To ask if you have prepped for the second wave

[Oldbagface]

Have you been buying a few extras with each shop in anticipation?

I notice many items are already out of stock online.

What sort of things have you been putting away.

We have bought the odd extras with each shop e.g. tinned tomatoes, pasta, loo roll and baking powder.

We have loads of flour anyway as buy in bulk for our bread maker.

Oh, and chocolates for Christmas.

I like a lot of people are going into our local supermarket without queues and seeing the shelves full.

So why are you on a thread about prepping, if you clearly don't need to bother, and have never experienced even a fuel shortage?

It's like me going on a thread about dog mange, having never had a dog and having no experience whatsoever of dog mange, and repeating that over and over again. 'Well I've never had a dog with mange. Not everyone experiences dog mange. Some of don't even own a dog, actually! Well apart from that dog I probably used to have in 2000 but I don't really remember that so it doesn't matter.' Pointless.

I was on holiday during the fuel shortages, I remember my friend's brother sent her an email saying he'd finally been able to fill up her car with petrol for when we got back and she was a bit , hadn't asked him to, so she just said "Ok thanks". Then he blew up about how hard it had been, queuing on multiple days and we got around to reading the news to understand it had actually been a massive effort on his part and very kind. Ah, those days when we didn't have the news 24*7...!
One good thing about the the fuel shortage is that it didn't last very long, unlike the pandemic with all the supply risks that brings.

If people don't mind picking up whatever's available, that's fine, as long as they use the covid shopping services rather than breaking isolation or quarantine. (And don't moan that their pasta was expensive, or they don't like only the soap available, or they really want X or Y brand only but "selfish" people bought it).

I was a community nurse during the petrol strikes. I had a special dispensation to get petrol from the supplies they held back for essential workers. I had to go to specific petrol stations to get it. Felt very cloak and dagger!

We're prepped for Brexit, so I don't need to buy anything extra right now, but I will have to replenish the cupboards before No Deal becomes a cast iron certainty and the rest of the country cops on to what that will mean.

All this Y2K-esque denialism "nothing bad happened to me therefore nothing bad happened at all and no crisis was averted" is one theory why the second wave of the 1918 flu was worse than the first.

@Standrewsschool

Went to Morrisons earlier. The toilet roll aisle was practically empty. There was a few rolls of Andres pebble toilet roll left.

Oooh, there's posh!

My friend who had to lend me loo roll in April would like that one.

I remember the fuel strike in 2000, key workers were given priority to get fuel whilst the rest of us had to struggle without, getting to work was a bit tricky but it didn’t last long.

I went into town today to buy a few bits from primark (warm socks and PJ’s) so I am now prepared to be stuck at home 🤣

We were living in France during the fuel strike and got stuck away from home. Luckily we were working on a customers' house and we could stay there. We tried to get fuel but french farmers had blocked roads and we could not get to a petrol station

@Lovemusic33

I remember the fuel strike in 2000, key workers were given priority to get fuel whilst the rest of us had to struggle without, getting to work was a bit tricky but it didn’t last long.

I went into town today to buy a few bits from primark (warm socks and PJ’s) so I am now prepared to be stuck at home 🤣

Teachers can't have been considered key workers in those days, I've no recollection of being able to get petrol in a special way. Sounded exciting!

Yes, I made DH go and do a proper shop and they are letting couples in now. We bought some extra mince at the butchers to freeze and a few extras like beans, soup etc and a bag of nine toilets rolls and before you say anything I always buy that size. We live in the country so always prepared in case ill. I always have dried lentils, pecans etc and tins like tomatoes. We live in North West and as North East and Dumfries and Galloway are under lockdown I am prepared. There was plenty of pasta, flour and loo rolls. I just bought an extra one which I often do anyway as it means we don’t have to shop every week. We bought shaving for the hens too as we might not be able to get out.

I remember during lockdown as was only 1 per household i used get so stressed as fortnightly shop fillled more than 1 trolley for 6 of us.
Went to aldis every 2 weeks and packed it in the boot of the car.
Husband would wait in car and read a book.
It felt like such a mission.
Will be worse in winter might invest in better winter coat.

@Standrewsschool

Went to Morrisons earlier. The toilet roll aisle was practically empty. There was a few rolls of Andres pebble toilet roll left.

That’s the one I get from Amazon, only there and Morrisons sell it, I don’t like white and this is a peach colour, good to know it isn’t very popular

No loo roll and very few rolls of kitchen towel in my local small Asda today. Flour and eggs were low but plenty of everything else.

Please don't start this shit again. It's the bloody stockpiling that causes shortages.

Out of curiosity I looked on amazon for bulk buys and noted the one I usually get is out of stock and the others have gone up in price. Once I can go back out to the shops I'll have a nosey and see how the local Asda is looking. I'm only wanting to buy Christmas chocolates though 🎄

Threads like these are completely irresponsible
Not necessarily. My son came down with symptoms this morning, and my husband has just taken him for a test. If he doesn't get a negative the whole family will be indoors for two weeks. I know that I can't get an online delivery because I've tried since I always get my shopping online anyway - none at the moment. I'm glad I gradually built up a couple of weeks worth of spare supplies over the last few months otherwise we'd be stuck.

