Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine

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Arachne 1 said:
Never tried this before, but found the following article informative:

How To Freeze Eggs | Fabulous Farm Girl

Before freezing, I would check the raw eggs by putting them (still in their shells) in a cup or bowl of water. If a raw egg floats to the top, it may be too old and filled with air/bacteria. I heard one of the ladies from Cook's Kitchen say that she lets her nose be the judge, but I wouldn't chance it if they float to the very top. Yours sound like they're going to be o.k. Good luck, and have fun with it!
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Thank you! :--)
 
Hazelnutty said:
Anyone had success in freezing, defrosting & using eggs? Mine expire on the 12th & I cant use all before then.

Do I break them into a ziplock bag? Do they need to be beaten before freezing?
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In a home freezer, you can freeze eggs for up to one year. When you're ready to use frozen eggs, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or under running cold water. Use egg yolks or whole eggs as soon as they're thawed. ... Use thawed frozen eggs only in dishes that are thoroughly cooked.

Freezing Eggs | Incredible Egg

upload_2020-4-9_2-15-46.jpeg
upload_2020-4-9_2-15-46.jpeg

 
katydid23 said:
In a home freezer, you can freeze eggs for up to one year. When you're ready to use frozen eggs, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or under running cold water. Use egg yolks or whole eggs as soon as they're thawed. ... Use thawed frozen eggs only in dishes that are thoroughly cooked.

Freezing Eggs | Incredible Egg

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Thank you, Katy :--)
 
Great idea on freezing eggs. I never even thought of that. Sometimes the food bank gives me a carton of frozen whole eggs. It equals about a dozen and a half. I thaw it in the fridge and make my tater tot breakfast casserole with it. Here's the recipe if you want to make it.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Use a glass baking dish, not metal. If you don't have a glass baking dish, line a metal pan with foil. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
You can use 12 eggs and a 7" x 11" dish or use 18 eggs and a 9" x 13" dish. Adjust the amount of veggies and cheese as desired.

1/2 a bag of Ore Ida Crispy Crown flat tater tots or mini tater tots. Line the frozen tater tots on the bottom of the baking dish and add some along the sides to fill in holes.

In a large bowl, add 12-18 eggs - whisk together first, then add:
1/2 lb of ground cooked sausage, like Jimmy Dean's Crumbled Turkey Sausage
1 to 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese, any type
1-2 whole tomatoes, seeded and diced, about a cup
1 cup chopped spinach
Salt, pepper, garlic, onion to taste

Mix all together. If it seems too thick, you can add more eggs or even a bit of milk. It is a very forgiving recipe.

Pour egg mixture over the tater tots and evenly distribute so all tater tots are covered.
Bake uncovered at 350 deg for about 45-55 min. If eggs are set in the center, even if they are a bit under cooked, remove the dish from the oven. The eggs will set up as it cools. Keep refrigerated up to 5 days - if it lasts that long!

My oldest makes this with chopped tomatoes, onions and colorful peppers because she doesn't like spinach.
 
We got our first Instacart order yesterday. The shopper was very good and kept in touch by text whenever she needed to substitute or couldn’t get something. She seemed very nice in her texts. She had to schlepp our bags into our building and up the elevator. As requested, she left the bags outside our apartment door. We added a few dollars in cash to the online tip for handling that so well. We are set for at least two weeks except for produce and yoghurt.

So here’s our question. With Instacart fees, tip and an extra $20 we discovered we paid above store prices, we paid $67 more for our groceries than if my husband had gone to the store and purchased the 40+ items. It’s a small price to pay to avoid getting sick, but does that seem fairly standard? We found the store receipt in a bag, which we don’t think she intended to leave there. She paid using her MasterCard. Our price for food on our Instacart charge was about $20 more than the store receipt. Is that part of what she gets to keep? Our store (Safeway) charges more for Instacart and she was able to use her membership card for some discounts. We don’t begrudge her the $20 at all, but we wondered if this is how it normally works and if the amount we paid to avoid going to the store ($67) seems in line with the usual for Instacart. Is there a way to use Instacart that doesn’t cost this much more?
 
Lilibet said:
We got our first Instacart order yesterday. The shopper was very good and kept in touch by text whenever she needed to substitute or couldn’t get something. She seemed very nice in her texts. She had to schlepp our bags into our building and up the elevator. As requested, she left the bags outside our apartment door. We added a few dollars in cash to the online tip for handling that so well. We are set for at least two weeks except for produce and yoghurt.

