What are you noticing at your food store?

[bucolic_frolic]

Last edited Thu Mar 12, 2020, 08:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Went to the supermarket twice in the past 5 days. Some stockouts on critical items, like TP, rubbing alcohol, and sanitizer. Very little peroxide. One lady complaining to a clerk that they should limit quantities because she's tired of stockouts. They had 3 sacks of whole wheat flour. Last weekend there were none. Seems they put out 3 a day? Does anyone really still buy white flour? No brown rice. No barley. This was Walmart.

I was in another national chain discount store, the phone rang at the checkout and the clerk answered. "No, we don't have any sanitizer, we're all out," she told the caller.

Also, what's up with margarines and butter? Time was I could find many choices of blends, olive & butter, canola & butter, multi, heart health, stick. Now at Walmart there's about 3 linear feet of shelf space and only a handful of products, plus butter. Many slots are empty. In the discount store, only 3 or 4 items! In a regional chain they had 3 times what Walmart had.

Also the price of cooking oils has gone up quite a bit over the last year. Maybe that's the margarine/butter issue, dwindling supply. I almost spring for 3 Liters of olive oil, but how can you use that much?

Is the economy so screwed up that we can't produce enough for preppers to hoard? Or is this the impact on farmers from Trump policies?

Update: Thursday. March 12. Went to a different Walmart today. Cashiers are wearing rubber gloves. Food shelves are stocked but many categories half empty, such as pasta, deli, rice. Cereal a bit light too. Many employees stocking the shelves, and they are obviously told to avoid customers with personal space barrier. Good to see all of that.

Other retailers, no gloves on cashiers. But everyone in public is cautious, yielding to foot traffic, giving personal distance between people. Gonna be this way for awhile.

[Roland99]

1. Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Publix

All looked normal two nights ago except no Clorox wipes and limited TP/Paper towels


The CVS and Walgreens were in a very touristy area. Walmart and Publix were near my home

[dewsgirl]

18. Are you in Florida?

[Roland99]

19. ya....tourist central!

[dewsgirl]

20. Same stores surrounding my house...lol. and yes..tourists.

[customerserviceguy]

32. When I worked

at a visitor information center in a small town on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, the side of a desk not facing the public had a bumper sticker attached that said, "We call it tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"

[dewsgirl]

33. LoL that's great. They are fine usually if they don't drive..lol.😉

[customerserviceguy]

36. At least

GPS has improved their driving, generally.

[Kali]

2. I noticed they had a display of 409 and other cleaners near the front doors at Safeway

plenty of TP, no idea on the hand sanitizer, though my son did see some guy grabbing a bunch from the dollar store a few days ago. my other son in South Tucson texted me last night and said there was no TP in the stores anywhere near their house.

[redstatebluegirl]

3. It wasn't nuts here in OK yesterday when I went to Walgreens and the grocery store.

Of course they were out of sanitizer, but had bleach, rubbing alcohol and plenty of TP.

[dubyadiprecession]

4. it Depends on who you ask.

Rush would say, “It’s the liberal media!!”.

[hlthe2b]

5. all the above, plus rice flying off shelves, canned soups (and the price has gone up) and

some varieties of peanut butter gone as soon as it hits the shelves (the natural kind without added crap).

On the other hand, canned and packaged tuna is selling but in pretty good supply it seems.

I had to watch Sam's Club online for six days before I got the chance to order a bulk package of toilet paper and a case of canned Campbell's chicken noodle soup along with a few other items. WIthin an hour of it showing availability on the website, placing the order and getting a comformation, it was out of stock again.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Maybe it's just lots and lots of demand at Walmart

Robust clientele, shopping on price and fear. Supply chain temporarily stretched. I don't know.

[pnwest]

17. This is a big factor - my Walmart was completely

out of TP. Even the empty boxes were removed, so they’d been out long enough to straighten up the entitled section. But my little local grocer had plenty. I think people just think “buy a large qty!!” and head straight to Walmart or Costco first.

