Food in the time of a pandemic

[Anna N]

Most of the time I’m very sad that I can no longer do my own grocery shopping but I’m glad I do not have to be a part of this.

 

 

[heidih]

I think Eater did a good summary today  https://www.eater.com/2020/3/12/21177140/dining-out-at-restaurants-during-coronavirus-covid-19-explainer

[Jacksoup]

I cleaned and organized my freezer today,  mainly to see what was there.  It’s just the bottom drawer of my fridge.  I have a lot, lot more protein than I thought.  3 bags of frozen peas, all opened.  3 large zip loc’s of lemon juice cubes.  Two large zip loc’s of pesto.  Lots of other things.  Lots of lemon zest.  With what I’ve got in my pantry because I overbought pasta and have a gifted excess of quinoa, I could live for two months.  Plus my Costco run included 42 lbs of cat litter.  Me, my cat (overbought cat food as well) and my son will have plenty to eat.  May have to buy more wine though.

[rotuts]

re: Fz peas , peas and carrots etc :

 

some of my open bags have been neglected in the past.

 

i found its helpful to add then to cold water , then more cold water until

 

they thaw in the cold water .  I wait some and most of them get rehydrated.

 

then I cook

 

I personally wish I knew what my risk factor would get getting

 

takeout from a lovely small restaurant in my town :   Thai Noodle

 

ist small and they dont have many tables

 

their take out service will keep them going until the dynamics improve

 

I can afford to visit them fairly often , as mentioned above 

 

to inject funds into their and the local economy.

 

and the duck noodle greenpeper corn dish is a taste of Heaven 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

I am making a liquor store run this morning because I am low on wine and Scotch. Between freezers and pantries, we aren't going to starve here.

 

[Kim Shook]

Not looking forward to grocery shopping today.  But I kind of have to go.  Since I don't do a traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve anymore, I had promised Jessica the meal this weekend.  Already prepped some stuff and started the turkey thawing before realizing how dire the grocery situation would become (we did our emergency stocking a couple of weeks ago).  So I need some fresh stuff for fruit salad and veg for Sunday.  We'll see what we end up with.  I told Jessica that we might end up with what my grandmother (who has set the standard of what is a proper Christmas feast  in our family for at least 80 years) served as fruit salad: canned fruit cocktail and Miracle Whip!  😊

[lindag]

I haven't seen any signs of panic-buying here; one of the benefits of living in a remote area.

I'll stop in at my nearby  grocer's this morning when I take Lucy to the groomer's.

Buying vegetables to cut up for a veggie tray for our card game on Saturday.  

ETA:  Montana has one case of the virus and that is only a technicality; the person resides here but has been in WA state for the last three months and contacted it there and is still living there.

Edited March 13, 2020 by lindag (log)

[Anna N]

Our province yesterday announced that all schools would be closed for two weeks after March break.  But from reports back from my daughter and a friend about the crowding and the lineups in the grocery stores you would think they had said they were closing all the supermarkets. 
 

 

The pasta aisle. 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Anna N
Typo (log)

[robirdstx]

 

Yesterday on the toilet paper and paper towel isle at our local little Walmart. Food is still in supply.

[Darienne]

5 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Our province yesterday announced that all schools would be closed for two weeks after March break.  But from reports back from my daughter and a friend about the crowding and the lineups in the grocery stores you would think they had said they were closing all the supermarkets. 
 

 

The pasta aisle. 

 

 

Is that in your area @Anna N?  Bordering on insane.  And we really are out of toilet paper at home.  Bad planning on my part.  But who knew the place was going to go insane?

[Darienne]

1 minute ago, robirdstx said:

 

Yesterday on the toilet paper and paper towel isle at our local little Walmart. Food is still in supply.

That's an OMG from me!

[TicTac]

Slightly ridiculous...

 

Producers of Toilet Paper in Ontario have already stated there are no supply issues.

 

Case in point, my wife was slightly concerned that we were down to 10 or so rolls (*gasp* the horror!) so I grabbed another 40 this morning from Shoppers Drug Mart.

 

I had a good laugh with a lovely lady waiting outside with me, that luckily I back onto a forest/ravine, so worst case scenario I will teach the kids how we go to the 'loo when camping - no shortage of leaves!!

 

Will stock up on veggies/fruits/dried legumes at the farmers market tomorrow that have longer shelf lives (Cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, beats, apples, etc).  Just in case they shut down my beloved organic market.

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Is that in your area @Anna N?  Bordering on insane.  And we really are out of toilet paper at home.  Bad planning on my part.  But who knew the place was going to go insane?

Yes. It is right in Oakville. But I think it is more anxiety-causing than need be. What we are actually looking at is not a shortage of food but an expanse of empty shelving which will most certainly be refilled in fairly short order. Just like the general population, the stores were caught off guard by the announcement about the schools which seems to  have woken everybody up to how serious the situation could become.

[rotuts]

there are no real emoji's

 

that sympathize w peoples pain and panic.

 

and I can't figure out my personal risk factor for getting

 

Take Out from Thai Noodle  id very much like to support them

 

and have some Duck of course !  Win Win    hard to do these days

 

its low , but not zero

Edited March 13, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

No food shortage.

 

Just panicked shoppers. 

[Darienne]

8 minutes ago, Anna N said:

No food shortage.

 

Just panicked shoppers. 

So much for the quiet level-headed Canadian.  A real problem is going to be the shortage of pharmaceuticals for those dependent upon them.  It was already apparent in Britain with certain meds with the results of the Brexit vote and now ingredients from China will be impossible to get.  No restocking of those 'shelves' going to happen over the weekend. 

