Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #4

[otto]

We almost need to start a poll to see how many people have stock-piled a month of food and other necessities just in case. It seems unnecessary when the problem is in some other part of the world, but it also seems quite likely that the problem will move to all parts of the world.

If that happens, there are those who will be prepared, and those who will panic in the last minute and the shelves will be bare. I wonder what the stats would look like amongst people here for prepared versus wait and see then panic.

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[YaYa_521]

Please continue here.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Thanks for the new thread!

Managed to grow a few veggies in my test garden. I’ve learned a lot and I’m closing up 2 beds for the hot & steamy FL summer. Now to plan my fall garden.

 

[PayrollNerd]

The roses the church gave me have opened and they are so lovely! Grateful for the blessing of fresh flowers.

 

[PayrollNerd]

One of my favorite stores had sockeye salmon on sale for $10.99/lb. I steamed it tonight so I could have 2 meals. So delicious! If you’re ever in the Sarasota area don’t miss a chance to go in Detwilers.

Detwiler's Farm Market - More than a Grocery Store in Sarasota, FL

Get the best deals in Sarasota, FL at Detwiler's Farm Market - groceries, butcher, produce, seafood, ice cream, deli, fresh food for less.

detwilermarket.com

 

[PayrollNerd]

Publix has strawberries for 99 cents a quart!!! I now have 4 quarts to clean and freeze. I was so tempted to buy more.

I was surprised there were no Publix brand breakfast bars. It wasn't that the stock was low, it was as if they're no longer carrying them. The entire area has been re-done with all name brand breakfast bars. Weird.

I couldn't find any store brand regular toilet paper. It was as if they'll no longer have that either. I bought Angel Soft 24 rolls for $20.49 which to me is TP robbery. Every other brand was higher.

A pound of real butter, store brand was $4.99. I haven't needed butter in probably 6 months or more so it was a shock to me.

 

[killarney rose]

I was shopping at Publix exclusively until this new level of inflation hit. I just can’t afford them anymore. As much as it pains me to do it, I’ve switched to Walmart grocery pick up. I have to say, I love the convenience, the associates are so friendly, and I love the lower prices. I’ve cut way back on meat. We are having more meatless meals and more veggies from the produce farm. I love our south AL summer veggies.

 

[kalvis]

Publix has strawberries for 99 cents a quart!!! I now have 4 quarts to clean and freeze. I was so tempted to buy more.

I was surprised there were no Publix brand breakfast bars. It wasn't that the stock was low, it was as if they're no longer carrying them. The entire area has been re-done with all name brand breakfast bars. Weird.

I couldn't find any store brand regular toilet paper. It was as if they'll no longer have that either. I bought Angel Soft 24 rolls for $20.49 which to me is TP robbery. Every other brand was higher.

A pound of real butter, store brand was $4.99. I haven't needed butter in probably 6 months or more so it was a shock to me.

That is a great buy for the strawberries. Fresh local strawberry season in Indiana is over. Local sweet corn is finally ready. I may freeze some sweet corn in a couple weeks. I put my order in for canner tomatoes at our local farmers market. They will call in a couple weeks letting me know the tomatoes are ready to be picked up. I order enough to can about 30 quarts.
I order the tomatoes rather than grow them myself for a couple reasons. First, gardens are a lot of work (I admire all you gardeners
dedication). Second, I do not have green thumb. And third, I can process all the tomatoes I will need at the same time. (Meaning: all my tomatoes are ripe at the same time).
Finally, local watermelon and cantaloupe are being picked. My favorite is ice cold sweet cantaloupe from the refrigerator on a hot summer day! Sorry for the rambling.

 

[killarney rose]

We’ve stopped gardening as well. Between the grass and the insects taking over, it’s easier to go to the local produce farm. We can get items freshly picked on the same day and our peas and butterbeans already shelled. Saves a lot of work on my end. The total cost after paying for fuel and gardening supplies really isn’t that different.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Graphic: Track grocery price trends

NBC News is tracking changes in grocery prices to monitor the impact on consumers’ food bills.

www.nbcnews.com

Family grocery bills are on the rise with higher prices for most items, accentuated by significant increases in eggs, chicken, bacon and beef. But unless shoppers are taking notes, it can be hard to really see which items are seeing the biggest spikes.

NBC News is monitoring the average point-of-sale prices paid, and how much those prices have changed since May 2021 for six popular supermarket items: orange juice, eggs, chicken breasts, fresh ground beef, bacon and bread.

