Stay Stocked Up So You Don’t Panic Buy in A Crisis

Posted On 23 November 2021

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

(2 Timothy 1:7)

It has been an interesting week here in British Columbia with all the panic buying! We live in the interior of the province, so we did not get excessive rain. Down by the coast, they broke rainfall records. All that rain caused floods, rockslides, mud slides, and sections of roads being washed away. As a result of this, all three of the routes to the coast from here have been closed!

A large percentage of the goods that we get come from the coast. When word got out that all routes to the coast were closed, people panicked! All the perishables in our grocery stores were wiped out in a day.

People are still panicked. In Vancouver, gas is now being restricted to 30 liters per vehicle. This announcement caused people to line up at gas stations! When there is a crisis, why do people panic like they do? And why don’t my wife and I panic?

Being Prepared

The Boy Scouts’ motto is: Be prepared. I was a boy scout leader for a while. We also heard over and over at church about having a proper food storage. These led me to start what I call the 1-Up System.

We keep our house stocked with food and supplies we need to live. This is beneficial in that we buy a lot of our food when it is on sale. It is seldom that we run out of food items. Since we keep our pantry full, we don’t have to shop in a panic if there is a crisis.

Look Ahead

It is rare that a crisis comes up unexpectedly. Yes, there are things like earthquakes that can happen suddenly. Weather related emergencies can often be seen coming. When I lived in the US Virgin Islands, we had hurricane warnings days ahead of time. The “Atmospheric River” that soaked the lower mainland and Washington state was seen developing about a week before it happened. Granted, the severe effects of the storm were not seen.

During wildfire season, if there is a fire close by, we make it a point to keep our gas tanks full in case we need to evacuate. If there is a major winter storm predicted, we will see if there is anything we NEED. Sometimes we don’t even go to the store because we are ok. Other times we might buy $30 worth of food.

Hording vs Stocked Up

Hording is a word that we heard quite a bit as the pandemic lockdowns where being put in place. People lost their minds and bought in a panic! Toilet paper comes to mind.

When we don’t really know how much of something we use, we don’t know how much we need. Staying stocked up we can see just how much we use. Let me use toilet paper for an example. Depending on how many people are in our house a roll can last anywhere from a day to a week, with the average being about 3 rolls per week. A 12-pack of toilet paper will last us about a month. We try to keep 3-4 of these 12-packs at home.

For those who bought a pallet of toilet paper, I wonder where they were planning on keeping it! Buying gallons of milk in a panic? Why? Fear!

Hording and panic buying are fueled by fear. When we are stocked up, we have the confidence that we can handle challenges when they come our way. By stocking up when items are plentiful makes it easier on the stores and supply chains and we can often buy those items when they are on sale.

We Don’t Panic

We like to have food in both our fridge and freezer. On a side note, a fridge or freezer uses less electricity when they are full. Since we strive to have food on hand, we don’t put ourselves in a position that we are desperate.

When a crisis comes along, we don’t have a reason to panic. If something were to happen to our house we have insurance, which is our backup plan. We live as though our survival depends on us, not the government. The government usually is there to help us in times of crisis.

Part of our Community

We are all a part of our communities. If people maintain a full pantry in their house, there is more available to the community as a whole – since the stores can only hold so much at any given time.

There is still the same amount of shopping that happens, so the stores will not lose any business. When we have the extra at home, we have the luxury of not having to shop all the time. Buying food becomes more of a convenience then a panic situation.

Don’t Judge

I focus on what I can control. Other people are not something I can control! We don’t know what someone else is doing. They could have a large family with teenagers, or they could be buying food for a business or school activity. Maybe they are helping those who are less fortunate, evacuated, or stranded.

Since I don’t know what their situation is, I cannot judge them. My hope is that I can share this message with people so that more people can be prepared for a crisis by having a full pantry.

Supplies will be Delivered

Businesses are in business to make money. The government wants to keep us happy – at least happy enough that we don’t riot. Things will return to normal as soon as possible.

When we have enough food and supplies in our house, we can survive and not panic when a crisis comes our way. We also have our emergency cash and our emergency funds to help get us through challenges.

The objective in not to try to have enough supplies to live for a year without going to the store. We just need enough to get us through the bumps on the road of life. The grocery stores in town started receiving delivery trucks in less than a week. During this time when there were no deliveries, we did not run out of food. As far as perishable foods go, we still have half a loaf of bread, less than half a gallon of milk, and some eggs.