Grocery Shopping

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O.K., just brought up a youtube video of shooting pigs at night in Texas. That, right there, is insane.


 
That is a huge number of pigs. Rip up a field in one night, easy.
 
Feral hogs are also a terrible pest in Florida. Florida Fish and Wildlife encourages hunting and trapping, but warns about eating them, as they carry parasites and diseases that can be transmitted to people. Wouldn't want to be at the barbecue where the next COVID-19 decides to emigrate.

brewer12345 said:
Hahahaha! These aren't considered game animals, but invasive pests. In Texas it is legal to shoot them from a hot air balloon (at night, if you can see them).
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For those who get their groceries delivered what do you normally tip the delivery person? It's hard to add a percentage when you don't usually yield 100% of your order.
 
I just had my order delivery order from Costco and I tipped $15. Costco added something like $8 for a tip, but I thought $15 was sort of like hazard pay. They are willing to go out, and I am not. My total order was around $150, so roughly 10% tip.
 
I always tip 20% . They text me with any substitutions and really try to fulfill my list . Last week I tipped even higher . They are taking a risk I am not willing to do . They deserve hazard pay .
 
Our Aldi is opening 1/2 hour early on Tuesdays & Thursdays for anyone over 60, pregnant or with underlying serious health issues.

I just got back from there. I got there at 8:25, and there was a line of folks, many with masks, ready to race in. After everyone got out of the way it was actually fairly pleasant. They had TP, towels, cleaning products, meat, limit of 2 dozen eggs (.68 dz) and basically it seemed like a pre-pandemic visit.

Our bigger, full-service grocery store has delivery and pick-up, but it's been impossible to place an order as they have no slots available. Sunday I took a chance and tried to place an order - I got one! On Friday! Better than nothing, and it will keep me out of that store.

I have been hoping things would settle down a bit, and they seem to be.
 
I was able to grab a Walmart curbside pickup slot for tonight last night (around 8PM) at not the closest store but one that it about 25 minutes away.

I decided to give it back. I have enough fresh fruit/veggies/milk for almost another week. The only thing I will run out of before that time is spring mix, and I have plenty of staples plus some frozen meat, blueberries, egg beaters, ... Just figured it would be better to let someone else have the pickup slot and I can wait another week.
 
Well, going to the store is an experience. I figured that, but what I didn't figure is that the "experience" would be between me and DW. She will not be going next time. I think she still thinks that she's "shopping" and not buying what's there and getting the hell out of there. She's still picking things up and looking at ingredients, looking for sale items, and checking for the further out expiration date on the spinach.

THEN, she comes home and want's to quarantine the food in the garage. :facepalm:

I've tried to explain to her that this is an emergency situation and to grab and go as we stay away from other people.

Then, I watch her try to wipe down the food (the container, not the actual food) and she really doesn't get it. Thankfully, I am not too concerned about transmission that way, but to watch her is funny but it would be scary if I really believed it mattered. I tried to explain to her the glitter reference and showed her how the way she handled the food just got glitter over everything. Again - :facepalm:

I'm probably higher on the scale of caution than most, but if I'm an 8, she's a 4 even though she thinks she's being cautious. As I said, she's making a list and I'm going alone next time. Thankfully, that will be about a week or more.
 
copyright1997reloaded said:
I was able to grab a Walmart curbside pickup slot for tonight last night (around 8PM) at not the closest store but one that it about 25 minutes away.

I decided to give it back. I have enough fresh fruit/veggies/milk for almost another week. The only thing I will run out of before that time is spring mix, and I have plenty of staples plus some frozen meat, blueberries, egg beaters, ... Just figured it would be better to let someone else have the pickup slot and I can wait another week.
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Every time I go, or drive by our Walmart pickup, it has 1 or 2 out of 10 slots being used, and the other 8 slots are empty..

So I really think they don't put in enough time slots, for the actual capacity they could handle.

I personally buy in advance of need, because you don't know that next week everyone will take all the slots just when you have run out of foood and you will be moaning how you are eating rice and beans every day...
 
