What date do people see there being a problem with food shopping?

[Gobacktothe90s]

What date do people think food shopping will become a problem with Brexit?
I don't think it will be the 1st Jan as shops do have some stock in warehouses (obviously not a lot of fresh stuff but still some stock) but would people say it will be that first week as soon as the news shows lorry hold ups and then causing panic buyers?

I've planned to get in all we need (for a few weeks) by mid-December. If we can get another shop in afterwards then that'll be helpful, but I feel happier to know we can cope if not.

I don't think there'll actually be that much of a standstill until later in January (apart from fresh foods maybe), but I do think people might start to panic before Christmas. Like you say, warehouses are full, and hopefully more people than before have managed to get some extra in, and I think they'll probably wave stuff through rather than let stocks go too low, but I do think there might be some panic if it looks like No Deal particularly.

I feel anxious going round the supermarket enough at the moment while it's quiet and calm. There seems to be a bit of a crossover between people who don't think covid's a big deal and those who think Brexit will be fine, so I'd rather avoid shops where they might go to panic!

I have booked a supermarket delivery for the 29th Dec. I will be amazed and delighted if everything is available.

I am so angry about the whole thing, but the fact that it happens from Jan 1st is really pissing me off. Like most people we enjoy certain treats at this time of year. My freezer is filling up with fripperies like pavlovas and prawn rings because I want us to have as normal a Christmas as possible. I really need the freezer space for more nutritious food though.

I think within the first week of January we'll start seeing some empty shelves.

Most people are so focussed on Christmas at the moment I think a lot of people will be unprepared for what's coming.

I've got lots of tins, flour and frozen stuff already in, hopefully I can supplement it with whatever fresh is available and make it last a bit longer but I reckon we'll be ok here until end of January if it all goes completely tits up 😬

I think it will happen before that Mustard as he is supposed to make an announcement if it is ND, so then I feel the buying will start.

I get super confused by these threads. If I go out now & stock up on all my usual foods & I already have a spare freezer is that panic buying or prepping?

@MarshmallowManiac yeah you might be right 😬

@naughtyelfs if you do it now it's prepping, if you do it after any announcements/when it starts looking like it's happening it panicking 😂

Ok pass the mustard, will get on it then!

I once knew someone who worked for a fruit importer. She said apples were kept cold storage for 6 months at optimum temperature before going to the supermarkets where they would be mistreated and go off within a couple of weeks. If that's any indication it could take a while to feel the effects fully.

I think there might be panic buying quite soon after the 1st jan. I hope I’m wrong.

I have enough for a few months at a push. I don’t plan of digging into it until things go sideways.

I am going to do a big fresh food shop just before new year. Then see how things go.
But I plan on shopping normally for as long as possible. And use my stash as things go sideways. Fingers crossed it won’t happen and I will just get a few months of not having to buy any food.

I still cannot get my head around the fact that the government would let the supermarkets get bare. I bet they just start letting the lorries through and deal with the consequences later ? Or that not a thing they are allowed to do ?

Lolz!

Lorries have to get back again and will be checked on the French side. This will lead to delays, if lorry drivers actually want to come and risk getting stuck in traffic here.

Lolz?

So funny!

Do you have any more insight than just lolz!

I think if ND is announced in the next week or so then we will start seeing panic buying soon. Hard to tell though as lots of people aren't concerned, so maybe we will only start to see issues in jan.

All I know is, I am stocked.

Seriously considering buying another 5 drawer freezer. I have an American FF but the freezer part is rubbish and a 5 drawer BeKo. If I had another 5 drawers I could use one freezer for fruit, veg, bread, potato products and the other for dairy, fish, meat and home cooked meals. The fridge freezer could be for ready meals, ice, desserts etc.

I can’t figure out if I am being very organised or losing the plot completely.

I was wondering this.
I'm keeping things well and truly topped up.

@NeonIcedcoffee

Lolz!

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

We promise not to laugh at you...

I think January, there's a haulage expert who speaks on James O'Brien occasionally, it's not just our government delaying lorries, the European truck drivers are reluctant to take on jobs going to the UK because they don't want to be stuck for hours and hours either side of the water. I guess that exporters still don't know what they need to do to get products in and out of the UK because the government still haven't done the deal.
I'm hoping that the government sort things out quickly in the new year and by February things will be fine.

I heard that interview. Apparently there is a general shortage of HGV drivers in Europe. They are usually paid per km so won’t want to do the runs that are going to be blighted by delays.

The owners won’t want their trucks stuck for days on end not making any money either. With plenty of other routes available who would want to deliver to Britain.

Early Jan. The next lockdown announcement (post Christmas mixing) will be around then too. I think it will be chaos followed by empty shelves for a few weeks. I've got enough long life stuff in to last a month and will stick up on fresh between Christmas and new year.

I never normally need to shop between Christmas and New Year but I will venture out on the 27/28th and I have a Tesco delivery booked for the 29th.

We've never been preppers, but we've been buying extra stuff, think we'll have a months worth of supplies by Christmas. I'm so angry at how reckless the government are, lots of people are already living hand to mouth. I've never been so anxious about the future of this country.

@Belindabelle me either. I flip between thinking I am mental and what am I doing .... to look at the empty shelves in March.

In a fit of madness last month I got a few chest freezers off of eBay. Both are filled with food. I have the drawers in my normal fridge freezer. I also have a stock of food in the cupboard upstairs.
Sometimes I walk past and think I’m nuts. And then other times I walk past and feel happy and secure.

I hope I’m nuts. And it will all be fine. I really do. I have said it before. I just want it to be the time now. So I can finally find out which side of me was right.
If everything is okay. I’m going to have some very cheap months worth of food.

I am living hand to mouth, with 3 children and am so worried.
I only have a fridge freezer so don’t have a whole lot of space too.

@wonderstuff I listen to him everyday. I laugh with him and bang my head against a brick wall with him. I need to stop listening really as it is making my worry and stress about it all worse.