Food Shortages

[Sue]

I was in Lidl first thing. Every shelf crammed with produce.

My local Turkish shops are the same. But then last time, they still had pasta/chickpeas/veg when the supermarkets had run out (and some things are actually cheaper than the supermarket and the fruit and veg are always better).

 

[cyberfairy]

Email from the kids' school explaining that the dinner menus may change at short notice due to the impact of the HGV driver shortage on the catering company.

The school I work at in Lancashire has had huge issues with food deliveries. Last Monday's lunch was 'meatball curry', a hastily made concoction with whatever could be found, more akin to stoned/drunk food foraging at midnight than a primary school lunch. Today instead of fish and chips or pizza was 'baked potato.' It has been pasta galore otherwise and I reckon 'gruel' by next Tuesday!

 

[Sue]

The school I work at in Lancashire has had huge issues with food deliveries. Last Monday's lunch was 'meatball curry', a hastily made concoction with whatever could be found, more akin to stoned/drunk food foraging at midnight than a primary school lunch. Today instead of fish and chips or pizza was 'baked potato.' It has been pasta galore otherwise and I reckon 'gruel' by next Tuesday!

Tbf 'meatball curry' sounds very much like my experience of primary school lunch. Well if it was yellowy green and had bits of apple and raisins in it anyway.

 

[hegley]

Mrs Q has texted me to tell me that the BP on the way to school has run out of petrol and she had to panic buy at Sainsburys instead

Our local garage (BP) is out of petrol this morning - says due to driver shortage.

 

[cyberfairy]

Tbf 'meatball curry' sounds very much like my experience of primary school lunch. Well if it was yellowy green and had bits of apple and raisins in it anyway.

Food normally pretty good at my school apart from the sugar-less puddings. One good thing about Covid is we are not allowed the 'salad bar' anymore which consisted of year six kids dolloping diced cucumber and plain pasta onto plates covered in roast gravy. Feel for the parents who have paid 2.10 for a decent hot dinner (school in quite impoverished area) and kids now getting a cheese sandwich, for some of the kids on free school meals, lunch is their only hot meal of day and also the children with autism are struggling with late meal changes.

 

[bimble]

The school I work at in Lancashire has had huge issues with food deliveries. Last Monday's lunch was 'meatball curry', a hastily made concoction with whatever could be found, more akin to stoned/drunk food foraging at midnight than a primary school lunch. Today instead of fish and chips or pizza was 'baked potato.' It has been pasta galore otherwise and I reckon 'gruel' by next Tuesday!

It’s fine for me to just eat whatever really and adapt if stuff I wanted isn’t in stock, am not much of a meal planner anyway but places like schools hospitals care homes different story, that’s grim.

 

[cyberfairy]

It’s fine for me to just eat whatever really and adapt if stuff I wanted isn’t in stock, am not much of a meal planner anyway but places like schools hospitals care homes different story.

Yeah, must be a nightmare especially for people with restricted diets. Kids at my school not eaten meat since the meatball curry last Monday- I'm a veggie but eat healthy stuff at home, they are getting quorn pasta for main meal of day which nutritionally is not all that great.

 

[Elpenor]

My experience of lockdown no 1 is that the German discounters have shorter supply chains and are more nimble at getting stuff out.

 

[bimble]

For an exciting adventure I went to a Sainsbury’s today, which I never do (further away) and it was loads better than either of the supermarkets I use normally, every single thing on my list I found, incl fresh stuff, which hasn’t happened for ages. To some extent the whole thing must be still pretty patchy & localised, maybe down to individual drivers routes etc.

 

[TopCat]

My experience of lockdown no 1 is that the German discounters have shorter supply chains and are more nimble at getting stuff out.

Much smaller stock range too. Two types of orange juice in Lidl has been the standard rather than nine at Sainsbury’s.

