This afternoon in Wokingham there was food in supermarkets and in the marketplace. The fruit and veg stall holder told me he had had a busier day than at Christmas, usually his record period. There were early afternoon some gaps in provision, in shops which had started the day with good quantities and ranges.
It would be helpful if people stopped buying large stockpiles for freezers and cupboards, and if those with stocks used some of their stock items. The government does not want to have to bring in a complex and expensive system of formal rationing. The supermarkets have improved things a bit by a very mild control on the numbers of any given product people can buy. If the hoarding continues there may need to be tightening of these conditions.
So when you are next in the shop ask do I need this now? If so can I make do with one or two and not buy two extra for some other time? And remember there may be a nurse or power supply worker or broadband engineer coming into the shop late after a shift to buy an evening meal. Have you left something for them, as you are relying on them doing their job?
March 20, 2020
Thanks for intervening and the same goes for all people in supermarkets in the constituency. Crowded, panic buying is not sensible from either a health or supply perspective in these times. I am not aware that you suddenly become immune from transmission in a supermarket environment as opposed to any other SME business….
zorro