Shopping For Groceries Is Like Hell Right Now (PT 3)

Previous thread.

Finally got a bag of flour and made my banana raisin protein muffins. And a couple of rolls of TP. Just to be safe.

You made toilet paper? Please share the recipe.

I'm sure tortillas will do the job.

Soft tacos work too R4

A friend of mine broke his ankle back in early Feb. and has to use one of those little knee-carts to get around. As a result, he's allowed to shop during the "reserved for the elderly & handicapped" hour. I'm so jealous!

R6 go with your friend. Maybe he needs help loading his items and you can help.

R7 I wish. But he lives in Omaha and I live in Pittsburgh. (Yes, we should both just kill ourselves, I know...)

From previous thread: R558 and R564, when the media say it’s peaking or that it’s going to be a bad week, they mean a bad week for deaths. That has nothing to do with whether it’s more or less dangerous to be out and about. There’s no way to know if it’s going to be a bad week for new infections, but if you take proper precautions, the answer is, for you, probably not.

Also from previous thread: R580, today was indeed a gorgeous spring day. I went for a long drive to enjoy the weather and see something besides the view from my windows. I passed numerous shopping centers, food stores, drug stores and convenience stores. No one was standing outside waiting. The parking lots were half full or less.

It didn’t look like the Soviet Union. It looked like a quiet August Sunday in America. The only problem is that it was 5 pm on a Monday in April.

How I used to hate rush hours and crowds in the busy suburb where I live, and what I wouldn’t give to have them back. [melancholy thoughts]

When they say to heat up takeout food in the oven to kill the virus, did anyone ever say for how long? A minute? Five minutes? Ten minutes?

Does anyone know if the service delis still offer pre-cooked holiday meals? My local Vons doesn't have it listed on their website. I tried calling but they won't answer the goddamn phone.

LA County officials are recommending that no one go out at all this week, if possible. No shopping. I just did a Walmart grocery pickup (no going inside) and placed an Instacart order from Aldi to be delivered on Saturday, so I'm staying put.

I wiped down the self-checkout screen with my own antiseptic wipe before using it, something which I gather a staff member saw. She told me I didn't need to do that since she would wipe it after I used it. But I had watched 2 people use the machine before me and no post-wipe.

^^ Two weeks a young lady at a Publix near Atlanta told me that I didn't need to put on the gloves I was slipping on, because she had just wiped the basket hand down. I'm afraid I burst out laughing.

Doordash has been bringing me Slurpees and gallons of milk from 7-11.

They’re always available with no wait.

R14 I did the same with the CC keypad and touch screen at the checkout. I watched 2 other people ahead of me use it and the machine was never wiped down. I carry a Clorox wipe in a ziploc sandwich bag when I go into any store..

R16, Has doordash relaxed some of their crazy fees for coronavirus?

R14: Home Depot and Lowe's have, or had, some great black work gloves - they are some kind of nylon fabric on the back and the palm side of the hand is black rubber. A doctor neighbor gave me a pair 2+ weeks ago. They're perfect for going to the store: you don't have to touch anything, they're comfortable, they don't make your hands sweaty, you can easily operate the push-button code pad and manipulate your debit card and wallet (and car keys) while wearing them. I guess you'd have to buy them now online, mine are black, with a little bright red piping at the wrist hole. Bring em home, wipe them down with a paper towel and some rubbing alcohol on the "palm" side (Clorox would likely eat up the rubber), and set em out in the sun for a day or two. Wash you hands. It was a fantastic gift for her to have given me, not something I would have thought to go in search of. Worth looking for online.

Why are so many people ordering takeout/curbside/delivery food at this time? This stupid ass wrote an open letter to restaurant owners, whining about how they should switch to potato wedges, because her french fries aren't crispy enough when they arrive.

Probably because it's a treat of sorts, R20, and makes people feel connected to their lifestyle prior to this mess. It's also a way to support restaurants you like, many of which will not be making it to the other side of this crisis.

The feeling I get when I can't even source a mask in order to source paper towels. It used to be so easy.

R11:

Consumer Reports says there have been ZERO documented cases of anyone contracting the bug after eating carryout food.

They DO advise transferring said food from its original container / box / wrapper into a clean container or onto a clean plate from your kitchen before consumption.

Strangely, no mention in the article of reheating the food in an oven or nuking it before eating. I, personally, microwave until it's just hot enough to mildly burn my tongue or the roof of my mouth, and consume once it's cooled off a bit.

AND I'm still breathing.

I wonder if the stores will be busy later this week with people buying for Easter? I can see people rushing out to get Easter treats for their kids. I wish I had a ham but I want to avoid the stores.

The problem with people who are on assistance is that you can't use a food card with delivery services so they still need to go to the store. Some people are on it because of disability and should stay home.

R20 Even the best cooks get tired of eating their own cooking and need something different. I consider myself a competent cook but I would get take out a few times a week, not so much now but I also realize if we want to see out favorite restaurants survive we need to support them during this crisis.

I find that walking around the supermarket ringing a bell shouting 'unclean!' really works like a charm clearing out the biscuit aisle.

A pandemic does bring out the religious nuts and they can be rather loud.

A pandemic does bring out the religious nuts and they can be rather loud.

I put up a bunny trap in my back yard for my Easter dinnner.

When I see some fool not social distancing or behaving irresponsibly at the market it makes me want to turn into Regina Giddens: " I hope you die. I hope you die soon. I'll be waiting for you to die." said with a Southern accent of course.

I was scolded twice early this morning by a Stop & Shop cashier for not remaining sufficiently behind the plexiglass shield at the register.

The second time, I had begun to step forward because the bagger was finishing packing my groceries when Nurse Ratched snapped at me.

Do they really think that hunk of plastic is going to keep them safe?

R32 it’s a help. These workers are terrified, we should be thankful they are risking their lives. Don’t antagonize them.

^^Absolutely right. If they don't show up for work, we don't eat. Help them out.

How likely might grocery stores offer only home delivery?

Go to Walmart? Use the app at checkout. You only touch the screen once, no human contact and the receipt goes to your phone in case you get stopped in front. You do have to enter code in app. But I do that as I'm walking up.

So it's faster. Once you flash your phone to the QRS code, you can just drop phone in pocket, finish bagging, and head out.

And while in the subject, my WM has the self checkout with the belts that bring the groceries down. So if you have a full buggy, you can still check yourself out. If I go to people service, I still have to load my buggy, so it's really just as fast. Plus, I can arrange and bag them by where they go when home.

