longer can people go on panic buying? Or will the government have to step in and give everyone rations?

Seriously even those with massive chest freezers must be full by now??!

And still they come (Tesco car park at 6am today)...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8137409/Police-step-stop-selfish-stockpilers-barging-past-pensioners-supermarkets.html

Now most people are grounded at home I think another week and it will settle considerably.
People were trying to get food around work, school etc. There's no rush now.

Oh I do hope so. For the sake of the vulnerable, the key workers, and of course the supermarket staff.

How the fuck have all these people got the money and space to keep stockpiling 🤷🏻‍♀️

My MiL and FIL are both in their 70s, my mil has a broken arm and my FIL is extremely vulnerable. He is having to do most of the shopping and came home empty handed yesterday.

We cant even get to them, but luckily BIL and his partner are close by.

@thescrewinthetuna I know, right?!

Judging by the mad buying and "polite" aggression in a large london waitrose this morning then no end is in site.

Our Tesco Extra was apparently fully stocked this morning including toilet rolls. Hopefully a combination of people having already stockpiled, plus more people being reassured that they can find most things they need, will see more normal shopping patterns resumed.

The sad thing is that a lot of this stockpiled food will probably end up being thrown away. Unless the supermarkets completely run out of food, no one is going to get through twenty large bags of own-brand pasta and fifty boxes of powdered milk.

I’m just back from a large Tesco In Home Counties, very calm, car park not full, got pasta, tinned tomatoes, everything on my list. Only allowed two of any type of food.

No loo paper or paracetamol and the bread choice is limited, but otherwise no problems.

So much calmer than last week. I had to laugh at the number of men coming out with two 24 packs of beer.

Our local small Tesco had loads of stuff yesterday. It was busy but everyone was buying a loaf and daily papers like a normal day.

I got a loaf of bread, jar of coffee, tinfoil, a packet of rice and a multipack of crisps and I got some tut's of disapproval!

Having seen a thread on here linking to e-bay where someone was selling Calpol for £5,000 I think the greed of some will keep going. Even if they are rich I hope no-one buys from these scum. It makes me sick that people are attempting to make money at a time like this.

Just had to go to five different places in search of meat and toilet roll. Couldn't get any meat whatsoever. Morrison's has security guards everywhere. Managed to get some toilet roll in my local co-op but had to ask if they had any, then it was like a drug deal handing it over 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️

I went to Booths yesterday just before lunchtime. Fully stocked apart from loo roll/ paracetamol and quieter than normal on a Friday lunchtime. Lots of social distancing going on at the tills although I did hear someone tut slightly when used my sleeve to cover my finger to do the PIN number for my card (annoyingly I had spent £30.25).

Similar story in the local spar no sliced bread, paracetamol or loo roll but plenty of everything else including unsliced fresh loaves.

Booths very civilised this morning, no pasta or loo roll but otherwise well stocked and not too busy

I heard that people are buying chest freezers in their droves.......

I know here in Ireland there was terrible panic buying after the Taoiseachs speech and the closing of the schools. The Thurs, Fri and Sat were manic. I went down to my local Dunnes at around 10 today and it was fairly quiet. Plenty on the shelves, shoppers keeping their distance and no panic buying it crowds. They have also brought in specific times for elderly and vulnerable between 11- 1 each day with extra sales assistants to help.

I've come back from ASDA in the Midlands. Among other things I wanted to purchase a shoulder of lamb, a pack of sliced gammon and two packs of frying steak. That meant I had gone over my limit of three items of meat. The checkout operator said I could choose which one I could do with out (not her exact words).

I said I'll put the lamb back. She did apologise and I said it was ok. It really was ok. She was glad I didn't kick off. My husband said he would wait and pay for the lamb separately. She said that's not allowed. OK I said. Another supermarket employee put the lamb back in the chiller even though I said I'd do it.

No toilet paper of course.

I then went to B&M Bargains to see if they had toilet paper. I stood and watched the packs being handed out to shoppers by a member of staff.

The last FOUR packs of a dozen loo rolls went to two married pensioners who got two each because that's what B&M policy says each shopper can buy. They weren't counted as one like ASDA did. I didn't say anything but it boiled my piss and I'm still fuming now. (Whilst trying to get it into perspective.)

Freezers are sold out everywhere. Everyone who bought one wants to fill it, plus get tins. I can’t see any end in sight.

Just been to Aldi for my weekly shop. Shelves full here but still no loo roll. Not as many people so a quicker shop than normal

Shelves empty by 8pm and restocked by 7.30am. I am going daily to get little bits.

I think it’s already improving. Our village Spar was well stocked today, including fresh milk and eggs.
The giant Tesco in our nearest city was rationing the panic buyers, and staff removed excess items from greedy people’s trolleys at the checkout. Pensioners are allowed in by themselves for an hour before the store opens to everyone else, 3 days a week, so they can shop safely without being pushed out of the way.
People soon adapt. I’ve actually reduced my own buying - I normally keep a well stocked freezer and cupboards, but I’m dipping into my stock to leave more available in the shops for others.
The supermarkets seem to be doing a sterling job in keeping the supply chain flowing.
Once people realise that cows are still producing milk in the usual quantities, and see shelves being restocked, they’ll settle down!

They need to hand toilet roll, hand wash and paracetamol out. One per family. Someone is going to get hurt the way lve seen people scrabbling to get stuff.

Local co op fine in my small market town. Even got some frozen beige stuff to feed fussy kids while DH and I eat more creative things made with store cupboards ingredients bought in my optimistic phase when DC actually tried everything rather than declaring the untasted food "yucky"

We've got no bread, butter, crisps or rice, and now down to two toilet rolls. Not been able to get these items from our local Waitrose, large Aldi or small local coop this week across three visits. We can't afford anything like a big shop so have to buy as and when we need and it's proving impossible. So bloody frustrating.