I haven't enjoyed going to Walmart in the past. AT ALL. My last trip out of the house was to Costco on the 16th, and while my reasoning was good the gal was not happy I went - and after getting back I recognized I'd put her in danger as well and we could have made it without the things I bought. We tried for delivery from Costco, but it wasn't transparent. Tried Walmart pickup service and it was fantastic. They substituted two things - organic green onions for an ordinary bunch and 2 24oz bags of chocolate chips instead of one 36oz bag. Kept the prices the same. We drove up, the gal came to a few feet from our window and told us to stay in the car while she loaded our groceries into the boxes and ice chest we had back there. She said she was prohibited from accepting the tip we had left in the cargo area, but thanked us for the gesture. Got home and the cold things were all in the cooler and the other stuff was of good quality and packed well. Receipt was emailed. May have to re-think my prejudice.
 
calmloki said:
I haven't enjoyed going to Walmart in the past. AT ALL. My last trip out of the house was to Costco on the 16th, and while my reasoning was good the gal was not happy I went - and after getting back I recognized I'd put her in danger as well and we could have made it without the things I bought. We tried for delivery from Costco, but it wasn't transparent. Tried Walmart pickup service and it was fantastic. They substituted two things - organic green onions for an ordinary bunch and 2 24oz bags of chocolate chips instead of one 36oz bag. Kept the prices the same. We drove up, the gal came to a few feet from our window and told us to stay in the car while she loaded our groceries into the boxes and ice chest we had back there. She said she was prohibited from accepting the tip we had left in the cargo area, but thanked us for the gesture. Got home and the cold things were all in the cooler and the other stuff was of good quality and packed well. Receipt was emailed. May have to re-think my prejudice.
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Good to hear. We have been using the Walmart pickup service for over a year and love it. DW needs a power cart if she needs to go in the store and this service, and the great WM website, have eliminated her needing to go inside.
 
I shopped this morning. Had a list, couldn’t find everything. Used the hand held scanner, sanitized it, wore gloves. Paid with Apple Pay. Used my left pinky knuckle on the store touch screen. Sanitized my gloved hands and the scanner when I was done. Sanitized everything when I got home, while transferring from the garage to a sanitized counter. Items in plastic bags inside boxes were dumped out of the boxes into waiting clean bags using sterile technique. Lots of sanitizing and washing. Some items won’t be used for a week or more. It took a long time (mostly at home).

One question for those who like to use the various shopping services like InstaCart: I watched the store shopping service folks. 10 paper bags jammed on a cart. No gloves, no hand sanitizer. Touching food items for 10 different bags and some kind of scanner on their wrist. Who knows if this person has COVID-19 and touches their face? How is having a stranger bring your groceries safer than shopping and keeping your distance from others?
 
We had our first successful instacart delivery today from our local supermarket after a failed one from Costco last week. The substitutions were thoughtful & we're pleased with the result - we got almost everything we ordered. The only item we didn't get was bread flour.

Someone asked about tipping & substitutions - with instacart, you can adjust your tip after the shopping is complete.

We should be set for another week.
 
Went to Whole Foods market today. Only one entrance/exit as the other entrance was locked. A cart attendant was fogging a row of carts with disinfectant spray, and only allowing one customer in after one exits. No reusable shopping bags were allowed. There were lots of painted lines and markers on the floors to indicate social distancing. A clear plexiglass shield was between the cashier and the customer. It’s getting real now.
 
My plan for future grocery shopping: Any non-perishables in a box, can or sealed bag will be delivered and quarantined in the garage for a minimum of 3-4 days. For perishables, I will go grocery shopping to local small store every 10 days or so, most likely during the dinner hour or after, times I assume will have the least # of people shopping.

