COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Health, Fitness, Food, Insurance, Longevity, Diets,...
User avatar
Bankai
Posts: 986
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:28 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Bankai »

In the UK home deliveries are overwhelmed. We just had one on Tuesday and half of our order was missing. Also, they introduced limits of between 2-4 of each product per purchase. This makes home delivery a poor option. On the other hand, it's only touched presumably by two people - picker/packer and driver. So in theory safer than taking anything from the actual store.

We currently have around 3 months' worth of food at hand. The plan is still to get what we can via delivery and supplement with an occasional trip to the grocery store as to not eat into the stash. We went to the local Aldi today and it was a bit surreal - the first time I've seen empty shelves since the late '80s in communist Poland. No pasta, toilet paper, soap, hand gel, toothpaste (!), shower gel, and a limit of 4 max of each item.

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by slowtraveler »

I get there when they open so I woke up around 6 today to make it at 7. Don full gear there- workshop goggles, gloves, and a 3 layer mask.

Buy foods to cook or wash with soap then salt water rinse then fresh water rinse. Buy staples like bread, rice, potatoes, tortillas, and beets. Then some avocados, cheese, peppers. Frozen vegetables for stir fries, soups, or smoothies. I see people doing runs on staples like bread. Some staples are out.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by George the original one »

Since we had a close encounter in the store with a sick person yesterday morning, we're quarantining now for two weeks, living off the supply "hoard", just in case we caught something.

When we venture back, we'll be wearing gloves at a minimum. Clothes go into the washer, too.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15906
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by jacob »

No fresh produce in this house beyond what will be growing in the garden a couple of months from now. Only packaged fresh when/if we go. Perfectly fine living on frozen, canned, and bulk pasta/beans/rice/lentils if it means reducing exposure. I'm just too lazy to deal with decontamination. Laziness drives my cooking more than anything else. Fortunately, we have over the years figured out how to make lazy taste good. What we've done is to substitute frozen vegetables for what is fresh produce in e.g. spaghetti sauce or chilies.

I imagine that many people (the US spends or spent 50%+ of its food money on restaurants!) are getting a crash course in cooking these days. Many don't know. This is also why stocks that specialize in preprocessed foods are doing well now.

What remains undecided for me is whether to run the reserves all the way down before going shopping a couple of months from now or whether it's better to keep inventory closer to fully stocked. It seems that countries so far have had no problem keeping supplies in the supermarkets except during the demand spike panic during "big announcements". Of course this could change but if so, the world has vastly bigger problems (an actual food crisis). I think the opposite will happen ... as people regain their senses and all those who shop day-to-day (<- very many people) keeping almost nothing at hand accumulate sufficient inventory, supply will meet demand.

Overall, I consider the risk of cumulative virus exposure from continual shopping higher than a total food system breakdown.

The initial plan was to eventually go to Walmart at 2am or some other ungodly time. However, WMT already adapted and closed stores overnight so the employees have time to restock, so now with so many people also staying at home, I'm not sure what "odd hours" constitute anymore.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by George the original one »

Safeway produce guy says the store goods are ordered 5 weeks in advance.

Orowheat bread truck guy said his warehouse is empty because they've been meeting the increased demand and he doesn't know when new shipments are coming in.

Basically, I think USA store supplies will be back to normal in 2-3 weeks, possibly oversupplied, unless something intervenes.

User avatar
TheWanderingScholar
Posts: 650
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:04 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by TheWanderingScholar »

jacob wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:01 pm

The initial plan was to eventually go to Walmart at 2am or some other ungodly time. However, WMT already adapted and closed stores overnight so the employees have time to restock, so now with so many people also staying at home, I'm not sure what "odd hours" constitute anymore.
For me, I went to our Walmart around 20:00/8:00 PM and it was pretty empty then so I would advise a time around, judging from my experience

Fish
Posts: 570
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:09 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Fish »

We started isolation by eating down our stockpile which was a mistake in retrospect. We were at a crossroads after running out of fresh vegetables around day 10. I wanted to continue eating the stockpile while DW wanted to replenish. She won that argument, which turned out to be the right decision. But that was also around the time the late crowd started reacting to the news so shortages forced some substitutions.

