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Pandemic vs Groceries

Korth
Mayor / Maire

So now I'm forced to go shopping every day. One day of food and consumables at a time. Because the small stores are closed and the big stores are strictly limiting quantities. 1 per customer. 2 per customer.

 

Okay, I get it, they don't want people hoarding. A single household buying up three months worth of stuff while other households get nothing.

 

And I get the logic, some people in panic-mode, some people in selfish-mode. Some people going a step further and planning on hoarding then price-gouging. Even the legit sellers are jacking prices, though local "emergency" bylaws are supposedly curbing the worst excesses.

 

What bothers me is that I have to go out every day. Stand in lines with people every day. Longer lines with more people every day. More time, more people, every day. When it would be more logical for me (and them) to stay apart ... but we still gotta eat and stuff.

It seems like a lot more exposure than I'd get by shopping once a week for the stuff I'd need all week.

 

There must be a better balance. A better way. A more reasonable method.

We've pushed so far away from one extreme that we're crowding into another. Maybe some people will buy a month supply of stuff all at once - but then they wouldn't be part of the crowd for that whole month, no? Instead they're out there every day, trying not to get too close, stuck doing their part to create denser crowds of people.

15 REPLIES 15

Went shopping in Abbotsford. No problem. Got all my basics and nonperishable consumables covered for a while. Except for social distancing markings on the floor and eerie silence (because people don't talk anymore?) everything was fairly normal.

 

Took a peek into Chilliwack Save-On, shelves are quite empty-looking (and prices are quite high-looking). Chilliwack is clearly not a good place to survive ruined civilization, lol.

Triguy
Mayor / Maire

I was really disappointed when trying to order using one of the large chains using Instacart.  I understand there is a high demand.  They sent me an email that there was a delay on my scheduled date and time.  They sent me a text saying it would delivered later in the day and finally got a text saying my order was cancelled.  I had to order from a local farmer's market which so much better.  They charged less for delivery and delivered the next day.  I prefer to support farmers and local producers.

@computergeek541  You must choose your crops wisely. Grow newly legal ones if thats your pleasure, dont grow russet potatoes grow the expensive to buy fingerlings, grow by price and seed.

Arugula grows like a weed but pricey at the store along with swiss chard, fresh herbs even radishes these days. Summer squash, scallopini, cucumbers one plant can produce each day for 6 - 8 weeks. Yellow beans are available for one week a year here...i have them june thru august. Every time i get a good tomato i save a few seeds and grow them the next season...you can't beat a garden fresh tomato. You start from seed now and plant in the next 6 - 8 weeks. You can get a blueberry bush from RCSS for $8 and get a pint a every second day for a month.


@darlicious wrote:

@Korth  When you go shopping pick up some seeds. Radishes only take 3 weeks, most lelttuces (baby)can be picked wIthin 5-6 weeks, string beans 8 weeks and many other vegetables reach maturity within 70-90 days.

       Maybe this crisis will help not only you but many other British Columbians the importance of earthquake preparedness. Which reminds me I'm due to dump out and refill my water jugs with fresh water!


I think that for the most part household gardens are really more for recreational purposes, and there's nothing wrong with that. The growing season where I am is really only long enough for one crop (and only if you buy plants or start planting the seeds indoors).  Where I am, I don't usually see seeds from a discarded tomoato start growing outside until early July or so, and buy that time, there isn't enough time left for any fruit to properly grow. 

 

Even then, the amount of work that needs to be put into it is often only enough to give you enough vegatables for a few days worth of meals. I also find that it often costs less to buy vegatables from them store than it does to grow (assuming you're purchasing pre-started plans for about $1.50 each).

 

I've seen some websites selling MREs, although I'm not sure that those are worth it over regular canned goods.

@popping   Baby lettuce, arugula, radishes, herbs, pea shoots, bean sprouts and other micro greens can be grown on a sunny, south facing window sill at almost any time of year.

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

Calgary has a short growing vegetable season.  My backyard is still covered with snow.  It was still snowing on and off for the last couple of weeks.

@Korth  When you go shopping pick up some seeds. Radishes only take 3 weeks, most lelttuces (baby)can be picked wIthin 5-6 weeks, string beans 8 weeks and many other vegetables reach maturity within 70-90 days.

       Maybe this crisis will help not only you but many other British Columbians the importance of earthquake preparedness. Which reminds me I'm due to dump out and refill my water jugs with fresh water!

I'm guessing the difficulties vary by city. Chilliwack is pretty bad.