So here’s our question. With Instacart fees, tip and an extra $20 we discovered we paid above store prices, we paid $67 more for our groceries than if my husband had gone to the store and purchased the 40+ items. It’s a small price to pay to avoid getting sick, but does that seem fairly standard? We found the store receipt in a bag, which we don’t think she intended to leave there. She paid using her MasterCard. Our price for food on our Instacart charge was about $20 more than the store receipt. Is that part of what she gets to keep? Our store (Safeway) charges more for Instacart and she was able to use her membership card for some discounts. We don’t begrudge her the $20 at all, but we wondered if this is how it normally works and if the amount we paid to avoid going to the store ($67) seems in line with the usual for Instacart. Is there a way to use Instacart that doesn’t cost this much more?
Click to expand...
I’ve never used Instacart but I have heard about similar experiences. You can read complaints online. Call their customer service and ask for details about their fees and tips because they’re two different things. $20 seems excessive to me. The fee goes to Instacart. The tips to the shopper/delivery person. Instacart did restructure their fees and tips back in Feb due to what was essentially wage theft.
 
Wow! I should have taken pictures! Rows and rows of toilet paper, stacks of flour, sugar, rows and rows of paper towels. Fully stocked shelves. Bought fresh spinach and asparagus for. 97. Tons of fresh vegetables and fruit, rock bottom prices. I don't think people are getting out and shopping.

Now, that is what living in Montana is all about!

Yes, everyone was in masks, gloves, glasses, hats. We all look like bandits. It is quite surreal.
 
PayrollNerd said:
I’ve never used Instacart but I have heard about similar experiences. You can read complaints online. Call their customer service and ask for details about their fees and tips because they’re two different things. $20 seems excessive to me. The fee goes to Instacart. The tips to the shopper/delivery person. Instacart did restructure their fees and tips back in Feb due to what was essentially wage theft.
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Thanks! I understand the fees and tips, and wouldn’t have even known about the $20 difference if the receipt wasn’t in the bag. I will use my friend Google to find out more. My husband saw a story today that people will lure Instacart shoppers with a high tip when they order and then delete it after the order is delivered (you’re allowed to change the tip)....cheap!!
 
Following up on my post about our first Instacart delivery (#828), Google taught me that Instacart issues a prepaid debit/credit card for the shopper to use for an order. So the $20 difference I saw between what Instacart charged us and what the grocery store receipt showed is pocketed by Instacart, not the shopper. With our local Safeway, Instacart prices shown online for the customer are higher to begin with. During checkout, not only are the lower regular in-store prices charged to Instacart, but on select items there is a Safeway Card savings, lowering the price even more. I guess this is how Instacart makes its money. However, a high volume supermarket chain 12 miles away does not raise its prices for Instacart customers. Go figure. It must average out for Instacart somehow.

Instacart does pay the shoppers using an elaborate pay schedule based on the difficulty (size, weight) of items in the order, distance driven, whether it was at a peak time, etc. On top of that, the shopper keeps 100% of the tip.

So, to recap, with Instacart fees, generous shopper tip and the $20 difference between what Instacart charged us for groceries and they actually paid, our groceries cost $67 more than if my husband had gone himself. At least now we understand that mystery $20 difference. For an occasional big load of groceries during coronavirus it’s probably worth it, but rarely. I hope this helps anyone trying to navigate Instacart. :)

How Much Does Instacart Pay in 2020? Instacart's Pay Structure Revealed
 
Lilibet said:
Following up on my post about our first Instacart delivery (#828), Google taught me that Instacart issues a prepaid debit/credit card for the shopper to use for an order. So the $20 difference I saw between what Instacart charged us and what the grocery store receipt showed is pocketed by Instacart, not the shopper. With our local Safeway, Instacart prices shown online for the customer are higher to begin with. During checkout, not only are the lower regular in-store prices charged to Instacart, but on select items there is a Safeway Card savings, lowering the price even more. I guess this is how Instacart makes its money. However, a high volume supermarket chain 12 miles away does not raise its prices for Instacart customers. Go figure. It must average out for Instacart somehow.

Instacart does pay the shoppers using an elaborate pay schedule based on the difficulty (size, weight) of items in the order, distance driven, whether it was at a peak time, etc. On top of that, the shopper keeps 100% of the tip.