I ventured out to two stores in my neighborhood today to stock up for another two weeks and now I'm afraid of being infected. I wore a surgical mask, wiped my hands as soon as I got out of the stores, washed the errands, changed clothes, washed my hands etc when I got back home but I can't help but being afraid. What more is there to do anyway ?

It sucks.

Yeah, R37, it can get overwhelming. But it's impossible to never leave the house again, and you did the best you could. That's all any of us can do. I've been finding myself getting increasingly frustrated and annoyed after each supply trip - pissed off at other people, exasperated by the failure to secure needed items. Every aspect of this experience is taking a toll on us. We have to take solace however we can.

On another note, I FINALLY got my shipping notice from Bed Bath & Beyond for my two packs of disinfecting wipes. My current small supply is rapidly dwindling, so they can't get here fast enough. Who ever thought we'd be getting so excited over getting sanitizing products in the mail...?

[quote]How likely might grocery stores offer only home delivery?

They would have to make it so the grocery stores took a government food card online because otherwise those people have to buy in store only

FYI - At this point pretty much everyone has been exposed. Everyone should just assume that they are asymptomatically infected and are shedding virus.

Don’t worry so much about other people infecting you, worry about you infecting them.

Fuck that R40 - until I get an antibody test, I am worried about them infecting me.

My Shipt shopper left my groceries at the wrong house. She is already back at the store and acted like she didn't want to come back. WTF? She was an old lady who sounds confused. I have ordered from Shipt a dozen times and this has never happened. Now my stuff is going to be unthawed and other people probably touched it or took it in their house. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Going into Whole Foods in Cupertino....

R43 Ha ha do you mean the one on De Anza? That is one kick ass WH with the amount of hot food options. I used to go there sometimes when I'm in the area and it's cleaner than any WH here in SF.

On the previous thread I had posted misgivings against using bleach and water to sanitize masks for reuse, but mainly that was based out of my own hunch and knowledge base as DNP. I went online and searched for research studies that show different sanitizing methods, and actually found some thorough ones. This study from researchers at Stanford University found that alcohol soaking and chlorine-based (bleach) disinfection on masks actually made the N95 masks less effective. The other side effect just as I'd guessed, was that the chlorine gas fumes can cause irritation or headaches. Hydrogen peroxide aerosolized sprays on the masks did not reduce effectiveness up to 30 times of disinfection, and as I'd said before the hydrogen peroxide harmlessly breaks down to water and oxygen gas. So please for those who are disinfecting masks, cloth or N95, please do not use bleach and water solution (NP hat off).

Venturing out now to the stores. Will report interesting findings here when I get back.

^^^Meant to say WF for Whole Foods not WH

Just came back from a shopping run. Jesus Christ what a fucking shit show.

I went to one store that had Senior only hours from 7-9 and then regular entry at 9 am. Apparently, according to one employee there, some of the Seniors had lined up at 5 AM. He went on to say that it was a shame they did that because while the line backs up into the parking lot, it never takes more than 20 minutes to get them all in the store.

They had half an aisle of toilet paper, store brand only, and half an aisle of paper towel, both store brand and bounty. NO cleaning supplies whatsoever. Even laundry detergent was completely gone. They had plenty of water, so I guess that phase is over.

Also, all the soda and sparkling and mineral water were basically sold out. Only soda left was Pepsi and Root Beer.

No canned goods except canned green beans.

No rice, beans, or flour. They finally had salt.

Plenty of produce, eggs, and milk.

They had a lot of red meat, chicken, but absolutely no pork of any kind.

i was also finally able to get butter.

Most of the people at this store were following social distance rules. No children to be found anywhere, thank God. Most everyone was wearing a mask and a large majority of those also had gloves.

R46 - Where?

The second store I went to was Walmart and it was like it was any other day. Families out together, casually browsing while their children run around. Barely any of these people had face masks and certainly none of them were following social distancing rules.

This store has arrows on the ground to direct traffic. They only want you going one way down an aisle... no one was paying attention to the signs and were going any which way.

I saw a couple with masks on that kept taking their masks on and off whenever they felt like it, touching items and then touching their faces to put their masks back on.

I watched other people run in to people they knew and hug and shake their hands.

Encountered one person coughing and not covering his mouth.

The most unreal thing was seeing a man argue with a woman who had taken the last container of eggs in the refrigerator. He was yelling at her that he needed them more than she did... finally, an employee told him that there was another refrigerator full of eggs around the corner. To that the man said, "Oh," and then just walked away. So apparently he only "needed" the eggs when he thought they were the last eggs in the store.

Everything seemed pretty well stocked here, except no hand sanitizer. They had water, paper towels, toilet paper, even napkins, which have been hard to find. I was able to grab the last sanitizing wipes (store brand), which made me happy. They only had a few containers of hand soap (store brand).

Meant to also had at R46 that the frozen food section was basically empty. They had some frozen fish and seafood, but all other frozen food/prepared meals, were wiped clean.

This was in So Cal.

Also, meant to add that I spent over $700 total at those two stores!

R51 are you hoarding?

No, not hoarding!

I shopped for myself as well as two other sets of neighbors who are elderly and I know they can't get to the store. I got enough so that I hopefully won't have to go back for another several weeks. Even still, I think for what I got, it wouldn't normally be that expensive. I think certain items have surged in price because of supply demand.

Someone stole a pair of nitrile gloves I had left out on my frond porch overnight after I had washed them a couple of days ago. I called Lowe's and verified that they were open. A lady told me she'd put a pack of 3 pairs at the cash register for me to pick up, in the open-air garden center. I drove out around 11:30. The cashier was close to the gate to the parking lot, and the glove package was plainly right beside her on the counter. Lined up to pay at her register were about 15 people, all of whom had cartloads of plants that all had to be scanned. I couldn't believe people were dumb enough to hang out so close to each other for something so unimportant. I'm sure they all had nothing better to do, but businesses are only supposed to be open that are deemed essential. *None* of these people were wearing masks. I picked up the glove pack and took it inside to a self-checkout machine, where I didn't have to stand and wait, paid, and got the hell out of there. It was very strange. Athens, GA.

R21, this is R20 here. I just kind of have mixed feelings about it all. I understand trying to support local restaurants to help them get through this, but at the same time many people are getting laid off or furloughed as a result of this pandemic, and the last thing they should be doing is splurging on takeout or delivery. Also I just would feel bad having all these Ubereats/Doordash drivers getting the food for me, putting themselves at risk in the process.

