In a worse case scenario would you help your friends?

[FauxFox]

I am not a prepper but I am interested in the idea and how people go about it but there is one question I never seem to see an answer to. In a worse case scenario where there are food shortages, fuel shortages etc and people are really struggling how will you sit in your home enjoying a meal from your stash? When your friends or your children’s friends knock on the door hungry will you turn them away? What about strangers? Children? Babies? Someone in desperate need of a medicine or whatever that you have stockpiled in your cupboard? Could you let them suffer? I think dealing with the ethical problem of having prepped is perhaps worse than dealing with the situation you prepped for?!

I’m not telling anyone I’ve got a stash although ds3 is not one for keeping secrets. I would help friends or family but, as far as they know, I have little to give. Generally, I’m putting stuff aside for my family and I refuse to feel guilty if they haven’t bothered.

As a general principle, no, unless they can be useful to me.
However, the mum of one of my DD's friends is a staunch Leaver as well as a very scatty high maintenance person. For my DD's peace of mind and wellbeing, I would help her. That counts as useful to me.
One of my nephews is a Leaver. I love him very dearly and if he turned up desperate at my door, I would help him too.

Sorry but I have to look after my children. if I have 2 weeks worth of food and a friend and their family turn up I now only have a week's worth for my own children.

I would of course help family - but I've told them I won't and that they need to get themselves sorted.

I’m soft, id help anyone in genuine need, but my family would be my priority.

Sorry, meant to add: it would also depend on the need and circumstances. If we have 6” of snow and the old lady across the road is trying to get to the shop because she hasn’t got any loo roll left then I would help her. If there was a national loo roll shortage with no end in sight then I would keep my supplies for my family and myself. If someone was is severe pain I would let them have some of my strong meds, if they had a hangover they can sod off

I'd only help if they voted Remain

Yes, of course I would. Although I would be extremely pissed off with them if they were one of the people who got us into this mess.

Well if there are food shortages then people can just go elsewhere to buy their food and bring it back/bugger off on an extended holiday. I’m not prepping (for obvious reasons) but if I were I wouldn’t guard my stash too closely. It’s hardly going to make much of a difference to us.

In reality I suspect I would help but would pretend I didn't have much myself.

No.

Feeding my own children comes first.
Feeding myself means I can be in the best shape to continue doing so.

Example below does not reflect the number of people I actually prep for or the length of time I have supplies for:

If I have one years food for myself & my son, by sharing it with 2 other people I have taken 6 months of food away from my son as well as myself.
I have no guarantee that they don't have someone 'so special' to them that I wouldn't soon find their other friends/family at the door & sharing my original 1 year with 4 other people means my son & I only eat for 4 months instead of year, with 6 other people means we only have 3 months instead of a year & so on.
Both my son & I have quite small appetites, so in reality sharing with just half a dozen others would easily wipe out those supplies in a month.
If I just shared 1 years food with the 3 other houses on the little row of houses where I live, it would be gone in less than a month.

I saved, I learned the skills to create & store what I have, I spent money on equipment to do this when they were spending it on haircuts, holidays, false nails & nights out.
I planted the food in my garden & spent the years & the money learning how to successfully grow the plants.

It is not my responsibility to take care of the feckless.
I will not let my family go hungry for random other people who will only be at my door because I have something they want.

If the next door neighbours water is off on a normal day I'd give them water from my taps, but in a real STHF situation if you're not on the list, you aren't coming in.

Agree completely with Snugglepumpkin

I'm not minted, I've dipped into savings to build up my stash and it's to feed me and mine, not anyone else. Any food shared means less for my family, and they are my priority. Kids have assumed I would help out their dad, but when I think of all the years when he paid no maintenance and I went hungry so the children could eat, I'm inclined to let the bastard starve.

I've told very few friends that I've prepped, but the ones who do know have been warned they won't get so much a teabag.

I'd help my sister and her family. We are close and she has done a lot to help and support me and my son - I wouldn't think twice about sharing my stash with her.

Anyone else can piss off.

Like @Snugglepumpkin, I've done without on many occasions to build up my supplies. A lot of people I know are doing no prepping whatsoever, but frequently have nights out, hair/nail/beauty appointments, new clothes and makeup every bloody week.

I'm a single mum and need to make sure my son is provided for. I'm not going to take food out of my son's mouth to give to them because they prioritised their nights out and beauty treatments over a bit of prepping. I certainly wouldn't be made to feel guilty about it.

