Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Preppers
Original poster

Do we add to the problem?

27 replies

Preppingforwinter · 18/09/2020 11:43

Chatting with a friend about prepping for this winter and they think prepping causes issues for everyone else. I think the opposite because when the world goes crazy we can be wrapped up warm at home avoiding the shops. Guessing most here share that feeling but wondering if anyone has any evidence of it?

OP posts:
Bluewavescrashing · 18/09/2020 11:46

I agree with you.

In March the preppers didn't rush to the shops and clear the shelves. They already had what they needed.

Plus, if supermarkets notice increased demand for tinned tomatoes etc now, when the stocks are there, they will hopefully increase the supply to meet the demand. In times of restricted availability due to food shortages and/ or panic buying, preppers will be ready, reducing the burden on supply chains.

I buy a couple of extra tins a week. No panic buying here.

lughnasadh · 18/09/2020 11:48

There is no supply issue right now.

The whole country could decide to stock up today and stores just ramp up deliveries, orders, transport. The chain is robust and open. No extra storage is needed.

When no deal Brexit hits, it will make Covid look like the Halcyon days.

Original poster
Preppingforwinter · 18/09/2020 12:06

This is my feeling. This is the calm before the storm. I’m dreading what it will be like come nov when online delivery slots are harder to get and the ques to get in to supermarkets get longer. I feel safer knowing I have the basics and can avoid adding to the chaos

OP posts:
RhubarbTea · 18/09/2020 12:35

@lughnasadh

There is no supply issue right now.

The whole country could decide to stock up today and stores just ramp up deliveries, orders, transport. The chain is robust and open. No extra storage is needed.

When no deal Brexit hits, it will make Covid look like the Halcyon days.

I completely agree. I am not prepping for covid (self isolation etc) now, as much as I am prepping for Brexit. I dread to think what an absolute shambles the country will be in if we have a no deal Brexit, and I don't want to rely on our 'just in time' infrastructure at that point, nor do I want to add to the burden on supermarkets. I'm also concerned about huge price hikes for food. So no, I don't think preppers are adding to the problems, and I also think we haven't seen anything yet. I have a deep feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach when I think about the next few years.
lazylinguist · 18/09/2020 12:43

they think prepping causes issues for everyone else. I think the opposite

I don't think either is true tbh. I find it hard to believe there are enough regular preppers to make any significant difference to supply. And in any case, if the preppers are doing this all the time, then their regular habits are just part of the normal level of supply and demand. Obviously there was a supply issue at the beginning of lockdown, but as regular preppers were very keen to point out, that was due to huge numbers of non-preppers suddenly all buying a but more than usual.

Original poster
Preppingforwinter · 18/09/2020 12:47

Yes our brexit stash kept us going in early lockdown and we managed to avoid supermarkets

OP posts:
peonyblossom · 18/09/2020 13:21

I don't think so. I'm not a proper 'prepper' but I am someone who, since late last year/early this year has gradually filled my (normal sized) freezer and larder and kept it that way. I'll continue to do so. But I don't buy loads of stuff, it's an extra bag of rice once a fortnight, a large bag of pasta instead of a small one, a couple of extra tins, maybe a kilo of mince instead of 500g and half of it gets portioned and frozen etc etc. A pack of 9 toilet rolls instead of 4 with a few getting put up so we have a small supply.

Because I did this, when the panic buying hit in March I didn't need to go to a supermarket and add to the problem. We don't shop except for bread, milk and fresh veg/salad (which was doable at the local Tesco express rather than a big supermarket) for a month. We could have avoided that if we hadn't have got two very young children to feed. It also meant I could keep my vulnerable mother out of the shops because I could give her some things out of my cupboard and freezer to get by until things calmed down.

So no, I think careful planning, gradual stocking up a bit over weeks or months actually helps.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 18/09/2020 17:22

You are right. What caused the issue in March was panic buying. The loo roll or pasta that was bought in Jan had no effect on the supply in March.

starfish4 · 18/09/2020 20:51

I certainly wasn't panic buying toilet rolls, pasta, rice, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes as I always have a mini tash. I just keep it topped up.

sexesam · 18/09/2020 22:39

Funnily enough I had this thought when I put in the 6 pack of beans and pack of toilet roll I didn't need to buy yet. (I was in buying fruit and bread and got the fear when I saw my usual 16 pk of toilet roll was sold out (it was on offer) even though the rest of the shelves were fine). However I wasn't sweeping the shelves clear and as you say better to have a slightly more frequent buying pattern than to try and stock all in one go.

Willow2017 · 19/09/2020 01:36

There is no supply issue right now.
The whole country could decide to stock up today and stores just ramp up deliveries, orders, transport. The chain is robust and open. No extra storage is needed.

