Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine

[Hatfield]

Great news (I think): DH's CoV19 test was negative! Whoohoo! Lots of kissin' going on in the Gardener home today.

Now I can go (carefully) search for food. We are out of all fresh produce and meat. We have been eating rice without butter for 2 days. All the stores that have curbside pick-up around me don't have any slots available until next week. I put in a small order for next week at one store as a back-up plan but I'm going to suit up with gloves, a mask, a headscarf, wrap-around sunglasses, a small supply of wipes and drive to the stores to check things out for myself. Any shopping tips?

Great news. Others are sharing great tips already. One thing I can add. Be sure to bring extra plastic bags that you will use to throw out any dirty wipes, disposable gloves, tissues, etc. You need to bring trash bags with you in your car so you have a place to dispose of things.

And be careful of when you take off your gloves. When I hit my car I made the mistake of taking off the gloves before I put all the supplies in the car. It gets tricky. Think it through how and what you will still have on when driving and when to take things off.

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Memories are wonderful, hold fast to them. Some of the "old" ways are worth holding onto also - kindness, honesty, morality, love of God and fellow man. Sometimes the old is better than the new.

Love this post! It’s so true. Aside from people panic buying and hoarding, and those eejits who are still wandering around in close proximity to each other because, ‘ it won’t happen to me’ - aside from them, kindness and thoughtfulness are shining through.

My Dad has found out today there’s a volunteer or two on almost every street in his little village. He won’t even have to leave the house to collect his prescription meds - someone will do it on his behalf. The owner of the local greengrocers is delivering his provisions, his neighbours are on hand too - I feel a lot less worried about his decision to stay at home, rather than travel to London to be with me.

Great news (I think): DH's CoV19 test was negative! Whoohoo! Lots of kissin' going on in the Gardener home today.

Now I can go (carefully) search for food. We are out of all fresh produce and meat. We have been eating rice without butter for 2 days. All the stores that have curbside pick-up around me don't have any slots available until next week. I put in a small order for next week at one store as a back-up plan but I'm going to suit up with gloves, a mask, a headscarf, wrap-around sunglasses, a small supply of wipes and drive to the stores to check things out for myself. Any shopping tips?

Woo hoo! You’ve been in my daily prayers, I’m so happy for you both!

 

[CSIDreamer]

Great news (I think): DH's CoV19 test was negative! Whoohoo! Lots of kissin' going on in the Gardener home today.

Now I can go (carefully) search for food. We are out of all fresh produce and meat. We have been eating rice without butter for 2 days. All the stores that have curbside pick-up around me don't have any slots available until next week. I put in a small order for next week at one store as a back-up plan but I'm going to suit up with gloves, a mask, a headscarf, wrap-around sunglasses, a small supply of wipes and drive to the stores to check things out for myself. Any shopping tips?

If you don't have a list, hit the perimeter of the store first. Easier to fill in what you need after you check the main departments.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Did Gov Cuomo say anything about UPS/USPS/FedEx/DHL, etc.? Just got back from another stocking-up at Whole Foods, it looks like in just enough time. My refrigerator and freezer are now officially precariously full of food; so I doubt I could fit more, but I thought I might go to the discount store later and see if I can add in extra dry-goods type foods that don't need refrigeration. Especially impressed with "Matilda's Law", since he recently said his mother is the boss of him (lol), and this shows he's really been thinking about what to do for the seniors in the intervening days.

In other news, I needed some documents notarized (also, it seems, just in time), and it was a grim conversation at the bank with the loan officer (this was Wells Fargo). It sounds like plenty of people in NYC have taken the bank(s) seriously and already gone to them for help. No word on whether or not they got it; but it sounded really grim. Lots of "I'm going to lose my house"; "I was living paycheck to paycheck"; "I already have to move", etc.

 

[Gardener1850]

More good news (I hope): I got a call from the grocery store where I put in a curb-side pick order for next week. She asked if I was interested in getting my order today. I said absolutely! She explained they are out of many things but will pull all she can and then call and ask me about substitutions. I sure hope they have some beef, chicken and salad. Those are mostly what I need. I don't have the budget to fill my freezer like all the panic shoppers. I shop week to week for perishables. If there's no meat, then we will be eating a lot of rice and beans for our protein.

 

[Teche]

More good news (I hope): I got a call from the grocery store where I put in a curb-side pick order for next week. She asked if I was interested in getting my order today. I said absolutely! She explained they are out of many things but will pull all she can and then call and ask me about substitutions. I sure hope they have some beef, chicken and salad. Those are mostly what I need. I don't have the budget to fill my freezer like all the panic shoppers. I shop week to week for perishables. If there's no meat, then we will be eating a lot of rice and beans for our protein.