[empedocles]

6. Costco big, big run on bottled water. Even with 2 case limit, lines went through

a 53' truck load as fast as the skids could be put in front of the shopping carts - matter of minutes.

[I don't get this]

[hlthe2b]

8. I don't get it either. I'm walking distance to a small reservoir, have alum (disperse silt) & filter

systems from camping/overseas travel if something unimaginable happened. Of course, you could always collect (if it rains) & boil it.

But, why do we think the water treatment system (and their staff) are going to be "knocked out?"

[58Sunliner]

23. If it gets any raw sewage maybe? The virus can live at least 4 days in feces.

I'm not sure what the scare is.

[customerserviceguy]

34. If water plant staff

get the infection from a family member, they will take it into the workplace with them. Plant workers share the same lunchrooms and restroom facilities. Eventually someone in the plant will get diagnosed with the virus, then what do you do? Have the rest of the workers carry on, or go home and quarantine themselves?

I'd like to hear stories about how essential utilities are setting up isolation living arrangements for their most necessary staff. Yes, it's tough to be away from the spouse and kids, but so many lives depend on them being able to do their jobs.

[hlthe2b]

37. CDC has just changed health care worker recommendations to that effect. Not yet publicized but

clearly they expect asymptomatic exposed workers (termed "minimally exposed" which is an oxymoron in an ER) to continue working simply using adequate infectious disease protections and practices.

This change is recent so you haven't heard a collective gasp, but you likely will.

[Hekate]

50. If you'd lived thru drought, water rationing, & deliberately dead landscaping, you'd understand.

My daughter takes great pleasure in the fact that the place she moved to last year, while remote, has a spring nearby, and no water restrictions. Her veggie garden and fruit orchard are ambitious as she prepares to hunker down with the kids.

[hlthe2b]

51. I HAVE! Every bit of that. I collect rain water and have for years as a result and ALWAYS monitor

water levels in nearby water sources.

I DO NOT buy bottled water. That doesn't mean I don't keep water on hand.

[Hekate]

56. I don't normally buy it either (wasteful, etc) but what is this "rain" of which you speak?

[greymattermom]

78. This "rain" is in the southeast.

Atlanta is overflowing. Lake Lanier is high as a kite.

[hlthe2b]

7. The one thing I haven't been able to find anywhere are the thermometer probe disposable covers

I lost my thermometer, bought a new one, but it only came with five of those stupid covers. Without them it is too easy to fry the electronics if you alcohol wipe the probe between uses.

[marlakay]

10. Went to Trader Joe's yesterday

They had a huge display of toilet paper in the front where they normally keep seasonal foods.

[bucolic_frolic]

12. which kind of says people plan on cocooning for months over caronavirus

So they're stocking up.

[Initech]

11. My Costco, Smart And Final, and Target all got ransacked last week.

Thankfully things are slowly returning to normal but it's still very slow.

[highmindedhavi]

13. Costco out of TP, sanitizers, paper towels, etc. BUT...

Nearby Home Depot had plenty of all those items

[procon]

39. That's a good tip!

Most people don't know that the big hardware stores also have a large selection of household products. When I was last at Lowes I got a lot of cleaning supplies, a big pkg of microfiber towels, and a nice mop and a broom. I mostly use vinegar as my primary cleaner and they stock the industrial strength that I prefer.

[Wellstone ruled]

14. Water and toilet Paper

are the two biggies out of stock. While everyone is doing their Panic Buying,they sure as heck did not pay any attention to all the major Price increase that have happened in the last ten days. Pretty much across the board.

[Mme. Defarge]

15. My Fred Meyer store, the local Kroger,

was out of ammonia. So, while I was standing in the checkout line, I ordered it on Amazon for a really good price and got it the next day.

[JustAnotherGen]

16. Plenty of food

No tp or cleaning supplies.

