We all got busy! 
Iām really glad we have this thread. It meant that we weathered a few weeks with minimal and erratic grocery options, while there were low supplies and we needed to find alternate sources. We didnāt feel OK, but we were.
I need to make a list of what we need to restock, but I think we did well in how much we were keeping on hand. My biggest note is that I need more large plastic tubs for storing dry goods, and that we might need more plain flour and oats than I thought.
A Humble Update From the Unprepared
When COVID came, I was not prepared. Embarrassing, considering Iām an advocate for preparation and common sense.
It happened because I was supposed to depart on my ship on 12-Jan, then stay gone until 11-May, when I would immediately make haste to move from Maine to Maryland. I ate down my stores. The grocery panic hit the NE on 15-March, and my ship was ordered back to the pier on 17-March. I was two days late, and I regret those two days. Finding staples has been a scramble. Weeks to find rice, though I had luck with lentils and farrow. Dried beans are no where to be found. I havenāt seen toilet paper in 7 weeks.
Before COVID, I considered stocking buckets and buckets of Mountain Home to be something crazy preppers did. Lesson learned. A nomadic lifestyle like mine needs a fall back position. Personally, I donāt see the supply lines as being okay, and I think it might get worse as we start to miss harvests.
Iām very concerned about the fall. Sorry it hit at the worst time for you.
Replying to myself, but not sure Mountain Home is a solution to a real supply chain event. Itās just too short term. If we miss a big portion of the wheat, corn, or soybean harvest, weāre looking at a year of hurt.
I was thinking about this last night, the things I did, and whether they were useful (thus far) or not. Mostly I pre-bought items, many which are still not open (Iām looking at you, 10lb of rice and 10kg of flour). The dried lentils are reassuring, but probably will end up not being needed. I do have a sense that perhaps I should stock up more on a couple of other things that Iām three-quarters through, like salt, baking soda, baking powder,
The smartest panic purchasing I did was the 20lb bag of walnuts that I got when the shelves were almost completely bare (Mar 16 for us). I donāt understand why it was still there when basically everything else was wiped out. We also got some pork shoulder and butternut squash for homemade freezer meals which have been very helpful.
And honestly, that sock yarn I bought because I was going to be stuck at home has been very helpful for my mental well-being. Iām on pair 4, and using this yarn instead of worrying Iām āwasting good yarnā is meaningful.
Finally, not from panic buying, but that large box of tomatoes that I slow roasted and froze last fall is still getting us through.
I know this is a reply to your self, but Iām chiming in to say I agree. Itās already too late to use Mountain Home for long term food security.
In fact, despite my original post, I donāt think anything above a 15-30 day supply of Mountain Home is a practical thing. Itās too bulky, too immovable, and would be a constant money drain as stock needed to be rotated.
Even then, I think a month supply is only important for people who leave home for long periods, or move frequently - anyone who needs to leave the cupboards bare at regular intervals. I donāt think Mountain Home is necessary for someone who has a more stability life. Itās only a backstop, which the more chaotic people can fall back on while re-establishing a pantry as best then can.
Iām hoping, given enough patience, I can snag 25# of beans, rice, and oats. Those will remain my baseline, and will motherfucking move with me. Iāve learned my lesson.
If I were regularly being moved about by the military, Iād feel different.y about Mountain home, but your big bags are likely a cheaper solution that will last longer. Add some oil or shortening/lard, and maybe some salt.
Shit, I hadnāt even considered that.
We did a big grocery shop in mid April and I was hoping we could avoid going out until May, partly as a challenge. Mr. Meer mentioned yesterday that he wants to go to the store soon and some of the stuff he has on the list we havenāt run out of yet (a couple loaves of bread, two gallons of milk that havenāt been opened yet, flour) and in normal times wouldnāt even make it on the list. Now Iām thankful that I didnāt follow through on my original plan of getting rid of the extra fridge we have out in the garage because it helps a lot with having extra supplies on hand.
This is definitely affecting how I consider shelter in place. Before shelter in place still meant less than a week before going back to business as usual. Weāre currently starting week seven of shelter in place with no end in sight (despite Georgia reopening some things and Florida giving serious thought to reopening, not sure what other states are up to).
Iāve looked up Mountain Home but canāt find anything that looks right - is it a bucket of dry food supplies??
Yes, and itās house, not home, sorry. And all sold out of course.
https://www.mountainhouse.com/
Ah cool, so ration packs basically.
I wonder if the concerns re food supply are valid for Aus. Probably I should look into that.
The farming groups I follow on Facebook and Instagram reckon weāre fine. I think this is true for farming that relies more on machinery and Australian workers, like our grains and meat. Fruit and veg has me a little concerned, as those are typically staffed by overseas backpackers. I could be totally wrong about any of those categories, of course.
In Canada, many of our major fruit/veg seasons rely on skilled labour coming up from more southern regions. With a 14 day quarantine requirement, and then living in close quarters, itās going to be complicated. I know that they were already concerned about the early asparagus harvest.
I donāt know how much they need that labour to get the plants/seeds into the ground. If it is mostly harvests, I think we have several more weeks to figure it out.
I know several meat processing places are having outbreaks, and again, disproportionately impacting newcomers and lower income.
So weāll continue to run a higher proportion of backups in the pantry (e.g. buying the next rice when we open this one, instead of waiting until 2 weeks before we need it.)
Here we go.
I saw this yesterday and am really worried about it.
My emergency prep has always focused on my bugout bags ā which makes sense, given that the usual likely emergencies in my area are wildfire, earthquake, or tsunami, all of which tend to involve evacuation. However, this has made it clear that I needed to bone up on my shelter-in-place preparations! and I have. I started buying slighly larger quantities of shelf-stable and frozen goods in February, and itās done us quite well ā weāve just been restocking partially used supplies instead of running out, and we never ran so low on anything that we had to Make Do. Iām still generally anxious about food supply chains, but thatās broader concerns for future me, not specific concerns for current me (if that makes sense).
@rural My local garden supply probably still has some seed packets, and I have a few unopened, if old, ones, including some lima beans. I wanted to put in an order with them anyways for jasmine; you have any seed requests? Iāll happily ship them on to you.
Message coming at you, thanks!
Iām really struggling with stocking up on large quantities as a hedge against shortages later, vs. the need to slash my grocery budget as much as possible due to Boyfriendās layoff and my pay cut.
I think overspending is actually causing me less anxiety than bare shelves though, so I am probably just going to have to ignore the credit card balance creeping up.
But Iām also struggling with, how much is enough? Particularly living in an apartment with limited storage space. And I donāt want to be the asshole who panic buys. I donāt have any answers to this.
The time for caring if other people think youāre an asshole is over. Do what works for you, the rest of them be damned.
Butā¦ isnāt that why we have the shortages in the first place? Because back when all this started, people filled up their gigantic SUVs with huge things of TP and cleaners and hand sanitizer and such from Costco and there wasnāt enough for the rest of us?
I really think that no, thatās largely not it. People need more tp got home when theyāre home all the time, and just-in-time delivery to store is predicated on the old model, as is manufacturing (what manufacturing isnāt shut down).