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Woman lets stockpile of food rot after coronavirus binge buy, says she 'doesn't care' if others go hungry

The mother of two went on to splurge a whopping £250 ($312) on food items that were perishable
UPDATED APR 10, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

A mother who stockpiled food at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK has now been forced to bin piles of rotting food. However, she has vowed to continue hoarding food from supermarket shelves. 

The 47-year-old Emmie Shute is a factory worker with three mouths to feed. Speaking to The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, Emmie recalled how she rushed to the stores as soon as the pandemic broke in the UK.

The mother of two went on to splurge a whopping £250 ($312) on food items that were perishable. Eventually, she was left with no choice but to dump most of it. Despite this, Emmie continues to stockpile £100 ($125) worth of food supplies every week and ends up dumping around 10% of her purchases. 

Empty shelves confront shoppers at the Nine Elms branch of Sainsbury's supermarket on March 18, 2020, in London, United Kingdom (Getty Images)

According to her, she does not feel guilt in throwing away food that others who may be going without could have consumed. "I understand the criticism about food not being left for vulnerable people and key workers, but I don't feel bad - it's supermarkets' responsibility to order more and make sure they have enough stock in," she told the outlet.

The single mother plans to stockpile a lot more now as Easter is approaching, saying she wants to "spoil" her two children "now more than ever" with more chocolate, biscuits and treats. 

"I still want the kids to have treats like biscuits and Easter eggs - now more than ever, I want to spoil them. Their lives have been turned upside down," she said. "They can’t play football or netball or go to the cinema like they used to; they’re anxious and confused, and food is one of the only pleasures we have left. It gives a structure to our day, it’s something to look forward to, and I don’t want to frighten them into thinking food is running out and we’re all going to starve."

Emmie told the magazine she was "terrified" at what was to come.

"Punnets of rotten strawberries, moldy bread, unwanted packets of Jaffa Cakes, out-of-date peas and carrots…The bin bag was groaning under the weight of unused food I’d stockpiled when the coronavirus crisis hit," she explained. "But as I heaved it into the already overflowing bin, I didn’t feel a shred of remorse."

"I’ve never been a hoarder in the past, but when the panic buying started, I just did what everyone else was doing," she continued. "In the first week, I packed my fridge and cupboards full with £250 of groceries, including lots of fruit, veg, biscuits, eggs, tinned food, pasta, and 50 toilet rolls. Like the rest of the country, I was terrified of what was to come."

What's more? Emmie also revealed she was forced to bin several toilet rolls as they accidentally got wet from the shower. But she continued to explain how she felt like she had been "plunged into a disaster movie" and was forced to use her savings to buy food after the factory she works in closed two weeks ago.

"The Government was telling us not to panic and only buy the essentials, but what if I got sick and couldn’t go to the shop? Would food deliveries stop, and the supermarkets run out of food to sell?" she wondered. "All of a sudden it was like we were plunged into a disaster movie."

Emmie added her children refused to eat some of the food she had stockpiled, and so she "needed to make room for things they did like." And while she tried donating to a homeless charity or offer them to her friends, the food items eventually ended up rotting in a box on the street.

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