[58Sunliner]

21. I think it depends on when you go. I went yesterday and didn't have a problem getting most items.

What I could not get was alcohol-already have 2 cases, peroxide, aloe vera gel, guaifenesin in liquid form without cough suppressant. I have been to 6 stores, no hand sanitizer. Luckily I bought 4 bottles 2 months ago. Yesterday Walmart had a big aisle display of Lysol-spray and wipes. There has been a run on canned salmon, the low sodium canned chicken, and tuna. You might ask when their trucks get in. I get my butter and oil at Costco. You might also try online, sometimes they restock and Costco might come through. Target told me the other day my order for aloe vera gel will take 3 weeks. Luckily I have an old bottle.
I went to three stores yesterday-Walmart, Whole Foods, and Lidl. No one had a mask or seemed to be taking any precautions. Everybody looked at me like I was typhoid Mary!!

[bucolic_frolic]

22. I did see one young Asian woman wearing a mask today

it was fashionable, black color, she looked at me and seemed aware people might notice. I guess she was just being cautious.

[58Sunliner]

25. Well the more precautions we take, the less likely we are to pass it around, or get it.

Mine was not fashionable.Between the hat to cover my hair, the jacket, my wrap around sun glasses and the mask, I might have looked like the Unabomber's date. LOL.

[customerserviceguy]

35. Yesterday

my lady went into a diagnostic imaging center connected with the hospital in Charleston, wearing a paper surgical mask and purple nitrile gloves. She didn't get any questions or hassle from the techs working there.

[Hortensis]

24. Publix had cans of sterile wipes in a display up front

for normal prices. Didn't notice much of anything out of stock. More customers than usual, best guess it's because Dr. Fauci announced Florida has progressed to a community-spread level. Seems as if they didn't believe the incompetent Republican a bunch of them made governor.

Btw, suggest not knocking as preppers everyone with the belated good sense to lay in stuff they should always be stocked up on.

Just-in-time merchandising is the reason stores very quickly run out when demand shoots up.
Not "hoarding." There is no longer a warehouse behind the doors in the back, what you see on the shelves is most of what's there.

This lesson is actually good for America in that respect. We are dreadfully lacking in resilience, in spite of years of warnings to lay in what's needed to survive and most households unable to maintain for more than a few days. Supplies potentially disappearing from stores within a day or two were always a serious threat, and now hopefully more people can at least get a hint of the problem.

If a foreign enemy took down your region's power for an extended period, within a couple days markets would be emptied and shocked millions would already start wondering if they and their children could actually die. And the answer to that is yes.

[hamsterjill]

26. San Antonio

Costco today out of alcohol, hand sanitizers, toilet paper, wipes, Lysol spray and Kirkland paper towels. They had Bounty. They did finally have bleach.

Local HEB grocery out of much the same although they did have toilet paper. Food supplies in both stores looked well stocked.

[Aquaria]

81. Then came Friday.

The stores got so wiped out that HEB is now scaling back their hours to 8am to 8pm until further notice because they need the time to get the store re-stocked AND the inventory control set to rights. They literally do not have enough time to get the replacement goods off the truck(s) and onto the shelves in the usual hours they take for that (around 10 pm to the traditional 6 a.m. open).

They're also suspending new sales ads, limiting the amount of bakery and deli options they'll offer, and eliminating all food services/demonstrations. This includes Flaming Bird, the pizza parlors, sandwich shops, barbecue, sushi and so on. The store employees who normally staff those departments are being pulled in to stock shelves--or keep them stocked during normal business hours, as best they can.

And, oh, do they need it.

Yesterday, at the location where my husband works, they ran out of TP in 3 hours, and water not long after that. But, despite the shortages, his store did around $500K in business on Friday. They usually do that during the busiest weekends. The mega Plus store at Bandera and 1604 store may have shattered their old record from last year's holiday, which was around $1.5m. I'll ask him if he's heard what the final number was for them.

HEB is also considering bringing in entire tractor trailers of water and selling directly from the back of the trucks. I think the only thing that's keeping them from implementing it is that they need to sort out how that would work. You know, do you set up a checkout by the truck, or do you have people "buy" water inside and then pick it up with their receipt?