We are now having groceries delivered to continually top off the stockpile in case there are future supply disruptions. We’ve tried several providers, Instacart and Shipt are both decent though there is a learning curve and stock is not accurate (lots of items are unavailable or substituted at this time). Deliveries are quarantined and clorox wipes are used on all packages entering the house. I do not like accepting material from the post-virus outside world, but if not food it would have been mail.

ETA: Groceries cost about 20% more than normal factoring in additional markup (online > in-store price) and tips. Non-members and small orders also pay a delivery charge. Worth it to reduce C-19 exposure and take ourselves out of circulation. But we would probably take our chances at the supermarket if we had a median income.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15906
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by jacob »

@Augustus - On the flip side ... what's worse? 1-10% infected with many still behaving like idiots or 20-40% infected having learned their lessons with actual functional procedures in place. I'm thinking the latter.

Another concern is that given how the supply/demand equilibrium hasn't been established yet, it would be a dbag move to walk off with our usual 32 cans of diced tomatoes and 30 pounds of beans if that clears out the remainder of the store's supply.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

We’re stocked but topping off with some shipments. It’s pretty easy to get risk of exposure down to equivalent of maybe driving after 1.5 drinks if you only have to interact with stuff other people touched rather than other people. My figuring is something like 1/10 FedEx guy has Covid/1/100transferred to BF or gloves on way to isolation porch to sit for several days, 1/10 any remnants remain after he scrubs up, etc.

OTOH, in person encounters are going to be more like 1/10 infected x possibly 1/4 transmission = 1/40. IOW, even if I am quite a bit off here, delivery must be approximately 100 times safer than shopping, and likely within the range of everyday, “acceptable “ risk.

CS
Posts: 709
Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:24 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by CS »

Another one for delivery. I'm not going into a store. No way.

There is a local grocery store that will pick and deliver. Amazon sells a surprising amount of things by the case. Got a box of 72 bags of the noodles I can eat (not many I can) for $103. That is ~100 meals (the noodle part). Cases of canned vegetables, etc. Lentils. :D Supply is a little low right now but that should even out I'd think.

Lots of decontamination by getting rid of boxes right away, and either setting the contents aside on the porch (for now) or wiping down/spraying or washing with soap. Might have to modify procedures as the porch turns into more living space as the weather warms up.

Just got a recall notice on my car that the airbag is one of those exploding shrapnel bomb ones. Great. Not too interested in bringing it in right now (they don't have the part yet anyhow, wut??). The car is 21 YEARS OLD. Wasn't this an issue like five years ago? So not much interested in driving now too because hospital is going to be full of sick people if I get shrapneled, so yeah, no.

But I digress.

Delivery.

Fish
Posts: 570
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:09 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Fish »

@Augustus - Delivery schedules have been volatile but I suggest getting in line with one or more providers. Even after an order is placed, nothing is firmly scheduled. On the backend, gig economy workers choose orders in realtime based on delivery location and expected commission (+bonus if the promised date and time approaches and no one has picked it up).

Costco rescheduled our delivery from Tues to Fri, then back to Tues with little notice. Doesn’t matter if you’re always at home which is true if isolating. And these platforms allow you to modify your orders until the shopper gets to the store. Just get in line with a minimum order and then take your time shopping.

ETA: If quarantining deliveries, how long is adequate? This suggests an upper bound of 3-4 days for plastic packaging:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101 ... l.pdf+html

slsdly
Posts: 380
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 1:04 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by slsdly »

If you search on Google for a supermarket (I use name street city), it will show you how busy it is currently (the most useful piece), and how busy it was in the past weeks, at what hours. Google knows everything (I imagine it is all of the Android phones with location history turned on). I'm using that as a guide for when to go. It is fairly intuitive though -- opening time generally remains the best time of day to go. Just look for "Plan your visit" on the right hand side below the contact info, Q&A and reviews.

