Panic buying has slowed, and stores have adjusted hours to allow employees time to clean and re-stock shelves. Yet the signs on store shelves that ask customers to limit purchases of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and certain foods remain as a stark reminder of recent shortages.
Now, with cases of COVID-19 spiking in many parts of the country, a troubled economy, and civil unrest that likely will continue through election time, we are learning that shortages may become a fact of life. Our nation’s supply chain continues to be vulnerable to disruptions that may come in waves, just like the virus itself.
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We can learn from some of the lessons of early pandemic buying. Did you build up the recommended 14-day quarantine supply of essentials back in March? If so, it is time to restock while you still can. Focus on foods and supplies that you usually use. Just make sure you have enough to last for several weeks.
Here are 15 items to have on hand—and a few not to worry so much about.
1. Acetaminophen
Do you remember when a medical journal announced a link between ibuprofen and worsening COVID symptoms? That news sparked a run on acetaminophen in many stores.
Make sure you replenish your supply of pain relievers and other over-the-counter medications. Again, there is no need to buy a year’s supply – just enough for a few weeks. If you have prescription medications, refill them now.
2. Antibacterial Wipes
In a rush to clean surfaces in their homes and businesses, people filled their carts with wipes and other home cleaners. You don’t need to hoard these items now. Just buy enough for a few weeks.
If you prefer to make your own cleaning solutions, check your supply of white vinegar, baking soda, and the other ingredients you use before they too disappear from store shelves.
3. Canned Proteins
Canned tuna, for example, is surprisingly versatile. You can toss it into a pasta, use it in a salad, or make a sandwich.
4. Crackers and Cereal
These items last for a long time and store easily. Also, don’t forget shelf-stable snacks such as chips and pretzels, or whatever your family prefers.
5. Dog Food
I remember shaking my head in disbelief as I walked down the empty pet food aisles at my supermarket back in late March. Don’t forget about your pets and livestock when you plan what your family needs for a shut-down.
Related: Bug Out Bags for Dogs & Cats
6. Dried Fruits
Enjoy the fresh fruits of summer while you can. Stock up on dried fruits for when they’re no longer available
7. Eggs
Did your supermarket run out of eggs this spring? Many did, and shoppers saw a price increase in eggs when they came back to the shelves. Store-bought eggs last for three to five weeks in the refrigerator.
You should not freeze eggs in their shells, but you can freeze raw egg whites, raw egg yolks, and raw whole eggs that you remove from the shell and whisk together.
8. Face Masks
As we write this article, many health experts believe the coronavirus is airborne. That means that whether you prefer cotton masks or disposable masks, facemasks are here to stay for a while.
Even if your state has not enacted mandatory orders for facemasks, many workplaces and local stores require them. Online and brick and mortar stores have them in stock now. That could change quickly, so get yours – or make yours — now.
Related: How to Make a DIY Face Mask (With No Sewing)
9. Flour and Other Baking Supplies
Many people discovered or re-discovered the joy of baking during the pandemic. Especially bread. Don’t let all that new knowledge go to waste now. Flour was hard to come by last spring.
10. Frozen Staples
Frozen veggies were also quick to sell out in the spring. Plan to purchase bags of your favorite vegetables to store in the freezer.
As we saw earlier this year, meatpacking plants are vulnerable to the virus. It’s a good idea to buy a few large packs of meat and freeze them in smaller portions for later use. Rotate them into your menus and replace them as necessary.
11. Fruit Juice, Coffee, Tea
Choose the varieties that your family already likes to drink. Now is not the time to experiment with new flavors. Life is stressful enough!
12. Hand Sanitizer
Bottles of hand sanitizer were almost impossible to find in stores in March and April. Many people were forced to make their own.
If you like to keep some on hand in your car, your backpack, or your office desk, take advantage of the currently available supply. Hand soap also flew off the shelves recently, so replenish your home supply.
13. Nut Butters and Nuts
For a quick burst of energy and nutrition, nuts pack a good punch. Store nuts in the fridge for extended freshness.
14. Shelf-Stable Foods
Replenish your supply of non-perishable foods such as rice, pasta, soup, and beans. These staples last for a long time, and they are the first foods to vanish from the shelves in a crisis.
Related: The Beginner’s Guide To Emergency Food Storage
15. Shelf-Stable Milk
With their long expiration dates, packaged almond, rice, soy, or oat milk is excellent to have on hand for any emergency. A pandemic is no exception.
Bonus: Water
Although the pandemic should not disrupt the water supply, this is 2020 after all, and who knows what is around the next bend. It’s always a good idea to have an extra stash of water for everyone in your household.
Store two gallons of water for each person per day for at least three days. It should be enough for both drinking and sanitation. If you have room for a two-week supply, go for it.
Conclusion
You’ll notice we didn’t mention toilet paper on our list. The experts weighed in on the psychology of the toilet paper hoarding of earlier in the year. They found that it was one of the mundane purchases that gave worried shoppers a sense of control over a bad situation.
Yes, make sure you have enough toilet paper and facial tissue for your family, but please do not buy more than you need. I think we’ve all seen enough toilet paper memes to last us a lifetime, don’t you?
