An interesting new article from The Guardian re: stockpiling and why it isn’t as easy as the government suggest

[UglyCathKidstonBag]

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/26/stockpile-food-no-deal-brexit-dream-on?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Well worth a read and fairly sobering stuff.

Where exactly are companies supposed to put all this extra product? How do they pay for creating it and housing it for months on end?

@SleepFreeZone if people are desperate then I guess aid would be sent but it wouldn't be instant, so surely it's prudent to prepare just in case?

I agree. But I’m glad it’s at least accepted the world wouldn’t just sit by and watch us all starve to death.

@SleepFreeZone - do you want to live in a failed state? Do you want people here to be starving to death?
The people we'd ask for help from are the people we are sticking two fingers up to. They have their own problems.

I don’t think it’s going to come to no food but it might come to shortages of the food you like.

Thank you for this thread. I’ve been feeling anxious about Brexit for a while, so this has prompted me to have a chat with DH.

We’ve got gas for the BBQ, so would be ok cooking on that for a couple of weeks. DH thinks it’s sensible to get in extra food, candles, torches etc, so I’ll start doing that.

The main reason I’m worried is DS, who has food allergies. I don’t want to be in a position where we can’t find anything that won’t make him poorly.

@PatchworkElmer - I hope you can slowly but surely get whatever buffer of food and meds you can to make things tolerable for your ds.

Deal has to be ratified by EU partners no later than early 2019. We should no if there's No Deal around Dec/Jan. Why can't you Guys wait until Dec/Jan to stockpile, why do it now?

Lots of people don’t have the cash flow to buy lots of food at once. A few extra bits with their normal shopping is much more feasible.

@lljkk - why not start now. Slowly but surely.

Plus if you come home with a pallet of baked beans you family will think you’re insane. An extra tin with the shopping barely raises an eyebrow

Challenges if you stockpile NOW:

You'll need a good rotation/stock control regime to make sure to eat the food within date. Most of us don't bother, we just don't have enough in cupboard that we'll overlook something & let it go far out of date. If money is so tight you can't budget until January, you sure can't afford to buy food that might end up getting thrown out! You'll end up having money tied up in cans of beans when you could have it available for other things (& might not need the beans if we get deal after all). You've got it cluttering up your storage space for longer.

(am finding the "must hide my insanity from housemates" argument more compelling!)

Tins have a longer shelf life if you are careful - certainly more than a couple of months. I read a great idea on here to scribble on the tin in a more visible place what the "best before" date is. Note best before not use by.

I've bought tinned food this week with Use By dates in 2020 and 2021. Stuff I'll eat anyway.

Iirc (but am still in bed enjoying a cup of tea and not going to get up to check the cupboards ) most tins have "Best Before" dates and not "Use By" dates. So they'll be fine well beyond the "Best Before" date

Just make sure there are no dents on the tins you buy

All tins have Best Before not use by dates. If not damaged, the food should be fine for another decade or more, so stock rotation isn't as vital as all that. Frozen food isn't so good after a couple years but still perfectly edible.

All this is just as well given my ILs hoarding approach to food - we try to rotate when we visit and get older stuff used...

Re stock rotation- we live fairly rurally and travel to a large city Costco 2 or 3 times a year and buy a LOT of tins and shelf stable supplies.

My star tip is buy a sharpie maker and write the best before date (ie 12/19 would be Bbe December 2019), onto every tin/packet so it’s easily visible and check once a month or so that anything closer to useby date is at the front of your shelf.

Use some common sense too if an undamaged can or jar has 2 or 3 years shelf life, then it’ll be fine for months after that date (possibly years), if packs/cartons have say, a 6 month shelf life, they will be fine for weeks after... but check appearance, smell and taste! Certainly no need to bin stuff the minute it reaches best before or use by date.

Canned meat and fish can have very best before dates, I have some tuna and corned beef from my last Costco trip that have 2021 date on them!

Not in the UK but a tip from some family members who live in an area where they get snowed in is as well as essentials like food, toilet roll and medication always have a few bottles of wine, bottle of gin and plenty of tonic, or whatever your tipple is. If you are staying in doors for a few days if there are riots you may as well make the most of it.

Bargain Buys are selling those giant bags of 1000+ teabags for a tenner. I’m half-heartedly stockpiling, but I hate the thought of running out of tea. I am staying at the inlaws at the moment and MIL mentioned that her local Sainsbury’s superstore had totally run out of sugar.

I remember it well. There was no bread or milk to be had, nor bread flour and yeast. Fortunately I had bread flour at home and knew where to buy fresh yeast.

I was 20 during the fuel strikes and don’t remember it being a massive deal at all. Was it dependent on area or very short lived?

If you were 20 it probably wasn't a massive deal - I was a carer in my 30s.

Yeah I completely take your point, I didn’t have any children. I probably just didn’t have any bread or milk and it didn’t register as a huge thing. How long were you without them?

I think people are mis-remembering the fuel 'crisis'. Due to panic buying, Safeway introduced limits of bread and milk purchases. I can't find any evidence of widespread issues with supplies.

I’m not misremembering anything thanks.
I lived in Brighton at the time and the shortage only lasted a day or two.
I worked in town and needed to buy bread on the way home.
The M and S and Waitrose in the middle of town were out of bread so on my walk home I tried the supermarket at the bottom of St James Street and the couple of convinience stores on the way back. I then remembered that I had bread flour and bought some fresh yeast from the health food store.
The problem was that people were panic buying and that created more of a shortage.

I remember the fuel crisis! People were SO angry at the (then Labour) government for not caring enough about drivers.

I hope this government is buckled in for the ride they're going to get from voters when the food and medicine shortages hit, and all they can do is keep repeating, "But you WANTED this! We had a vote and you said you wanted to be hungry and ill!"