 

[heidih]

My poor Instacart shopper keeps texting me "out of this, out of that", I told him to calm down. He is a sweetie. (a big Kroger store)

[Porthos]

I tried to do a little regular grocery shopping this morning at my local Costco. Parking should have been my clue.

 

I needed to get to the grocery section which is on the far side of the building. I saw a line of shoppers headed to the registers going up the main aisle and so I kept walking to the back of the store trying to get around "the end of the line." The queue continued across the back of the store and half way up the outside wall. After I got to the other side of the queue for checking out of the store I realized that I didn't really need the four items I was after: I had just come to shop as a normal part of my Friday. Eventually I abandoned my cart and left the store - not easily done.

 

I went on to my usual grocery store, figuring if I saw too many cars in the parking lot I'd just head home. There were more cars than usual, but nothing insane. I went in and did do my shopping, taking note of things that were way different from a couple of days ago. Rice and beans had been decimated. the was maybe 5% of the pasta left. Flour was gone. at least 80% of the canned beans were gone. None of this was on my list except the beans, and they still had what I wanted. Cup'o'noodles were being snapped up.

 

The best thing the store  did to keep some level of control (they were getting busier by the minute) was to have a grouper a la Disneyland near the registers directing the flow of shoppers heading to check out. I had a pleasant conversation with the shoppers behind me. He started it by asking me if I remembered the gasoline shortage from decades ago. I smiled and replied, "red flags - green flags" and it went on from there.

 

If we were quarantined for 2 weeks, we'd have no problem feeding ourselves from our pantry and freezer.

ETA we wouldn't even have to use any of our disaster survival food.

Edited March 14, 2020 by Porthos (log)

[Alex]

Stopped at my local supermarket today to pick up just a few things. Lines like I've never seen, except at the "ten items or less" registers . The produce section was still pretty well stocked (including a full bin of fresh shiitakes, one of the items on my list) except for the potatoes, which were completely sold out save for a few forlorn fingerlings.

 

There's an item I want to return to Costco, but do I dare even try?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My son took me to the doctor today and on the way home we picked up 8 liters of wine and a bottle of rum to keep my tummy warm.

 

Meanwhile the price of laundry detergent on amazon has jumped way up.  I've been reusing my t-shirts.  Sorry if that is too much information.  (I draw the line at underwear.)  I have six bags of flour on their way from KAF.  Bread for my work lunches.  Too bad work is canceled.

 

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

We went to the Costco in Morelia this morning. At 10:30 the parking lot wasn't very full, but inside the store was another story. Fortunately the store had an ample supple of toilet paper--mountains of it--which was a good thing, because people were loading up. A few gringos but mostly Mexican. Overflowing shopping carts, ours included. I had a list of nonperishables so as to lay in a supply, but most of my fresh food I'll get in our mercado. This assumes that the vendors will have something to sell. Vamos a ver (we shall see). I really don't know how that big jar of Nutella ended up in our cart this morning.

 

There has been very little information from the Mexican government about the spread of the virus. I see people in the street wearing masks, but that's not unusual here--people wear masks when they're sick and nobody thinks it's strange. Given how much Mexicans mistrust their government, I imagine the number of cases will be vastly under reported.

 

Tomorrow I'm going to the mercado to see what the impact on the local food supply has been. I've been out of touch with a broken wrist (which makes typing a challenge) and haven't gone food shopping for several weeks. I need a good supply of beans, some fruit and vegs, shrimp for the freezer (butter poached shrimp is on the menu for next week), a couple of chicken breasts.

 

N.

[rotuts]

as some of you know , Ive depended on Target.Com

 

who I dont work for

 

to get some shelf stable food  

 

until I feel the risk of corona for me 

 

being at very high risk

 

is significantly lower.

 

yesterday  I could , but chose not to as I feel Im OK now ,

 

order  dried lentils , beans and the like.    not available for Shipt delivery

 

not available for store pick up , but available for 2-day shipping

 

this morning I thought Id check.

 

all are temporarily ou of stock for any delivery

 

many of my items ' in the pipe line '  are bing delayed

 

possibly 2 weeks.

 

I dont mind at all.

 

and im sure  bulk wearhouse's have lots of these items that will ship out

 

as soon as their are empty carriers available to ship them.

 

wondering what the  Freeways and Turnpikes are like these day

 

lots of Semi-s barreling a long Id say.

[kayb]

I had to run out yesterday and pick up a prescription, so I called an elderly lady with whom I go to church and asked if she needed anything. She wanted Lysol spray and antibacterial wipes. I didn't have high hopes of finding either, so I took a spare package of wipes I had at home. No Lysol spray at CVS or Walgreen's across the intersection, but I lucked out at Kroger and got her that; got myself a can as well. Lines were unGodly.

 

Today, I thought of some other things I needed from Kroger, so I ordered online for pickup. First available pickup date was March 17. Switched over to delivery, and they'll deliver this afternoon, so I gritted my teeth at the $9.99 delivery fee (vs. $3.99 from Aldi! but Aldi doesn't have what I needed) and chose that option. Aggravating, to say the least.

 

I have plenty of rice, pasta, dry legumes, and meat in the freezer. Plenty of eggs in the fridge. We will not starve.

 

However, I have tickets to three concerts -- Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, and John Prine (yes, I'm old) in the next six weeks. All three have been cancelled. Grrr.

[robirdstx]

Just now at my local Neighborhood Walmart ~ good thing we picked up a carton of eggs the other day. This is so crazy!

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by robirdstx (log)

[Shelby]

My goodness.