 

There are only three places left open - Save-On, Walmart, Freshco - and you could go to each one in one day but you've also got a 30-60 minute lineup to get in to each one. Maybe because the time of day I shop, has to be after work because they're not open before 5am, lol. Horde of people and nearly empty store shelves when I arrive.

 

It's probably better in bigger urban areas. I'll drive to shopping in Abbotsford or Langley next weekend if ghetto Chilliwack stores don't get better. Hit a few stores if needed to get enough bulk staples that I can avoid shopping during workdays.

 

For now it's just frustrating. And a symptom of Canada fail.

@Korth   I'm not quite understanding why you are having such difficulty grocery shopping. Some items are in short supply ( toilet paper, cleaning supplies, flour etc...) and there are some limits but im finding most grocery stores fairly well stocked. Certainly snag short supply items if you see them available. Do you need help menu planning or preparing a shopping list? How to stock your pantry?

     I almost exclusively shop sales so I'm exceptionally prepared for this unusual situation. My worry was an earthquake would affect electricity creating a major issue with freezer storage. I could even offer prepared meal service on a weekly basis if one was nearby....im that well stocked. This was my shop this week (from another lounge thread) when I went looking for flour.....

 

I did get some awesome deals! The cereal deal worked well all offers added up....i walked out with 10 boxes of family size cereal and I'm up $10. The rest of my shop: 12 avocados, 3 pints of grape tomatoes, zucchini, 4 lbs grapes, 4 limes, 5 tomatoes, 24 mini cukes, 1 pineapple, 2 lbs asparagus, 1 lb broccolli crowns, 12 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast, 2.5 lbs hot Italian sausages, 2 lbs frozen haddock fillets, 2 ×1.89 l ocean spray cranberry cocktail and 8 lbs of basmati rice. $108 used $9 in coupons, redeemed 90K in points, paid $18, got 31K back in points + $25 in visa gift cards.

So I didn't get the 10kg of flour and yeast I wanted and it took awhile too load it all on my bike and my backpack but I got it home in the end. Maybe you should just shop at my house.....lol.


@will13am wrote:

  

This pandemic doesn't end at the end of the month, not even close.  The possibility of having to eat plain white rice and spaghetti for a month or two is non zero.  If anyone is struggling with grocery shopping today, it's gonna get really ugly a month from now.  

 

 


At my local corner store, there is a skid of bread there all the time. They've get a bread delivery on a regular basis and I've never seen them run out. Sure, they might charge a dollar or so more than the regular grocery store, but in a pinch, it's fine. If necessary, I could have bread and tap water every day. I'll hate it, but it would still be something to eat.  Canned soups are great too in the sense that they often do have a bit of protein, some carbs, and a often a full serving of vegetables in them. You'll get bored of them and there's too much salt, but again, it's something to eat although it might not be your frist choice.

will13am
Oracle
Oracle

@Korth , it is a tough balance for grocery stores to prevent hoarding while trying not to create a situation where customers are shopping as if they don't have a refrigerator.  

 

I have been able to come up with a strategy that works quite well in the current situation.  I shop for larger cuts and packages of everything and go for variety to alleviate purchase limits.  I bought 2x1kg frozen vegetable to supplement the fresh vegetables (10 lbs bag of potatoes, 5 lb bag of carrots, 2 packs of romaine).  I got two of the largest spiral hams I could find.  That's enough protein for multiple meals and because it's cured, it can sit in the fridge for 6 weeks.  That is the "in case of emergency, break glass" protein.  I bought two chickens, two packs of vacuum sealed ribs, two large slabs of salmon.  I am good easily for 2 weeks, as much as 4 weeks of protein.  The freezer will be used to preserve items that are not consumed before reaching the best before date. 

 

I will endeavour to go out again next week regardless of whether this week's purchases are consumed, if it is safe to do so.  I am doing a tiny bit of hoarding within the stringent purchasing limits.  This is strategic as I believe it will become too risky to go shopping before end of April even if it's only once a week.  Ontario projections are for 80,000 confirmed cases by end of April.  That's the planning basis for the hospitals and it's also my planning basis.  I am not going anywhere with that level of cases.  At that point, roughly 1 in 100 Torontonians will be infected.    

 

This pandemic doesn't end at the end of the month, not even close.  The possibility of having to eat plain white rice and spaghetti for a month or two is non zero.  If anyone is struggling with grocery shopping today, it's gonna get really ugly a month from now.  

 

 


@RobertQc wrote:

@Korth It's tough, you brought up both sides well.

 

Handful of people buying all the food leaving others with none.

vs

Forcing people to compromise themselves more often.

 

One solution is curb side pickup, services like pc express that work at a number of different major chains, no frills, fortinos, loblaws, real canadian superstore, etc. You don't leave your car, you pop the trunk and man comes and deposits food.