But maybe they're simply going to wait until the panic dies down rather than opening that can of worms.

[hamsterjill]

82. Yep. Well aware.

As you’ll see from another thread, my daughter works for HEB, too.

[Chainfire]

27. As of last week

No problems. There was still paper products, alcohol etc. I go again on Friday. My brother, in a city near me, could not find alcohol on any store shelves, so he went to the liquor store and bought grain alcohol. Problem solved.

[Falcata]

28. Looks like any other

day of the week. Everything was stocked, TP and sanitizers. ymmv

[tblue37]

29. Not crowded, and no scarcity on the shelves. But IS hasn't yet had a corona case. nt

[mnhtnbb]

30. I went this morning to Harris Teeter

in Raleigh. We have confirmed cases in the county.

Been out of the country--came back a week early from a Caribbean island--and decided I'd better do another stock up run in case. I did go and filled my freezer before I left.

No TP today or hand sanitizer. Fortunately, I bought TP before I left.

Tomorrow I'm going to the library and picking up 3 month supply of asthma meds at pharmacy. I'll be good to stay in for a month if I have to, except for dog walking several times a day.

[cwydro]

31. I've never ever been in a Costco.

But all the stores I frequent are well stocked with anything I need. I see no need to stockpile toilet paper. Silliness.

No idea about sanitizer since I’ve never used it; no idea where it’s even located in a store.

[procon]

38. I shop online from Wal-Mart and Amazon mostly.

Brought groceries from Wal-Mart and picked it my order with everything except TP and fresh grapefruit. I'll forgo the grapefruit for now. Amazon immediately shipped out a 24 CT pkg of mega TP rolls arriving today.

I use Amazon's Prime Pantry for staples so I'm going to order some rice, sugar, ghee, olive oil, the industrial size pkgs of mashed potatoes and hash browns, also some canned meat and fish. Some extra pet foods. This is stuff I will use anyway so no waste.

We have a reliable community water well service, and the water actually tastes good, so no need for bottle water that I can do myself. I did order several gallons of distilled water that is required by some of our medical devices.

[hunter]

40. My neighborhood grocery moved toilet paper and water to the entrance displays...

... displacing the usual beer displays.

[Catherine Vincent]

41. Going to Walmart after work today

I ordered 2 gallons of Odoban disinfectant because HD and Lowes were out. I have plenty of hani-sani, tp, Clorox wipes, lysol and paper towels. Started buying a couple of weeks ago. I'll see how the shelves are today. Will pick up more canned goods. It's just me at home but I always buy extra for my dad that is 89 years old even though my sister is there. She doesn't keep up with what's going on in this world unless she hears it from the rest of the family.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

42. Very little that's remarkable, beyond rubbing alcohol being sold out. This is at my local grocery

store.

[OhZone]

43. I've seen Shop Rite low or out on a few things -

like distilled water, but Rite Aid had plenty.

Got Wipes at the Dollar Tree easily enought but they sold out of the large cheap sanitizer. Only had the mini two pack. Still good for a dollar.

Maybe it's because I've been shopping later in the day, but there seemed to be fewer shoppers over all.

This is in Central Jersey near Seaside.

I think a lot of people are only now getting scared really.

We always think of problems being up in North Jersey near NYC.

But then the Bennies always come down and give us troubles.

Ha

[Victor_c3]

44. I haven't noticed any change in my local grocery store

It’s a smaller store, within easy walking distance from my place. I’m not sure how things look at the more major stores in my area of north-western Ohio.

[crickets]

45. I live in rural GA and people are just now starting to wake up to reality of the situation.

I finished most of my stocking up shopping today. There was one tiny sign in the paper products aisle limiting tissue purchases to 2 per customer - just tissues, not TP; otherwise, there was little to no change from any other day. It was surreal. I was the only one with a cart full of rice, beans, meats, frozen veg, and soups. (And two cases of cat food, a large bag of same, and two great jugs of kitty litter from each store.) I went to two stores: WalMart and Publix. Publix was the one rationing tissues. WalMart's TP section was starting to look a bit ragged, but still stocked. I may go out one more time (early am, with gloves on) to pick up pet meds and a last round of toilet paper and tissues, along with a couple of canned staples I forgot, and then I'm done.