It really isn't. Our store ran out of 3 basic things for 3 weeks lately it was embarrassing.
I don't know if its because of port restrictions in some areas or suppliers or manufacturers not getting the raw materials but its been a problem in our store for a few things.
We often get flooded with stuff we don't need or don't get the stuff we do need. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium.

Saying that I do buy a couple of extra things a couple of times a month just to keep my cupboards full but its for the fallout from Brexit thats coming. If the hysteria keeps up about 2nd waves plus brexit I don't want to be trailing around shops them. I worked during the last madness it was like the run up to Xmas all over again.

Buying a couple of things especially if they are on offer is not going to cause chaos in 3 months time. It's the panic buyers who do that.

AlwaysLatte · 19/09/2020 02:23

Also if people prep carefully, over a long period of time, then they are less likely to be in and out of the shops like yo-yos spreading the disease!

ChavvySexPond · 19/09/2020 02:52

In times of shortages who would you rather be behind in the queue?

A preppier who has just popped in for a paper?

Or a non prepper who needs all the same things you do?

Sideorderofchips · 20/09/2020 08:47

The whole point of being a prepper is that you don't have to go panic buy at the shops like everyone else.

bellinisurge · 20/09/2020 09:23

Fighting my instinct to say "fuck 'em" very hard. I suppressed it with Covid 19 because it was new and frightening to people and they were flaying around spouting bullshit because it made them feel better.
With Brexshit, I have no such qualms but, to save my own piece of mind, I'll try and keep it to myself in real life.

sexesam · 20/09/2020 18:16

I hear you @bellinisurge!

Sacados · 20/09/2020 18:38

Panic buying causes the problems.

Prepping is the opposite of panic buying.

Sometimes I think people need the difference explained to them.

I had a healthy Brexit stash and therefore was able to stay home during the Covid lockdown panic buying. I wasn't out buying looroll and pasta because I'd stocked up on them gradually over the previous 2 years, during times when there were plenty of them for everybody and no problems with supply. Nobody lost out, and other people benefited later from there being one less family who needed to buy looroll and pasta at the time when there WAS a shortage.

WickedEmoji · 20/09/2020 19:05

I agree with you. My stash is coming along nicely and it kept us out of the shops during the panic. And will do during the one about to start.

starfish4 · 21/09/2020 15:18

I preppared months ago well before Brexit, now I'm just using my stash and topping up (so buying normally). When lockdown first started, other than fresh items, I didn't need to visit the supermarket, and luckily what I needed was in the first third so I could go straight to self serve and not queue. If we locked down tomorrow, other than some fresh fruit and a few salad items in the next week, it wouldn't affect us. It won't be me out panic buying and wiping the shelves clean.

StuntEgg · 22/09/2020 14:12

Not in general, although I think I did yesterday. I needed 9 tins of carrots to complete both my own stockpile and my DM's, but hadn't seen them for months. Yesterday they appeared at last, and normally I'd get one or two at a time but I just thought, "fuck it, they're the last items I need" so I bought 9 in one go. It didn't leave the shelves empty because they had dozens, but I felt like a panic-buyer as I sneaked shamefaced through the checkout with them. Blush

DontBeShelfish · 22/09/2020 14:50

I don't think so, though I do have to work hard to suppress the urge to buy up large amounts. Brexit + COVID + my childhood fear of being hungry has been a difficult emotional journey, that's for sure.

InconvenientPeg · 24/09/2020 22:06

When I buy for preps, I only buy if the shelf is well stocked, and usually only if stuff is on offer.

So definitely don't think it adds to the problem. And another one here who barely shopped in March. And now have carte blanche from DH to stock up as I see fit (he tolerated it before) because he was so impressed that we had everything we needed ,when everyone else was running round like headless chickens!

LangClegsInSpace · 24/09/2020 22:14

No, you don't add to the problem, you help ease it.

Thanks to what I have learnt from lurking on here I was able to completely avoid the shops during March's panic buying and I can completely avoid the shops for a few weeks now if things are getting difficult again. I'm also as ready as I can be for brexit.

Flowers
TigerDroveAgain · 24/09/2020 22:15

StuntEgg

I think I can remember tinned carrots from school dinners. Carrots keep for quite a long time, why are you buying tinned ones?

SquishySquirmy · 24/09/2020 22:23

Depends when you do your prepping.
If you do it around the time shelves are emptying, then you are in fact a panic buyer and part of the problem.
Some panic buyers identify as preppers which confuses the matter further.

Personally I try to do the opposite what everyone else is doing!
So a few weeks ago out local Aldi reduced massive bags of flour to £1. So I bought one - I had flour at home but it was an amazing deal and the shop obviously wanted rid (for the shelf space presumably, BBD had ages left). I will use it eventually and feel no guilt for buying it.

But if the shelves start to empty I will actively avoid the shops! I dont need to panic buy, and last time round I bought much LESS than I normally would with no fear of running out.