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Panic and Empty Shelves
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Lizzie
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Mar 23, 2020 03:41AM
I am curious if empty shelves at the stores is a world wide thing or just a USA thing. And, what is the strangest thing that got bought out, in your point of view?
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I went to do my monthly grocery shopping this past Tuesday and was surprised that all the meat, bread, milk, eggs, and veggies were gone. I understood canned and dried goods, thing that would keep, or that you could freeze. Why all the half and half? I just use it for my coffee. I don't like flavored creamers. Why all the cucumbers? You can't freeze them. Did everyone suddenly learn how to make pickles?
For me, the strange thing is that there was a not a single bulb of garlic left in any store in town. I was planning on making a pot of marinara. Are people confused and thinking the virus will result in those affected coming back as the undead?
I suppose panic buying is happening everywhere.But most serious of all is the lack of essential medicines.Patients of other diseases could die for want of medication.
Yep, everywhere. Went to buy something for dinner tonight, as we had nothing out of the freezer. Just as well we like salmon...And what is half and half? (Just curious.)
Lizzie wrote: "I went to do my monthly grocery shopping this past Tuesday and was surprised that all the meat, bread, milk, eggs, and veggies were gone. I understood canned and dried goods, thing that would keep,..."Panic buying certainly hasn't passed over Israel, however the shelves aren't empty as yet and retail chains' owners regularly try to persuade on TV that they all have huge stocks and no need to buy beyond regular use. I believe what I see more than what I hear on TV, but so far there is a match :)
A friend from Australia published on Facebook pic-s of empty shelves there, but can't be sure if it was something he'd witnessed himself
I have witnessed empty meat shelves and toilet paper shelves here in Australia. I'm in a rural town. Not to mention the completely empty butcher's shop.
Leonie wrote: "And what is half and half? (Just curious.)"I think the British term is single cream? It's half milk and half cream combined. It has a higher fat content than just milk, and is thicker. Heavy cream is sweet to me and I use it for cooking. Half and half, I use for coffee or chai tea. Because of the fat content, it is easy to froth. (There is a fat free version, which I never understood.)
The only milk type products left were buttermilk and flavored creamers.
I do subscribe and save on Amazon so my TP supply didn't come in and I was warned of that around March 10. My water filters didn't arrive either, and they don't know when for them.Out of curiosity on Friday I checked all the foodstuffs I had ordered from Amazon in the past, and everything was out of stock. That included pasta, honey, chips, dips, all canned or dried vegetables and fruit. As I was ordering chai tea it became no longer available in the 30 seconds between adding it to my card and hitting the pay for button.
I haven't been back to any store since last Tuesday. I left a message with my doctor's office about prescriptions I would need by the end of this week, but no call back. So I will have to face going to a store by the end of the week.
I know the pharmacist as she was a client and she told me that had checked on getting that malaria drug that was being talked about and they were unable to order it - none available.
Lizzie wrote: "Leonie wrote: "And what is half and half? (Just curious.)"I think the British term is single cream? It's half milk and half cream combined. It has a higher fat content than just milk, and is thic..."
I think I'm still confused 🤣 Here in Australia, we have full cream milk (approx 4% fat), 'HiLo' or Lite (reduced fat milk), and skim milk.
We also have a variety of creams, but they're basically just cream with differing fat contents, or the addition of a culture eg. sour cream. https://www.dairy.com.au/products/cream
Leonie wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "Leonie wrote: "And what is half and half? (Just curious.)"I think the British term is single cream? It's half milk and half cream combined. It has a higher fat content than just mi..."
According to the FDA, half-and-half must contain between 10.5 to 18 percent milkfat. For comparison, heavy cream contains at least 36 percent milkfat and regular milk contains at least 3.25 percent milkfat.
So, that would be really creamy milk then! 😊🤣
Leonie wrote: "Or very runny cream..."Yes to both. It is a handy in-between. More expensive than milk and less expensive than cream. So I use it for coffee. Generally, it is in the stores hat sells coffee to go as a choice of what people can grab to put in their coffee.
Your list was interesting. I tried to find something similar for here, but couldn't.
Any milk that has been UHV treated is more expensive. Living alone it is what I try to get as I am not a huge milk drinker.
All the soy, almond, and other non-animal milk products were sold out too. I am hoping I can get some next week. I have been using almond milk since I had to cut back on protein due to kidney disease, but I don't like it in my coffee.
Still can't find toilet paper...My experiences are (kinda - not really...) encapsulated at https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Costco are not taking returns on hoarded items.REF: https://twitter.com/Xyth_Lord/status/...
REF: https://twitter.com/capricorngirlyy/s...
