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FOOD Shortages England

(295 Posts)
Bea65 Wed 25-Aug-21 18:47:57

Having just been to 2/3 named supermarkets..we do seem to have empty shelves...perhaps inner Cities are more affected.. idid post a British Spuds thread as the potatoes were in date but had tocut away most of produce...is this Brexit/shortfall of drivers/pandemic...seems we are seeing fallout in big cities

nanna8 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:21:55

We have this in. Shepparton in country Victoria partly because so many people are having to isolate they are all stocking up and emptying the shelves.The Red Cross is having to assist some who are actually starving. In this day and age it is very worrying and we are not allowed travel and help because we are stuck within our 5 km curfew. 205 th lockdown day.

GillT57 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:23:23

Smileless2012

"Just been to local super market, managed to take some photo's of full shelves" no mention of "dashing from shop to take photographs".

No, but it is noticeable that only photos of filled shelves are submitted. I am able to get most things I want when I go shopping, but this does not stop me noticing gaps in the shelves where previously there were none. Maybe I need to submit photos before I will be believed?

Casdon Thu 26-Aug-21 14:24:08

It’s only 80ish miles to Dover from Essex though GrannyGravy13, has it occurred to yo that when supplies are short it’s cheaper for suppliers to distribute them near the points of entry into the UK?

Smileless2012 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:25:18

How can you possibly interpret a post that says there are no shortages in Thorpe Bay as meaning "all's well with the world"?

GillT57 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:27:48

Thank you HootyMcOwlface, a report from the front line, so to speak, although I await comments about sugared drinks not being good for us anyway.........My pal who works in admin in our local Asda reports the same, sporadic deliveries, trying to make the shelves look as if they haven't got gaps, fending off moaning shoppers.......

Alegrias1 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:29:02

HootyMcOwlface

I work in a local supermarket and we have lots of gaps. Our soft drinks aisle is nearly empty - someone said it’s because of packaging and CO2 shortages at factories. Our food deliveries used to come early in the morning and now don’t come till much later, if at all. We should have had two today and one is now not coming. It might come tomorrow instead, or in place of tomorrow’s? Who knows?! We haven’t a clue. Also they aren’t sending everything we order - yesterday only a third of our order came (over 600 lines were ordered and only around 200 were sent).
Our back up freezers, chillers and stock room shelving are practically empty.
Our bread deliveries used to be every day but these have been reduced to every other day instead now, and these can also just not turn up as happened last week. Result - no bread on our shelves.
I want to ask every customer who moans “did you vote for Brexit?” (Daily Fail territory here) because I’d love to tell them well it’s your fault so suck it up. But I can’t, I’d probably lose my job.

Well I had a post written but it can't compete with this.

No shortages, eh? Never mind, all's well in Thorpe Bay.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:30:30

Casdon

It’s only 80ish miles to Dover from Essex though GrannyGravy13, has it occurred to yo that when supplies are short it’s cheaper for suppliers to distribute them near the points of entry into the UK?

Absolutely, which is another reason the M25 and local roads are full. We also have ports in Essex (Harwich, Felixstowe along with the new enormous container port at Tilbury)

I am sorry if my and others in this area ability to purchase food is annoying posters, but like I said upthread I can only post what I see.

As for only posting full shelves, look closely there is a gap on the milk shelf!

Daisend1 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:32:37

We never starved 39/45 . Certainly not in 2021 based on a few empty shelves

nexus63 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:35:58

there has been a few shortages at my local, but they have been mostly own brand products, all the cartons of fruit juice and a lot of diluting squash, all the shelf filled with water instead and no beans or spaghetti unless you wanted branded items, potatos not great as they are starting to seed when you buy them and a lot less pre-packed deli meat.
i did not panic buy last time, only thing i made sure of was to have 2x6 pack of loo rolls due to bowel cancer....lol

Alegrias1 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:37:21

fareshare.org.uk/what-we-do/hunger-food-waste/

4.7 million ... people live in severely food insecure homes. This means that their food intake is greatly reduced and children regularly experience physical sensations of hunger.

UN figures also show that 5.6% of people aged 15 or over struggle to get enough food. A further 4.5% report that they have been a full day without anything to eat.

There but for the grace of God...its not all about organic avocados.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:55:43

Alegrias1

fareshare.org.uk/what-we-do/hunger-food-waste/

4.7 million ... people live in severely food insecure homes. This means that their food intake is greatly reduced and children regularly experience physical sensations of hunger.

