Overstocked: When winter storms circulate people tend to over prepare for them and most of the food they buy goes to waste, but there are other rational steps that can be taken to help be ready

It was the first week of January when I turned on the TV and saw apocalypse-like shots of people flooding local Costcos and ripping anything in eyesight off the shelves. Racks of toilet paper were left empty and cans of non-perishable food items were completely out of stock. I was astonished people would go to these extremes for such a short-lived event. 

All I’d heard about the predicted winter storm was that it was supposed to hit on Jan. 4, dumping around 10 inches of snow on Kansas City. Additionally, people needed to stay home for a day or two to wait for the streets to be cleared. Obviously, some people misheard the weather report and thought the world was about to end.

Let’s be honest, there’s no way that one family needs 10 steaks, 22 cans of tomato soup and 30 rolls of toilet paper just to get through three days of snow. At that point, it’s just overconsumption — not preparedness.

Going on an unnecessary buying spree leaves those who actually need food with nothing. This wasteful consumption makes it impossible for families in need to purchase groceries.

The overconsumption of food ultimately leads to food waste when those 10 steaks go bad because, shockingly, the three days you were stuck inside weren’t enough time to finish them. Purchasing a month’s worth of food for just one weekend is simply irresponsible. It’s reasonable to get a few cans of non-perishables and some easy meals, but people don’t need to buy more than they would during a normal grocery store trip.

From what I saw on an Instagram Reel, there were so many people buying out Costco that the employees had to make an entire system where only a certain amount of people could shop at a time. Formulating an entirely new system is inconvenient and mimics the COVID pandemic, where stores only let a few people in at a time due to families’ panic buying.

The fact that people were preparing for a three-day storm the same way they were preparing for months quarantined in their houses is so unnecessary and overkill in every aspect.

I fully understand the amount of time stuck in your home wasn’t set, but people should listen to experts and weather reporters and wait to see if drastic measures need to be taken. Weather reporters were telling us to stay inside until the roads were safe and to buy some non-perishables, not to buy enough food to feed your entire block for a year.

If someone is truly worried about the effects of the storm, such as power outages, more reasonable steps can be taken and if you already have non-perishable goods you do not need to stock up. 

This can include purchasing generators to help cope with the loss of power. Candles and flashlights can also be great to have on hand in the case of a power outage.

Another way people can prepare for these winter storms to hit is to gather items they have in their house like blankets and hand warmers. Then, these can be organized into a bin that you already have on hand with other necessities like batteries and a radio to hear weather updates.

Preparing for a winter storm to an extent is necessary, but panic is unnecessary because Kansas City has had frequent bad winters for a long time. If people are concerned about having what they need they can take more rational solutions and skip overbuying and wasting food.