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?

Gosh it's so scary isn't it. We live month to month with very little wiggle room for extra things in the food shop. I keep buying an extra packet of pasta here and there but the thought of not being able to get affordable food, or even food at all is scary.

@Fattoushka I really feel for you. I donate regularly to my local food bank and will continue to do so for as long as I can. I really hope like @Paranoidmarvin, that it will all be fine and I won’t need my supplies.

Hi all, I'm also bricking it about this and - excellent timing! - have DS2 arriving in early Jan...

We've got a small fridge freezer, freezer drawers are full of xmas stuff so haven't been able to meal prep for post-partum like I did with summer-born DS1. No space for a second freezer unless I run an extension lead into the shed...

Realistically, how can I prep for this? We have a 5kg bag of tilda, plenty of lentils, spices and coconut milk - so we are prepped for several weeks of curries! I've got a reasonable (not stockpile) amount of pasta and sauces. Some tinned fish, a few of sweetcorn, etc.

Assuming everywhere is open on 27th, can I fill the by-then-empty (small) freezer with spinach and peas and fish fingers for the toddler, and buy a lot of fruit and veg, and cross my fingers?

Basically if anyone has a helpful shopping list of long-ish life things that I can usefully prep by stocking up on then any advice would be really welcome. Thanks!

This is my first time on the preppers section. It appears that I have found my tribe.

I also think that there are more of us out there as I've noticed things like part baked rolls and tinned fruit seem to be in short supply.

I'm prepared to not go out in January at all.

Food in, do dry Jan anyway so I have a stash of grown up soft drinks, books and board games. Along with activity books for the kids.

Thanks @Belindabelle I’m trying to just get in little bits of extra food where I can, luckily I have lots of cupboard space so am trying to pick up extra tins here and there.

@WoolyMammoth55 I too would like some advice on what’s best to buy....The only contribution I have is orange juice as I know oranges tend to come from Spain

At what point do we think things will kick off? Not everyone is / can prep, a lot of people only have a few day's food in.

It's after it kicks off that the government will be forced to act. No food on the shelves will cause riots after a few days, I would think. Which is why we're prepared to hunker down.

I think the supermarkets have extra stocks in, Waitrose cafe was absolutely full of boxes of food today. Feels like could be a perfect storm, covid cases rising again, people already paranoid about the pandemic and restrictions, low trust in the government, then food shortages..
I think if things aren't starting to run smoothly by the end of January it might get unpleasant. During March people emptied the shelves and their weren't supply chain issues.

I think there is a thread on the Brexit topic that has a good list of what to buy but I would just concentrate on the food and supplies that you regularly use.

Do you have paracetamol and infant medication in. Get a few extra toilet roll as that always seems to sell out.

Think of what you normally eat for breakfast lunch and dinner and buy extra if you can. Carbs like pasta, noodles, rice, cereal, lentils, oats. Protein from canned meat and fish. Butter and cheese can be frozen (grate the cheese first). Maybe some uht or powdered milk.

Fresh fruit and veg could be a problem. I prefer frozen to tinned but tins are easier to store.

@wonderstuff

Yes, I'll get a couple of weeks more to get us to mid Feb ish.

I want us to be able to avoid going out, if there is any unpleasantness.

I have bought quite a few tins of fruit for crumbles. I was worried about getting fruit.
I have lots of porridge, for breakfast or even an evening snack done in the micro. Selection of tinned veg, tinned meat, rice puddings, freezer is full, but lots of that is for Christmas. When it is taken out I will fill it with mince and chicken and more veg. Have a treat box too. I am planning on getting a big shop of fresh and frozen about 28/29th of December.
I hope I don’t need it. I have to get long life milk as I only have a small stock of it.

I don’t normally buy it but I noticed tins of custard and rice pudding were fairly cheap. Could be good for a cold miserable January. Sainsbury’s stock a brand called Hubbard that are really cheap for tinned tomatoes and beans. Also things like tomato and bbq sauce, mayonnaise etc.

Diana
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/3649892-the-brexit-cupboard-share-your-tips

@WoolyMammoth55
Yes, I’m sure there will still be fish fingers/peas etc you can stock up on after Christmas. Something else to check is your local small shop. While they’re a bit more expensive (though if they’re big enough, they do have brands that are close to supermarket prices) last time there was a lockdown, they stayed surprisingly well-stocked.

@Fattoushka
Please try not to worry. I do think if things get bad, the government will start just waving things through to get stocks up until things can be sorted.
Which isn’t a great thing, but I’d imagine they’ll do anything to avoid riots/upset that will impact future votes.

