Grocery Shopping

[Amethyst]

What's Arnold? Thought people were talking about Schwarzenegger at first.

 

[LOL!]

"Green Acres is the place to be!"

 

[jimbee]

Arnold's greatest hits.

 

[Car-Guy]

We just got back from our regular shopping trip (once every ~two weeks). We got everything we wanted. HEB was fully stocked, even the meat dept. Matter of fact, it looked to be overstocked. The paper product shelves were about half full but they had plenty of everything. Also stopped by Walmart. It was about 90% stocked, even the meat dept.... No TP but plenty of other paper products.


Looked almost normal expect most people had on masks. No gloves.

 

[KB]

I just got back from Costco and they had disinfectant wipes, TP and paper towels. It was amazing to see people grabbing them. And they had everything on my list. I didn't notice any limiting signs near the meat either,.

Since CA is going to start opening up Friday, I wanted to finish any errands before then during Senior hours. Then I can sit back and see how things go.

 

[W2R]

The last time I entered a grocery store was March 3rd.

F went grocery shopping on Sunday with mask, gloves, goggles, and all. He asked me if I wanted to go with him now that I have a mask, but I declined for now. Maybe next week.

It's hard to know when to resume normal grocery shopping. It's really a want, not a need, and I am in the vulnerable category. I still have enough food in my freezer and pantry to last for a month or longer if necessary (thanks to Brewer and others who suggested stocking up several months ago), and I can order non-perishables online when they are available.

Louisiana is tentatively scheduled to begin opening up again in ten days, starting with Phase 1.

 

[38Chevy454]

Besides Costco requiring masks for all, today I went to Menards and they had a security guard at the entrance enforcing a mask for all rule. They did have a sign saying they would sell you one for $1. I had my own homemade mask and no issue getting in. Kroger not requiring masks except for employees. Meat section limiting 2 packages per customer.

 

[rk911]

Not a thread on hoarding or how often people are shopping. Wondering whether, when you do go to the store, if you are shopping inside, or ordering online in advance and picing up in the parking lot.

DW wants me to pick up and I want to go inside. We only shop every 10 days or so.

i've been going inside but that was in AZ. we're heading back home to Chgo burbs where numbers are worse. i may switch to pickup or delivery.

 

[geeky_grrl]

It's been about 6 weeks since I did a pickup order. I'm concerned because my county is talking about opening back up as fast as possible to get tourism back for summer and fruit picking and processing will start up in a month or so (and some nearby counties have already had outbreak in their fruit industries). My town is talking about doing a big fireworks display as well even though the larger cities in the region are cancelling.

I don't want to go back to a store for the next few months in case tourism makes things worse so I'm doing a pickup Friday at a restaurant supply store. I think I'll have to walk in the store to pay, but its supposed to be ready for them to load to my car them so at least I can minimize time in the store. I can buy enough food to last several months there without looking like a hoarder since their package sizes are so large (50lb bags of sugar, flour, rice, etc).

 

[RAE]

I still go inside the store. I guess I'm in the minority here, but I still like to see what I am buying (and the price) before I buy it. I wear a mask, I go just once weekly, and I go shopping in the early morning, when there are only a few other shoppers in the store, so I'm not overly concerned about it. I plan to continue doing this, unless something changes drastically.

 

[Squirrel]

I've got to go into the store to pick up a prescription tomorrow.

Since I'll be in the store anyway, I'm going to pick out my own produce. I'm so excited! (cue Pointer Sisters.)

 

[Retch The Grate]

I don't want to go back to a store for the next few months in case tourism makes things worse so I'm doing a pickup Friday at a restaurant supply store. I think I'll have to walk in the store to pay, but its supposed to be ready for them to load to my car them so at least I can minimize time in the store. I can buy enough food to last several months there without looking like a hoarder since their package sizes are so large (50lb bags of sugar, flour, rice, etc).

Yeah, I have zero desire to go into a store again. We're really happy with the restaurant supply business that has pivoted to consumers while restaurants are shut down. We order online and pick up from their truck by pulling up next to it where they park downtown. My wife puts a printout of her name in the window, they load the trunk with our order and off we go with large package size supplies. Feels like the coke we picked up is on track to last me a couple months, we've got canned tomatoes for the year, etc.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Yeah, I have zero desire to go into a store again. We're really happy with the restaurant supply business that has pivoted to consumers while restaurants are shut down. We order online and pick up from their truck by pulling up next to it where they park downtown. My wife puts a printout of her name in the window, they load the trunk with our order and off we go with large package size supplies. Feels like the coke we picked up is on track to last me a couple months, we've got canned tomatoes for the year, etc.

May I ask which restaurant supply business you are using? I downloaded the Cheetah app for a similar service but haven't tried it out yet.

 

[RobbieB]

So far, and it's been what 7 weeks of lockdown? Costco is the only place that has toilet paper. Just bizzare.

I've bought paper towels and napkins at other places but no TP.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I tired Sam's Club pick up one more time during their least busy hours based on the Google "popular times" feature. That actually went well and I got everything I ordered.

 

[Dtail]

So far, and it's been what 7 weeks of lockdown? Costco is the only place that has toilet paper. Just bizzare.