Something else to keep an eye out for, is for local food distributors. Many of them are overstocked with products that would have otherwise gone to the restaurants in your area. One of our local food distributors just recently shared on Facebook that they were offering curbside delivery directly from their warehouse. You don't even have to get out of the car, they will send an employee - with gloves - to load the groceries for you.

The selection is limited, and most of the stuff you're buying in bulk, but they do still apparently have plenty of stuff like toilet paper and paper towel.

I heard something similar about restaurant supply stores, which are not usually open to the public.

Very upscale restaurant wholesalers in NY are now delivering directly to the public.

I’m sure this is available in other cities. The food looks divoon!

R57, thanks for sharing that link. I would also add, that even if some of these places are selling their stuff in bulk/large sizes, there is still opportunity to make arrangements with those near you to split these items up, and save them trips to the grocery store. The one near me, for example, is selling boneless skinless Haddock, for like $45 a box. I obviously can't store all of that in my freezer, but I can split it up with my folks who are basically shut-ins already, and in their late 70's.

[quote]even napkins, which have been hard to find.

Cloth napkins are easy to find and to launder.

I ended up buying protein pancake mix and it has a recipe on the box for banana peanut butter muffins. They are a bit dense, but tasty. I may buy some more. But watch, now that I want to use it, so will everyone else.

R26, I feel the same way.

This business of cooking my own dinner almost every day, whether I’m in the mood to cook or not, makes me appreciate my late mother all the more. She was a competent cook, but it isn’t something she especially enjoyed. And yet, day after day, year after year, she made dinner for my father and me. Always on time and always hot. Well, except the stuff that was supposed to be cold. That was cold.

Mom, wherever you are, if I ever complained about the occasional leftovers or cream of mushroom soup casserole, forgive me. Now I get it … except the “hot” part. How the hell did you manage to serve everything at the same time and have it all be piping hot?

I really appreciate both of my parents, now. My mom for doing all of that shopping (food), cooking, and cleaning, etc. My dad for just going to work every single day. At my old job, I called in sick way more than he ever called in sick.

[quote]I FINALLY got my shipping notice from Bed Bath & Beyond for my two packs of disinfecting wipes. My current small supply is rapidly dwindling, so they can't get here fast enough. Who ever thought we'd be getting so excited over getting sanitizing products in the mail...?

I got the same email from BB&B today. I was beginning to wonder if the order would be filled at all.

I just got my order of face masks and clear plastic gloves I can go to the market tomorrow.

R64: Where did you order from? Esp. masks.

[quote]Mom, wherever you are, if I ever complained about the occasional leftovers or cream of mushroom soup casserole, forgive me. Now I get it … except the “hot” part. How the hell did you manage to serve everything at the same time and have it all be piping hot?

Me too. It's amazing ... and my mother never had a microwave or a food processor, or a lot of other "modern" conveniences we take for granted.

I live within five minutes of three different grocery stores:

[bold]Food 4 Less[/bold] is right down the street. Haven't gone to it in a while, but did when we (in Southern California) started lockdown. They were fine... no one was manic. Everyone was orderly.

[bold]Wal-Mart[/bold] has chaotic energy. Something doesn't feel right there. I've gone three times since because they have tons of stuff and it's convenient. Each time I've gone they've increased measures to keep everyone safe, and I've seen shoppers with masks and gloves which is nice, but it doesn't feel like everyone's taking each other all that seriously. I don't know... when I go it's an in and out situation.

[bold]Stater Bros[/bold] is the best so far. The one I go to is tucked away, and has never had that much traffic, but serves that little section of the city. I went this past Sunday at 8 am and it was a fucking GHOST TOWN! It honestly felt like nothing was even happening. Nice and sleepy. We all wore masks and gloves, and they had taped out six feet markers for you to stand in line safely. I'll be going there from now on, and am hoping people don't catch wind of it. I told one of the employees that out of all these locations I felt the safest shopping there, and I asked whether she felt safe working there, and she said she did, and that it hasn't been as bad compared to other places.

So I'm good! Hope everyone else has found their spot and figured out their shopping rituals. I hear that this week in particular's supposed to be bad in Southern California, so I'm glad I've done the bulk of my shopping and am ready to hunker down.

STAY SAFE AND INSIDE, EVERYONE!

We gays need to survive this 'cause the straights are KILLING THEMSELVES!

[quote]I saw a couple with masks on that kept taking their masks on and off whenever they felt like it, touching items and then touching their faces to put their masks back on.

Holy shit! Where are you located that people are acting so cavalier about this? I don't even live in that nice a part of SoCal and I've seen just about everyone take it seriously.

R57 my friend just got an order from baldor foods and said it was worth it but the qtys were pretty big. Door step delivery with a $250 minimum one day lead time. Nyc, westchester and alot of CT. Fyi.

Amazon R65

I was looking online for rubbing alcohol today (either 70% or 91%). I use it to clean my phone...nothing new, I have done that for years and was shopping before I'm almost out. Everyone is sold out, including reputable suppliers on Amazon and even Ebay. There are randos selling a quart size bottle which is normally $2.59 at Target for between $18-$35 PLUS $20 for shipping. Um...NO. Someone was selling a set of 4 gallons for $450.

For anyone who didn't see it, Chris Hayes just had a reporter on his show who did a study of why there's no TP and he uncovered an interesting explanation: it's not because people are hoarding (though there was some of that in the beginning), it's because now, thanks to coronavirus, people are using the bathroom solely at home -- as opposed to using it at work, at school, at the airport, in restaurants, etc. -- and so the TP that gets sold in grocery stores to everyday consumers has virtually disappeared whereas the TP that gets sold to businesses is likely sitting around in bulk completely untouched.

Because they are two entirely separate markets -- the TP sold in grocery stores to private citizens and the TP sold to various establishments -- that's why we are experiencing this shortage and it will likely continue until the crisis is over and everything goes back to normal (i.e., people being able to use the bathroom in other locations other than their own homes).

Goddammit, r72.

Proctor & Gamble - those FUCKS don’t have enough of our money to start pumping out the fucking Charmin????

R72 Next up, people will start breaking into their abandoned office buildings and stealing those giant Kimberly-Clark rolls of horrible 1-ply commercial TP

I've already realized I can go to one gas station after another and just empty their paper towel dispensers. Don't tell anyone my idea.

R74, a lot of businesses like restaurants, whose TP supply isn't being used, are now selling it and other unused supplies alongside their takeout. Something for people to remember if they get desperate.