UN figures also show that 5.6% of people aged 15 or over struggle to get enough food. A further 4.5% report that they have been a full day without anything to eat.

There but for the grace of God...its not all about organic avocados.

I agree that in 2021 it’s unthinkable that people in the U.K. are going hungry, but that should be a different thread.

Alegrias1 Thu 26-Aug-21 15:26:12

I posted in response to Daisend1's post at 14:32 saying we won't starve.

I think most people would see the link between a shortage of own brand goods mentioned by nexus63 at 14:35, and the potential impact of that on people who are already in precarious situations.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 15:42:03

Alegrias1

I posted in response to Daisend1's post at 14:32 saying we won't starve.

I think most people would see the link between a shortage of own brand goods mentioned by nexus63 at 14:35, and the potential impact of that on people who are already in precarious situations.

I agree, which is why I posted up thread that stockpiling by those who can afford it is in my opinion disgusting as it affects those who live hand to mouth.

GillT57 Thu 26-Aug-21 16:01:49

Daisend1

We never starved 39/45 . Certainly not in 2021 based on a few empty shelves

I hope you are not suggesting that a return to rationing and the black market is the answer? Nobody on GN, as far as I am aware, is starving, merely commenting on the gaps on supermarket shelves, gaps which were not there before Brexit, and are temporarily exacerbated by Covid19. Covid19 I can forgive, because nobody voted for it, whereas Brexit........

lemongrove Thu 26-Aug-21 16:31:27

Hooty I believe you are in Scotland? Maybe things are worse there as regards some missing supermarket items.

Apart from not getting favourite yoghurts from Ocado today (they substituted others that I like anyway) all else was delivered.

If you can’t get your preferred salad cream or other item, it’s not a big deal.

Only panic buying ( exacerbated by social media and papers)
Will be the cause of any real problems.

GillT57 Thu 26-Aug-21 16:33:35

Bucket of sand for Lemongrove please! Plenty on the beach at Thorpe Bay.

Alegrias1 Thu 26-Aug-21 16:41:04

Och, its always worse in Scotland.

Its carnage up here. wink Fighting each other for the last bannock in the Sparrie. We don't really care for organic avocados. I mean, its fruit and veg, isn't it? We clansfolk don't do fruit and veg.

JaneJudge Thu 26-Aug-21 16:43:46

Alegrias1

I posted in response to Daisend1's post at 14:32 saying we won't starve.

I think most people would see the link between a shortage of own brand goods mentioned by nexus63 at 14:35, and the potential impact of that on people who are already in precarious situations.

It is pointed out regular but people who are ok don't care

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 26-Aug-21 16:47:55

Wot, no neeps’n’tatties Alegrias?

The only shortages I’ve noticed are of UK grown fruit and veg due to shortage of the usual casual workers from Eastern Europe - something locals don’t want to do.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 16:55:27

JaneJudge What gives you the right to say people who are OK don’t care ?

That really is a stupid unfounded sweeping statement!!

JaneJudge Thu 26-Aug-21 16:56:51

oh well, I'm sure you'll get over it smile

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 17:00:03

JaneJudge

oh well, I'm sure you'll get over it smile

How childish, is that your idea of an adult online discussion
?

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 26-Aug-21 17:09:16

It is unfortunate that a lot of people who are ok don’t care. Not everyone obviously but ‘I’m all right Jack’ is alive and well.

JaneJudge Thu 26-Aug-21 17:16:07

There have been lots of threads where people have posted there are shortages of food/drink and there is a group of people who deny these shortages because where they live is ok, or when they go shopping it is fine and they can get what they want. Someone else will post in a minute and say people are too fussy.

Quite a few posters have posted about people on budgets who have to meal plan finding certain items out of stock and unavailable becoming a financial problem.

People have posted regarding certain health conditions and behaviour disorders that might find shortages of certain foods difficult.

Some people who post don't want to acknowledge there are problems for other people.

A lot of people mention the war.

Some people wonder what is going on.

I live rural and luckily have the income to pay for online deliveries and can pay for substitutes and whatever I like I don't think everyone is the same as me. Lots of people who live rural are forced to shop with what is available within their area and what funds they have available. So even if I am childish, I hope it is with the right intentions.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 26-Aug-21 17:16:33

Germanshepherdsmum

It is unfortunate that a lot of people who are ok don’t care. Not everyone obviously but ‘I’m all right Jack’ is alive and well.

There are some I’m alright Jacks but I do think that most people care for others in society and do what they can in their local areas.

The Pandemic brought out the best in folks in our area and reading GN in many others also.