Food in the time of a pandemic

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, IowaDee said:

Oh yes, Helms Bakery trucks.  You had a placard with a big letter H on it that put  you in the window to let the driver know you wanted him to stop.

 

There's still one of those Helms trucks on display at the old Helms bakery which became the Antique Guild and is now a furniture/design showroom.  We also had bread delivery in upstate NY,  but it was Freihofer’s.  Same deal with the sign in the window so the driver knew to stop.  The company started out delivering from horse-drawn wagons and when I was quite small, they still used them to deliver to my grandmother's house in Troy.  If I recall, they only brought the old horse-drawn wagon around on Saturdays at that time and I remember it being called out as something special to see.  My mother never wanted us to be around when the Freihofer man came by because he always had all sorts of treats that we would clamor for but that we couldn't afford, aside from the occasional box of their chocolate chip cookies, which my brothers adored!

 

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

What I can't find at any normal price is Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

Seems to often be subject to panic buying.  The manager at my local Smart & Final said they'd stopped carrying it for that reason - too hard to keep in stock.  I last ordered a pack of 3 - 3lb boxes for $14 which I thought was highway robbery. Currently a little more than twice that price. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

35 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

a pack of 3 - 3lb boxes for $14

Sounds about shelf price where i live.

[heidih]

7 hours ago, Anna N said:

Who remembers milk boxes? The little boxes that were built into any house where the milkman could open the outside door and place the milk in it and then from the inside the homeowner could retrieve the milk.

 

We did not have one but a neighbor a couple years ago remodeled her house and insisted the contractor leave it intact as she was so taken with it. Reminds me of the back door of the fireplace. My grown sister did not know that it had been there all the time to clean out the ashes without making a mess in the house. 

[heidih]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

We didn't have a milk box or  milk man. We had a local drive-through dairy and a wire "basket" carrier for the glass bottles. You drive up, give the attendant your empty bottles and get filled bottles in return.

 

Oh we had that dairy service at grandma's. Wind the back window down and be the superstar who got the bottles. There were local dairies as well. One down the street from my first grown-up house left the adorable building in tact. I always wanted to buy it and remodel as a home like some do with deconsecrated churches. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

In this area there is still milk home delivery.  And I don't mean amazon, but that too.

 

[heidih]

Uber alert text just now - free delivery if you order from local restaurants. Not completely spelled out but interesting. 

[caroled]

On 3/9/2020 at 6:48 PM, Tri2Cook said:

Fortunately, if it got to that point here, I'm ok with evaporated milk. We always had regular milk in the house growing up but we also always had cans of evap in the house because it was cheap. Me and my 4 brothers and sisters grew up on hot cereals for breakfast and apparently it was cheaper to have us use evap on our hot cereal than the regular milk. So it's what I was used to and I still like it so I could get by on it if I had to. I don't love it as a beverage but I don't drink a lot of milk anyway and, diluted with water, I'd rather drink it than the powdered stuff I've had.

 I love evaporated milk...when I was new, back in the days before baby formula, mama raised me on evap milk... She still to this day occasionally tells me I was a Pet Milk Baby! 

[Darienne]

I would guess that the memories of milk boxes, bread delivery, ice delivery, etc, would depend first of all on how old you are.  I'm almost 80 and we did have all those.  Oh and coal delivery.  Horses peeing on the streets on the ice...always a treat for a youngster.  

 

And as for free delivery of goods...or even delivery itself...it ain't gonna happen if you live out in the country in the middle of nowhere.  Ed is going into the city today to pick up two supplements our male Rottie, Carson, has to have.  I'll phone ahead of time and hope they will put them aside for us...if they have them in stock.   The store just announced by email that 9:30 to 10:30 is for seniors only.  Too late for today alas.

[rotuts]

Im hoping the Seniors Only times are

 

being observed or politely inforced

Edited March 18, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[lindag]

12 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

No milk box, but we did have dairy delivery.   You had a usual order and requested extraordinary product by stuffing a note in an empty bottle.   In winter, you would occasionally find over an inch or so of frozen cream extending from the top of the bottle.   Yes, cream since this was before homogenization.   

 

We also had a chicken and rabbit lady who came into town every week or so with fresh product.   As I marginally remember, rabbits were dressed but chickens needed to be drawn.   Maybe not.   I do remember with some angst my mother insisting that I learn how to draw a chicken.   I wasn't amused,   She said it was  necessary should I marry someone who hunted.    I told her that I would ask any guy first if he liked to hunt.    Always the pragmatist. 

When we lived in Eau Claire WI in the mid-fifties we had milk delivery; we also had a bread-man who would deliver bread a time or two per week; we also had a coal man who delivered the coal via a chute into the basement.  My how times have changed.