Another big thank you to the guy who tipped us off to the antibac wipes at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Mine just came.

[quote]Cloth napkins are easy to find and to launder.

What a waste of water!

R72 I'm not sure that makes sense though. People were stock piling toilet paper before there were any quarantines. Unless it's solely because of China's lock down? I think there was a shortage even before Italy shut down.

R77, now if we could just have someone tip us off about disinfectant spray or alcohol. I haven't seen either of those things in a month, and nobody, but nobody seems to have them in stock.

Also, as a Californian, I'm with R78. Substituting washable cloths for paper products is practical advice, but for those of us in areas that are perpetually on the edge of drought, the extra water usage is not that viable.

Where is all the fucking Charmin Ultra Strong??

Well?????

R80 , a friend of mine tried to buy Everclear at a liquor store that, I guess, normally carries it. Sold out. Seems like a waste of Everclear, IMO. But, I guess, people have resorted to using Everclear when they can't find isopropyl.

You might look for Everclear, is my point.

R80, you can rinse a cloth napkin out, hang it to dry, and re-use it. I know, EWW ... GROSS, but in a time of crisis, rather than waste paper products, it's worth considering.

I would love it if more folks here would maybe say (roughly) where they are posting from, even a state or country. It's great to know what the conditions are like in which places.

Leaving my market today the staff member at the exit had a walkie-talkie and reported back to someone "That's one out". I heard "Copy that" in reply on the walkie-talkie but when I looked over to the entrance there was no one there. Bizarre and funny.

[quote]When they say to heat up takeout food in the oven to kill the virus, did anyone ever say for how long? A minute? Five minutes? Ten minutes?

I don't know that I've ever heard anyone officially say you should reheat takeout food, but I have read that a similar virus dies at 149F or so. I've been heating carryout in the oven at 250F for 10 minutes including the packaging (except pizza, which I just put on a pan) and then turn the oven off and leave the food in there another 10 minutes. I've only done it three times, once with pizza, once with Taco Bell and once with McDonald's, and all tasted fine afterwards.

Here's info about food temps and the virus:

[quote]It takes temperatures of 56C (132.8F) or higher to effectively kill the closely related coronavirus that causes Sars, although some tests have shown temperatures higher than 60-65C (140-149F) are needed. While no studies have yet been published on the virus that causes Covid-19 and its resistance to high temperatures, it is likely that it will be similar to other coronaviruses.

As far as takeout food safety goes, this is from epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, who seems to think that some of our precautions are a little overboard:

[quote]The majority of the transmission is going to occur via respiratory droplet. That means if somebody who’s sick sneezes or coughs or touches their nose and eyes and mouth, these droplets that contain virus can be expelled from their body and fall to the ground within about a six-foot radius. They may fall to a surface, and then if you touch that surface and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, you can become infected. This droplet mode of spread is going to be the predominant one.

[quote]People are going crazy, like washing their produce and washing their stuff. I mean it’s not to say that there’s zero risk from all of these things, but we have to be focused on the main mode here, which is droplet infection.

For me, I feel that if the food is hot enough, if I remove some or all of the packaging OR heat the packaging itself to a temperature hot enough to kill the virus, wipe down drink cups with disinfectant wipes and make sure to wash my hands, I'm fine with getting takeout sometimes. No one gets close to me and no one has coughed or sneezed when I was around, and if they did onto the packaging or food, it's been heated enough the virus is not viable anymore.

But do what you're comfortable with.

Kroger and Hy-Vee both occasionally have Seventh Generation natural disinfectant spray in stock, which I've tried ordering a few times, but it sells out in 1-2 days so by the time my pickup order is ready, they're gone.

Vitacost online has Seventh Generation disinfectant cleaner for countertops right now, at 6AM Eastern on the 8th, but I don't know how long they'll last.

Haven't seen Lysol in ages and not sure we're going to any time soon.

Thank you for the Seventh Generation tip, R89. I think they've got a limit of two on it, but I was able to grab a couple and they appear to still be in stock at around an hour after you posted. I picked up a couple of these the first week of the buying insanity, but like every other disinfectant product now, it's gone from the shelves.

Reminder it’s Easter week so it will be more challenging to find white eggs, yeast, sugar, flour. If you can wait until next week you should have better luck.

Re R82 and Everclear: I read up on the subject, prior to finding enough isopropyl to last me. Everclear makes 3 "strengths". They say you should only use the "weakest" one, which is 120 proof for sanitizing (120 proof = 60 percent alcohol). The other, stronger ones are "too strong" somehow and should not be used for sanitizing your hands. I don't remember why the stronger ones would not work, but there is a reason for it that's related to the virus's structure or outer coating.

In most decent-sized towns there are usually several small "local" pharmacies that are not franchises of big corporations. Many times they are kind of inconspicuous if you're driving by in a car and it's easy to not notice them. I hunted them down where I am, and have found that many times they have things like rubbing alcohol in stock, while places like CVS and Walgreens (and Target) are sold out. You can find them on google easily.

Will the Easter bunny be wearing a mask and gloves? I love my Easter basket!

Re: takeout. Microwave reheating should do the trick too!

I didn’t realize how much coffee I consumed until I was Sheltered in Place. Most of the time I drink coffee at the office. After a week, my big canister of Maxwell House is two-thirds gone!

R95 - Microwave for how long?

And "should" to the trick or "will" do the trick?

R92, I tell you to go for the lower strength alcohol because the higher strengths evaporate too quickly. The higher strengths are meant for soaking medical utensils, not just wiping them down. At least this is what has always been explained to me.

From what I understand, food is OK.

If you get take out, move the food to your own plates, get rid of the box, wash your hands and you are good to go.

Went to Krogers in Central VA about 10AM. I have not seen TP or PT in a month at this store. They had a few boxes of their store brand tissues. I grabbed one. Sometime since Sunday they instituted an enter one side exit the other side deal. Unfortunately it forces me to park on the opposite side that I usually do. Otherwise I would have to push my cart all the way across the lot. I am betting they are setting up for one way aisles. The entrance side is where the produce/fruit/bread/bakery, etc. is. The last two aisles on the exit side is the frozen food section. It makes sense that way. This store has had plexiglass at the registers for two weeks now. They have scanners beside the registers for you to scan your loyalty card yourself. But, the cashier pointed out that they placed stickers on the plexiglass right in front of the scanners. You have to stick your hand under the barrier to get to it. Doh. Someone mentioned water at Krogers. This location had two massive stacks of it. A nearby Walmart has been my source for TP and PT. I wandered in the last two Fridays and they had quite a bit of both. It is either luck or a pattern.

