Online calculator shows how much food you need for a 14-day quarantine so you can stop panic buying

We've been through the drill and we know that there is no risk of Singapore running out of food during this coronavirus pandemic.

Even with much assurance, people are still running helter-skelter to the nearest supermarkets to stock up on food essentials at the slightest rumour (or misinformation), causing unnecessary panic buying and hoarding.  

Should you be stocking up? As PM Lee posted on his Facebook page, "buy just what you need". Should you require to serve a stay-home-notice or self-quarantine, 14 days worth of essential will tide you over. Anything over that is considered hoarding.

To help you gauge what 14 days of food amounts to, Polish startup Omni Calculator has created an online calculator, especially for this time of coronavirus, to let you know how much food to get if you're going to be on self-quarantine. 

It starts by having you fill up the number of household members and the number of days you'll be in self-quarantine.

If you've been mass buying packets of rice, according to the calculator, two adults (one male and one female) will only require 2.4kg of rice — and that's if you eat it every day. 

There are also other food items such as fruits and vegetables, frozen and canned food, as well as perishable items.

That's not to say you should be buying all of it. Instead, purchase only the items that you frequently use at home to avoid food wastage. 

There's even a toilet paper calculator, but there's absolutely no reason to stockpile on these as it is just part of your FOMO (fear of missing out) reflex, experts explained.

So perhaps it's time to reflect, have you been guilty of over-buying at the supermarket?

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

melissagoh@asiaone.com