[lindag]

I made a lovely pineapple upside-down cake on Monday; a nod to the past when it was my most favorite dessert (along with Mom's banana pudding).  It exhausted my supply of both white and brown sugars.  

Should have taken a photo, it's quite beautiful (and delicious).

 

[Anna N]

I somehow think that my mention of milk boxes has been subsumed by other ideas that don’t take into account how very useful this old fashioned idea could be at this time of pandemic. So I’m just going to post this link to stress that many things could be safely delivered to vulnerable people if only these things still existed. I sure wish I had one. 
 

Click

[andiesenji]

10 hours ago, heidih said:

 

Oh we had that dairy service at grandma's. Wind the back window down and be the superstar who got the bottles. There were local dairies as well. One down the street from my first grown-up house left the adorable building in tact. I always wanted to buy it and remodel as a home like some do with deconsecrated churches. 

I have a Carnation milk box that sat on my porch in Canoga Park under the roof so it was in the shade.  It was roomy enough for a couple of gallon jugs and some smaller bottles or cartons.

[chromedome]

9 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I somehow think that my mention of milk boxes has been subsumed by other ideas that don’t take into account how very useful this old fashioned idea could be at this time of pandemic. So I’m just going to post this link to stress that many things could be safely delivered to vulnerable people if only these things still existed. I sure wish I had one. 
 

Click

 

We may have arrived at a point where it makes sense to revive this concept. Pandemic or no pandemic, delivery services are now so commonplace that there's a case to be made.

[Shelby]

Well, this mornings job was to find dog food.  Who knew all dog food would sell out.  Sigh.  I had some on order from Amazon.  I was relived yesterday when I got notification that it had shipped.  Sometime in the middle of the night I got another email saying the packaging had been damaged and they were not sending it.  Not sure I believe that but ok.

 

Ronnie is in the high risk category.  Even if we wasn't we decided to for sure do our part and hunker down.  

 

Grocery delivery is not an option where we live.

 

I tried all morning to make an online account with Dillon's so I could order groceries (including dog food) to be picked up curbside.  The website is over whelmed and I couldn't make an account. 

 

Plan C.   I made an account at a smaller store in a different town and ordered curbside pick up.  I doubt they will have all of the things I ordered--because they say they have my dog food, I also ordered some lettuce etc. , but I did get a confirmation just now that I could pick my order up at 3 this afternoon.

 

I have a friend --my cleaning angel and also she supplies me with eggs.  We trade--I give her garden goodies and stuff Ronnie has gotten.  Her chickens stopped laying a while back.  Her mom went out a couple days ago to find eggs at the store.  She went to like 5 different stores.  No eggs.  

 

Called the liquor store.  They have some of my wine.  So will stop there and then attempt to pick up my grocery order.  

 

Times are very strange right now.

 

Edited to say I ordered 2 cartons of eggs.  If I get any I'll drop them off for my cleaning angel.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Shelby (log)

[MetsFan5]

@Shelby have you tried chewy.com for dog food? 

[Shelby]

Just now, MetsFan5 said:

@Shelby have you tried chewy.com for dog food? 

Yes.  Sold out.

[rotuts]

The PetFood companies 

 

might bounce back before 

 

you run out 

 

dont panic 

 

just check from time to time

[Shelby]

I hope you're right.  I really really hope the store really has some today.   Or my doggies will be eating canned dog food and I will be cleaning up poo lol.

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

not to be a Weasel 

 

if it comes to that 

 

there will be a sort of smile  on your face

 

% 50 more   75 % maybe 

 

just because 

[robirdstx]

9 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I hope you're right.  I really really hope the store really has some today.   Or my doggies will be eating canned dog food and I will be cleaning up poo lol.

Your comment made me think of the raw diet I fed my dogs. Much smaller stools!

 

https://drianbillinghurst.com/

[Okanagancook]

North Americans need to stop hoarding.

Buy in your normal quantities and the supply can cope.  

They can’t cope with hoarding.

 

[rotuts]

fine advice 

 

but

 

@Okanagancook

 

everybody is hording

 

if they can 

 

everywhere 

 

Im hopeful 

 

that the Industries 

 

and move the Shelf Stable 

 

to your Shelf 

 

and catch  up

 

its about diffusion 

 

it will get N.of The Border 

 

yesterday.

[Okanagancook]

I know everyone is hoarding.  
Everyone is selling shares.

South of the border guns are flying off the shelves.

sociology 101....crowd behaviour 

Doesn’t make it smart.

Everyone needs to stop.

[Shelby]

Hoarding begats hoarding.  

 

I'm buying allllllll the dog food.

 

 

Just kidding  

Edited March 18, 2020 by Shelby (log)