Managing food supplies

Who would have thought that this would become an issue in Australia? When I first saw certain sections of supermarkets with empty shelves I felt quite shocked, and slowly realised that I would need to plan more carefully. I know that some people had previously been into pantry preparedness and could now gently remind us that they had "told us so". However I was not one of them, and being super organised was not for me. So this is how I have managed.

Taking inventory of existing supplies.

As I live out of town on a rural property, I have never been able to just pop down to the shops when I needed something, so I have managed by trying to ensure that, with basic supplies, I always had one spare. I would then buy that item again when I opened the spare packet.

Now, however, I could no longer ensure that things would be available when I needed them. Thus, after the initial feeling of panic settled, I took a notebook and went through my pantry, fridge and freezer and wrote down every item I had, and how much of every item I had. I then added a column to plan extras to buy if needed, so that I could build up supplies of at least two spares, instead of just one. This then informed my shopping list.

I am aware that some people are unable to afford to purchase extras, but by using this approach they may be able to gradually build up some spares by buying just one or two extras at a time.

Taking inventory at the supermarket.

The next step was to take note of the things in short supply at the supermarket and accept that my extras may need to be acquired over time (which turned out to be correct). Sometimes this meant finding substitutes (e.g. there was still couscous on the shelf even although all the rice and pasta had gone). 

Opportunistic shopping

I usually shop to a shopping list, but now found that it was wise to purchase difficult to find items when I came across them. For instance, when toilet paper was in short supply, there were times when a shop assistant would walk around offering packets so, of course that was the time to gratefully accept one. 

Another time I was in the Pharmacy getting prescriptions filled, and noticed a whole table of 500 ml hand sanitiser near the front counter, and naturally added one to my shopping (having seen none anywhere else for weeks). It was $15 a bottle, which I considered to be quite expensive. However after I returned home I found the same sanitiser on line for $36 a bottle!

Doing it differently to usual

Whilst frozen vegetables and some tinned items have sometimes been in short supply, this has rarely been the case with fresh fruit and vegetables. As a result I have chosen to buy  extra fresh fruit and vegetables and then cut them up, blanch and freeze them. The bonus is that these are usually grown in Australia. One pineapple will give me the equivalent of 4 tins of pineapple, a 1 kg bag of tomatoes taken home and cut up and stewed also yields the equivalent of about 4 tins of tomatoes. One bunch of celery chops up into lots of frozen celery pieces and the leaves can be used in making stock and soup. 

Remember: Nature provides us with food too.