 

[MickiQ]

I filled my car up last weekend just before panic buying became fashionable, unusual for me to be a trendsetter (more of a follower) It will go 700+ miles on a full tank and I've done < 50 so far. At least this WFH jag has cut down on my fuel consumption massively. Mrs Q will get 2 or 3 weeks out of a full tank before she has to fill up again, if she struggles to find some she will just start using mine

 

[Elpenor]

Much smaller stock range too. Two types of orange juice in Lidl has been the standard rather than nine at Sainsbury’s.

exactly, more compact stores meant I could be in and out in 15 minutes which was ideal given Covid (and ideal anytime tbh)

 

[pinkmonkey]

I think it depends on all sorts of things, we’ve travelled through London, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and we’re currently in Warwickshire heading North. Most stores I’ve seen very few problems, but I went in a couple of Co Ops in small villages and there were gaps in the produce sections. The worst stores for empty shelves? I went in a Savers (hard discounting toiletries & beauty store), in Banbury last week, I’d say 2/3 of the shelves were empty. I bet they don’t pay their drivers much or are shit to work for or both.

 

[TopCat]

Some places force drivers to wait before unloading. Plus generally make life hard.

 

[brogdale]

Looks as though the TopCat experience of shopping still, just applies to the majority of those asked by the ONS, but I suspect the numbers will worsen markedly if the fuel crisis compromises supply chain movement:

 

[xenon]

Here's my Boring shopping update.

Unusual queues at local petrol stations, (according to cab driver.)

Walked back, stopped in Tesco Express. No clementines / satsumas. Had oranges. No meal deals as not had their delivery of them yet. circa 11:30.

 

[TopCat]

No blue drum in the newsagent. There never is but now I know why.

 

[xenon]

And dam it I forgot to get cheese.

 

[TopCat]

The whole just in time model doesn’t work very well now perhaps.

 

[Supine]

Some places force drivers to wait before unloading. Plus generally make life hard.

You obviously don’t know the half of it. Big chains generally have booked slots for deliveries and if you miss them sometimes you need to sleep in the cab until the next day or return to depot. Just in time delivery joy!

Boots have a huge manual you need to read and follow if your delivering into their warehouse system. Hundreds of rules!

 

[bimble]

Looks as though the TopCat experience of shopping still, just applies to the majority of those asked by the ONS, but I suspect the numbers will worsen markedly if the fuel crisis compromises supply chain movement:

Interesting.
Kind of opposite results here:

Have you personally noticed or experienced any food shortages in your local shop or supermarket in the last few weeks? | Daily Question

Have you personally noticed or experienced any food shortages in your local shop or supermarket in the last few weeks?

yougov.co.uk

 

[TopCat]

You obviously don’t know the half of it. Big chains generally have booked slots for deliveries and if you miss them sometimes you need to sleep in the cab until the next day or return to depot. Just in time delivery joy!

Boots have a huge manual you need to read and follow if your delivering into their warehouse system. Hundreds of rules!

Some places have teams to unload whilst the driver has a rest break and food.

I wonder which will be suffering shortages?

 

[Supine]

Some places have teams to unload whilst the driver has a rest break and food.

I wonder which will be suffering shortages?

In your world there are no shortages remember

 

[bimble]

I still don’t get the petrol thing, how just in the last days a load of drivers have gone from petrol deliveries to Waitrose deliveries or something idk.

 

[TopCat]

I still don’t get the petrol thing, how just in the last days a load of drivers have gone from petrol deliveries to Waitrose deliveries or something idk.

It’s just panic. Most drive about with a tenners worth of fuel in the tank. Now they are filling up and have seventy quid in the tank thus emptying the garage tanks.

 

[bimble]

It’s just panic. Most drive about with a tenners worth of fuel in the tank. Now they are filling up and have seventy quid in the tank thus emptying the garage tanks.

It’s not just panic, it’s also esso and bp announcing they’ve got problems.

 

[danny la rouge]

I still don’t get the petrol thing, how just in the last days a load of drivers have gone from petrol deliveries to Waitrose deliveries or something idk.

If there is more demand than supply (of HGV drivers), they can take their pick can’t they. If they don’t like the tone of an email there’s plenty of other jobs they can walk into.

 

[TopCat]

It’s not just panic, it’s also esso and bp announcing they’ve got problems.

HGV tanker drivers are a different level to food truck drivers.

 

[bimble]

HGV tanker drivers are a different level to food truck drivers.

Yeah they may be overqualified but still moving into more attractive jobs.

 

[Santino]

If they don’t like the tone of an email there’s plenty of other jobs they can walk into.

This is the Brexit I voted for.