The Walmart I went to yesterday closed changed their entrances so you went in one way, out the other. They had employees on either side (not wearing masks or gloves) with ipads that they were seemingly clocking how many went in and how many went out. There wasn't a line to get in nor did it seem like they were enforcing the number of people going in the store as it seemed like a normal crowd.

I can't remember if I already mentioned this but they did have the arrows marking directions for flow of traffic down each aisle, but no one was paying attention to them.

Make a list of everything you have had a hard time finding so if we ever have to go thru this again you will know what to stock up on ahead of time. Some of the items you may want to keep stocked up on now anyway. Make sure to make a list because I guarantee you will never remember everything. They have talked about this coming back in the fall. They probably won't have a vaccine yet or a cure so you may want to stock up a little when this first wave is over.

People make fun of instant coffee, but instant coffee was always on my emergency supplies list. When the shit hit the fan, I had 1.5 containers of instant coffee. I finished off my half container and dipped into the full container. Unable to find instant coffee (except the Starbucks, expensive & not good, IMO) at my stores! (Mary!)

I do drink brewed coffee first thing in the morning. My 2nd round of coffee (later in the day) is instant because I don't want to clean up the brewed coffee gear a 2nd time.

Even peanut butter is disappearing....whaaaaaat?

Is it safe to use a checkout girl and bagger at the grocery store? I buy so much stuff that it is prohibitive to use self-checkout right now.

[quote]I do drink brewed coffee first thing in the morning. My 2nd round of coffee (later in the day) is instant because I don't want to clean up the brewed coffee gear a 2nd time.

I'm sure most people will find this tacky, but I just make extra and reheat it as the morning goes on. And I save it in the fridge for the next day.

Not at all r106. I do it with my regular coffee. Waste not, want not.

I'm a science geek and decided to investigate whether BBB's Smart Values wipes are listed as effective against SARS-CoV-19. I've found that t's not on the approved list of disinfectants effective for killing SARS-CoV-19 virus from 3 authorities in these matters. The EPA, ECRI (affiliated with the HHS), and ACC (American Chemistry Council-Center for Biocide Council) do not have Smart Values on their lists. I'm guessing from glancing at the approved list of products with active ingredients on ECRI's list, that ammonium chloride concentrations on the Smart Values wipes appear to be lower. I've only glanced at the ingredients in comparison with other ammonium-based products that are on the approved list. Smart Values is also not EPA-registered product for approval of use specifically as disinfectant for SARS-CoV-19 virus, so the next step I'd do is maybe ask the company why not. If I have time I'll look further into this.

It doesn't mean that Smart Values wipes can't be effective, it very likely is effective but perhaps not as effective as approved products. If you have it continue to use it, but maybe let it sit there on the hard surfaces for longer period of time. If you go on the link below you can download a list of over 900 products that are tested to be effective broken down into tiers against SARS-CoV-19 virus.

This list is from ECRI with active components breakdown.

The EPA's list of approved cleaning products against SARS-CoV-2

R106 / R107 , I have nothing against saving coffee for later. For brewed coffee, I use a moka pot, though, and it only makes a certain amount. There's no leftovers for me to drink later. (Several parts to take apart and wash and I don't want to do it 2X in one day - no dishwasher, either.)

But you guys have me thinking. Maybe I should get a larger moka pot.

R103

Get an insulated mug. It'll keep your coffee warm for 12 hours.

I've realized I usually wasted about a third of a pot of coffee when I made it in the past. I have cut down on the water and cut down on the coffee, because I had to go in a grocery 2 weeks ago just because I ran out. Last time, I bought 2 pounds, enough to last more than a couple of weeks.

Coffee is a huge concern for caffeine addicts like me. I've been avoiding Costco just because I don't even like going there under normal circumstances. Also, I heard they don't allow use of the industrial coffee grinder, which makes sense (people touching the machine, etc.). Costco did have OK prices on their coffee, though.

R114 which brand are you drinking? Try seeing if they have it online and just have it mailed to you. They usually charge an extra $1 on their online pricing and $3 for 2-Day shipping but it's worth it not to go in to the store.

[quote]Finally got my wipes from the first Bed Bath & Beyond tip here (Thanks!) but sent some to my friend too in Jersey and Fed Ex has had them all over Jersey since Saturday. You can drive thru Jersey in a hour.

5th day still traveling the wilds of New Jersey, now scheduled for Thursday, We'll see

I haven't had restaurant food in a month, today I picked up the Wendy's 4 for 4 (LOL) and it tasted sooo good. Getting tired of my own cooking.

I miss french fries.

R111, that Moka pot looks interesting. I will check it out on Amazon.

R115 , thank you, I'll check Costco.com. I switch brands a lot. Only thing is, I stopped liking Starbucks French roast, which is one of Costco's mainstays.

R114

R119 , I hope you like it (the moka pot). Be careful about the "cups" sizes. By "cup," they mean that tiny demitasse cup. The 6-cup size (which I have) makes one mug of coffee (my mug size, at least).

R111

I ran out of milk and decided to swing by a local market around 1pm - it was a nightmare.

I've been going at 6am when no one is around if I had to go and have limited trips to every 10 days.

Huge mistake that I will not repeat. I think it's probably worth the effort to go to Trader Joe's and line up before it opens to avoid the crowds.

Yep! I did. Need to go grocery shopping on Sat.

I've been ignoring bodegas since we got the new Target/CVS and organic market, but, they have flour and sugar and peanut butter (off brands).

R120 if you haven't already, try Peet's Marjor Dickason. Much better than Starbucks.

Absolutely r125; that's the first thing I stocked up on--at the moment I have 2 2# bags from Costco & 4 1# bags from Amazon--I love grinding my own!

Have been using Shipt with no problem, but just had a totally incompetent shopper.

I am most dissatisfied.

R125 , Please - can you recommend a Costco coffee for those of us who don't grind their own? (I used to buy whole bean in-store, then grind on my way out. Costco has now disallowed use of the DIY, industrial grinders.)

TIA, you're very helpful.

Instacart adds more flexible delivery options:

R128, it's hard to do that because what Costco offers online in terms of coffee is different what they have in stores.

Online they have their staples which are pretty much all whole bean, and Peet's is the best they have online.

In-store, their selection actually varies store to store. I've been to Costcos that are only 5 miles away from one another and they have entirely different selections.