I did pick up some bottled water, but not a great deal. I already have water purification pills and a life straw if needed from the last hurricane season. There's always bleach in a pinch, but I'd rather not do that.

For those who wonder about stocking up on TP, it's because I don't want to go to the store again for quite some time and though I may start to rely on Amazon at some point, I don't count on the option being there.

I am seriously considering a back yard vegetable garden, black thumb notwithstanding.

The next month will be all about home time and hope.

My worst nightmare for all of us is that we hunker down and make it through the next month or so, but there is no working infrastructure for food at that point. Also, if the power goes out long term, my carefully stocked freezer is screwed. Rice and beans for a while, I guess. Am I alarmist to wonder?

[bucolic_frolic]

46. No you are not alarmist, you are preparing in the event and hoping a stress test doesn't happen

Interesting post, thanks for some ideas. I worry about the duration of the epidemic. It could be months. If 3 waves could be more than a year.

[crickets]

47. Same worry about the duration.

I am trying not to put all my hope in the freezer, though I have stuffed it full, including a little extra cheese, butter, milk and a dozen eggs in silicone muffin tin liners stacked in a gallon ziplock. Also people, google how to freeze food flat. It's amazing. (And if everyone already knew this, enjoy laughing at me!)

I have evaporated and powdered milk as well. I will miss fruit most of all, so I will be swimming in it until the two small melons are gone. There are half a dozen oranges/apples & a jar or two of fruit packed in juice for treats down the road.

Expecting at least some power issues, I bought a bag of charcoal to cook outside if need be. No steaks (they take up too much room and don't keep as well as ground meat) but the cast iron pot, pan, and griddle will come in handy for heating water or cooking just about anything else over flames.

What little chicken I bought has skin and bones for maximum calories in minimum portions as well as stock making. A small ham or roast can be cooked and refrozen in chunks for sandwiches, soups, and rice dishes. Bacon keeps well until opened, takes up little room and keeps on giving to other dishes if you save the grease. (Thank you, Publix 2 for 1 sale today, or I wouldn't have thought of it.)

I bought flour, lots of it, have a fair amount of sugar and molasses on hand, and plan to make my own bread and crackers after the few loaves I bought are gone. No plans to freeze any because of space. Will need to remember to print out some extra recipes for that just in case...

Oh, and I went to the liquor store too. Medicinal purposes and all.

I have never actually made fun of doomsday preppers, but I did think they were a bit overboard. I am not thinking that now. For all I stocked up, a lot of my food naturally accumulated in the pantry over time and I still look at the cupboard and wonder how long I could last. My heart goes out to people trying to stretch their budgets to deal with this. I am horrified to think of the number of people who may lose their jobs.

Apologies for the ramble; just thought I would add more ideas in case anyone is interested, and I would love to hear more from others who have thought of ideas for long term.

[bucolic_frolic]

48. That's a mother lode

Surely you mentioned beans and rice, but I also added lentils, split peas, barley. Corn meal. Boxed cereal has durability.

I'm mainly concerned with good nutrition and minimal calories. If I drop 10 pounds over 4-6 months I won't be displeased.

Crickets, on this issue you sure haven't come up crickets!

[Hekate]

49. Whole chicken, rotisserie, from anywhere that sells it. Economical because the stores ....

....make their real money off the side dishes like potato salad and rolls.

For whatever reason my local Costco's isn't ever entirely cooked at the core, so I plan ahead. (They may be rushing things because people start lining up as soon as they see the timer is ready to go off. ) I slice off the breast meat for immediate use, and later on finish dismembering the bird for other cooked dishes, which I usually freeze. The bones and skin go directly into the stockpot (or the slow-cooker, or you could even use the Instant Pot) . When it's done, I freeze that.

