When do you think grocery shopping will have a sense of normalcy again?

[MamaLema]

Our city has noise bylaws that state no deliveries after a certain time.
They have made an exception and now grocery stores may have food deliveries 24/7 until further notice to keep up with demand.

 

[Searc]

Rural, I understand. I definitely don't think you need to live in an urban center to have access to non-supermarkets though. My brother lives in mid-state New York and there are still towns that have places to buy food that aren't supermarkets.

Perhaps all of this is going to make us rethink how we function in this way. The world existed off of smaller markets for hundreds of years before everyone decided that Walmart was better.

I think you mean after Walmart put all the smaller, local businesses out of business.

 

[skyblue17]

I think you mean after Walmart put all the smaller, local businesses out of business.

Yep, I do!

I think we're going to see some interesting changes due to all of this, and continuing to support massive corporations who don't care about their employees or communities might be one of them.

 

[fly girl]

Did you check the International aisle for rice?

Yes, that's where I normally get my rice. Both aisles cleared.

I went again to 2 stores today to buy stuff for my Mom and a neighbor. Naturally, I looked for my rice. Nope. Still empty shelves. Pasta still gone too, but the spaghetti sauce was back. (I heard a man on his phone say I got sauce, but no pasta to go with it!) I was able to find all the items both houses needed. I went to 2nd store because it was on the way back from my Mom's and I figured since it was a local chain they still may have a couple more cans of my neighbors pet food -- the pet aisle was hit hard at Kroger. They did, but no rice.

TP and paper towels were back at my store. I made sure to get on my subdivision FB page because I knew some were waiting for it.

 

[Wendy31]

I was going to try to find eggs at our local produce & farmers’ markets, but then I remembered none of them are open yet for the spring & summer seasons.

 

[Kitty 34]

I saw a guy with a cart full of bananas. How to you keep bananas? Freeze them maybe and make smoothies?

Maybe he has a bunch of monkeys......I don't know.

 

[MarkLT1]

I am guessing that as panic hits an area (it just seems to be hitting here now.. with the exception of TP panic which has been going on for a week), there will be a good 10-14 days of it being tough to find groceries. Once people get stocked up, and feel comfortable that they can weather a couple weeks, they'll start shopping more normally. That is, unless this thing gets so bad that food supply-lines get interrupted.. but I dont see that happening (fingers crossed).

 

[Kitty 34]

We went grocery shopping Friday night and again tonight to pick up something we forgot. We thought it was bad Friday, it's much worse today. The only meat was crawdads and pigs feet. The only milk was flavored. Frozen foods, produce, canned goods, and breads mostly wiped out. I'm going to have to inventory the pantry and figure stuff out next week.

OK, today is Tuesday; have you been back; is it better now?

 

[si-am]

i went to Publix this afternoon (last went on Friday) and there’s still no TP, soap, or fresh meat. (A few $30 roasts but that’s it.). Lots of lunch meat but even bacon, hot dogs, and canned fish were gone.

I think we’re good for meals for almost two weeks, toilet paper maybe close to that. But it’s scary to think of beyond...

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I went yesterday for a normal grocery run (not a hoarding one) - needed milk and bread and fruit mainly. A handful of loaves of bread (that I wasn't interested in) and very sparse milk. Didn't need meat but it was also very sparse. Picked up a couple other things, noticed waffles and frozen potatoes were super picked over.

It was very crowded but they had ample checkouts open. But telling people to stay away from each other is a joke right now because they're all at the grocery store!

 

[Christine]

OK, today is Tuesday; have you been back; is it better now?

I was out at lunchtime. Still the same things missing (no TP). No chicken to speak of. No cleaners. I'm home now and not out working so I'm fine with no cleaners. I would like to get a 6-9 roll pack of TP though.

 

[Pooh2]

I don’t know but I am out of maple syrup and I am not willing to face the crowds today.

Get some Ben's Maple Syrup on Amazon, delivered to your door.
He's local to us but sells on Amazon. Nice guy!

 

[Pooh2]

We were suppose to head to Disney Friday so we were behind on the stockpiling.
Got to the stores today and paper goods were out but got most things I needed.
I think the panic shopping is slowing down.
Most people had smaller orders in their carts.

 

[fsjking]

I placed an online order with my local grocery store for free pick up there. The only available pickup date is Mar 23. I reserved a time then.
I'm assuming they are booked, and only adding one day at a time.

The problem there is that doesn't guarantee they will have it. Most of those they just send an employee down the aisles to get the items. When it's your turn, if they are out, they are out.

 

[Christine]

The problem there is that doesn't guarantee they will have it. Most of those they just send an employee down the aisles to get the items. When it's your turn, if they are out, they are out.

I had that happen with Prime Now. I had ordered about 20 items. My order showed up with two things in it. I just wished they would have cancelled the whole order.

 

[Colleen27]

I grew up in a suburb, in Connecticut. We had bakeries, meat markets, delis, etc. I knew that more rural areas have limited options but it never really occurred to me that places where a fair amount of people live don't have anything but supermarkets.

I think you still find those kinds of places in small towns, in older suburbs that have maintained a traditional downtown area, and in urban areas where space is at a premium. But in very rural areas and in newer "planned" suburbs that were basically built to accommodate the shopping center anchored by a big box or two, it is hard for small independent businesses to carve out a niche. So a lot of America lives in places where the major chains are the only game around.

 

[Hikergirl]

Rural, I understand. I definitely don't think you need to live in an urban center to have access to non-supermarkets though. My brother lives in mid-state New York and there are still towns that have places to buy food that aren't supermarkets.

Perhaps all of this is going to make us rethink how we function in this way. The world existed off of smaller markets for hundreds of years before everyone decided that Walmart was better.

I'm in a NY suburban area, we have several ethnic markets here, Asian, Indian, Mexican and Middle Eastern.
We also have a family owned market that offers all organic products.

You are in NYC correct? Are you preparing yourself for a shelter in place order?
I'm not really sure what that entails but I imagine people there are clearing out stores since they announced it is being considered.

 

[skyblue17]

I'm in a NY suburban area, we have several ethnic markets here, Asian, Indian, Mexican and Middle Eastern.
We also have a family owned market that offers all organic products.

You are in NYC correct? Are you preparing yourself for a shelter in place order?
I'm not really sure what that entails but I imagine people there are clearing out stores since they announced it is being considered.

I am in NYC. I already have a good amount of stuff and sheltering in place still allows for going out to get groceries, so I'm not too concerned. I'm keeping a running list of things to get the next time I am in a store and will go once that list gets so long that I risk not being able to carry it all in one trip. All of our restaurants are now closed for eat-in, so it's possible the stores took a hit today as people prepared for that, so no reason to rush back out until I need more (but keeping a safe buffer in case there isn't a lot to get).

 

[Kittyblue]

OK, today is Tuesday; have you been back; is it better now?

We went yesterday and today. It was better today than yesterday, but still more wiped out than Friday. We've just started closing schools and businesses here and I think everyone's panic mode kicked into high gear. We were talking with the cashier - she said they get a lot of stock out every morning but it disappears fast.

 

[Kirby]

We were talking with the cashier - she said they get a lot of stock out every morning but it disappears fast.

My daughter was talking to one of the head cashiers at the local Kroger. She told her that as soon as they bring something out people are removing it off the pallet, not giving them time to put stuff on the shelf.