Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine

[JaneEyre]

why?

Same reason you can’t bring cups to refill at Starbucks, I guess. Hy-Vee announced it.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

why?

Far less sterile than new bags. I suppose they are worried about the baggers being exposed, as well as all the surfaces the bags touch. Same is true for reusable cups at coffee places. So, strike one against the environment, but on the other hand, I hear we are polluting the air less with our cars and planes...

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

Omg I’m instacart shopping right now. Everything is being refunded because they don’t have it!!! I am asking for whatever replacements can be provided.

I ordered Bisquick last week. I got hot cocoa mix! And instead of grapes, they substituted plums. It's a surprise every time you open a bag.

 

[margarita25]

Prepare a bleach solution by mixing:

• 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water or
• 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water

Per CDC
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations

Thank YOU!!!!!!!

 

[asyousay]

The problem I have is these idiots are going to make this drag out even longer.

I am early 30’s and I have already been home pretty much for 2 weeks apart from the post office and I only went in with nobody with in there with a hood over my mouth and face. I am literally climbing the walls already as it feels like prison but I have two elderly parents and I still live with one of them.


So the fact idiots are still out and about pretending like everything is ok and spreading it just means the people behaving sensibly are going to have to spend even longer at home due to the idiots who are not doing as they are told.


I don’t know what planet these selfish idiots live on but anybody who can see the suffering in Italy and still pretend like this is a big joke is beyond me.

 

[Ursamajr]

I don’t know what planet these selfish idiots live on but anybody who can see the suffering in Italy and still pretend like this is a big joke is beyond me.

I went out earlier to grab some food I had forgotten to buy last week. Figured I would stock up before the "stay in place" order goes into effect on sunday here in NYC. I have a compromised immune system but most importantly to me - I don't want to pass Covid to anyone else if there was a chance I did have it. Anyway, I was shocked about how many people just Did. Not. Care. about the 6 foot rule. Just gave no . The market was even pacing how many people were in the store. Plenty of room! Oy.

 

[natureaker]

I feel like one very big concern about COVID-19 is all the panic buying of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, canned foods, etc. While these may be necessary to have, buying out an entire stores stock just to hoard for yourself is unfair to those who actually need the stuff, whether their more susceptible to the virus or not. It's also hard for grocery stores to keep up with these high demands, with these items selling out incredibly quick and limitations on how much of each items a store can order. However, everything else brought up in this thread is definitely a cause for concern as well.

 

[Trudie]

I went out earlier to grab some food I had forgotten to buy last week. Figured I would stock up before the "stay in place" order goes into effect on sunday here in NYC. I have a compromised immune system but most importantly to me - I don't want to pass Covid to anyone else if there was a chance I did have it. Anyway, I was shocked about how many people just Did. Not. Care. about the 6 foot rule. Just gave no ****. The market was even pacing how many people were in the store. Plenty of room! Oy.

If necessary, I can hold out for 6-8 weeks without hitting a store. Only because I can easily go w/o eating! I’d hate to be without fresh produce that long tho, especially with warm weather on the horizon.
How did your store handle pacing? I’d like to see ours do the same.

 

[PommyMommy]

Kohl’s is closing nationwide until April 1 due to COVID-19
Department store and retail chain, Kohl’s will close all of its stores nationwide until at least April 1 due to COVID-19 concerns. Kohl’s has 1,158 locations across the states.

Kohls said it is providing two calendar weeks of pay to its store associates.

[...]

 

[Ursamajr]

How did your store handle pacing? I’d like to see ours do the same.

I'm in the city so there is no parking - we just lined up outside the store and probably went with the venue capacity that was capped at 250. 1 Went in when 1 came out. It went really fast. Not many people wanted to hang around inside.

 

[Gardener1850]

I went out earlier to grab some food I had forgotten to buy last week. Figured I would stock up before the "stay in place" order goes into effect on sunday here in NYC. I have a compromised immune system but most importantly to me - I don't want to pass Covid to anyone else if there was a chance I did have it. Anyway, I was shocked about how many people just Did. Not. Care. about the 6 foot rule. Just gave no ****. The market was even pacing how many people were in the store. Plenty of room! Oy.