What irritates me the most (at the moment) is that we have advanced notice of a potential disruption to our supply chain, and still some people are doing nothing. How often do we get notice of a potential problem with obtaining food? Almost never. If people have heard the warnings (unless you live under a rock, you know what implications Brexit may bring) and still do nothing, that is 100% on them.

I guess I might be a little more forgiving in circumstances in which we had no warning. I don't know for sure though. If anyone came to my door asking for something, I think my default response would be "I've got nothing to give you".

No. One person knows I prep and about a fortnight ago I told him in no uncertain terms that I only have supplies for me and my children and he would not be coming here. This friend is about 25st and if you offer him a bit of toast you end up toasting the whole loaf just for him. He recently did just this and my DD was left with no lunch. It just didn't occur to him that she might need to be fed. In addition he lives alone, and eats all his meals out. His kitchen cupboards are totally bare. He has the luxury of space that I don't have. He has not even got a packet of pasta or a tin of baked beans in his house.

My parents know I have supplies and laugh at me. They were around in WW2 and think everything will be just fine. However they have a freezer full. I only have an ice compartment. All my preps are tinned and dried foods. I would pool resources and possibly stay with them during any crisis. They would not be a drain on my resources and I would not be a drain on theirs.

I've been prepping for years. It takes a lot of time and money. We would have to reduce our portion sizes to about half to conserve our stocks. If I start feeding other people my preps will last approx 1 wk.

If I gave someone a tin of soup I would assume they would be back for more, and possibly tell their friends.

Interesting. And obviously it only makes sense to prep if you are going to be quite strict on keeping it to yourself because you can't prep for the whole neighbourhood. I just wouldn't be able to turn my friends away so it kind of makes the whole thing a bit pointless...and even if nobody knew I had supplies I would know and that's the problem!

I want to say I wouldn’t help them but I don’t know. My closest friend has 3 children but has no food in the house apart from a few bags of crisps and a packet of biscuits and maybe some frozen peas. She shops daily as part of her routine so nothing goes to waste. During a recent illness where she couldn’t get to a shop I went to the supermarket for her. We live rurally so I don’t understand it. We’ve had a laugh and a joke about Brexit and all she knows is that I have a weeks worth when the shopping is delivered. If she turned up on my doorstep I just know I wouldn’t have the heart to say I didn’t have anything.

I have thought about the fact that if shtf we would need to be seen in Tesco getting what we could as people would soon notice....

I have thought about the fact that if shtf we would need to be seen in Tesco getting what we could as people would soon notice...

I read on a prepper forum years ago posts from a man in the IoW who had bought bigger clothes to make it look like he was losing weight due to not having any food! I think he was talking about pulling teeth as well.

Yes if you are not out battling it out for the last loaf people will know you have supplies.

There is a "grey man" prepper tactic of queuing up for food if it is being formally distributed so as not to be noticeably self sufficient.
Let's hope Brexit doesn't come to that. It's more a general prepper idea.

Yes if you are not out battling it out for the last loaf people will know you have supplies.

I think this is far less likely now that we don't all shop at the grocers on the corner of our street.

I've got 24 months worth of food, toiletries and gas for cooking with for 3 meals a day for me and my kids. So I'd help family but wouldn't start handing out randomly because then I'd end up with just enough for a few weeks. Other people can prep themselves.

I'm a long way from a supermarket so I would have to use the village shop. My presence or lack thereof would be noticed. It's a local shop for local people, you see

Possibly, depends on what they have to offer in return. Those who have been good friends to me already are more likely to be helped than those who have pissed their resources up the wall. We have gone without to try and ensure we have a buffer, so not inclined to give it away. Not told anyone except the children's dad. He has a big bag of white rice I have given him as we use brown now. I shall swap that for food if necessary. Got rid of it to stock up on things and he children actually eat.

Well the UK did not collapse during or after WWI or WWII so it's highly unlikely Brexit will cause massive problems, although no harm in being prepared.

However, to answer the questions specifically, if it got to the stage where people WERE asking friends for handouts of food, then we're entering 'The Road' type scenarios, in which case sacrificing some food for the benefit of keeping friends and gaining allies might be a good tactic. It's a fantasy to think one can be 100% prepared for the worst possible outcomes and not need help from others. Having a strong community of trusted friends will be far more valuable than a few days of extra rations.