Coronavirus stockpiling

Last week, after listening to the ongoing updates about coronavirus, we decided to check our supplies and restock. No one knows what will happen in the coming days and months but one thing is certain, I don't want to go out into the community to get supplies if I don't have to, virus or no virus. So we checked our food stockpile and made a list of the medications and supplements we needed from the chemist.  It's all packed away in cupboards now and I feel secure knowing we can easily look after ourselves without having to go to the supermarket every week.

It's unusual for journalists to write about their own reactions to a current topic but here it is from The Guardian this week: It just seems sensible, the Australians stockpiling for the coronavirus

We've stockpiled groceries for the last couple of decades. We're not preppers in that we see a crisis around every corner or a particular catastrophic scenario in the future, however, in the past, it's saved us a lot of time and money. Now there is another reason to shop from our kitchen cupboard rather than the shop: the coronavirus. If the virus is worse than predicted or if the government advice tells us to stay at home during certain times, we won't have to rush out to stock up.

If you're already stockpiling for whatever reason, this is just a reminder to check your stockpile in the next couple of days and shop for what you need to cover you and your family for the period of time you think you need.  I want my stockpile to feed us for at least three months and it's at that level now.

I'm guessing we have enough meat in the freezer for a month, maybe 6 weeks, we have frozen and tinned fish too. We have plenty of eggs from the backyard as well as a variety of beans, lentils, chickpeas and pulses, all of which provide protein in a variety of delicious ways. I have plenty of bread flour so I'll continue to bake bread and we have a carton of one-litre lactose-free milk, A2 milk in the freezer and a couple of bags of milk powder. The things we'll go out for, possibly fortnightly, are fruit and vegetables but we'll get them from a market stall rather than the supermarket where there'll be many more people. I have frozen vegetables in the freezer too.

If you don't have a stockpile, there is still time to start a small one to get you through the current crisis.  Work out what food you enjoy that can be frozen or stored in a cupboard at home. If it's something dried or canned that you usually don't buy, make sure you know how to cook it.  Vegetarian and vegan sites have hundreds of recipes for beans, pulses, rice etc.

It does make sense to have extra food and medications at home to cover you if you need them.  Worst case scenario, the virus will run through the community during winter and you'll have enough food at home to feed everyone without to go out. Best case scenario, the virus is a fizzer and you'll have a cupboard full of food and you won't have to shop for groceries for a couple of months.  Win/win.