If I get one from someplace else it's usually a smaller bird and done all the way through. I still save the bones, frozen, for future use.

[Rorey]

57. I'm curious about why we may have power issues

Could you enlighten me?

At least if it happens here, our weather hasn't been extremely bad, so heat wouldn't be such a big issue. I've got a fire pit, so I could probably use it to cook.

[crickets]

65. I don't think we will, actually. Overall, nationally, power should not be an issue.

I live in a fairly rural area, however. People keeping things going for community utilities are unlikely to all get sick at once, but hope for best and plan for the worst-- just in case there's a hiccup at some point. To be honest, it's just a tad of paranoia on my part.

[Rorey]

70. I hear ya.

I grew up in a very remote area, and there were times we'd be without power for days. I think it's one of the reasons I'm more inclined to make sure I'm stocked up and ready for things.

[Rorey]

53. Maybe I'm an alarmist.

But I'm an alarmist with tp. I'm not going to apologize to anyone for thinking ahead and being prepared. I didn't go crazy and buy enough to last for years, and I'm definitely not going to try to capitalize on my forethought by selling it. Most of my prepping was done well over a month ago.

[Muriel]

88. My wife bought enough tp for 8 months-ordered from Target.

I thought she went a little overboard, but who knows?

[Rorey]

52. What was missing from my usual store today: ME

But I did go yesterday morning. There was no tp in either of the two stores where I shopped, and hardly any facial tissue. I didn't even bother checking on hand sanitizer.

I don't plan on going to any store for awhile. I'm stocked on staples, and there's no point in trying to get perishables until I need them. If they're not there when that time comes, I guess I'll be doing without. I'll deal. I'm grateful for what I have.

[BluesClues]

54. No eggs

Water and eggs seems to be the only things missing.

[edhopper]

55. New Hampshire

No
Toilet Paper paper towels, tissues, plastic storage bags, pasta, baked beans, tuna fish, pasta sauce, most package bread, most cleaning supplies, canned vegatables, more I cant think of.

[Rorey]

60. Wow

I suspect that stores here might be like that here as well. My son said the parking lots were packed. Yesterday there was still plenty of food, but I was home by 9 a.m., so a lot may have happened since then.

[Pathwalker]

58. Local Kroger is OUT OF MEAT! Also Rice and TP.

They are shutting down the meat department because "they came in this AM like a "horde(hoard) of locusts, just throwing meat in their carts". No deliveries until Monday! Also, there isn't a single roll of toilet paper left, or rice! Husband called from there, shocked.

[crickets]

66. That's crazy. I am so sorry.

If we had a real president, instead of the useless tangerine tool, s/he would have given a calming speech to the nation about sensible preparations, about not panic buying, and about not taking so much that there's none left for others. There would also be an informative and useful website with information about health issues, working from home, supply prep, updates on testing and treatment including self treatment at home, etc. for everyone to see. smh.

[TheFarseer]

59. I've went to a couple grocery stores

in Omaha. There were more shoppers than normal. I noticed some things were in short stock especially staples like big box of rice and tortilla chips. The cleaning supply aisle looked normal but I didn’t specifically look for Purell or TP.

[CTyankee]

61. Stop and Shop, New Haven. paper products all gone. Entire aisle empty. Rest of store fine.

[elleng]

62. That I'm not there! LOL!

Was there briefly Thursday, pretty normal; parking lot yesterday busier than usual.

MAY try tomorrow, if my ice cream runs out.

Hoping for the best.

[milestogo]

63. A few of us were eyeing the bakery for comfort food

[oswaldactedalone]

64. I work for CVS

and one thing I’ve never understood about them is the huge amount of paper towels and TP kept on inventory. Standard weekly inventory is about 30 cases of each and it seems that there are always the same 25 cases of both unsold each week.

The run on TP was so crazy at our store that by Friday at 4pm the last single roll was sold. No more due in until Monday. That’s great and everything but it’s going to be a pain to move all those boxes from truck to stockroom and then reset the shelves and endcaps with the new inventory. CVS understaffs their stores so much that it’s all you can do to get the regular new inventory out each week.