So, to recap, with Instacart fees, generous shopper tip and the $20 difference between what Instacart charged us for groceries and they actually paid, our groceries cost $67 more than if my husband had gone himself. At least now we understand that mystery $20 difference. For an occasional big load of groceries during coronavirus it’s probably worth it, but rarely. I hope this helps anyone trying to navigate Instacart. :)

How Much Does Instacart Pay in 2020? Instacart's Pay Structure Revealed
Click to expand...
That’s great info! Thanks for sharing. It seems to me that using the actual store’s shoppers/employees may be cheaper. Publix, the major grocer here in FL, has had a shop & delivery service for a few years now.

I’ve never looked into the cost tho. Our food allergies are so bad that we can’t trust anyone else to shop. We would have to educate them to understand how milk is written in an ingredient list and things like that. Before everyone realized how scary it was, they thought we were just picky eaters. Until a restaurant accidentally put a nut in my salad. My Angelina Jolie lips popped right up. Then one time our office catered food. I reacted to salad dressing that had ginger in it. They took me to the pharmacy immediately and put dissolvable Benadryl on my tongue.
 
Lilibet said:
We got our first Instacart order yesterday. The shopper was very good and kept in touch by text whenever she needed to substitute or couldn’t get something. She seemed very nice in her texts. She had to schlepp our bags into our building and up the elevator. As requested, she left the bags outside our apartment door. We added a few dollars in cash to the online tip for handling that so well. We are set for at least two weeks except for produce and yoghurt.

So here’s our question. With Instacart fees, tip and an extra $20 we discovered we paid above store prices, we paid $67 more for our groceries than if my husband had gone to the store and purchased the 40+ items. It’s a small price to pay to avoid getting sick, but does that seem fairly standard? We found the store receipt in a bag, which we don’t think she intended to leave there. She paid using her MasterCard. Our price for food on our Instacart charge was about $20 more than the store receipt. Is that part of what she gets to keep? Our store (Safeway) charges more for Instacart and she was able to use her membership card for some discounts. We don’t begrudge her the $20 at all, but we wondered if this is how it normally works and if the amount we paid to avoid going to the store ($67) seems in line with the usual for Instacart. Is there a way to use Instacart that doesn’t cost this much more?
Click to expand...

believe I read that an Instcart shopper only makes about $10/hr.
there are some articles by shoppers about how they maximize profit.
they are, after all, using their own car, phone, maybe PPE and now, having to
wait in line if stores are too crowded, so they are not making a lot. I also read an article about a woman whose Instacart shopper surreptitiously added some things for herself (!) to the order and passed the cost on. She was caught and fired but makes sense to review your order/charges.
 
LadyL said:
oh
yeah we don't have that here in Canada that I know of
Click to expand...

au contraire:
Canadian Organic Growers » CSA Directories
upload_2020-4-10_1-52-47.pngwww.cog.ca › home › find-organics › ontario-csa-directory
upload_2020-4-10_1-52-47.png
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a great way to support your local farmers by purchasing a share of the harvest at the beginning of the growing season. This program spreads the risk more evenly between farmers and consumers and helps farmers plan for the growing season.
 
acutename said:
believe I read that an Instcart shopper only makes about $10/hr.
there are some articles by shoppers about how they maximize profit.
they are, after all, using their own car, phone, maybe PPE and now, having to
wait in line if stores are too crowded, so they are not making a lot. I also read an article about a woman whose Instacart shopper surreptitiously added some things for herself (!) to the order and passed the cost on. She was caught and fired but makes sense to review your order/charges.
Click to expand...
Here in my area Instacart shoppers say they only get paid $8 per hour. Several of them are doing private shopping trips now, they have been posting on our neighborhood websites and Nextdoor that they will do grocery shopping trips for $5.95 per order plus tip. This allows them to shop at multiple stores too, if one store doesn’t have everything on the list.

The reason the Instacart shoppers started offering this service is that there were no time slots available for Instacart, since so many people are avoiding grocery stores now. People were posting that they were elderly, or otherwise at high risk and they couldn’t go into stores.


So the Instacart shoppers just invited people to pick their groceries and then share the list with them and they would pick them up. This avoids the Instacart markup too, the customer pays the regular price for groceries.

The customers have written glowing reviews of their private shoppers, saying that they wipe all the groceries with Lysol wipes and leave them on their porch or in the garage.

The shoppers have mentioned that everyone has been very generous with their tips too. A win-win situation.
 
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