Readers can use this interactive chart to see how the price they have paid for groceries differs from the national average, or from the prices shoppers paid in other major metro areas...

 

[PayrollNerd]

Graphic: Track grocery price trends

NBC News is tracking changes in grocery prices to monitor the impact on consumers’ food bills.

www.nbcnews.com

Family grocery bills are on the rise with higher prices for most items, accentuated by significant increases in eggs, chicken, bacon and beef. But unless shoppers are taking notes, it can be hard to really see which items are seeing the biggest spikes.

NBC News is monitoring the average point-of-sale prices paid, and how much those prices have changed since May 2021 for six popular supermarket items: orange juice, eggs, chicken breasts, fresh ground beef, bacon and bread.

Readers can use this interactive chart to see how the price they have paid for groceries differs from the national average, or from the prices shoppers paid in other major metro areas...

I picked the Miami area on the tracker because that is as close to the Tampa area as they offer on the list. The prices still seem lower than here in Sarasota. It says $4.09 for a gallon in Miami. I swear I paid that for the 1/2 gallon I bought in Sarasota.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I was shopping at Publix exclusively until this new level of inflation hit. I just can’t afford them anymore. As much as it pains me to do it, I’ve switched to Walmart grocery pick up. I have to say, I love the convenience, the associates are so friendly, and I love the lower prices. I’ve cut way back on meat. We are having more meatless meals and more veggies from the produce farm. I love our south AL summer veggies.

I would switch to Walmart if mine was a decent store. The one by me was/is constantly a magnet for the homeless men. They made it unsafe, filthy, constant shoplifting, etc. They robbed the Bank of America across the parking lot so many times, that BOA has an armed guard and has for years.

Last year the land was sold where the homeless camp was and all the men were removed. They're still around but I don't know where. So the Walmart store has improved some. But it is still understaffed and always has been. They greatly reduced their food options and the produce is awful. My alternative is when I go to another area of town for some other reason, I'll go to another Walmart. They do have better prices and generally are better stocked, cleaner, more staff, etc.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I caved and went to Walmart for weed spray today. I had bought a refill bottle at Ace Hardware yesterday. I put it in the sprayer, added water and all it did was drip foam from the nozzle. Irritating. I ended up opening the lid and literally pouring it along the fence. I got 2 spray jugs that are the 1 year long type and it was over $80 I nearly fainted. But I'm not able to pull weeds so I don't have a choice.

Anyway, I decided to get some cream cheese and milk. The double pack of Philly cream cheese was less than Publix. The milk selection was very poor and not very much in stock. I was surprised since I hadn't really heard of milk shortages. I swung by Publix on the way home and got a gallon of whole milk. I like their brand better and they're entire display was full.

I did notice Walmart had a lot more employees restocking than I've seen in the past. The aisle with the water wasn't very full at all. I wanted to get some water for Hurricane season but there wasn't Spring water. I don't drink any water with additives. I don't care that it says Purified. That means they did something to it.

I wore my mask and I think I was the only person in either store with one on. I came home unloaded my truck and washed all the way up to my elbows. I really don't need any extra germs.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Sunflowers, war and drought: Why the price of margarine and butter spiked 32%

A complex global trade dynamic has fueled tighter supplies of vegetable oils and milk, leading to higher prices for butter and margarine at home.

www.cnbc.com

KEY POINTS

• Inflation has impacted all groceries, but none more so than butter and margarine in the past year.
• Margarine and butter prices rose 32% in September versus 12 months earlier, according to the latest consumer price index, issued Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• A complex global trade dynamic for certain commodities and general inflationary trends in the U.S. have contributed...

 

[JDG]

I caved and went to Walmart for weed spray today. I had bought a refill bottle at Ace Hardware yesterday. I put it in the sprayer, added water and all it did was drip foam from the nozzle. Irritating. I ended up opening the lid and literally pouring it along the fence. I got 2 spray jugs that are the 1 year long type and it was over $80 I nearly fainted. But I'm not able to pull weeds so I don't have a choice.

Anyway, I decided to get some cream cheese and milk. The double pack of Philly cream cheese was less than Publix. The milk selection was very poor and not very much in stock. I was surprised since I hadn't really heard of milk shortages. I swung by Publix on the way home and got a gallon of whole milk. I like their brand better and they're entire display was full.

I did notice Walmart had a lot more employees restocking than I've seen in the past. The aisle with the water wasn't very full at all. I wanted to get some water for Hurricane season but there wasn't Spring water. I don't drink any water with additives. I don't care that it says Purified. That means they did something to it.