Definitely empty shelves in the area I am in (Tampa - Florida). Things that are missing (lol) almost everything all of you said above. Other interesting food items - the drink Gatorade and Power drinks - gone! Not a single one on the shelves. But all dairy products are completely gone. Fresh fruit and veggies gone - along with the frozen ones as well. Food items that are still on shelves - cereal boxes (I guess no one wants to start their day off with a bowl of cereal - lol), some can food items depending on what it is, potato chips (almost all of them were still stocked), the cookie aisle was still stocked (I guess no one is in the mood for chowing down on cookies - lol) and in some grocery stores the bakery still has their desserts. Also the soda/pop aisle was still half full, so not everyone bought those. Of course all the water was gone.
Some of these things are gone for us during Hurricane season so we are use to seeing water cases gone and some other things, but not the dairy items as normally they do not stock up on dairy items during a Hurricane in case the electric goes out. So seeing meat and dairy items completely gone is really weird.
Don't know how it was b4 corona in Colombia, but seen on TV yesterday that unloading of food supplies is guarded by the police, otherwise a truck wouldn't do it. The scene resembled those armored trucks and guards dealing with cash transportation elsewhere.Do you think food riots may ensue after panic buying or that's something totally unrealistic?
Panic buying seems to drop off once lock down is in place judging from pictures from Spain and France and my brother's reports from Italy
Nik wrote: "Don't know how it was b4 corona in Colombia, but seen on TV yesterday that unloading of food supplies is guarded by the police, otherwise a truck wouldn't do it."A despicable hoarder bought an entire pallet of toilet paper from the back of a truck where I live in NY.
People are civilized here and let it go, but I'd imagine bloodshed without police in less civilized countries in South America
I will panic when bookshelves are empty.
Tziggy wrote: "I will panic when bookshelves are empty."If toilet paper deficit persists, who knows :)
But then there are still e-versions
Apple Sweetass wrote: "A despicable hoarder bought an entire pallet of toilet paper from the back of a truck where I live in NY. ..."Maybe for a donation purpose :)
Nik wrote: "Apple Sweetass wrote: "A despicable hoarder bought an entire pallet of toilet paper from the back of a truck where I live in NY. ..."Maybe for a donation purpose :)"
Keep Calm and Stay Optimistic
I went to the grocery store today for the first time in a couple of weeks. Plenty of fresh produce, but mostly empty shelves in the canned goods aisle. No fresh chicken at all, but some beef still available. Plenty of dairy, but very little packaged lunch meat. Plenty of eggs and bread, but no toilet paper or paper towels. No rice or pasta at all. Very hit and miss. I got most of what I needed, except for chicken. The atmosphere was very subdued, people avoiding eye contact and just focused on shopping and getting out. Good news - the wine shelves were stocked :-)
Drinking wine is recommended.When you drink, any virus particles in your mouth are washed into your stomach where they break down into their harmless constituents.
At least that is what I believe.
So drink often...
P.s. What day is it today???
Graeme wrote: "Drinking wine is recommended.When you drink, any virus particles in your mouth are washed into your stomach where they break down into their harmless constituents.
At least that is what I believ..."
Reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol :-)
Graeme wrote: "Drinking wine is recommended.When you drink, any virus particles in your mouth are washed into your stomach where they break down into their harmless constituents.
At least that is what I believ..."
If you do, eat carrageenan. it immobilizes viruses it can grab - aas long as the virus doesn't get into your system
Graeme wrote: "If you do, eat carrageenan. it immobilizes viruses it can grab - aas long as the virus doesn't get into your system"I know it's a thickener used in a lot of milk products and a substitute for gelatin as a thickener in vegan foods. But, isn't it also used for weight loss?
I haven't seen anything about immobilizing viruses, but have seen a lot of pros and cons and know the FDA took it off it's approved organic list.
Shopped for my parents today at a different store. No ground beef at all. What's still amazing is the paper goods aisle. Empty. Not even paper napkins. People just have a fear of having nothing to wipe with:-) Maybe toilet paper stock is something to think about.
My latest experience - no flour. In fact, the whole cooking and baking items were gone
I need to start thinking about going to the store before I run out of the basics - bread, eggs, milk and laundry supplies. I keep thinking wait and it will get better on the not immediately needed this week items, but then I wonder if I see something I may run out of that I had better grab it now. I had multiple emails from Amazon this week on my subscribe and save items being cancelled because they can no longer supply the items. From TP to bath salts to laundry soap. I looked for the major brands of TP today. Someone on Amazon has a 12 pack of Northern TP for $139. I thought price gouging was against the law and Amazon was supposed to be ditching vendors such as these?
Other items list expected available dates in April. I am hoping that Amazon is able to send my water faucet filters, but who knows.
Ian, shopping for my mom today, and she wanted a five-pound bag of self-rising flour. Everything was gone except for a couple of 2-pound bags of expensive flour. I bought them because - who knows - there may be none at all next week. Also only two bottles of cooking oil left. I got them, too, because - who knows? I'm pretty sure that's why the shelves are empty. They're thinking like I am. Maybe nothing will be there next week.
