Stock cupboards do you stock up?

I have a good stock cupboard of basics, and always have a spare of everything else such as olive oil, mayonnaise, pickle etc. Plenty of loo rolls too, not panic buying, not clearing shelves and depriving others, just buying a 9 pack rather than a 4 and thus building up a small stock. Oh, and coffee, always have a few packets of my ground coffee in the larder.

I was prepared for a 10 day isolation of it was necessary. However, when the time came last November, I found I was too ill to eat for 5 days anyway.

When I moved to this house ten years ago, I decided not to have a large store of tinned food as I preferred to buy fresh food every few days. As I only have a small freezer, I don’t have room to store frozen stuff, only have room for half open packs of veg, ice cream or the odd left over casserole.

Then my mobility became an issue so restarted weekly online deliveries but still only buying what I needed for the week ahead - I plan my meals each week once I know what I am doing ie if eating out or working late. I never have a problem spending the minimum limit even though I live on my own, must be all the gin!

So when the pandemic hit I was stuffed, no supply of tinned food like tomatoes, beans, soup biscuits, minimum amounts of baking ingredients and no toilet rolls! After a few anxious weeks of going round different supermarkets, I was able to get delivery slots again, the shortages lessened and so I began to build up a store cupboard again. Like others living alone, I wanted to have enough in case I caught Covid or had to self isolate.

Now my cupboards are bulging, I’ve had to move my stash of empty jars to the garage and I’ve got a secret stash of 48 toilet rolls in a wardrobe! To be down to my last toilet roll with none in the shops was a nightmare! Never again! I’ve just had a delivery this morning mainly with Christmas things - hopefully my sister from the US will still get here next Wednesday so I’ll be feeding her and also my other siblings when they visit. I struggled to get everything in the kitchen cupboards though and most of the alcohol and soft drinks are going in the garage.

I will run down my stash in the New Year but not too far, I still want to have enough basics just in case.

I should add that I appreciate having the funds to buy in bulk, I could not afford to do that when the children were young and I was not working. I don’t have a monthly budget, my pensions were spread around so I was advised to do drawdown rather than buy annuities for a couple of them. This means in the new year when my credit card needs paying off, I just withdraw a lump sum from one of my bonds. My monthly income barely covers the direct debits and basic shopping but I’m now used to having to think ahead and withdraw money ready for big bills.

For people on a low income, keeping a stock of food might not be an option, I am mindful of that and in my delivery today, there were a number of items for the local food bank which I will drop off this afternoon.

I do, just can’t help myself. We used to have a big family before they all left and married and old habits die hard I’m afraid.When we had to isolate I had no worries that we could last a fortnight on what we had in. In a way it was good because I checked all the use by dates and sorted the pantry out.

I have stocked up within my budget all my adult life, just as my mother did. Our first house when i married was in Wells and it was quite common in winter for the road over the hills to be blocked and the food delivery lorries not to be able to get through for a day or so. Power loss was also common due to the overhead cables and there was no gas when we first moved there. Everybody I knew kept in candles and camping gaz cookers and a stock of tinned and packaged food as well as toilet roll and so on. @Elegran is right. Its not the people who keep a stock in who cause shortages, its the people who could do it and don't, then rush to the shops and panic buy. They are the ones who deprive people who can't afford, or don't have the space for an emergency stock.

I have a pack of what DH calls "Your Brexit toilet rolls" ?

A few dried goods and tins and lots of home-grown fruit and veg in the freezer, ok as long as the electricity doesn't go off.

Think I could survive for about a month by ekeing out my current cupboard stock of tins and packets. Present system is to put an item on shopping list whenever the current one is used or opened. I would seriously miss fresh fruit on a daily basis.

My husband likes to keep a huge stock of baked beans in which our kids think is hysterical. We live a 5 minute walk from a supermarket but he can’t help himself. I already feel sick of eating them and that’s just looking at the stack.

My dad always said if you got a cupboard full of tins you can always prepare for a bad week. And I’ve stuck to it all my life I’ve always had a cupboard full. Long before covid and if I’m shopping and see a deal on tins I buy if I need or not. My dad always said if you got a sack of spuds you always got a meal.

I always have stocked up but during covid I bought lots of rice,pasta,baking supplies etc. I have never used any of them and they are going out of date. My cooking style has changed.
I also have lots of uncle Ben, Lloyd Grossman sauces which I never eat either. Must visit the food bank.

I've always tried to keep a stock of essentials in because there are times when you're ill and you don't feel like going out shopping or extreme weather can make travelling dangerous etc .. We live in the country and while we have a couple of small shops in the village if the weather is bad deliveries won't get through to them so it pays to be prepared. Only one supermarket delivers here and it's hard trying to secure a slot so we stock up as much as possible when we do get one,but again if the weather was too bad it would be cancelled anyway.

Always keep plenty of tinned stuff and UHT milk as well as a full freezer; other than bread we could manage several weeks without going out if needed

I stocked up a bit at the beginning (March 2020) in the cupboard and the freezer. When my husband died in February there was a lot of stuff I didn't particularly like and some out of date tins in the back of the cupboard. The old stuff went in the bin and the stuff I didn't like was given to a food bank. I now have about 1 months supply of stuff in cupboard or freezer with the exception of Milk. Which although I have frozen before does not defrost quite as well as most other things.

I do freeze bread as I find it keeps well, at least the plastic bag type, not the fresh.

DH has fitted some shelves in a nook off the utility - we have the spare spares in there - not enough for WW3 but would help if supplies got tricky. We call it the cellar.

MaggsMcG

I stocked up a bit at the beginning (March 2020) in the cupboard and the freezer. When my husband died in February there was a lot of stuff I didn't particularly like and some out of date tins in the back of the cupboard. The old stuff went in the bin and the stuff I didn't like was given to a food bank. I now have about 1 months supply of stuff in cupboard or freezer with the exception of Milk. Which although I have frozen before does not defrost quite as well as most other things.

If you like whole milk, that freezes much better than semi skimmed or skimmed

Have always had a cupboard full of tinned food which gets replaced when used plus pasta and rice. My mother did this and I guess I do the same.

No, I am within walking distance to the village shop, supermarkets are open 24hrs, food can be delivered within 20 mins if I really couldn’t get out.

I ignore best before dates on things like rice and pasta. I’ve got an awful lot of flour that I stocked up on last year, though. I did read that you can store it in the freezer but I don’t have room at the moment. I am going to do that in future, though.

No... I never have reserves of anything. I use whatever is on my fridge or freezer and limited tins and dry foods. I live on a narrow boat...I don't have space but never would panic buy anyway. I am very much against that as it depletes supermarket shelves when people do that

It’s one thing to have a few extra tins in the cupboard but I think people who are stock piling are selfish not leaving anything for others
I’m sure we all remember the picture of a nurse finishing her extra long shift and the shelves in the shop were stripped bare there was nothing left for her to buy

Pepper59

You can get a lot of stuff on Prescription, not luxury stuff, but bread and flour etc. Did you know that?

The last time I went out was March 2020 and have relied on on line deliveries.
I have always kept a store cupboard and could last a month without topping up but I would miss fresh veg and salad stuff. Most people have stocks of canned tomatoes but I cannot have them as they are bad for arthritis.
So different to the late 1940s and early 1950s when one went out every day to queue up to see what was available that day. We didn’t call it going shopping but going for the rations.
In the 1960s and 1970s lived many miles from shops so had to keep a store cupboard. Full of jars of home made fruit, jam pickles etc. As well as a full freezer.

I only stock up on things that I particularly like and can only find in a specific store.