BBM. Same situation here in the Southeast US. My small grocery store had about 3-4 people per aisle, plenty of room, but people seemed to bunch up in the aisles and not respect distances. The outer aisles where meat and dairy products have been decimated seemed to be the least busy as everyone took a look at the empty shelves and moved on. Very few shoppers were wearing masks and none were respecting social distancing. I received quite a few open mouthed stares as I darted around with my gloves, mask, wrap around sunglasses and a head scarf to cover my hair and ears. But none of those moved out of my way so I could get the items I needed and just get out of there. People seemed to be strolling and stopping to talk to neighbors they ran into like it was just another vacation day.

I had to circle the outer aisles of the store about 5 times waiting for some aisles to clear of enough people for my comfort level. By my 5th lap around the store I figured out people only moved out of my way if I coughed a bit behind my mask. I didn't do it on purpose, but I coughed because I was starting to get very warm and having trouble breathing with everything I was wearing. People jumped out of my way when I coughed and they walked in the other direction from me. The same people who were lollygagging and close-talking with one another and didn't budge before when I stood 6 feet behind them waiting for them to move on. That tells me they are well aware of corona virus and all that is going on but they don't have a clue about how it spreads.

It's like they think it can only be spread by actively sick people (fever and cough). I felt like everyone in the store thought I must only be wearing a mask because I'm sick. I'm well right now but I don't want to get sick. And if I happen to have it I could be contagious for a few days before I get any symptoms. I wear a mask and keep my distance to protect myself and to protect my community. I understand many were caught off guard and have no masks and no rubber gloves but it seems like my community doesn't get social distancing at all. Ugh. Sorry for the rant. It's been percolating since my appalling trip to the store. Americans are doomed if people keep acting so carelessly in public.
MOO.

 

[PommyMommy]

COLORADO

Longmont dairies see customer demand soar in wake of coronavirus outbreak – Longmont Times-Call
During the holiday season, Katie Herrmann, co-owner of the Longmont Dairy, said the milk delivery business sees a spike in demand — but in her five years with the family-owned company, she’s never seen anything like the boom sparked by the new coronavirus.

“We’ve had busy times of year, but this exceeds even Christmas,” Herrmann said.

Two of Longmont’s family-owned dairies — the Longmont Dairy and Royal Crest Dairy — have seen a huge demand increase recently as more people turn to milk delivery operations to supply the things becoming scarce on grocery store shelves and as efforts for social distancing become paramount for keeping the virus from spreading.

[...]

In an effort to continue to provide for already established customers, Herrmann said the dairy had to temporarily stop accepting new customers. As of Friday, she said people interested in service could sign up online, where there is a wait list.

“We will slowly be putting customers back on as we are able over the next couple of months,” Herrmann said. “We just couldn’t keep up with demand. We have had a lot of loyal customers for many years and we are trying to make sure they get the orders they are accustomed to.”

[...]

 

[Henry2326]

ILLINOIS

Grocery stores across the state have began to offer hours specifically for senior shoppers to come in and get their groceries without other shoppers present so we minimize risk to ours seniors.
Governor JB Pritzker on Twitter

 

[margarita25]

Qmfr:

Ok I have a plastic tub I normally use for cleaning supplies.

Filled it with bleach and water.

Walking out to doorstep with gloves and will first put each delivered item in bleach bucket.


Eta:
Better idea

It’s heavy. Next time use flower pot to transport water

Wow. Apparently some things aren’t sealed like we thought. Just had a frozen bag of veggies fill up with bleach water. Nice.

 

[Gardener1850]

Qmfr:


Wow. Apparently some things aren’t sealed like we thought. Just had a frozen bag of veggies fill up with bleach water. Nice.

