Supply Issues - What Are You Buying Now?

David Trammel's picture

With the global supply problems that everyone is talking about now, I'm looking over what I have in my pantry and stock closet wondering what items I might purchase while they are on shelves, and what I should order now in case I need them in the Future. There isn't much though. A few things I've forgotten to restock.

I don't need any prescription meds. And try to keep a decent amount of cash on hands out of the bank.

In some ways I think this is Media driven. Suppliers are having major problems getting products to the end point (stores) but instead of admitting that, its easier to blame panic buying. The Media gets eyeballs on stories and great video to show driving advertising up. Do you think its all hype?

What is everyone thinking is going to be hard to come by? Where do you think we'll see panic buying/supply issues crop up over the next 6 months?

ADDED: This video by City Prepping provides a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8l5sAChpk

I didn't think of gas stations being an early warning of panic buying, but what would your reaction be if you passed by one the way to work and saw a long line. And another at the next gas station? Would you then stop and fill your tank as well, just in case?

ClareBroommaker's picture

Well, uh, I avoided the rush....

I have been steadily concentrating on getting my two new mini orchards going, obtaining the thickest, warmest, wool knee socks I can find (those are pricey compared to what I've worn most of my life), still trialing food preservation methods, buying children's books, and trying to build a supply of some meds I use. I also plan to pick some plantain leaves soon because they are looking really lush right now and I have skin issues that plantain might help (so far I don't think it has, but I'm not ruling out its use). So there are material things I'm working on, but nothing that spurs a need to rush and stock up.

I don't really know what might be hard to come by presently. I don't go into stores enough to see the changes. My husband shops at a store that only gets deliveries once a week, so they can always be missing items before their Tuesday delivery day. I did order a contractor grade garden cart in August, and the cart is only just now on its way. The seller said there were quality control issues with the wheels. But they were also in general having supply issues. I knew when I made my order that it could probably not be filled until October.

EDIT: I failed to notice that this is in the food and water circle. What I wrote above does not much apply. Oh, well.

I'm wondering whether it makes sense to buy vehicle parts that commonly break down, like brake pads and rotors. Besides those, what else do you think makes sense to have on hand in terms of vehicle parts?

We unfortunately are fairly dependent on having a vehicle, as much as in other areas we are reasonably resilient.

In general, I'm quite curious what else everyone has been stocking up on, if anything?

kma's picture

Right after the hypothesis post by JMG I decided to take stock of my 'deep pantry' and run it through one of the Mormon food storage calculators. I'm guessing you all are in the know on this but Mormons, IIRC, are asked to keep a year of food on hand so lots of prepper websites have excel spreadsheet with them. I ran our deep pantry through a calculator I adjusted for us and had an oh carp moment.

I'd like to think I can provide for our family plus a few extra people we might acquire through the winter. We were not even close. So I started doing some bulk order through Azure Standard to get us up. We live in a place with deep snow and occasional ice storms so, under normal, circumstances, I'd keep the deep pantry but for this year, am upping it to try to cover 5-6 people for 5-6 months.

mountainmoma's picture

Rule of thumb for the starchy high calorie foods ( dry beans, wheat berries, rice, flour) is one 5 gallon bucket or 6 #10 cans per person per month. Then other foods for variety and taste and vitamins

5 people for 5 months is 25 5 gallon buckets or equivalent. plus extras ( dried fruit, canned tomatoes, spices etc...)

kma's picture

That is really helpful for eyeballing the situation! Thank you! Those excel sheets were getting complicated. I was continuosly simplifying them and probably would have figured this out myself in a year or two! :)

ClareBroommaker's picture

That's helpful and easy to remember: 5 gal --> one person, one month.

I've been unable to find the thread in which you talked about dehydrating cabbage, but after trying it myself I wanted to thank you, mountainmoma. I had thought cabbage would take a long time to dry, but it does not! I am surprised to see how easily they re-hydrate and become so much like fresh. We use a lot of cabbage, so this is helpful to me. I am tearing or cutting the leaves to a size we would use in soup. They fit snugly in my electric dehydrator that way. I have not been blanching them first, but think next I will try blanching. I expect they will last longer that way, maybe be safer, and maybe be even faster to dry down. Maybe I'll do a few whole outer leaves for cabbage rolls, though fermented whole leaves are good for cabbage rolls, too.

mountainmoma's picture

I dont think blanching would make it last longer at all, or be safer. You can see if you like the taste or texture better that way. But, blanching will also take out vitamins. If you dry your fruits and vegetables at low heat ( under 120'F) they will retain the vitamins of fresh food if also stored carefully. I am glad you have found the dried cabbage useful, it will last years if in an airtight container. If you need it to last ALOT of years, then use a way of storing without oxygen like a half gallon jar with an oxygen absorber dropped in before closing tight and store in a cool dark room. I also dry green onions, kale, and other greens

lathechuck's picture

"One pound of grain (flour) per monk per day." Sometimes I wonder whether this might have been part of the ORIGIN of the "pound" unit of measure. You can swap protein for carbs (flour) one-for-one and maintain the same calorie count, or swap about 1/2 a pound of fat for a pound of carbs (because fat is more energy dense, of course).
I've been saving the plastic jars that peanut butter comes in, for years, and made them my standard bulk-food storage container. They're lightweight, unbreakable, and mouse-resistant, so I don't worry about putting them up on shelves. The wide mouth fits just right under the chute of the bulk-food dispensing bins at the local store. Each jar holds about 1-1/2 lbs. of rolled oats, 2 lbs. of beans, rice, etc. So, I can count off "days of supply" just by counting jars.