[RobinA]

72. I Went In

to CVS today in my search for TP, of which they had none, and found there seems to have been a run on...makeup? That seemed strange to me.

[csziggy]

67. This afternoon went to Costco and Publix

Costco mostly for frozen vegetables - couldn't stock up sooner since our freezer needed work and the compressor is on the bottom. We didn't want it full when the repair guy had to tip it on it's back. Now that it's run a full day we were ready to fill it up. The vegetables we bought will be enough to last us two to three months, about what we usually buy at our periodic Costco trips. We also filled our truck.

Costco was busy but not crazy. They had a crew sanitizing the carts. I asked and they said it was crazy this morning. Stuff I was looking for was stocked, but I was not specifically looking at sanitizer. I did check on laundry detergent and did not notice any empty spots in that aisle

Then we had to make a quick trip to Publix, same thing, busy but not crazy. I stayed in the truck to keep the A/C running since we had the frozen stuff in the truck. I didn't notice anyone coming out with packed carts but my husband said there were no carts at the front and the store was crowded. He did not notice any empty spots in the store shelves, and he did have to get the detergent that Costco did not carry (I have a specific brand that I can use).

[MFM008]

68. Lakewood Washington

most store have plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, meats and bread and Dairy- animal food
short on canned goods-sugar-flour --stuff
OUT of any cleaning supplies, water, toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex.

[MissB]

71. Which one?

(Tacoma Lakewood?)

[MFM008]

73. Albertsons

Safeway. Fred Meyer.
Steilacoom Blvd.
Lakewood Town Center.

[Olafjoy]

69. Kids (in L.A) just texted

“Mom. Sent home to work remotely for 2 weeks min. Driving to your house (AZ). It is nicer and we know you will have food and TP”

😳😳😳 To Costco and Grocery....

Also stock up on Vodka for me!!

[bucolic_frolic]

75. I'd holdout on that crew - bring food or else!

This could go on longer than you think

[Mosby]

89. That's funny. Nt

[Marrah_Goodman]

74. Rhode Island

My housemates work at Walmart in the grocery dept. The shelves tonight at 10 pm were very bare, but they are now closing at 11pm every night to clean and restock. Cereal, canned goods, pasta, frozen foods, paper goods, cleaning supplies all looked decimated. I wasn't there long and didn't go down all the aisles, but the place was a mess with associates working hard to get it all back into shape.

At 10 the crowds were gone.

Once everyone has stocked up and are isolating at home I think the stores will get back to some semblance of normal.

We have a long way to go, but at least we live in these times and not back during early epidemics/pandemics. We have electricity, medicine, the internet, etc.

[bucolic_frolic]

77. I think you're right on with all of that

Things could seem very normal in a week, as long as trucks keep moving and food processors and manufacturers keep going.

Plus demand will fall for many months as everyone realizes how overstocked their cupboards have become, and the bills on them must be paid!

[beachbumbob]

76. chaos at: Publix, Aldi, Costco and walmart that I have seen first hand

All too of them TOO LATE in limiting quantities per purchase.

[jberryhill]

79. We had just run out of good gin

We made sure to restock on good gin, along with a large bottle of cheap gin in case things get desperate and we have to stretch supplies.

I realized that we may be facing new challenges when my wife bought Shiraz in a box. Normally, she just makes some sort of guttural threat sound if I even suggest we get wine in a box.

[Kilgore]

90. Emergency booze strategy

Our routine is a Bloody Mary in the morning and a late afternoon Martini, or G&T.

Went to the local restaurant supply store and stocked up on V8 juice, celery salt, worstishire, black cardomon, olives, cocktail onions, horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco, and swizzle sticks.

Next stop was Costco (a freaking zoo) and laid in 5 gallons each of middle of the road gin, vodka, plus a bit of vermouth. While there, also picked up 8 cases of tonic.

Bring on the covid! We are ready!

