How likely is it

[pseudonym]

Prepare to find land salted, preps poisoned and the Jackbooted thugs at a minimum limping back to their overlords.

now you're REALLY scaring me

It's not you that I was talking about or too.

I'm too old to start again and my preps are my pension

[Frnc]

Maybe the word here is 'secretly'. By being furtive, they set themselves up as the enemy of the people.

I think the Bolsheviks were requisitioning grain from the kulaks, or encouraging committees of poor peasants to, due to the famine that had started. They also started the New Economic Policy, which was a temporary return to capitalism, and that favoured the kulaks.

I guess that hoarders in this context were larger scale than just Mr's Housewife with some extra beans.

I don't know. Presumably. But a few months' supply and you could be a target.

[Winterprep]

In a scenario that would require the government to go house to house to gather food I think this would be done as a last resort and probably too late to gain anything. There is no way our government could organise this on a national level,they can barely run a country that is allegedly not in distress.

A highly likely scenario as has been stated already is that local gangs would be looting and ransacking households long before any organised government action.

WP

[Frnc]

This is one use for a bugout bag. If armed looters were raiding nearby, and there was no hope of stopping them, I might well grab my BOB in the middle of the night and lie low for a few days til they'd moved on. Well, it's a possibility. At least I'd have the gear in my BOB.

[jennyjj01]

This is one use for a bugout bag. If armed looters were raiding nearby, and there was no hope of stopping them, I might well grab my BOB in the middle of the night and lie low for a few days til they'd moved on. Well, it's a possibility. At least I'd have the gear in my BOB.

So.... you consider abandoning your reasonably stocked home to a bug out location until the gangs have looked in, and buggered off, maybe missing some of your resources?
Maybe a sound plan, to keep you from having to fight, but what if they either don't bugger off or are followed by the next wave of scavengers.
It's a toughie as a fairly old couple, we would not be able to put up much of a fight. What fight we could put up would hopefully be a deterrent. There would be no queensbury rules. WROL, I would be prepared to injure, but would expect to be injured or killed.
In a true SHTF, potential starvation situation, I/we would probably try to entrench in a few 'gangs' Womens institute? Form a Neighbourhood watch? local food bank or soup kitchen. Anything to engender a bit of community teamwork. I'd also consider importing a bit of younger extended family who might eat some resources, but help defend it too.

[Frnc]

This is one use for a bugout bag. If armed looters were raiding nearby, and there was no hope of stopping them, I might well grab my BOB in the middle of the night and lie low for a few days til they'd moved on. Well, it's a possibility. At least I'd have the gear in my BOB.

So.... you consider abandoning your reasonably stocked home to a bug out location until the gangs have looked in, and buggered off, maybe missing some of your resources?
Maybe a sound plan, to keep you from having to fight, but what if they either don't bugger off or are followed by the next wave of scavengers.
It's a toughie as a fairly old couple, we would not be able to put up much of a fight. What fight we could put up would hopefully be a deterrent. There would be no queensbury rules. WROL, I would be prepared to injure, but would expect to be injured or killed.
In a true SHTF, potential starvation situation, I/we would probably try to entrench in a few 'gangs' Womens institute? Form a Neighbourhood watch? local food bank or soup kitchen. Anything to engender a bit of community teamwork. I'd also consider importing a bit of younger extended family who might eat some resources, but help defend it too.

People tend to help each other in a disaster. If there were looters, you would set up a community defence, with maybe barricades and lookouts. You would put all the kids and elderly in one house, and defend it.

Bear in mind though, that your house could get robbed anytime, if you go out for a few hours, eg foraging, or even if you are in. Also, if you are out scavenging, that could turn into a survival situation. So I would take at least some critical items.

But if Negan-type gangs are raiding systematically, it might be impossible to defend. I don't have any family in the area. What if my neigbours had died from disease, or gone elsewhere? I'm only considering possibilities.

[PPrep]

The link given by Jenny is well worth a read.

It's a great idea to grow "weeds"in the garden if possible. I would add nettles to the examples given. These are very nutritious and can be dried and stored to make tea. I've found that if harvested about 250mm above the ground (the upper leaves are better anyway), a second cutting of tender stems can be made in early Autumn.

I bought a Celosia houseplant (there are also garden varieties) and discovered it's edible and is commonly used as a leafy vegetable in various cuisines, particularly in Africa, India, and Indonesia.

Indoor cultivation of greens under lights such as "rocket" lettuce, swiss chard and pak choi may be worth considering. People grow tomatoes and strawberries hydroponically, but this could get expensive considering today's energy costs. I'm considering maximising bulk per kWh here. The Kratky hydroponics method is the simplest for greens. If properly set up, once the nutrient solution has been mixed, no further water might be needed. The great weakness is if there's a power cut longer than a few days. If the greens are in smaller containers (a 20 or 30l container would be difficult to move), they could be moved outside for light if conditions permit.

The hydroponic setup would be very difficult to hide well, but at least it thieves would need to enter the house to nick the food.

Following a lot of experimenting, I've found that the most productive vegetables that can be grown as microgreens are radish (by far), peas and broccoli. These will also grow in water only and on windowsills. No messy and expensive growing media needed, but I use double trays with mesh in the top tray so the roots can grip, and drink from the water in the bottom tray. In Summer a northerly windowsill works. Over time, a surprising weight of food can be grown. From the beginning of November to mid February, a little supplementary lighting would be needed. An ordinary LED cool white bulb with a timer set to 12 hours would work. This could be done in a cupboard so as not to attract attention. This might be as grey as you can get!

Regarding looters, I'm retired and can no longer effectively protect myself. In effect, I'm a prey animal, and need to keep my head down and rely on being inconspicuous and camouflaged, as mice and rabbits do to a degree. Cooperating with neighbours is a must. At least I have a bit of knowledge, which I can slowly disseminate, but avoiding certain keywords such as "prepping".

[grenfell]

That homes would be searched for supplies by Government agencies/Army etc if SHTF and that any useful supplies, mostly food, would be confiscated? Obviously I keep my prepping private, but if my home was accessed by the above they would be very obvious as I am guessing they would for most people. Less obvious places would be behind the kickboards in the kitchen cupboards, but what a nightmare trying to rotate stock under there.

To go back to this original question.
I feel the answer to this is that it's unlikely. If the situation is that bad the authorities would prioritise warehouse and supermarkets first . As it seems that the majority of people keep very little at home the resources spent trying to find the odd prepper stash wouldn't seem worthwhile for the returns. Possibly a bigger threat would be the unprepared public who may turn to burglary to try to find food. One would just need to act appropriately and not over indulge while others are going hungry. Stock rotation wouldn't really be a problem as stocks would just be being depleted if nothing else is coming in.

[Snowhunter]

Good points. In my rural location the intensive livestock units would likely be targeted long before the houses round here. Assuming a government remains in control, perhaps resources would be invested to prevent looting of some warehouses at the very least, and even protecting some of the bigger agricultural establishments so production can continue longer term.


As always, it's probably worth looking at history and trying to draw any clues. I'm not aware of any government carrying out door to door checks in most of Europe in either world wars, even in countries with serious food shortages such as the Netherlands- the main risk was when armies were passing through. Not an issue on our Island!

The Soviet government on the other hand- but if a regime like that establishes itself, everything is out the window anyway...

[grenfell]

The Soviet government on the other hand- but if a regime like that establishes itself, everything is out the window anyway...

Yet ironically the Soviets were feeding the population of defeated Germany at the end of the war . There's film of them handing out bread for example..