An Australian single mother says well-meaning stockpilers have not caused the ‘panic buying’ of toilet paper and pasta at supermarkets for a second time because she hasn’t been to a single store in three months.
The woman, who shared a photo of her epic stockpile to social media, has hundreds of extra cans, water bottles, cereal boxes, chips and noodles stowed away in a room of her house to feed her three children.
Angry comments underneath her post initially blamed her stockpiling thousands of dollars worth of product for the shortages in grocery stores, but she claims she’s preparing long-term for potential job loss, economic crisis or even a war.
‘I am not the reason the stores have been emptied during this pandemic as I haven’t been to the store in three months,’ she said. ‘So in fact there is more on the shelves as my family hasn’t needed to purchase anything.’
The woman, who shared a photo of her epic hoard to social media, has hundreds of extra cans, water bottles, cereal boxes, chips and noodles stowed away in a room of her house to feed her three children
The woman, who is from Melbourne, went on to say that she stockpiled the goods over the course of 18 months, taking advantage of sales, promo codes and any extra funds the family had.
She has two 12 packs of toilet paper left and has been solely relying on her stash to cover the family since January – so there has been no need to fight for an extra pack at the supermarket.
‘I believe in having emergency supplies in case s*** hits the fan, case in point being this pandemic, but I also prep in case of job loss, economic crisis or god forbid a war,’ she said.
‘It is not my issue you failed to prepare prior to this pandemic… Don’t attack me because I happened to start stocking up 18 months ago.’
Arguing that she’s not ‘made of money’, one of the main reasons she started collecting food en masse is because she has a special needs child who requires specialist treatment.
She also suffers from heart failure that calls for expensive clinical care.
‘Prior to stockpiling there would be weeks we had no food and I’d have to seek help, so now I stockpile and prep when we have back-to-back appointments so my kids are still fed,’ she said.
The woman plans on returning to her stockpiling habit once the pandemic is over but until then is ‘respectfully’ staying out of the shops.
It comes after a number of women admitted to stockpiling toilet paper since the coronavirus outbreak started, as shopping restrictions are brought back in Melbourne supermarkets.
Mothers who have been stockpiling toilet paper since the coronavirus outbreak are showing off their huge stash on social media (picture of one woman’s room full of essentials)
Shoppers in Victoria can only buy one packet of toilet paper at Coles, while Woolworths customers have a two-limit purchase.
The shock announcement comes after both supermarket giants were forced to reintroduce shopping limits on essential products.
Despite the restrictions, bulk buyers revealed in a Facebook group they have been preparing themselves after struggling to get their hands on toilet paper during the initial coronavirus isolation in Australia.
‘Who here has a toilet paper stockpile? Surely I’m not the only one. Since the crazies took all the loo paper a few months ago, I have actually started to hoard it now. I currently have 13 packs of loo paper – making that 232 rolls,’ one woman said.
Many shoppers responded to the thread, admitting they have been bulk buying toilet paper over the weeks, while others said they have been preparing their fully-stocked cupboards or spare room long before the COVID-19 outbreak.
‘I’ve been buying a 20-pack every week instead of every fortnight so I’ve got a little bit of stashed,’ one woman said.
Another mother said: ‘I’m starting to buy an extra packet of toilet paper each time I go shopping, waiting for the second wave to hit.’
Some shoppers revealed they started their toilet paper stockpiling because they didn’t want to line up at 6am again.
While one mother said she had no choice but to start a stockpile for her family-of-six after she struggled to get her hands on basic items during the isolation.
Bulk buyers revealed in a Facebook group they have been preparing themselves after struggling to get their hands on toilet paper during the coronavirus isolation in Australia
Supermarket shelves at Coles in Taylor’s Hill in Melbourne are stripped of product on Tuesday as panic buying takes hold after new outbreak of COVID-19
‘When everyone started panic buying, it was very hard for me to get anything. I was going to the shop every day just to get milk. So I now have a stockpile,’ she said.
‘I bought enough [toilet paper] for a fortnight every week for a few weeks. I didn’t go out buying five packs at once though. And with three girls in the house, I now have a couple of months supply of pads.’
Other women revealed they bulk buy sanitary products such as pads or tampons every time it goes on sale for half price.
‘I have to say when women’s sanitary products are on sale… It’s a great time to buy extras. They are costly at the best of times for women. So when they are on sale at under $3 a pack, I say buy, buy, buy. Having to pay [full price] is a joke,’ one said.
Many ‘couldn’t agree more’, saying ‘it’s only common sense to bulk buy’ when pads are discounted by up to 50 per cent.
‘Me and my family have been doing this for years. We have a garden shed full of toiletries. We never buy when it’s full price, always when it’s half price which means you get twice as much,’ one mother said.