Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025

This is where all the food has gone in the coronavirus panic buying

You’ve seen the photos of empty shelves in supermarkets as panic-buyers strip pasta and loo roll to pile up in their trolleys.
Now, photos could show where some of the food has actually gone.

People have been sharing their stockpiles at home, with rows and rows of cleaning products and pre-prepped meals.

Cupboards are crammed to the brim with everything people could need to get them through two weeks of isolation – and a few months more besides.

An Australian chef posted on Reddit: ‘Fully prepared for the coronas (90 plus meals).

‘I mainly just prepared so I don’t have to cook after work.

‘I am a chef, so erratic hours, not too keen on cooking after big days. Also if I do get quarantined I am set for the duration.’

He said he had removed a stack of the food for the photo to demonstrate there were two layers.

Some were impressed by the preparations, saying: ‘I have freezer envy. That is a beautiful sight.’

But another said: ‘I find this amount of meals way unnecessary, especially for coronavirus.

‘Besides, I am from northern Italy, and this kind of hoarding is exactly the reason why I went to the supermarket yesterday only to find the vegetable section completely empty.

‘I know you probably have bigger supermarkets in the US, but still…can you guarantee that nothing will go to waste?’

Meanwhile, others boasted about the hoards of food and cleaning supplies on Facebook.

One woman said she had pureed enough tomatoes to last for a year, according to MailOnline.

‘The tomatoes were just skinned in hot water, pureed in a food processor, and then cooked down for a while to remove the air from pureeing them,’ she wrote.

‘Then, they were put in jars and processed using the Fowlers Vacola method to vacuum seal them. I’ll use them for sauce and casserole bases during the year now.’

Another said she had been stockpiling long before coronavirus appeared, saying she had been buying discounted items in bulk for around five years after a period when she ‘couldn’t afford to feed the family’.

She added: ‘I wouldn’t stockpile perishables unless you are positive you will use them.’

Tesco’s chairman has insisted that people do not need to panic buy as the supermarket will be able to keep stocks up.

John Allan, was reacting after images on social media showed empty shelves across the UK supermarket sector.

He said that the panic buying has not threatened their supply chain and they were confident they could overcome the short-term shortages.

He said: ‘There’s plenty of product in the supply chain, there’s plenty of food at Tesco and other supermarkets, and I don’t think anybody needs to panic buy. We, and I’m sure our competitors, are re-filling our supply chains as rapidly as ever we can.’

Allan said it was unlikely Tesco, which has a 27.2 per cent UK grocery market share, would experience anything more than ‘very short term, temporary’ shortages of certain products.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
Starmer and Trump Coordinate on Ukraine Peace Efforts in Latest Diplomatic Call
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
UK Fashion Label LK Bennett Pursues Accelerated Sale Amid Financial Struggles
U.S. Government Warns UK Over Free Speech in Pro-Life Campaigner Prosecution
Newly Released Files Shed Light on Jeffrey Epstein’s Extensive Links to the United Kingdom
Prince William and Prince George Volunteer Together at UK Homelessness Charity
UK Police Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’ as Authorities Recalibrate Free Speech Enforcement
Scambodia: The World Owes Thailand’s Military a Profound Debt of Gratitude
Women in Partial Nudity — and Bill Clinton in a Dress and Heels: The Images Revealed in the “Epstein Files”
US Envoy Witkoff to Convene Security Advisers from Ukraine, UK, France and Germany in Miami as Peace Efforts Intensify
UK Retailers Report Sharp Pre-Christmas Sales Decline and Weak Outlook, CBI Survey Shows
UK Government Rejects Use of Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Aid for Ukraine
UK Financial Conduct Authority Opens Formal Investigation into WH Smith After Accounting Errors
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
×