Threads like these are completely irresponsible

Had the above poster not built up stocks she would be stuck! As it is she can safely spare the rest of the community as she doesn’t need to shop. She may have friends who would help will milk or medicines etc, to keep them going. But asking another to do a full blown shop is unfair and completely unnecessary

3asAbird

Surely you just went and got more if you ran out.

No shortages on the shelves here, hardly any subs in my last online shop and my next 2 deliveries are queued as normal. So no panic buying in my area. I did run out of some food that was unavailable during lockdown so when supplies became unlimited again I bought some spares. Now if panic buying starts I wont join in.

Given that if you get notified you have been in touch with a positive case, as I was last week, you have to go straight home with no popping to shops etc, it would be irresponsible to not have any spares tbh.

Think of it as doing everyone a favour, if I buy 3 tins of tinned tomatoes throughout the year instead of the two I need that week, the supply chain caters for my 3 as the norm. If there is then a shortage of tinned tomatoes because of a lockdown or whatever, I don't need to buy any because I had spares, and the supply chain had always been catering for them anyway. Win win.

Threads like these are completely irresponsible

No, adults (who are in a position to) who've known for months that they may have to isolate for two weeks without notice, during a global pandemic, are irresponsible if they don't make sure they have provisions in place to accommodate that.

Expecting your family and friends to run around and do your shopping for you is such a selfish bloody attitude, especially with winter coming in. It's like people who don't get travel insurance and rely on other people to run around to get them another flight home with their leg in plaster (yes, I'm looking at you DSis).

Only on MN do people who start preparing for Christmas July get treated better than people who prepared some food for an emergency situation....utter madness!

No-one ever sanctions panic buying, being "prepped" does not mean emptying shelves. If a thread like this encourages even just a few people to batch cook some soup etc for the freezer, then it can only be a good thing.

@JennyMcLenny

Threads like these are completely irresponsible

No, adults (who are in a position to) who've known for months that they may have to isolate for two weeks without notice, during a global pandemic, are irresponsible if they don't make sure they have provisions in place to accommodate that.

Expecting your family and friends to run around and do your shopping for you is such a selfish bloody attitude, especially with winter coming in. It's like people who don't get travel insurance and rely on other people to run around to get them another flight home with their leg in plaster (yes, I'm looking at you DSis).

Only on MN do people who start preparing for Christmas July get treated better than people who prepared some food for an emergency situation....utter madness!

No-one ever sanctions panic buying, being "prepped" does not mean emptying shelves. If a thread like this encourages even just a few people to batch cook some soup etc for the freezer, then it can only be a good thing.

this totally! I really, really dont understand the MN mentality on this. Calling people stupid, idiots, arseholes, selfish etc... for having food supplies in - when, as you say, there is a real chance of needing to isolate for 14 days at a moments notice, and knowing that last time it was virtually impossible to get a supermarket delivery slot for many weeks. Yet apparently we should all ask friends/family or even charity groups or volunteers to traipse out and do our shopping for us in that situation, because of course that isnt selfish at all

Please don't start this shit again. It's the bloody stockpiling that causes shortages

No its not.

In fact its being unprepared and then just rushing out and grabbing anything and every thing that causes the shortages.

In fact you'd only get that much thanks to people who were more prepared and helped build up the stocks.

You are far more likely to cause shortages expecting everyone else to run around after you, get your shopping and theirs and helping towards the illusion of panic buying by having really full trollies because they are having to get stuff fir all their friends and family members taking the piss.

I appreciate that some people can't afford to buy additional supplies, but for those of us who can, I think it is only sensible to do so slowly and in a planned way. As others have said, having additional food, toiletries etc. "just in case" is a sensible strategy.

I bought additional supplies last year over a number of months in anticipation of a no-deal Brexit. Prior to that, we always had 2 weeks supply in as we struggled during the fuel crisis in 2000.

When we went into lockdown in March, I didnt go anywhere near a supermarket for several weeks. We lived on what we had in the cupboards plus top up shops from our village shop and local butcher. So our family didn't need to put any pressure on the supermarkets.

I'm going to get the children's stocking chocolate and sweets today. The way rates are shouting up in GM I don't want to be going to the shops if I don't need to.

I'm doing really well with my supplies. I always have at least 2 weeks of food in due to being immuno compromised. I've had pneumonia 5 times in 2-3 years and my kids still need to eat. It makes me feel good to have lots of food in.

My Xmas present shopping is around 2/3 done. I have 4 kids from 12-22 so it's a big job and I always start by June at the latest. Got to get my eldest son a new computer chair. My youngest daughter is pretty much done . My eldest wants a tattoo voucher . Need to get something really annoying and loud for my nephew.

I've ordered and paid for a ps5 and some games as a family present as we are not going anywhere or doing any clubs so it is from money saved from that since lock down. We had two holidays cancelled and refunded too. They have no idea and are going to love it, they know we don't have much money so this is going to come as a massive surprise.

Christmas food wise I've got my various boxes of crackers and oat cakes that I love. Going to order my cheese board from my local grass fed farm. Meat too. Veg I will order from the green grocer and will make sure I prepay for everything. My freezers are already rammed with food and I rotate and to up as needed. I have several joints of meat and loads of frozen veg so if it came to it we could just use that.

This year my sister and I are making Xmas eve boxes for the food bank, 40 of them. So we are always looking for extra cheap filler bits for them on line.