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Original poster

Are we actually stockpiling food following govt announcement??

268 replies

Mumoftwo8519 · 26/10/2026 21:05

DH and I have a 4 year old, 2 year old and a 9 month old baby. I feel like this govt announcement to stockpile food is just media scaremongering and I’ve ignored it up until now, but tonight after I put our children to bed and turned out their lights out and the house was pitch black I did think to myself, god what if this was actually it and we were put into a blackout.

Im worried about having food to feed my children, and the thought of them going hungry is starting to worry me, but I also cannot bring myself to believe something will actually happen??

is anyone else stockpiling? What kind of things are you getting? Are we actually going to eat cold beans from a tin?

my husband and I were talking about it tonight, and wondering what the govt are hiding?

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Purpl · 27/10/2026 18:00

Yep have bought it all in this weekend. Particularly grudge buying water. And hate full cupboards am normally top up food petrol beginning of month and run to empty. I just worry for the people that can’t afford to do this. I live rural so do have power cuts etc. There has to be something in it or our and European governments wouldn’t keep saying it.

HoppityBun · 27/10/2026 18:04

AutumnOakTree · 27/10/2026 08:39

Doesn’t happen during the storms, but during the dry hot weather, when water supplies are low. Tunbridge Wells has it really bad, but other parts of Kent were affected on and off. We’re still in a hosepipe ban, and last year the hosepipe ban went from summer until February.

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It’s bizarre that people are questioning this, as though we haven’t had months and months of below average rainfall and drought. Many reservoirs are well below 20%.

Purpl · 27/10/2026 18:05

BeLemonMoose · 27/10/2026 00:36

@Ohcrap082024 where hasn't had running water in the UK? I am shocked

Tonbridge kent in summer

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Happygirl79 · 27/10/2026 18:07

I have a freezer full of food here and some basic tinned food but if we lose power will our home insurance actually pay us for the loss of our food in the freezers? I have a huge chest freezer full of expensive food! Just a thought? Anyone? Thanks

SiegfriedSassoon · 27/10/2026 18:08

We could probably manage 2 weeks rations with what we have in the house. I don't see the point of more than that because if there was a situation so bad that we couldn't buy food for more than 2 weeks then there would be no benefit to having more food as I imagine the council state down the road from us would have gangs with weapons coming to ransack the 'wealthier' (we certainly aren't, squeezed middle, no benefits, no equity, too many kids) homes for supplies. I can't ever get my head around these people who have a years worth of food, water, medical supplies, gas, solar etc. It would just get stolen by those prepared to be violent. I thought the 2013 channel 4 film 'blackout' was very realistic - it's free on YouTube incidentally.

Edamcheese · 27/10/2026 18:13

You need to have foods that you can eat cold as the biggest problem would be not being able to use the electric gadgets to cook anything in. If you have coal or gas barbecues stock up on the gas bottle and coals. And gas lamps in case you do use the barbecues for cooking in the dark.don’t use them indoors most people would know this of course. I’ve never seen all this hype about stocking up until recently I do also wonder what the government is not telling us. But unfortunately there are lots of people who shop each day for food as they can’t afford to stock up.

sassyclassyandsmartassy · 27/10/2026 18:17

No. My husband and I had a chat the other night. If we have an outage the freezer will fail and we’ll put the meat and stuff in it on the BBQ or in the pizza oven (got two large gas bottles to one side) so food for a couple of days really isn’t an issue here. We also buy a few bits in bulk so we don’t really need to worry about toiletries, etc. and I have what my husband would call a ‘candle obsession’ so that’s not an issue. I also have power banks charged for work all the time anyway. Batteries we have plenty of (bulk again) and battery lights for the garden which we could use if need be, but have conceded it might be wise to buy a couple of big bottles of water to just keep stacked away. Oh and warm clothes, yeah, we are usually on the side of sports pitches on the weekends, we’ve got that down!

Jupitercore · 27/10/2026 18:18

I'm not stockpiling, but I have got some candles and some extra tinned food in the cupboard just incase, we have bottled water, we've got a gas stove, but I guess you could buy a camping stove for emergencies. To be honest I live near airbase in the UK, and there has been more activity, night flying etc....than usual, so who knows what's going on, but best just to be aware and have a few extra basic bits to get by for a few days.

Flicitytricity · 27/10/2026 18:18

I have what's in my freezers, which, without power would last a good few days, a larder well stocked and a gas hob.
I also have a motorhome with gas bottle for cooking and solar panels, which even now are boosting the leisure batteries, so I would have lighting, heating and cooking for a few days at least.
I was tempted to panic, but got a grip.

maggisimpson · 27/10/2026 18:19

Happygirl79 · 27/10/2026 18:07

I have a freezer full of food here and some basic tinned food but if we lose power will our home insurance actually pay us for the loss of our food in the freezers? I have a huge chest freezer full of expensive food! Just a thought? Anyone? Thanks

Frozen food isn't going to be much use for you if the power goes.