I've bought paper towels and napkins at other places but no TP.

You Cali folks are going to the bathroom too much.
Only hand sanitizers can't be found at all by us. Gloves are also found rarely.

 

[Amethyst]

When you don't capitalize Coke, it makes it sound like you have a rather edgy pickup service

Feels like the coke we picked up is on track to last me a couple months

 

[Midpack]

We finally found some bleach, last item of the most commonly hoarded items we needed to buy - without us hoarding anything. I see local stores are limiting how much meat and milk a shopper can buy, sad but evidently necessary as people are still hoarding (shortages or not).

 

[Rummy]

Update on "Arnold"... All live hogs were sold out in three days. This week a livestock auction house in the Lancaster PA area was selling 1200# - 1500#(live weight) steers for $1.05 per pound.

I'm fortunate to live in a farming area and buy my fresh produce from a farmer who specializes in produce. They have now established a very safe and efficient system of ordering on line. Place your order and they have it boxed and ready for pick up the following day. They also allow one to choose from their large selection in person, however they are the only people who touch the produce (gloved hands). The produce is displayed in a large open air, covered area, formerly used to protect their farming tractors etc. Their pick up area is separated from that area. All customers and employees are required to wear masks.

Since establishing this service, a baker (yummy pies), and a cattle and hog farmer have piggy-backed to offer their goods also. Next week a French fry truck and a food truck, plus a very well known Kielbasi maker is joining in too.

Gotta love the American farm family...

 

[Amethyst]

The two hoarded items I've given up on obtaining are isopropyl alcohol and Lysol hydrogen peroxide spray cleaner. They are the best all-purpose cleaners, gentle on surfaces, and the alcohol has some cosmetic applications too.

I find it weird that ethyl alcohol - in the form of alcoholic beverages - is plentiful. You'd think people would be hoarding it in these miserable times.

 

[Rummy]

A very small local distillery (moonshine) began producing hand sanitizer from "stumps" of liquor bottles and unwanted liquor donated by the people of the area. The distillery also received the by-products of wineries in the area and convert this to sanitizer.

Much of their product has been donated to EMS services locally. The distillery started this service at the very onset of the pandemic, as soon as the shortage became evident. Anybody need a fifth of sanitizer?

 

[harllee]

For those of you buying from restaurant supply places, how do you find them?

 

[gwraigty]

The two hoarded items I've given up on obtaining are isopropyl alcohol and Lysol hydrogen peroxide spray cleaner. They are the best all-purpose cleaners, gentle on surfaces, and the alcohol has some cosmetic applications too.

DS has a hearing aid and uses a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water to clean the exterior of it nightly. His doctor directed us to buy a small spray bottle from a dollar store for the mix. It appears to work well. Maybe a similar set up would be useful as a substitute for the Lysol in the meantime?

 

[Amethyst]

Not really, though thank you for the suggestion. The Lysol formula has a mix of of detergents and surfactants that would be hard to duplicate. The hydrogen peroxide is in place of the chlorine bleach other disinfectant cleaners have, and which I object to, since it can damage surfaces. About the closest I could come would be to add H2O2 to Simple Green or some such; and I may attempt that if I can find H2O2.

DS has a hearing aid and uses a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water to clean the exterior of it nightly. His doctor directed us to buy a small spray bottle from a dollar store for the mix. It appears to work well. Maybe a similar set up would be useful as a substitute for the Lysol in the meantime?

 

[gwraigty]

My morning grocery shopping trip to Walmart went pretty well. I didn't have a huge list, so maybe it doesn't count. They had directional shopping arrows in the aisles now: Shop This Way (green) and Do Not Enter (red). Many shoppers weren't paying attention to them, but I did. It's really not that hard. Thankfully they don't have them in the produce section. It's enough of a maze there without complicating it further. In a few places they had social distancing markings to show how long 6 feet was. Hardly anyone was practicing social distancing though, not employees and not customers. Sometimes the best you can do is try not to linger. Grab and go.

There were several empty spots in the meat section. Well-stocked: ground beef, ground turkey, big-type dinner sausages, ham, frozen non-breaded seafood. Low or no stock: other cuts of beef, pork (including breakfast sausage and bacon), chicken, frozen breaded seafood, lunchmeat. There were no signs indicating purchase limits on meat, which surprised me.

I didn't look too carefully outside of my list, but stuff was half stocked or better in most items. Plenty of in-store bakery, produce, canned fruits, vegetables, pasta, pasta sauce, canned tomatoes/sauces/pastes, sugar, milk, cheese, ice cream, eggs. Noticeable low stock items were in canned meats, canned soups, canned beans of all kinds, noodles, ramen, flour, frozen vegetables. What the heck is it with everyone wanting to eat their broccoli all of a sudden?

The store was busier than I expected for 8 to 9 AM. Many people were shopping alone, which is a welcome positive change from when most people were dragging the entire family out. Maybe a lot of people have taken to heart the store requests to shop with as few people as possible. The difference was noticeable. One guy had his teenage son along. Other than that, the store was mostly kid-free. There were some couples shopping together, mostly elderly. As I said in another thread with more detail, most customers were wearing masks, up from about half last week. And I still haven't had to wait in a line yet.