Another depressing thought. There appears to have been thefts of hospital gowns in our hospitals, as well as a run on them from proper usage. Guess where the major manufacturer of various protective gear for infection protection is? Yep - Wuhan. And they closed down some time ago. There is another problem. Even if we could find some, there are no aircraft flying to bring them in as an emergency.At a personal level, today I used up the last of my flour. Aargh.
Sorry to hear that, Ian. Hopefully, better days are coming :-)
The supermarkets state they have plenty of all food goods. The problem is their limited staff can't keep up with the guys filling trolleys with one thing. What we make here is not going to run out. Coffee is another matter, and I have a couple of months supply of that.Things will improve. Exactly when is the question.
Our supermarkets certainly seem to have plenty of fruit and veg, which is good. People seem to have suddenly panic bought things in chunks.It's almost as if someone goes "Flour, I must have enough flour!" and everyone catches it...like a virus....(That's probably a really bad Dad level joke, sorry.)
Leonie wrote: "Our supermarkets certainly seem to have plenty of fruit and veg, which is good. People seem to have suddenly panic bought things in chunks.It's almost as if someone goes "Flour, I must have enoug..."
Sill like Dad jokes...
This occurred to me today. If this thing goes on and on, will the supply chain be broken?
I don't think enough thought has been given t what happens after this, at last where lockdowns are in place. It is not every business can keep going during a lockdown, and since nobody knows how long this will last, there are some difficult choices. If you fire all your staff and it goes on, you may still last financially, but have no workers. If you try to protect your workers, hoping for a short lockdown, it goes on and you are bankrupt. So what do you do? We have to assume abut half will get this wrong, and that means the chain will have broken links.
I live in a rural area, and so far, the supply chain is doing well. Obviously there are a number of things that are scarce on the shelves.However, I can confirm that the farmers here are still farming, and the miners here are still producing coal (I know, climate change) for the local power stations to keep everyone's lights on. The local power stations are still producing electricity, and I understand that they have contingencies in place dependent on spread of COVID-19.
Our supermarket chains and local producers here are still producing and stocking. And we, at our physio practice, are still keeping all of those workers moving. It is a huge chain of supply, and I'm sure there will be hiccoughs, however, I think it'll trudge along. At least here.
That makes me feel a little better. I rode out in the country today in my agricultural area, and the only crop I saw in the fields was collards, which are ready to be harvested. I didn't see any planting going on, and this is the time to do that. Will hope for the best.
You will recall I had trouble getting flour. I got some, but flour is a big problem here. Not because there is no flour, but because there is insufficient packaging. Flour usually goes out in tankers to big breadmakers, etc, and that is probably still on, and in 20 kg sacks to bakeries, cafes, etc. They are now closed, and because you can't buy what they made people want to bake, but they are out of packages for 1 and 2 kg, and the average house does not want 20 kg of flour. Interestingly, the odd bulk bin places have been closed as well.Interestingly, the arm of the multinational has struck here already. In NZ a German conglomerate bought up all the interesting magazines and has decided because the virus has killed off advertising for just a week, it is closing the lot down. Over the past few weeks they had run a huge push to get more annual subscribers. Guess where that money will go.
Time to get the neighbors together, buy 20 kg., and divide it up. Does this mean you won't be getting your Nature mag?
Ian wrote: "You will recall I had trouble getting flour. I got some, but flour is a big problem here. Not because there is no flour, but because there is insufficient packaging. Flour usually goes out in tanke..."There is no flour here either Ian - along with other baking needs. There is also no rice as well. We went to four different grocery stores looking for rice and at each store the shelf was empty.
Other interesting food items that are hard to find are:
jars of gravy - not sure why but there is none
pickle relish - those four stores had none
noodles/pasta
soup - hit and miss, but the ones I want are the ones that are gone
frozen fruit (blueberries and blackberries) - both of those are hard to find
What are other foods that all of you are having a hard time finding?
It means I won't be getting my "Listener", which has the best political commentary in the country. And getting the neighbours together is forbidden in our lockdown. Houses have to be isolated.
Marie wrote: "Ian wrote: "You will recall I had trouble getting flour. I got some, but flour is a big problem here. Not because there is no flour, but because there is insufficient packaging. Flour usually goes ..."Baking stuff is hard to find here, and apparently pasta is too. I have my daughter doing my shopping form m during the lockdown :-). Bread was difficult - last shopping she got me the last loaf. Tonight she shops again so we shall see.
Great your daughter is helping out. Good luck with the flourI found some pasta today. Something I can't find: vinegar in any size container. It's all gone.
We have heaps of fresh fruit and veggies (which is what we'd run out of today), and there was plenty of meat from our local butcher. We always buy local milk, so now I just collect it from Hunterbelle once a week. http://www.hunterbellecheese.com.au Not to mention that their Black Magic Brie is incredible. Mmmmmm. I should really avoid buying too much of that!