Oh no! If they are the steam-in-bag type of veggies they always have tiny holes to release the steam and many other frozen bags have holes where the perforations are for opening them. I'm using wipes to clean my groceries but I decided not to try to wipe my freezer items that were in bags (frozen veggies, frozen fruit and sweet potato fries). Instead, I put them in a separate freezer and will wait 3-6 days to use any of them. I'm hoping that will kill the virus as it needs a human host to survive longer, right? I wiped as much as I could down (mostly the cold items) but I left some shelf stable items out in my car trunk. I didn't want to waste wipes and I ran out of energy trying to get the cold stuff put away without cross contamination. I hope we don't have to do this for very long.

MOO.

 

[Tillicum]

I don't want to alarm anyone. I'm not usually a person who panics. But stay home as long as you possibly can. If you can have something delivered to you-- do that instead. If someone offers to shop for you and leave the groceries on your doorstep with no contact, accept their help and wipe everything down when you bring it in. I meant to fill my car with gasoline but I was so freaked out by the behavior of others that I completely forgot. I have 1/4 tank and usually stay full for emergency situations. I suppose I'll have to go out tomorrow and fill up. At least I can pump my own gas with gloves on my hands and use the car and pumps as a physical barrier to avoid anyone getting near. People are acting strange and there's this eerie feeling in the air out there. I don't like it. I want nothing more than to wake up tomorrow and find out this has all been a bizarre dream.


ETA: And I hope you feel better soon. I'll say a prayer for you.

MOO.

I don't plan on going out until 14 days after I got sick, if then. My husband still goes to work every day and leaves early to run in the store if we need anything. He's expecting them to close the business soon and he'll only run in if there's an emergency need. I have enough stocked up to last 4-6 weeks. Once they close we'll hunker down. Thanks for the prayers. I'm feeling better every day. Can't wait to get the garden in.

 

[margarita25]

Oh no! If they are the steam-in-bag type of veggies they always have tiny holes to release the steam and many other frozen bags have holes where the perforations are for opening them. I'm using wipes to clean my groceries but I decided not to try to wipe my freezer items that were in bags (frozen veggies, frozen fruit and sweet potato fries). Instead, I put them in a separate freezer and will wait 3-6 days to use any of them. I'm hoping that will kill the virus as it needs a human host to survive longer, right? I wiped as much as I could down (mostly the cold items) but I left some shelf stable items out in my car trunk. I didn't want to waste wipes and I ran out of energy trying to get the cold stuff put away without cross contamination. I hope we don't have to do this for very long.

MOO.

Lol about the holes, thank you. Woops.

Trial and error.

See I did not want to waste wipes either and figured the water bleach thing is good (I still think it is) but it was dumb of me with the holes.

That alright. No biggie. Grateful for what I do have.

This is A LOT of work and time cleaning everything but it’s worth it for peace of mind, sheez.

Can’t take any chances.

Where are we with the latest reputable sources on surface transmission?

 

[Trino]

Ordered a pizza (phone and credit card) from a well-known pizzeria in San Antonio. No drive-in service. All transactions, pizza delivery were from the parking lot. Absolutely no going inside.

 

[Charlot123]

I feel like one very big concern about COVID-19 is all the panic buying of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, canned foods, etc. While these may be necessary to have, buying out an entire stores stock just to hoard for yourself is unfair to those who actually need the stuff, whether their more susceptible to the virus or not. It's also hard for grocery stores to keep up with these high demands, with these items selling out incredibly quick and limitations on how much of each items a store can order. However, everything else brought up in this thread is definitely a cause for concern as well.

This is because people of this country have not had war or major disaster here for a long time, and they don't even know what and how to buy, I think. It should stop soon.

 

[cody22]

West Texas report - My family and I are all well. I will venture out later around noon in order to fill up my lawnmower gas can, buy more cigarettes, and then go to our "HEB Curbside Small Shopping Experiment ". I will let yall know how all that turns out afterwards......I wish all of yall and your loved ones good health and safety today. Yall all catch a smile, put it in your pocket, and take it out as needed or wanted.............Meet yall later for a cup of coffee, right here in WS Land.......moo