I wore my mask and I think I was the only person in either store with one on. I came home unloaded my truck and washed all the way up to my elbows. I really don't need any extra germs.

There is a huge shortage of bottled water.

If you find some, buy some is my suggestion.

Walmart has been limiting it to two cases for months.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Turkeys will cost more because 6 million died during bird flu outbreak

Consumers face paying an additional 20% or more per pound for Thanksgiving turkeys compared with prices last year.

www.detroitnews.com

Los Angeles — With Thanksgiving fast approaching, turkey farmers from California to Pennsylvania are watching in horror as a virulent new strain of avian influenza wipes out their flocks, killing birds practically overnight and forcing hundreds of thousands more to be euthanized to prevent further infection.

The rampant spread of the virus has already eliminated more than 6 million turkeys nationwide, about 14% of the nation's total turkey production, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. It is leaving farmers short of their usual offerings and pushing up prices for those that remain, forcing consumers already walloped by inflation to pay an additional 20% or more per pound for Thanksgiving turkeys compared with prices last year, according to several estimates...

 

[PayrollNerd]

Turkeys will cost more because 6 million died during bird flu outbreak

Consumers face paying an additional 20% or more per pound for Thanksgiving turkeys compared with prices last year.

www.detroitnews.com

Los Angeles — With Thanksgiving fast approaching, turkey farmers from California to Pennsylvania are watching in horror as a virulent new strain of avian influenza wipes out their flocks, killing birds practically overnight and forcing hundreds of thousands more to be euthanized to prevent further infection.

The rampant spread of the virus has already eliminated more than 6 million turkeys nationwide, about 14% of the nation's total turkey production, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. It is leaving farmers short of their usual offerings and pushing up prices for those that remain, forcing consumers already walloped by inflation to pay an additional 20% or more per pound for Thanksgiving turkeys compared with prices last year, according to several estimates...

I thought this happened last year or the year before also? Maybe a different strain tho. I just got my postcard in the mail today for the food distribution for Thanksgiving.

They've added an extra distribution date. One is on a Wednesday from 4pm and the other is a Saturday at 9am. In years past it has been an enormous amount of food, fresh produce, etc. One year I was given a 10 lb bird which was perfect. The next year I was given a 24 lb bird but I traded with a friend who had a 13 lb bird.

You have to be a Sarasota County resident and they usually do it in DeSoto County (east of here) also. They were hit hard by the inland flooding from the Myakka River, Peace River and the natural drainage. I think Charlotte County and Lee County have a different food bank organization that does the same thing. I wonder how the families that lost their homes will even be able to cook the food. I wish I could food prep for them.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I haven't posted in this thread in months. The food and recipes thread is busy but on the off chance someone needs this info, I thought I post it here also.

Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #5

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/copycat-zuppa-toscana-5565099

www.websleuths.com

The food supplement plan is being reduced effective this month. The decrease is noticeable and will be painful to households of all sizes.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/01/politics/food-stamps-pandemic-emergency-allotments/index.html

If you know someone who could really use assistance, refer them to

Food Pantries of America - Welcome to FoodFinder!

At FoodFinder you can search the food pantries that are closer to you. Explore the map and enter your zip code to learn which ones are available.

foodfinder.us

. Put in a zip code, or city, state and it will pull up the local resources. Zoom in to find your neighborhood and click on the red pin. I live near the Sarasota Airport, so you can see I have a number of choices.

Some are churches, sometimes the ball stadium, a temple, or a parking lot. Each pick up location has dates and times. You can register online or while you wait in line. Many times, even if you don't qualify, a church will help you anyway. Most are drive thru pick ups but some are walk in and select your items. Everyone is very kind and welcoming.

One thing I've been told at numerous pick ups, whether it is a USDA Groceries, a Groceries or a Produce Only pickup, is that they know they're giving you more than you need. The expectation is you'll share with others. They realize not everyone can get to a pick up, or is even aware of a pick up. So they need your assistance with distribution.

Some ways I've shared are adding items to the Free Little Pantry boxes in town. I have a pool of friends I know work but still need help, so I share with them. Of course my 2 daughters. When I can't find anyone I know who needs help, I put a box labeled Free Food at the curb by my mailbox. It never sits there long. You never know who needs help.

https://allfaithsfoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/January-April-2023-Schedules-N-Sarasota-2.17.pdf