This chapter addresses the question of whether price regulation succeeded in sheltering consumers during periods of crisis. The history of weekly and monthly bread prices is examined in order to identify periods of crisis and their intensity. This is done separately for the western and eastern provinces of the Dutch Republic. Crisis periods are shown to be few in number between 1580 and 1790, but common both before and afterward. It is also demonstrated, contrary to common opinion, that the regulatory system did very little to mitigate the severity of crises. The crises between 1580 and 1790 rarely threatened the wellbeing of social classes above the unskilled. Consequently, the Republic's towns developed policies to target relief to those in greatest need, and to avoid policies that lowered prices for the general population. This chapter also examines theories that link food policy to state building and state legitimacy. Most such theories appear to have only limited applicability to the Dutch Republic.