@Paranoidmarvin

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 ?

The government have every intention of letting trucks through without checking them. It's effectively a smugglers charter, anything goes. Guns, drugs, chemical nasties, knock off alcohol - you will be able to bring in whatever you like if you find a haulier waiting to sit in the queues to get back to the EU afterwards.

Judging by how they've handled this whole year I think 2021 will be another mess of a year for many.

When I think about this, we have spent almost a year locked in our houses, lives on hold, world economies dropped off a cliff, not seeing each other, wearing masks, and the endless list goes on, to prevent vulnerable people catching a virus, which they are now going to inject into these same people we were told to protect!

When I think about that and I see the amount of people who have lost their businesses, turned to alcoholism and drugs, attempted or have committed suicide, and now they are going to give the virus to these vulnerable people, my mind boggles!

Could they mess up brexit? Yes, and if this pandemic is anything to go by, then it could be a huge mess!

I don't think shops will run out of food immediately but I think they will cut down the amount of products they are selling, and even these could be limited. We have already seen this in part this year.

I think the problem that could come is when government 'assistance' stops and prices rise and the amount of products is limited therefore people who have less money will suffer more if this happens.

That’s a good point that there is the option for the government to suspend checks.

Doesn’t work on the other side though, presumably France will be stopping lorries on their way to us to ensure tariffs are paid? If that’s not the case do correct me.

@WoolyMammoth55 How about buying extra fresh vegetables before Christmas, some will keep hung up in net bags in the shed. Once your freezer is empty you can blanch or batch cook and freeze. This is what I intend to do.

Long life stuff: milk powder and or long life milk.
Crackers
Cous cous
Dried fruits
Tinned tomatoes and or passata
Cheese for the fridge. Can be grated and put in the freezer after Christmas.
Tins of beans baked,kidney,etc
Chickpeas good for curries.
Packets of couscous or noodles or soup or rice. Either just add boiling water or bung in microwave. In case of illness or babies...
Squash to drink.

Basics for baby including nappies in a couple of sizes. Baby clothes for a couple of size changes
Baby toiletries
Bottles etc just in case.

Buy treats. Lots of treats. These were really important in lockdown.

If you can't get bread, what will you eat instead? Bread mix, flour, crackers, pizza bases, cereals, wraps,part baked bread, couscous, rice, pasta, noodles?

@WoolyMammoth55

You say your freezer is full of Christmas stuff, when are you using it?
When can you move some of it into the fridge or garage maybe (eg turkey).
You might find you can refill it with a supermarket order on 23rd or 27th. Have a look at the space you’ll have and work out what you’d be stuck without and what freezes nicely and compactly.

Try and buy tins where you can (eg sweet corn and tinned fruit rather than frozen).

@Imsayingnothing they aren't going to inject anyone with the virus, the Pfizer vaccine contains a genetic code that prompts the body to make an antibody and the Oxford contains a section of a different virus that isn't active that again prompts the body to generate an antibody response.

Don't forget non food stuff:

• cars/boilers serviced in December if due soon, parts may be difficult to get early 2021
• deodorant/toiletries
• rechargeable and disposable batteries in case of power cuts. Also torch
• kids shoes in next couple of sizes up
• cleaning supplies like laundry powder, dishwasher tablets
• tea/coffee
• (at least) one extra of every non-perishable food item you currently have

Welcome Diana.

Thank you Blackeyedsusan, I need to get mor3 couscous. We have the plain stuff but for speedy meals like to have a selection of different flavour packs ready to go.

Oh, and still cannot get mandarins in juice, so who is hoarding them all, come on, own up 😂

Thanks so much all for the advice - yikes it's really terrifying!!!

So we're in the countryside and our experience in lockdown was that hyper-local supply chains from farms and dairies were operating fairly normally - as @duffeldaisy said, bit pricier but not too bad in the scheme of things... So I think (hope!) that come what may, we'll be ok to walk to the local shops for veggies, milk and yoghurt.

I've got a list now of toiletries and canned goods that I'll try to stock up on ASAP, including baby stuff... And then I can do a freezer foods and top-up sweep on 27th/28th, with a bit of luck!

I really appreciate the advice about keeping the car in mind too, very important for us since the hospital is a 45 minute drive away!

Oh gods...

Lakeland is still selling Easiyo yoghurt makers and the powder mix that goes with them. It is a good way to store a dairy source of protein for a long time - ours are good for another year. We like the greek style yoghurt mixes the best - the coconut mixes are more like not-frozen ice cream. Delicious.