Such great service to offer. You might be able to add some canned fruits and veggies that store easily and can carry you over if the fresh foods may get difficult to obtain.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Take your own shopping bags or your own cooler and put your groceries in there and not the cart - the virus lives longest on plastic and stainless - good luck
JMO

Some grocery stores are no longer allowing you to bring your own bag.

 

[10ofRods]

I recall from very early conversations that we surmised that supposedly we weren’t going to have to worry about this TP shortages, since production came from the US, Wyoming iirc?

I think it’s likely the demand and keeping up with that production and distribution.

Some people are literally stalking stores and buying everything they possibly can, as soon as it comes in. If your store hasn't instituted limits on paper goods, contact them right away. Probably ought to be limits on eggs as well (it's paper towels, toilet paper and eggs that are in the highest demand in many places).

In places where people have been on lockdown, I'm seeing SM pictures of stores with nearly full stocks of things. So hopefully, here in California (and in NY), our local policies will cause some return of stuff to the stores.

 

[10ofRods]

I recall from very early conversations that we surmised that supposedly we weren’t going to have to worry about this TP shortages, since production came from the US, Wyoming iirc?

I think it’s likely the demand and keeping up with that production and distribution.

Some people are literally stalking stores and buying everything they possibly can, as soon as it comes in. If your store hasn't instituted limits on paper goods, contact them right away. Probably ought to be limits on eggs as well (it's paper towels, toilet paper and eggs that are in the highest demand in many places).

In places where people have been on lockdown, I'm seeing SM pictures of stores with nearly full stocks of things. So hopefully, here in California (and in NY), our local policies will cause some return of stuff to the stores.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Some people are literally stalking stores and buying everything they possibly can, as soon as it comes in. If your store hasn't instituted limits on paper goods, contact them right away. Probably ought to be limits on eggs as well (it's paper towels, toilet paper and eggs that are in the highest demand in many places).

In places where people have been on lockdown, I'm seeing SM pictures of stores with nearly full stocks of things. So hopefully, here in California (and in NY), our local policies will cause some return of stuff to the stores.

I was in smaller town yesterday and two of the meat dept employees had the hamburger in crates between them. If you wanted hamburger, they doled it out. "You want 1 or 2 packages?"

 

[cass523]

COMPANIES HIRING

Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, has announced it will hire 150,000 workers from now until the end of May. Those hired will work in stores, distribution centers, clubs and fulfillment centers, Walmart said Thursday.

7-Eleven, the country’s largest convenience store chain, announced Friday it will hire 20,000 new workers for in-store roles, many of whom will work to meet what the company calls a “surge” in mobile orders.

Petra Industries
On March 20, Petra announced plans to hire at least 50 new full-time positions over the next couple weeks. These new jobs will help Petra meet the rising demand for ecommerce fulfillment.

Amazon plans hire 100,000 people to keep up with online orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online. The company will also raise pay by $2 an hour through the end of April for hourly employees, who work at its warehouses, delivery centers and Whole Foods grocery stores.

Online learning companies: Now that over 30 million children are out of school, it’s boom time for online schools, which are swiftly expanding capacity. Outschool is hiring thousands of teachers to meet demand.

Grocery stores and delivery services: Grocery stores are your friends. Major chains such as Kroger, Meijer, and Safeway are hiring in-store shelf stockers and delivery staff; ditto for regional chains such as Raley’s. Grocery delivery services and apps such as Instacart are also hiring.

Working families: Many working parents are now forced to hire for many months of childcare, now that California’s governor announced that schools likely won’t open before fall. If kidcare is your jam, consider offering cheap, flexible options. Snap up these gigs in the next couple weeks.

Remote meeting and communication companies: Zoom is hiring, as are Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Walmart, 7-Eleven to hire thousands of workers amid coronavirus outbreak

Who is hiring during the coronavirus? Try these industries if you need a job now

LIST: Companies hiring during coronavirus pandemic

 

[margarita25]

Oh NO. Instacart has totally gone down here. NO Delivery. You can’t even arrange for a later date. I talked to them last week and they assured me this wasn’t going to happen because they were hiring more people.

Knew that was coming which is why @gregjrichards and I said don’t rely on food delivery services and to have a plan B.

Implementing plans B and C.

ETA: see update below

 

[pugmom]

My husband is doing a quick supply run to the grocery store this evening. The last time he went shopping by himself I was recovering from surgery and he came home with $42 worth of candy. It should be interesting to see what he'll bring home this time! He's going with a list so he can get in and out fast but he's terrible for impulse buying.

 

[zecats]

My husband is doing a quick supply run to the grocery store this evening. The last time he went shopping by himself I was recovering from surgery and he came home with $42 worth of candy. It should be interesting to see what he'll bring home this time! He's going with a list so he can get in and out fast but he's terrible for impulse buying.