EdithKeeler
Posts: 1099
Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:55 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by EdithKeeler »

I got a delivery from Imperfect Foods today, and have a Whole Foods delivery scheduled for tomorrow. I had a little trouble finding what I needed at Whole Foods—I wanted some extra pasta sauce and a few other things.

My house is ridiculously stocked at the moment. Tons of frozen chicken, lots of pasta, canned salmon and tuna, rice and sausage for a future jambalaya, lots of oatmeal, dozen veg, frozen fruit, beans and lentils out the wazoo... I even have a big thing of toilet paper.

The one thing I didn’t have, though, is onions!! Pretty much every recipe I make starts with an onion or two. But I have some coming tomorrow.

My biggest problem right now is boredom. I’m working at home, but I hate it. I live alone. My brother was over tonight, but he may have some possible cases at his workplace (some people called in with fevers...) but we only have 4 confirmed cases in Memphis.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I haven't tried them yet but I bought some frozen onions. They are presliced.

Peanut
Posts: 551
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Peanut »

@EK: Mirepoix comes in a frozen bag and is pre-chopped onion, celery, carrot. Expensive per ounce but so easy.

What are you all doing for stuff that comes in as far as decontaminating? I was never one for rinsing strawberries with bleach but...

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by Alphaville »

FYI dried onion flakes are great for wet dishes especially the Costco ones if you can get them shipped. Last a long time, would recommend. But have used the Walmart brand too.

In lean times save fresh onions for raw applications where folk medicine considers them antiviral & good for the respiratory tract.

Onion syrup: take a slice of onion, cover with sugar, put on a saucer, tilt the saucer, wait: eat the syrup that drips down, clear your lungs of phlegm (oh yeah gives you nice breath too). Try that for your next bronchitis.

I like my raw onions sliced thin, marinated in lime juice and salt, with a bit of hot pepper, tossed with a little oil, great on fried things or mixed with boring vegetables like lettuce.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by George the original one »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:43 pm
I haven't tried them yet but I bought some frozen onions. They are presliced.
Frozen onions, damn, that's what I forgot to get!

EdithKeeler
Posts: 1099
Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:55 pm

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by EdithKeeler »



What are you all doing for stuff that comes in as far as decontaminating? I was never one for rinsing strawberries with bleach but...
FDA says no evidence of virus transmission via produce.
I generally wash my produce with a tad of soap and lots of water, and I feel pretty ok with that. I feel like getting fresh veg from a wholesaler is probably safer than going to the grocery store and buying stuff the hordes have touched. (The stuff I ordered from Whole Foods was all packaged stuff).

https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-du ... 9-covid-19

nomadscientist
Posts: 401
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:54 am

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by nomadscientist »

I stocked up on bagged non-perishables before the recent ramp up in cases. If you can still find them, wipe down the bags/boxes with disinfectant while wearing gloves, wash and dry, dispose of materials and gloves.

I am not buying produce or anything else exposed directly to staff or other customers. This may become a less useful precaution as the virus spreads.

Exposure to people in the store is probably a much bigger risk than anything on the food but my diet simply does not have to be interesting for the next few weeks.

Delivery is always to be preferred. Or simply not buying anything if you are already stocked.

My biggest problem is persuading myself to do nothing.

enigmaT120
Posts: 1240
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:14 pm
Location: Falls City, OR

Re: COVID grocery/shopping procedures

Post by enigmaT120 »

My wife froze a bunch of green onions last night, and has many more to do still out in the garden. And we're eating them fresh and cooked.

I need to make a beer run today and get some grass seed for a bare slope. Or for bird food, whichever way it works out. Some racing gas as I try to get my old Triumph motorcycle running again.

Post Reply