Items That Vanish From Store Shelves During a Crisis

People rush out to stock up in a crisis.

Panicky consumers can make a drama out of a crisis. They rush out to stock up on goods at the mere hint of a strike, financial crash or commodity prices increasing. This creates another crisis as stocks vanish off the shelves and supermarkets cannot refill them quickly enough, so some people have to go without.

Bread

The staple food, bread is filling and can be used for toast, sandwiches, puddings, as a base for savory dishes or just eaten with butter. The first thing that goes off the shelves in a crisis is bread.

Milk

The milk of human kindness is spilled in a crisis, as shoppers scoop up as many cartons for themselves as they can find. This can make puddings, be included in recipes for savory dishes, and is required for tea, coffee and young children.

Toilet Paper

Shoppers consider toilet paper an urgent requirement, although emergency substitutes, such as newspapers, exist. Toilet paper can be used as facial tissue and for mopping up spills.

Diapers

Those with infants will be in a bind if they run out of diapers and more are not readily obtainable, so diapers are often stockpiled during a crisis.

Coffee and Tea

Caffeine is a real addiction for many people, so coffee and tea are snapped up in a crisis.

References

• Prepared for Crisis

Resources

• Prepared for Crisis; Article 1