When you have a restricted diet and there is panic buying

Initially it seemed like I just had kids who were fussy eaters.  Anthony stuck with the same brand and flavour of baby food for way longer than most kids ate baby food. We tried plenty, I really wanted to make my own baby mush.. but Anthony would have none of it.

Finger foods seemed to be a completely crazy idea for him. He didn't seem to understand that this was something for eating at all.  Of course we later learned that Anthony was autistic and that several things about this made it difficult for him to try new foods or cope with how different textures felt in his mouth.

We have made many efforts over the years to help Anthony and then our second son, David, who is even more affected, increase the range of things they will eat.  But its not been easy and mostly unsuccessful.  Simple things like making sure there is something they can eat on holidays has meant planning and a lot of preparation.

David in fact eats only one thing for breakfast. Shreddies.  He's not completely fussy, he will eat the shops own brand, but if he's not presented with a bowl of brown checked squares in the morning, he won't eat.  People think he'll eventually get hungry and eat.  He won't.  He is so sensory and routine driven that he cannot allow himself to eat anything else.  This is just one example of us needing a specific product to feed our kids.

So imagine my horror as I go to the shops and start find empty shelves? I get to the cereal isle and... can you then imagine my joy as I see of the two types of cereal left, Shreddies is one of them!  What are the chances.  No rice crispies, no Weetabix, no Cheerios, no porridge... obviously I can go on and on. But they had Shreddies.

Thank you Lord.

But this is the result of panic buying. There is cereal out there. It's just in people's garage, stacked up in the corner of the kitchen or piled up at the bottom of the bed.

I felt lucky. I always have a backlog of some of kids foods, which means I don't always need to buy loads extra. Still I took my two food item limit of Shreddies and then waited in the long queue to pay for them (sans loo roll which is what we also needed and I originally went in for).

Usually I'd wait for my weekly click and collect shop - but when I went to do it I couldn't book a slot... ever.

Many people have restricted diets for many reasons. My mum is diabetic, my cousin is allergic to various e numbers and my brother in law is vegan.  The panic buying could be impacting on them and many others.

Both Asda and Sainsbury's have announced they are limiting the sale of all food items. But it's going to take time for the produce to get through the supply chain. Supermarkets work on a just-in-time delivery system which is not designed to cope with a huge (unnecessary) increase in supply.

Do you really need another box of a cereal you don't like, gluten free bread or soya UHT milk (there is plenty fresh milk at all the stores I've been in - cows don't have COVID-19)? Please think.

And please don't judge me for taking my two packs of Shreddies either.