Maybe something that will surprise you and that you will love. 3 cheers for impulse buying.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Oh NO. Instacart has totally gone down here. NO Delivery. You can’t even arrange for a later date. I talked to them last week and they assured me this wasn’t going to happen because they were hiring more people.

Knew that was coming which is why @gregjrichards and I said don’t rely on food delivery services and to have a plan B.

Implementing plans B and C.

I ordered locally with our version, which in this case is called FreshDirect.

I was, frankly, already alarmed a week or so ago when I tried to get them to deliver; and couldn't find a single slot earlier than 3.5 days in advance.

I tried yesterday in a last-ditch in-case attempt to get me some tonic water with quinine; the earliest slot I could get was - next Thursday, 8 days down the road.

Well, I placed that order, but I wouldn't count getting it intact or it, in fact, having any items in it; because they've been known to drop items from one's cart for lack of supply.

So, I had to go out and find a source to double-order it. Yeah, it's getting expensive...! I mean, iffen I don't croak I'll use it up eventually; but I have better uses for my money than second and third backups of first orders.

 

[pugmom]

Maybe something that will surprise you and that you will love. 3 cheers for impulse buying.

I was so upset at the time because I couldn't help him eat the candy. Now I'd gladly welcome anything other than the sesame snaps I've been binge eating!

 

[CocoChanel]

Grocery chain HEB doing more good!

H-E-B donates $3 million, launches program to assist Texas' most vulnerable

The program will begin on March 20 and seniors, aged 60 or older, across Texas will be able to place orders with Favor from a curated list of products from HEB.

"H-E-B and Favor will staff its Senior Support phone line with volunteers from both companies to accept and process orders over the phone from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., seven days a week. To access the Senior Support Line, call 1-833-397-0080. Built by the Favor engineering team, this system allows our company volunteers to process orders remotely from across the state.

 

[margarita25]

Qmfr:

Oh NO. Instacart has totally gone down here. NO Delivery. You can’t even arrange for a later date. I talked to them last week and they assured me this wasn’t going to happen because they were hiring more people.

Knew that was coming which is why @gregjrichards and I said don’t rely on food delivery services and to have a plan B.

Implementing plans B and C.

Ok I randomly hit refresh and a slot for today suddenly came up?!! It’s been over a week’s wait until now? PTL I wonder if it was an error! Did someone just cancel??!! I randomly just clicked on different things and hit order real quick so as to not lose the spot. Wow what a blessing.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

Good afternoon friends! We ventured out to a local Walmart today. The store had a lot of customers, many who appeared to not know about the 6 foot rule. A few people were enlightened and that was welcome. The shelves are bare though. Cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, Lysol spray still gone. It's beginning to affect the frozen food aisles now. Canned items also gone.
I've been so afraid of getting the virus, being high risk, that I had a slight panic attack in the store. No longer fun to go shopping. It looks like there's a GI bug going around town so that makes things even more fun.
I want to wake up and realize that this is all a really bad nightmare.

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm back from the stores. My curb-side pick up store had no ground beef, no chicken, no canned tuna nor pouch tuna. They were limiting bagged salad to 1 bag per order (I only wanted 2 ), so I asked about bagged coleslaw for a substitution. No coleslaw. Also no organic jam or jelly (I only buy jelly without HFCS). I asked her to remove jam from my order but she subbed a store brand jelly with HFCS. I didn't notice until I got home. Oh well. We can give it away. I got bananas, carrots, celery, onions, garlic in a jar, cage free eggs, organic milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, a variety of frozen veggies, frozen fruit, 1 loaf of gluten free bread, Natural PB, Lunch meat, mustard, pickles, 5 lbs Russet potatoes, sweet potato fries (my comfort food ), and coffee. Then I went to a smaller market without a curb-side pick up option to check out their meat selection. They also had no shelf-stable tuna, no chicken and no ground beef, no cheaper cuts of beef that can be turned into ground. I bought some expensive grassfed beef steaks, some frozen Ahi tuna steaks, frozen wild salmon and wild flounder. That's a lot more seafood than I normally buy and more expensive cuts too but we need to have some protein. I saw some canned chicken but I'm not that desperate for chicken and we have food allergies so I have to be careful with packaged foods. We are mostly whole food/cook from scratch people. Why is everyone panic buying chicken and beef? I also noticed no milk in the small market. What are people doing, freezing gallons of milk? They shouldn't be buying any more than normal.

Anyway, we should survive on my grocery haul for another couple weeks. There are plenty of options for food in stores if you are flexible on what you want to eat. It was only low or out of a few staples.

MOO