I take it you don't have a grinder at home? You can get a fairly good one for relatively cheap. Bonus, in my opinion, the coffee tastes better each fresh grind. Do you have a Magic Bullet?

[quote]Unable to find instant coffee (except the Starbucks, expensive & not good, IMO) at my stores! (Mary!)

I love Starbucks instant coffee, so much better than whatever it is they serve at the stores.

This thread is reminding me to start looking for coffee, though. We bought a bunch from Amazon Subscribe & Save last month but now that I look out there, they're completely out.

R130, thank you for responding. I hear what you're saying about whole bean & different selections at different Costcos. I did have one of those small grinders (not burr). I considered getting a burr grinder, but realized that I just don't like the mess (plus loudness early in the morning). I realize lots of other people don't think it's messy, but I just don't like dealing with the coffee grinding.

Not a coffee connoisseur, I realize.

Today I had to line up to enter my supermarket yet the security guards were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Then just as it was my turn to enter the store a staff member crossed in front of me, not taking notice of the social distance rule. WTF? I have seen that once the initial waiters are allowed in, after about 10 minutes there is no one else waiting, so I might just wait for the 10 minutes and avoid all this idiocy.

I second the reco above for Peet's Major Dickinson Blend. It is damn good stuff, and is all I buy unless it sells out at my grocery. You have to make sure you're buying the ground instead of the beans (or vice-versa, I guess), because the bag designs are virtually identical. A really good dark roast. Kroger and Publix both sell it in the South.

Meanwhile in New York City supermarkets and shops catering to the better off have more stock than customers. So they are moving stuff about to stores in less wealthy areas where demand is greater.

R71, I scored some rubbing alcohol at Rite Aid, where it's now kept behind the registers.

[quote]So if you have a full buggy, you can still check yourself out. If I go to people service, I still have to load my buggy

This made me visualize Amish people loading up at Vons. Thanks for the laugh, Jebediah!

I also saw that, r72, but it doesn't explain why Scott and CVS brands are still not in supply. Those have always been 1 ply and Scott could just shift production in its facilities from the industrial rolls to more of the residential toilet paper.

Fortunately, I bought a 12 pack of CVS t.p. in the middle of February, and still have 5 rolls left.

R92, I was told by my dentist that stronger alcohol doesn't work as well because it requires dilution with water to activate or something like that. Google it for the more scientific version.

[quote]Substituting washable cloths for paper products is practical advice, but for those of us in areas that are perpetually on the edge of drought, the extra water usage is not that viable.

Unless you're throwing lavish dinner parties, a few cloth napkins can be easily added to your load of towels.

If the BB&B wipes are "bac" as someone else posted, they won't be rated as effective against viruses.

I scored an 18 oz hand sanitizer today! Yay!

Congrats, R140. I scored some Clorox wipes the other night. The things we get excited about nowadays.

Where the hell did you get Clorox wipes????

Well??

Walmart, R142. I check their site every so often.

We’re the Walmart Clorox wipes in store only, or did they ship to you?

*were

R140? Where did you get the sanitizer?

They are being shipped to me but they're not getting here until the 23rd. Of course, I'm always waiting for them to send me an email saying they're canceling the order because they're out of stock (which has happened to me at least once).

I also have some of those BB&B "Smart Wipes" coming but if they don't kill virus (as is being reported), then those will be useless as far as I'm concerned. I don't need something that just makes stuff smell good. I need something that will kill the virus should it ever walk through my door.

Our corner 7*11 has small bottles of 7*11 brand sanitizer up by the registers. I also get my water there. They're one of the few stores that hasn't increased their prices to take advantage of this crisis.

In a small pharmacy in NYC.

A few weeks ago, I went into a hardware store to buy something for the kitchen and noticed they were selling masks. these were surgical masks in a pack, like maybe 3 or 5 not sure...and made in china. the guy was selling the pack for 44.50! I didn't buy it of course...

sorry, R149 is reply to R146

R141 here. I also just want to say that I think everybody should make a habit of checking all the sites on a regular basis because you may score some stuff that you weren't expecting to. I check Walmart, Staples, Home Depot, BB&B and Amazon at least 2 to 3 times a day, off and on, just to see if something is available that's usually out of stock. Doing this I scored the Clorox wipes on Walmart and last night I got a bottle of Lysol disinfectant cleaner off of Staples. Just keep in mind that if you see something available, JUMP ON IT RIGHT AWAY -- don't just "add to cart" then go shopping around for other items. Add it to cart and place the order IMMEDIATELY as it will often be out of stock by the time you get ready to check out (which happens to me all the time). (Tip: Have your credit card stored on the site so that you don't lose time looking for it at the time of purchase. The transaction time has to be boom boom boom.) Now here's the sucky part: there's no guarantee that even after you hit "place order" that you won't get a prompt saying "this item is out of stock" because it was snatched up just that fast by someone else. But don't fret -- just wait a few hours, then go back on the site and check again. You may not see that same item again but could see something else just as hard to get that can take its place.

By the way, if there are other things you'd like to buy, add those to cart but don't check out -- just let them sit there, then when you log back on later to look for the most hard-to-get stuff, if you score something, those other things will already be sitting in your cart when you check out and you can get them all at the same time. Good luck!!!

People are snatching from my virtual cart??!

R151, I hope you only do this when you're actually low on disinfectants. If you're already well stocked, you're just adding to the problem by over-buying every time you see it available.

R153, I'm out of just about everything (can't find anything in the grocery stores). Definitely not buying anything I don't need. But thank you for your concern.

R151 is right. They had wipes at Walmart but by the time I had everything else that I needed in my cart, the wipes were gone. I left everything there and a few hours later, they had the Lysol wipes again. Not sure if I'm happy with the fragrance but, whatever.

I now have a bunch of stuff in my cart that I could always use just in case something I really need pops up, I'll save the delivery fee.

I love (hate) that Walmart has a one-box quota on Cheez-its. Did not know they were as valuable as TP.

Tiny tins of anchovies are limit 3 at my grocery store.

R156, Seriously, Cheez-its quota?

I thought Walmart was only selling "essential" items.

R156, Well, one leads to the other.

in the stores themselves r159

I don't know if anybody corrected R39 yet, but you can use a SNAP/EBT card to buy food from Walmart for pick-up. I don't know about delivery. I take a disabled friend shopping - we just went today - and they definitely take EBT for curbside pick up. They don't take WIC though.

