Should I really be stockpiling

[beansontoastfortea]

And if so what? I've not even thought about this!

Oh dear God, there are a million of these threads on the go at the moment

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3503814-Are-you-stockpiling-for-brexit

It's only mumsnet that's put the idea of stockpiling into my head... I'm just one of those people that thinks it will be ok... I might be wrong and no idea what I should be stockpiling...

Chocolate spread? That's all I need ;)

Make a list of all the stuff you eat on a regular basis that comes in packets/tins/jars or can be frozen. I think that is a good starting point. Or you can meal plan and buy that. I’m not going to be a serious prepper but I do want a couple of weeks worth of stuff and will buy chicken/mince etc to freeze

If you have the space and cash, which many don't, really I think the question is why not? Even in the best case scenario prices go up, so you save money in the long run. And if there is supply chain disruption, you're protected from the worst of it.

I'm not into full on serious prepping either, but getting in some extra supplies is no big deal really.

Think of something you really like, and would really miss if it became unavailable for a while or massively increased in price - I dunno, a type of cheese, tinned anchovies, olive oil, chocolate - and buy a load. Stash.

If even a small price increase would floor you, buy loads more of loads of stuff, to tide you over whilst getting used to the other whammies thrown our way, like higher bills and (if applicable) UC.

^exactly what uptheapples said above.^

why not... I can't be arsed & I could afford to pay 2-3x as much for food (not that I expect to have to).

I hate food waste so hope the stockpilers run good rotation & don't end up throwing loads away.

As I haven't really put much thought to it I hadn't even considered price in increases.

Why would you end up throwing away cans of beans that would last a nuclear winter!

Yes, you should be stockpiling if you've got the means and space. We are less than 50 days away from a potential seismic shock to our trading relations with most of the world. Even if the deal goes through last minute, the government have admitted last week that most of the deals we have with other countries as part of the EU will not be ready to roll-over. So the best case scenario is still likely to involve disruption and adjustment and as the pound is likely to tank again, so imports will get more expensive.

If you have the means to stock up a bit, why on earth wouldn't you be? Make sure it's stuff you eat anyway, and it won't go to waste.

You'll get accused of panic buying in a minute, then someone will come on sniggering about the millennium bug then I'll come back all grumpy like with the reasons why it's so not panic buying doing it now, it's 'forward purchasing' and as to what happened with the millennium bug...

Even just on the basis of doing a risk assessment - probability vs impact - the probability of no-deal may still be quite low (although rising), the impact is so huge, that some mitigation measures seem sensible. I have two children to feed. I personally want to keep life as normal as possible for them for as long as possible in the event of no-deal.

Prices are going to go up no matter what happens with Brexit, so if you want to counteract that slightly it's a good idea.

Start with the non-perishables, washing up liquid, washing detergent, toilet roll, toiletries etc. Then make sure you have a few bags of rice, pasta, tinned foods. Towards the end of March get some long-life milk, flour and yeast, treat foods, potatoes, extra frozen veg and meals, pet supplies.

It's not going to hurt to have a good supply of things. If Brexit is all wonderful and you don't really need them then your food bill will be a lower for a while as you use them up. Or you can donate them if you are rich.

Sorry, it should be probability x impact.

Sorry OP I shouldn't have been so miserable in my first response to you

Well prices tend to rise over time anyway OP. They certainly have recently. If you could buy all your food for summer in February, even without Brexit looming it'd probably be a bit cheaper. And as there'll almost certainly be some extra increase even in the event of a hard Brexit, you save yourself money.

Why would people need to chuck away forward-purchased food? I think the opposite will happen - it makes you focus, think and plan better.

Most people are going for long life foods and tins. I've got corned beef with '2023' on it.

If I really think I won't use something, I'll give it to the food bank while it's still well in date.

Tbf, I was having a look through what I've got today, and I appear to have got a little trigger happy buying peanut butter. We have /a lot/ of that to get through before the end of this year - it seems to be relatively short dated as far as shelf stable food goes.

Sensible stuff. Please remember not to tell anyone you are doing it. The reason being people will assume they can just pop around to yours if it gets tricky at the shops. And your careful budgeting goes out the window.
If you and a family member or friend want to share the burden, the idea still stands. No one outside your group should know.
If you want to factor in helping say a relative then do that . But make it your decision to share your hard earned buffer of food, not theirs.

Hoarders, well, everyone, always think(s) they are being sensible & organised with their perishable purchases, too.

I've only bought things we use regularly. However, I've bought new stuff we don't usually have to try new recipes that are made with shelf stable ingredients and I now have macaroni cheese, red lentil Dahl, and leek and potato soup in my repertoire. The leek and potato was made with fresh things but the others all dried, frozen, long life etc. So I'll stock up on those new ingredients now too.

No point stocking things we won't eat. Trying new recipes has been good for our family so is a small positive in this shitstorm called brexit.

Hope that makes sense (brain addled with painkillers and brexit fatigue)

So just with brexit In mind and not that stockpiling now will save money regardless, how many weeks worth of supplies would be recommended for brexit?

Are there any particular foods that are likely to be hard to find?

What you can afford AND what you can store. And what you eat. No point getting ingredients/items you don't use.
It really is an individual thing.

Are there any particular foods that are likely to be hard to find?

Anything could fall into this category. In the event of a hard brexit we lose not only free trade with the E U but also the benefit of the other trade deals we get because we are members of the EU.