 

You can still with 2 items of each fill up your cart to the brim, you want soup? Well buy 2 of each flavor for each brand. There are literally 40+ different cans of soup. You want chips? There are probably 100+ different types. You can buy 2 dill pickle, 2 regular, 2 all dressed, 2 bbq, 2 sour cream and onion, 2 ketchup, then from each brand and Doritos, and pringles and no name pringles, irresistibles, hostess, etc.

 

There are a handful of items that have been low stock, pasta, flour, toilet paper, and others. But looking at the variety of items in the store, there is a ton of food left if you shop outside your regular brands and flavors. If you only accept buying 1 brand, 1 flavor then you will have to take multiple trips and often.


I agree that you may not get exactly what you want, but there is food in the stores.  People want specific stuff.  As for limits, those are nothing new when it comes to sale items.  From what I see the weekly flyer protein special has always had a limit of either 2, 3, or 4 packages depending on the location. This is no different from now. For many things, if you're willing to pay full price, it'll be readily available on the shelf or in fridge/freezer. 

 

I think that for a large part, we're spoiled (and that includes me) with the the usual choices of foods that are available. if the's store is out of chicken breast, get whole chicken, or if they're out of eggs, there are other proteins that can be used to make a a quick meal. For me, I've noticed that stores are short of eggs and frozen vegetables. I think that pepole like the convenience of frozen vegetables because these keep longer, but there's plenty of fresh produce available. 

 

As for the in-store chaos or worry about crowds and exposure, curbside pickup available at some stores is an an excellent option. Even if you don't have a car, I'm sure a taxi driver will allow this as long as you are okay with the meter runnning while you wait and load. Sure you're exposed somewhat in the vehicle, but I don't see that as any different that the exposure of being in the store, and being in the taxi would only be exposure to one other person, often with plexi glass between the two of you. These curbside pickups also have the advantage of the products being reserved for you when they put your order together. 

Choosing between brands and flavours is greatly simplified, lol. The store shelves are deliberately keeping low stock, only restocking a few units at a time, so there basically aren't any choices. You want two cans of soup or a bag of chips, you choose from the last handful of items available on the shelf.

Seems kinda stupid to me, feeding a panic psychology because oh no there's no more food at the food source. It would seem smarter to let people buy their fill and restock, and move more inventory more sales, why would anyone complain? Only the perishable and high-demand low-supply items really need rationing.

 

There are options.

 

Online shopping with delivery - but again, limits apply so it's still day-by-day rationing. It just becomes a question of significantly higher cost vs significantly higher exposure.

Choose whether you want to pay more to minimize risk of spreading/catching sickness, or whether you want to still have some money available if/when you actually do get sick. A single sniffle at work means 14 days no pay, and don't come back without a doctor note. I'm one of the lucky ones who's actually still allowed (and able) to work, many others are waiting (still waiting, hoping) for EI/welfare/etc.

 

Services like Skip The Dishes have a ten day wait time for your fast-food order, haha.

 

I wonder how our illustrious Trudeau would feel if he had to spend an hour (or more) every day crowded by "his fellow Canadians" just to make sure he could pack a lunch for work the following day.

Around GTA+, the other disadvantage to click and collect is earliest bookings are now 2 weeks out. We're cooperating with family to create two accounts get stuff every 2 weeks. 

To avoid the crowds, nudge an elderly friend to shop for you. They get the first hour to themselves!

Screenshot 2019-06-04 at 9.32.17 PM.png 


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

RobertQc
Mayor / Maire

@Korth It's tough, you brought up both sides well.

 

Handful of people buying all the food leaving others with none.

vs

Forcing people to compromise themselves more often.

 

One solution is curb side pickup, services like pc express that work at a number of different major chains, no frills, fortinos, loblaws, real canadian superstore, etc. You don't leave your car, you pop the trunk and man comes and deposits food.

 

You can still with 2 items of each fill up your cart to the brim, you want soup? Well buy 2 of each flavor for each brand. There are literally 40+ different cans of soup. You want chips? There are probably 100+ different types. You can buy 2 dill pickle, 2 regular, 2 all dressed, 2 bbq, 2 sour cream and onion, 2 ketchup, then from each brand and Doritos, and pringles and no name pringles, irresistibles, hostess, etc.

 

There are a handful of items that have been low stock, pasta, flour, toilet paper, and others. But looking at the variety of items in the store, there is a ton of food left if you shop outside your regular brands and flavors. If you only accept buying 1 brand, 1 flavor then you will have to take multiple trips and often.

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