The strangest shopping experience so far was my trip to Daiso today. A woman owns 2 Daiso stores in town. When the plague began a month ago, she wouldn't permit her employees to wear masks or gloves, because it would scare the customers. Then she flipped 180 degrees, laid off all her employees, and is doing everything herself at both stores. This is how it works:

You make your appointment to shop with an online app. 15 minute blocks. She will allow up to 3 people in the store at a time. You get there, shop, and leave. She's at one store for four hours, takes 90 minutes to travel to the 2nd store, and is there for 4 more hours.

I went this morning at 8:30. Owner was at the register, with a new plexiglass shield up, wearing a mask and gloves. I got my stuff, paid and left. She coughed and sneezed a couple times, apologized profusely, saying it is allergies. And it is allergies; they're terrible right now.

I could literally cry knowing I won't have a big Easter meal this year. I always make a carrot cake for Easter, but not this year.

R164, FWIW Honey-Baked Ham offers pickup service at all its stores. You could buy the smallest ham they sell, eat from it for a few days and than freeze the rest in 1/2 pound packets for use over the next few months. I'm thinking about doing that.

P.S. Doordash offers HBH delivery, too, at least in my area.

[quote] I could literally cry knowing I won't have a big Easter meal this year. I always make a carrot cake for Easter, but not this year.

Mary!

Honeybaked Ham - the sliced ham, and the sliced roasted turkey breast, is still wonderful after it's frozen and reheated.

This is the carrot cake recipe I always use.

Personally, I am wallowing on the floor like a dog, knowing that the Lord is NOT going to be raising up from the dead this weekend; and there is NOT going to be any GODDAMNED 'Eastah luncheon' this year. A true vacation from Xtianity. I hope all those Xtians go to their churches and sweat and breathe and shake hands and feel all smug as hell. I'm happy for em.

Shipt fucked me again!!!

They must me hiring some real mouth breathers - I will not stand for this!!

Well, what happened, R170?

Can someone tell me why NO ONE has bread flour? I mean NO ONE -- regular markets, Amazon, eBay, Target, Walmart. Oh, there's one woman selling a $5 bag on eBay for like $90. But what's the deal with bread flour, of all things? I can't imagine that there's a huge demand for it.

[quote]But what's the deal with bread flour, of all things? I can't imagine that there's a huge demand for it.

Actually, since people are trapped at home, they're whipping out their old bread makers and other appliances. A lot of baking is going on right now, so all baking supplies are in high demand.

King Arthur Flour is out of fucking flour.

I don’t need any, but that is an outrage!

R158, I can confirm the shortage of Cheez-It's, though our local grocery stores haven't implemented quotas on them (yet). I never realized they were that popular (though I do love them myself). You can't find regular or extra toasty Cheeze-It's anywhere around here (NE Ohio).

King Arthur has been out of flour for at least three weeks, R174.

Fascinating how in the old days (meaning about 3-4 weeks ago) everyone was gluten intolerant, doing various forms of low carb diets like Paleo and Keto, and suddenly now the most hoarded food items include pasta, bread, flour.

R175 there was a post on Nextdoor at the beginning of the food hoarding mess a few weeks ago. The poster was asking for advice on where to buy basic food items and his list included Cheez-its. You can only imagine how that thread went from there. People were going on about "OMG we are in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC and you think Cheez-its are a crisis? What a selfish and PRIVILEGED attitude!!!". It was quite hilarious.

Pleasantly surprised by Target. Found Charmin toilet paper, Progresso Chickarina soup (good but salty), Brita pitcher water filters (my fridge system broke today), and some toiletries that I was low on. 😅 I mainly needed the water filters. I was tired and had no energy to do full shopping at Target.

R151 is exactly right. We just opened our last package of TP and I went to Amazon to try to score some -- they usually have some late at night, starting from 1AM to 5AM Eastern, but you have to act quickly. It took a few days before I could get something decent (yesterday they had some Quilted Northern that had been advertised as double rolls but reviews said they were tiny single rolls being sold at double-roll price) and there's a backorder but I have some on the way.

Meanwhile I still have orders I placed on Walmart a month ago that haven't shipped. They've been completely useless and I'm shocked someone got disinfectant wipes, because I can't even get my usual non-perishable food items there anymore.

I got white cheddar Cheez-Its last week, I had no idea there was a shortage! It was an impulse buy, I wanted a different kind of cracker than the Triscuits I usually get, but now I'm already tired of the Cheez-Its.

I'll trade half a box of Cheez-Its for some Lysol spray, any scent, even that mango habanero daffodil stuff.

R177 Not to mention that peanut butter is in short supply, when the last I heard, a huge percentage of (white, upper-middle class) kids would simply DIE if they got within a quarter mile of a peanut.

In Australia it appears we are out of season for mandarins which I prefer to oranges because they are easier to open. Mandarins have been imported from the US but my market charges double for them. One day there were hundreds on display for sale so I took about 20. But the next time I was there only about 100 left so I only took 10. I could have taken the lot but felt guilty for depriving others.

Coronavirus doesn't infect through hand skin. Touch what is necessary but do not touch your mouth, eyes, nose. Wash your hands when you are comfortably at home. Touching everything with gloves - all surfaces including your groceries put into your basket - and thinking this does anything preventative, is kind of silly.

I pay attention to limit touching grocery items if I am not actually sure to buy them. But sometimes its unavoidable.

Other filthy whores have touched that cinnamon loaf and also rejected it when spying palm oil in the ingredients.

The fact is - the grocery store is not a "clean room".

That we are allowed to shop in person is an arrangement with plenty of contradictions.

I live in a suburb of Dallas. My partner went grocery shopping this week-- the poultry section is still denuded of chicken but turkey was in abundance so he went all out and cooked a proper Thanksgiving-style dinner last night.

Central Market (the fancy-pants iteration of Texas grocery chain HEB) has enormous armed guards glaring at you as you stand in line outside waiting to get in. Rather unnerving. Once you're allowed inside however the stock is very good.

I have not seen toilet paper in any local store for almost a month now. I've tried Target, Walgreens, Costco, Kroger, Wal-Mart-- nada. By sheer luck we stocked up at Costco just before the mass insanity began so we're not running out yet. I looked at online janitorial suppliers last night and they're out of stock until AUGUST.

yes, but if you have a cut in you finger or hand...the virus can get in.

I haven't been wearing gloves much at all. I have been using hand sanitizer and just not touching my face, which I have become very good at.

I had no idea about Cheez it...I tried it once and it was too salty.