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There are so many hypotheses circling right now but any one of them could be correct, depending on what happens after the elections. We must be prepared for food worker strikes, truck drivers unable to reach their destinations with food and supplies (due to gasoline shortage, riots, strikes, etc.), electrical grids being sabotaged, acts of nature (tornado, blizzard, flood, etc.), or even a more severe lockdown! The bottom line is that we have to re-think a number of scenarios and be prepared for each one. What if the electricity was out for a lengthy time? Would you wished you had bought more shelf-stable foods rather than stocking your freezer? I hate canned chicken but it sure beats throwing out raw chicken thighs that I had stocked up on in the freezer! How will you cook? Do you have a BBQ grill? Coleman stove (and fuel)? foil or glass to build a solar oven? What if the water supply is gone or tainted? You should be saving every available container from single coke bottles, mayonaise jars, whatever(!) to store extra water. Keep the bought water for drinking, use “home-bottled” water (*with a few drops of plain bleach) for washing, etc. Also, mark these bottles with a big “X” so you know it isn’t for drinking. If nothing happens, then slowly use your stockpile while replacing it. If something does happen, you will be glad you forfeited space, food money, etc. to be prepared.
If you store stuff in 5 gall. buckets; get some gamma seal lids. they fit on your buckets. plus they are easy to open They have a built in screw cap.You can order them from amazon.
A method of storage that is simple is PVC pipe. Rinse out and let dry. Use the rubber seal end caps that screw on. Easy to open and get what you need and close again. It can be stood in a corner or laid or stacked. You will be surprised at the amount it holds. It can also be used to bury valuables as it won’t leak or rust.
Good idea! Thanks!
I don’t want to eat bread but have read that sprouted wheat is very nutritional. So if i pack the wheat in air tight buckets will the wheat still be able to sprout?
Make sure you store wheat berries to sprout. You can buy bulk wheat berries from Honeyville dot com. Wheat berries store for a very long time and can be snacked on, sprouted and ground for flour.
Ammunition for your firearms so you can defend your stuff. ammo is short now and will get worse later.
You can dehydrate eggs also for future rehydration. You can can a lot of food, too.
Corona virus lasts longest on metals about 2 weeks. People were even paid to stay home. But many ignored the problem. If they stayed home for the just 2 weeks there wouldn’t have been a problem corona virus would have peacefully died out. I am sorry to say It is just too bad the wrong people died.
If possible replace with copper. New beds for hospitals are now made with copper.virus only lasts minutes. Clean everything else.
If it doesn’t come from a Mammal, it isn’t MILK. It is juice or just squeezings. Milk is a very deliberate process that comes only from mammals. I wish people would stop calling things from plant life milk. It is not. Just because it is white does not make it milk. Only the process of converting food to milk in a mammals breast is milk.
That and plant butter!!! LOL. That totally cracks me up. Just call it what it has always been called – margarine!
YOU’RE DARN RIGHT!!
thank you for this, since i signed up with you i have been building my food storage. the only issue that I have found is finding suitable storage container for my dry goods. ( example:flour, sugar) I have only found glass containers at local Walmart that only holds maybe 3 lb bag . do you have have advise on how and where I can purchase suitable containers that will keep out pests?
thank you for your time.
Check with Home Depot or Lowes,they sell 5 gallon bucket and lids. Make sure they are safe for food,should say on the container.
CHECK THE PAINT DEPARTMENT AT WALMART. THEIR WHITE 5 GALLON BUCKETS HAVE “FOOD SAFE” PRINTED IN BIG BOLD LETTERS ON THEIR SIDE.
Storage containers for large quantities: I have always used brand new 4 or 5 gallon buckets with lids. Lids may be a pain to get off if you stand on them to close them, but a few tries and you get the hang of it. 25 lbs. of sugar fill a 5 gal. bucket, fits nicely in the bottom of the pantry and keeps out moisture and pests. We keep a small gallon size with twist on lids of everything on upper shelves for daily use. Flour,sugar, dried beans, whole wheat for grinding; the possibilities are endless. Takes a tad more space than the conventional canister but worth it in the long run. Hard core storage, you could try food safe 25 to 50 gallon containers, they can be found in plastic or heavy duty card board. easy to line with large plastic bags and have locking lids also.
Panic buying is probably one of the dumbest things people do . Those that follow these posts are already conscious of what basics are needed . Hopefully the lessons of this last spate of panic buying will sink in . When “prepping” was first being paid attention to , some had looked on and poo-pooed the entire idea . These were the same folks that thought toilet paper was going to be the answer to everything . Might be that they wanted to protect where most of their thought processes take place ?
At this time one of the most important things we can be doing is item 8 MASKS .As reported c-19 cases started to drop so did the wearing of masks.
l have been to our local supermarket and seen younger people trying to enter the store without a mask , or the people that don’t cover both the mouth and nose . The people that whine “It’s too hard to breath through.” Well dummy , death kind of puts a hold on the respiratory system too ! We will eventually get through this , if natural selection will breed out the stupid .
I agree! Fortunately, I have been prepping for several years now and this pandemic did not really phase me. I did, however, make a lot of cotton masks with a “filter” and gave to many people where I livet .
Where I live, we have a mandate about wearing masks when in a public building – stores, dr offices, etc., and outside IF we cannot maintain social distancing. One issue that I have seen take place though is that if you choose to go to these places without a mask, you might be turned away. AND if you don’t wear a mask, you don’t have to say it is because you have a breathing issue.
To those above situations, I say stay home, send someone else who can wear a mask. OR face being refused service.
When I say I can’t breath, I mean I may pass out without help! Some people have asthma or other respiratory problems! If you don’t have those problems, you are ignorant and it shows! I struggle to breath without a mask, but a mask creates a bigger problem and is exacerbated by your ignorance.
Amen