Brexit stockpiling: ‘It caused arguments – until my husband realised our friends are all doing it too’ ‘I’m stockpiling because any faith I had in the Government has gone. The mixed messages they are giving is causing anxiety and fear’

We are 57 days away from Brexit, but what kind of Brexit that will be remains unclear. This uncertainty has lead to concerns about access to food and medicines, despite Government reassurances it is preparing for potential shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

A growing number of people across the country are reacting to this uncertainty by stockpiling.

The parenting network Mumsnet has spoken to parents about stockpiling ahead of Brexit. In a survey of 1011 women, 18 per cent said they have bought extra supplies of food, while 11 per cent reported purchasing extra over-the-counter medicines. Eight per cent said they are building up extra supplies of prescription drugs.

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i spoke to one Mumsnet user about what she is stockpiling and why.

‘I’ve been stockpiling since August’

I live in the North West with my husband and four-year-old son. I’ve been slowly stockpiling since August last year by buying extra during shops and using the shortest-dated food first as I go along.

I’m worried about shortages post-Brexit, the cost of food after Brexit, and about people panicking shortly before a no-deal situation.

My biggest concerns are about having access to fresh essentials such as milk, bread and fresh meat. These are particularly important to me because my son is a fussy eater, but bread and milk are the two things he will always eat. I have some substitutes for these such as yeast, flour and UHT milk.

‘I also have fresh vegetables which will be out of season in the freezer and I’m making sure the freezer is fully stocked with small portions of meat and keeping that topped up as I use it’

I also have lots of tinned food including baked beans, tomatoes, soup, vegetables, hot dogs and meatballs. I have premade cheese sauce in jars and some long-life cured meat.

I’m keeping fresh vegetables which will be out of season in the freezer and I’m making sure it is fully stocked with small portions of meat. I also have large bags of rice and pasta.

‘We are making lifestyle changes to prepare’

We’ve been trying to make some minor lifestyle changes to prepare, which are good for us anyway and will make any shock less difficult to deal with. We’ve cut down on how much meat we eat and are trying to replace it with veg where we can. We’ve been trying to get our son to expand the types of food he eats, but this is a slow process and is proving difficult.

In addition to food, we also have extra toilet roll and bathroom essentials like toothpaste and shampoos, and extra household essentials such as food bags, bin bags and washing up products.

We are fortunate enough that none of us need prescription medicines.

‘It caused arguments – until my husband realised all our friends were doing it’

Going forward, I’ll be making sure we have more short-dated things in the house like cheese and margarine than we would normally have.

I don’t think this is particularly ‘out there’. We are somewhat restricted by how much space we have to store items anyway. But it caused arguments between me and my husband until the subject came up with his friends and everyone else in our social circle confessed they are also doing something to prepare.

‘Our friends are trying to give themselves a bit of a cushion in case of problems they feel are inevitable because of the Government’s shortsightedness and lack of planning’

He is now taking it much more seriously and his concern is growing. He had believed the Government would never let something like this happen, but now he is also losing trust.

It’s not necessarily about planning for the apocalypse – though some are – but our friends are trying to give themselves a bit of a cushion in case of problems they feel are inevitable because of the Government’s shortsightedness and lack of planning.

We have one close friend who is taking things to much greater extremes, such as hiring a freezer and filling it with food in order to have months worth of supply. I don’t see the logic in this. As much as it would be nice to have plenty of frozen pizza in the house, its not a practical option and not essential.

‘My faith in the Government has gone’

Our view is that if nothing happens in the end, we haven’t actually lost anything. It’s about softening the shock rather than being immune to it. It also means our demand for groceries will be lower in the event of supply chain issues, so there will be more for available for others.

It’s a luxury and really more of a comfort blanket rather than anything more significant. We are aware it’s not an option available to everyone.

‘One of the reasons I don’t want to talk about this publicly is because of how it’s being framed as something that only crazy people or those who don’t believe in Brexit do’

One of the reasons I’m stockpiling is because any faith or trust I had in the Government has gone. The mixed messages they are giving to businesses and to the public are causing huge anxiety and fear. People are being laughed at or ridiculed in the press for this concern. It’s not right. I don’t want to talk about this publicly because of how it’s being framed as something that only crazy people or those who don’t believe in Brexit do.

Psychologically, there isn’t anything else that I can do to reassure myself but stockpile. It represents a feeling of losing control of our lives and feeling the Government has lost its mind – and any interest in the public. I don’t know how some people are coping with the stress. It keeps me awake at night.