For mail pickup at the local UPS store, I have made arrangements to get an outside key and will pick up our mail weekly after hours. Deliveries are now being made to our residence rather than mailing address.
 
calmloki said:
I haven't enjoyed going to Walmart in the past. AT ALL. My last trip out of the house was to Costco on the 16th, and while my reasoning was good the gal was not happy I went - and after getting back I recognized I'd put her in danger as well and we could have made it without the things I bought. We tried for delivery from Costco, but it wasn't transparent. Tried Walmart pickup service and it was fantastic. They substituted two things - organic green onions for an ordinary bunch and 2 24oz bags of chocolate chips instead of one 36oz bag. Kept the prices the same. We drove up, the gal came to a few feet from our window and told us to stay in the car while she loaded our groceries into the boxes and ice chest we had back there. She said she was prohibited from accepting the tip we had left in the cargo area, but thanked us for the gesture. Got home and the cold things were all in the cooler and the other stuff was of good quality and packed well. Receipt was emailed. May have to re-think my prejudice.
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I have also found it very good.
And they seem to have more things now, like chicken :)
Plus I tried to tip the girl , but she said she couldn't take tips.
Later I was thinking of course I could be full of virus for one, also perhaps the grocery picker is not the put in the car person, so tipping would/could be unfair. But I'm thinking it's the health risk issue.
 
I was curious how Instacart worked so I did some research.

The Instacart shoppers who pick your groceries for curbside pickup are (part time) employees of Instacart, not a particular store. Employees seem to be able to set their own hours but cannot work more than 35 hours per week.

The Instacart delivery people are independent contractors. It operates like Uber: if you are accepted as a contractor, you download an app. As shopping requests show up on the app you can claim a job. You then drive to the store, shop, load the groceries in your own vehicle, and deliver.

Instacart gets part of the service fee, it does not all go to the shoppers. I got the impression that employees make about $10/hour but the delivery (contractors) have to really hustle to make that from service fees only. The contractors depend more on tips.

This was just my long-winded way to remind you to tip adequately (generously) if you get Instacart delivery.
 
EastWest Gal said:
One question for those who like to use the various shopping services like InstaCart: I watched the store shopping service folks. 10 paper bags jammed on a cart. No gloves, no hand sanitizer. Touching food items for 10 different bags and some kind of scanner on their wrist. Who knows if this person has COVID-19 and touches their face? How is having a stranger bring your groceries safer than shopping and keeping your distance from others?
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I use it because I feel safer only dealing with one person rather than go to a store and be exposed to a lot more people . Every store around here has been jammed with people .My SO who has an incredible immune system wipes down all the groceries and puts them away .
 
I read something from a doctor the other day that eased my fears (somewhat) concerning catching Coronavirus from food brought into our house (we use Walmart Curbside Pick-up and Instacart). It also alleviated some of my concerns about not rigerously sanitizing the groceries we purchase. The doctor said this is a respiratory virus, and as such, it has to come into contact with the respiratory tract to cause an infection. Ingesting it on food won't make you sick, he said. I believe as long as we thoroughly wash our hands after putting groceries away and thoroughly rinse items consumed raw, we should be ok.
 
NateW said:
I read something from a doctor the other day that eased my fears (somewhat) concerning catching Coronavirus from food brought into our house (we use Walmart Curbside Pick-up and Instacart). It also alleviated some of my concerns about not rigerously sanitizing the groceries we purchase. The doctor said this is a respiratory virus, and as such, it has to come into contact with the respiratory tract to cause an infection. Ingesting it on food won't make you sick, he said. I believe as long as we thoroughly wash our hands after putting groceries away and thoroughly rinse items consumed raw, we should be ok.
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I like to spray my groceries with a diluted bleach solution and wipe them, and then put them away. So they are clean going into the fridge/freezer.

I think if I just put away food in the fridge/freezer, and then take it out a day or two later I'll get the virus off the food/milk container/yogurt container, and touch my face or forget to wash my hands after taking each thing out of the fridge/freezer.
 
Sunset said:
I like to spray my groceries with a diluted bleach solution and wipe them, and then put them away. So they are clean going into the fridge/freezer.

I think if I just put away food in the fridge/freezer, and then take it out a day or two later I'll get the virus off the food/milk container/yogurt container, and touch my face or forget to wash my hands after taking each thing out of the fridge/freezer.
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Same idea, but a different method. I wipe down all the packaging you mention with Lysol wipes.
 
PickUp Shopping

I walk with a cane and have been using pickup/curbside at Sam's Club, Walmart, Kroger's. The only one I'm have a problem with is Krogers which is forcing pickup < free > to wait 6 days or go with delivery < $9.95 > next day !! Walmart limits some items to 2 - so I have to reorder every couple of days !! Sam's is about the best so far...
 
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