SaraJaneb · 27/10/2026 18:20

The issue is most disasters or issues take the gov longer, around 10 days to fix, so saying three makes people think they'll be fine. If most think that,then they'll panic on the 4th day when nothing is sorted. With so much getting hacked, increases in infections, more war risks I think it's as needed as spare cash in your pocket. Not a fan of their list though, I think you need foods that make you feel comforted and well not just ration foods. Water is essential ill definitely need more than I have.

lovescats3 · 27/10/2026 18:21

Will a normal radio with batteries be ok ? Why are wind up radios recommended?

LancashireButterPie · 27/10/2026 18:22

My relatives live very rurally (farmers) and have stockpiled food for them and their livestock for as long as I can remember. It has been happening for hundreds of years. We townies have just forgotten how much our lives can be impacted by a natural (or otherwise) disaster.
My relatives also have solar panels installed and generators on stand by.

maggisimpson · 27/10/2026 18:22

lovescats3 · 27/10/2026 18:21

Will a normal radio with batteries be ok ? Why are wind up radios recommended?

You can run out of batteries, can't run out of winding up.

bafta16 · 27/10/2026 18:23

MozzieFreeZone · 26/10/2026 21:26

They are not hiding anything. They are being realistic.

about what? What is the threat and why now?

DeftGoldHedgehog · 27/10/2026 18:25

I'm not doing anything different than usual. If the emergency happens, hope it's on a Saturday after the Tesco delivery.

FindingMeno · 27/10/2026 18:27

I don't understand why being prepared/ resilient seems to equal panic in some people's eyes.
I also don't understand why some people seem to be terrified and need to be reassured exactly what is going to happen and exactly what they need to get.
I'm amazed there seems to be some people who have never had a power cut or not been able to pick up their ready meal on the way home.
If you pay attention to any news surely you have to be a bit dim to be convinced nothing could possibly happen, ever, that could cause disruption!

MrsBroccolini · 27/10/2026 18:29

Surely it’s 3 days of food that wouldn’t require cooking? Particularly for those of us with an electric stove. That’s where I’m a bit more stuck - I could feed us for 10+ days at any point but without power thats much trickier. So, open to ideas !

BigSuse · 27/10/2026 18:29

I’m going to buy some bottled water, and if it looks like there’s going to be an issue I’ll fill the bath with water if I can. I’m going to get in some emergency biscuits, crackers and keep more cheese in the fridge, as it would last a few days unrefrigerated, and while not particularly nutritious it would keep us going for a few days in an emergency and probably be more palatable than cold soup or beans.

BeLemonMoose · 27/10/2026 18:29

It's always certain areas affected badly by weather. No I have never had a power cut or had shops shut unexpectedly.
It was on BBC news again tonight. They are really pushing this. They know something is going to happen

DeftGoldHedgehog · 27/10/2026 18:30

PurpleLeather · 27/10/2026 08:57

To be fair, the Govt. have not hid anything, it’s all been there in plain sight for all to see, though their current scaremongering is excellent advice.

If they are actually telling you to stockpile, you should as they care not about you or I and the millions of rations they bought in several years ago quite plainly are for the personal they’ll use to control the situation when it kicks off, which it will, sadly. World War 3? For sure. Uprising? Definitely and unstable weather due to weather modification? - it’s happening right now and has been for quite a few years. Look up!

I don’t think 3 days is anywhere near enough, think 6-12 months, though far too many just carried on with life over the past six years thinking everything was honky dory when it was far from. And that was just the start. Those that started a preparedness mindset back in 2020 bought when food particularly was probably half the price it is now. No wonder the supermarkets are making billions in profit. They all are, all the corporations. Imagine life as you know it gone and buy what you need to survive. There won’t be a nuclear war, so don’t worry about that. But worry about no food, the water being turned off and …..well, I’ll stop there, too many still don’t want to see what’s plain to see. Water, food, heating, lighting etc.

Edited

If it's that bad I wouldn't want to live on anyway.

Terfedout · 27/10/2026 18:30

The government are not asking us to stockpile. Just have a few tins of food in the cupboard like most normal people do anyway, and add a bit of Bottled water and maybe a light source. Its really not a big deal or worth all the threads on here that seem to be popping up.

mendora · 27/10/2026 18:30

I have started “stockpiling” water in plastic milk bottles, to use in the loo, or for washing hands.

Spaniels4Eva · 27/10/2026 18:34

We live rurally and power cuts are a regular occurrence due to mainly overhead power lines coming in. We had a 7 hour cut on Saturday evening into Sunday morning and some locals are still waiting to be reconnected. Worst we ever had was 5 days off following a bad storm.

So I've always kept the larder/freezer well stocked and we have a gas BBQ so can always rustle something up for food. We've also got a camping stove with a kettle.

BeGutsyGoldMoose · 27/10/2026 18:35

Yes I have a stash. We live rural so this is a useful way to be prepared for power cuts etc. I have tinned food which we can eat cold if I fail to get the camping gas stove going. Tinned fruit and evaporated milk. I also have bottled water, pet food stash, tealight candles, power bank, batteries, a radio and a number of battery lights and foil blankets. Our house is all electric, so it will get cold. I haven't bought any unusual tinned food, so I rotate the stock and we eat it anyway.
I was a Girl Guide so "Be prepared " is the motto.