[TreadSoftly]

80. without reading the others...my report:

I'm in East TN & slipped in for a moment to the Food City in Oak Ridge (small city maybe 26,000 people). Looked like Quiet Place -- some shelves empty and some full [in the movie, only the chips remain because they make noise]. I noticed that beans and sugar and ramen noodles were completely empty. Produce was a bit scarce. I looked down the aisle for paper and noticed that a whole section was empty (probably the toilet paper). Also some cereals were empty. Some breads were empty. I didn't peek at dairy or frozen as I was in a hurry (had to get back to the office). The checkout was horrible -- lots of people and no staff. I think they were surprised. The lot was pretty full (this was Saturday early evening) but generally the streets are eerily quiet -- looked like Sunday dawn instead of Saturday dusk. I was after oil, bread, and cereal and had no trouble. But that was yesterday...

[Chainfire]

83. I was at the grocery store at 8:00 this morning

I was putting the cap on my stocks to last a few weeks. The only shortages I saw, and I was looking, was that the inventory on paper products was low. There was toilet paper! I didn't need any so I didn't buy any.

This store is in in a town of about 5,000 people. I understand that this is not the case in the regional shopping city, of a quarter of a million people, 20 miles to the East, where there as been a panic run on everything.

I think that the big difference is that the regional shopping city is the home of two universities and state government, and the population may be better informed as to what could potentially happen. It may also be the case that the local city is chronically economically depressed, and many of the store's customers struggle week-to-week and do not have the resources to stock up on anything. Of course, this is just my speculation.

[Muriel]

84. People's reactions to seeing me masked and safety glasses

while shopping is downright ridiculous.
With a degrees or certificates in both nursing and respiratory therapy, my wife has us wearing N95's and clear sun glass-style wrap-around glasses as we are out and about, but to see the reaction of people in the stores you'd think we were running around shouting curse words. We have had people do everything from shake their heads as we make eye contact, to scowl as we near, to physically recoil when they pick us up in their peripheral. They actually seem angry. Why would they react so negatively?

[jberryhill]

91. Probably because they think...

...that you have a supply of things that health workers are having a hard time finding in adequate stock to do their important work for all of us.

[duforsure]

85. Little water stocked, no TP, and many others products getting lower on the shelf's.

Did get a lot of fruit like apples, pears, and oranges which will keep a good while . Also got a lot of meats to stick into the freezer , but pretty well stocked up to last for months. Got lots of water and TP already from getting yearly hurricane goods we get every year. Should be ok for awhile, and if needed for others if they run out.

[BumRushDaShow]

86. I was at a supermarket near me yesterday morning

and the paper products section was completely bare except for a few larger multi-roll packs of paper towels and a couple multi-box packs of tissues. I.e., no toilet paper - even the generic brands gone. Large cases of water were also gone although expensive individual bottles of water were still available.

The meat department was almost bare with some scattered stuff that had been pulled forward - although they were restocking that while I was there. Rice and beans were about gone except for some scattered bags here and there. Pasta section was slowly diminishing. Produce was almost untouched and stocked. Dairy was fine.

When I stopped by my local pharmacy, they actually had a couple packs of TP but had signs at the register indicating that they were out of - "Hand sanitizer, alcohol, masks, gloves" (and possibly a few other items like Lysol I think).

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here with respect to the TP situation was that some of us recall the media frenzy around what happened in Venezuela when that country started to collapse and TP was one of the first things that they had shortages of on and off over the past 7 years due to governmental policies and an economic meltdown, among other things.

[machoneman]

87. It's trucking capacity to a great extent.

Was in the trade. Note that when store #427 is shipped via the local distriubution center, although all shortages are computer-noted instantly to the D.C., the store can prioritize certain items for the next delivery. So, if they are totally out of all paper goods but not out of other goods, the next truck is loaded with, guess what, hand santiizer and paper goods (t.p., etc.). Once unloaded, one can bet that for some number of days, the store will be very quickly emptied of these items. Rinse, repeat until normalcy returns.