A Nailsworth butcher has reported a noticeable increase in customers buying extra meat for their freezers after renewed calls for households to prepare for potential emergencies.
Paul Dowdeswell, of Country Meat in Nailsworth, said the change became particularly clear during the week before October 29, 2026. Customers were continuing to buy their usual meat, but some were adding extra portions to store at home.
“Last week it was noticeable how much busier it was, with people buying extra to put in the freezer,”
Mr Dowdeswell said the pattern was different from the normal seasonal rise in meat sales as winter approaches. He said some customers who would not usually stock up were buying their regular order and adding more in freezer bags.
“We would normally see a rise as the winter comes and people’s eating habits change. However, last week it seemed different. Some customers that wouldn’t normally were buying their normal meat and adding extra in freezer bags,”
Demand for frozen meat increases
The comments followed calls from Andy Burnham for households to stock up on food in preparation for emergencies. Those calls prompted renewed discussion about how families could prepare for unexpected disruption.
Country Meat has long sold a selection of ready-to-cook frozen meat, but the shop found demand had increased enough for staff to restock it more frequently.
“We keep a good selection of meat to cook ready frozen and that has always sold well, but last week we found ourselves topping it up more,”
Mr Dowdeswell said he did not expect modern households to return to the practice of buying very large quantities of meat at once. However, he said freezer supplies could be useful for planned meals during the colder months.
“I don’t expect it to return to my youthful days when people would buy half a pig or a lamb for the freezer. But it is nice that the freezer is there for planned meals for the winter,”
Smaller freezers limit storage
He also said household freezer capacity had changed over the years, potentially reducing how much meat families could store. Despite that, the recent call to stock up appeared to be encouraging people to find room for additional provisions.
“The average size of a household freezer has significantly reduced over the years, so that you can’t carry the volume we used to. But with the call to stock up, it seems we are finding the freezer space for these provisions,”
The reported increase relates to shopping habits at Country Meat in Nailsworth, rather than a wider measurement of meat sales across the town or district.