Around here it's tough just finding an open handicap spot. So that sparked he move to have it all delivered. Despite the pitfalls. I mean come on frozen chopped spinach is consistently not available?

M y Shoprite and Target have Cheez It but not in all the varieties it used to have in stock.

I found and ordered these wipes. they are on the list of wipes that will kill it

I was in a gourmet supermarket (nyc) and they had a "hand sanitizer" in a clear liquor bottle. It's 80% ethanol. 1 L. Faber distilling co...but how would you use it? it's liquid. I guess just dab on paper towel and wipe with it I suppose? there was no price tag and I didn't want to ask anyone. the cashiers were all busy, I left quickly as they didn't have what I was looking for.

I came home and googled it.

Ooh, r189–those are good hospital grade wipes. Even hospitals are low on those.

Aldi White Cheddar fake Cheez-its are way better than the real thing.

Thanks for the tip, R189.

For anyone who uses it, Walmart.com has some of the Lysol laundry sanitizer in stock right now - 9:25 AM PST.

Heads up costco online has bags of rice & tp for delivery if you pop online at 6:00 am ET. They sold out by 7:30 am. About 5 days to deliver. My shipping cost was $3.

you are welcome! just don't yell at me if they don't get delivered /get canceled, remember my order would be too!

also, today is my once a week trek into the office and I stopped at the trashy neighborhood corner store for ben and jerries and maybe bread. they don't carry ben and jerries but had bread... and flour. after I just ordered ten pounds. being a corner store it probably would have cost the same but I would have been supporting a local store more.

Target is out of everything that you would expect them to be out of - sanitizer, bleach, chemical wipes, certain disinfectants...they have an abundance of bread, but I’ve already got three loaves. Three large jars of peanut butter-I misplaced one and thought that it was gone so I got another...and whaddya know - the other one showed up. Sometimes all I need is a nice pb&j sandwich and all is well.

Near NW Chicago suburbs.

Local Menards has Bounty Paper Towels (6 roll pack). Other Menards may have them too.

They also have Toolbox Shop Towels. It's claimed that these work very well as filter material if you are making masks. (See Business Insider story below about testing.)

These shop towels were out of stock in local stores and now seem to have been restocked. It seems obvious that those making masks with pockets for filters read the article too.

I bought some blue shop towels from home depot a week ago after reading the article. I slip a sheet inside my mask when i go out.

Just got back from a Whole Foods in northern Virginia. I'd estimate that 90 percent of shoppers were wearing a mask. That's the highest rate I've seen during any store visit so far. No paper supplies at all. The frozen foods area was only about 40% stocked. Still plenty of produce, though.

I had to go to the bank first. The lobby was closed, and there were 11 cars waiting in the drive-thru. When I was second in line, I rolled down my window, and after a few seconds, I smelled cigarette smoke. Then I noticed the lady in front of me was holding a cigarette. And therefore probably getting saliva all over her fingers before handling the canister. What a disgusting habit.

Forget about waiting a week or two weeks for grocery delivery. I can't even reserve a timeslot. Everytime I go on Instacart or some other site, I keep getting turned away.

Just like in kindergarten, r200 ?

R190 - I've read that an alcohol percentage higher than 70% makes the stuff *less* sanitizing. It's hard to believe, but that is what I've read in several places. Look it up on google...

They are not stocking olive bread or Spivey tofu salad.

Where do you all live that Cheez-Itz are in short supply?

In CA here.

When I was shopping earlier in the week, both stores had hugie boxes of Cheez-Its available and in no short supply.

Each time I go out, one of the neighbors that I shop for asks if I can find canned corn. I haven't been able to find that in weeks..

R200 I just ordered from Instacart and have a delivery slot of 3-5 pm tomorrow. I'm in Houston. Where are you?

R205 here. My biggest frustration with groceries is the fact that the delis and bakeries in the grocery stores are all closed. You cannot get a decent loaf of bread ANYWHERE!! I HATE processed bread. Restaurants are still baking and cooking, and the stores are already open, so why close the bakeries? And it was a real struggle to find decent bread here to begin with. I don't know what the problem is, but Texas has awful bread. Undercooked in the middle, etc. Even so I'd take a crappy loaf of bakery bread over processed mush bread any day!

call the nearest restaurant to you and ask if you can buy a loaf of bread r206. try a few if need be

R206, Whole Foods and Costco have good bakery bread.

That's a great idea R207 and R208. Thanks.

[quote]I found and ordered these wipes. they are on the list of wipes that will kill it

How long did it take to get?

[quote] Finally got my wipes from the first Bed Bath & Beyond tip here (Thanks!) but sent some to my friend too in Jersey and Fed Ex has had them all over Jersey since Saturday. You can drive thru Jersey in a hour.

[quote]5th day still traveling the wilds of New Jersey, now scheduled for Thursday, We'll see.

Nope, 7th day and still nothing after I called twice and was assured it would be there that day. It's fucking New Jersey, not a third world country. And because THEY know where it is, it's not considered a lost package. They are for my friend who has 80 year old parents panicking because no can find disinfecting products.

[quote] I'm in Houston. Where are you?

North Jersey, the epicenter of this coronavirus panic, next to NYC. It's already congested here as it is, and this is making it impossible to get delivery. Of course, the governor, with his near daily press briefings, constantly warning people to stay home, isn't helping. I would love to stay home, if only there is a chance to get groceries delivered.

r210, I actually had purchased them a moment before I posted the link on here. so, who knows? I have had everything on ebay shipping pretty quickly tho. Amazon on the other hand...

Fed Ex is really fucked up. I have a bunch of friends in NYC who are working on the front lines and have family and friends sending them hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, medical supplies, lysol, and toilet paper. None of them have gotten their packages. It's been a week. The Fed Ex people on social media and their website and call centers are useless.

I tried on behalf of 3 people today. Fed Ex keeps giving me a link to a website that doesn't work. This stuff is life or death

I just checked Amazon and they have masks, if you wanna wait until May or June to get them. I have to find a way to make my own masks with whatever I have on hand.

[quote]I just checked Amazon and they have masks, if you wanna wait until May or June to get them. I have to find a way to make my own masks with whatever I have on hand.

Be careful. They are coming from China and they don't tell you that. They give you a fake tracking number stating that are shipped but keep pushing the delivery date back. When that date hits you get a "sorry we're late" email. And I know people who paid the $20 expedited shipping still waiting two week later.

I ordered some masks from Amazon as well. I must have been really tired when I ordered them. I just noticed the projected delivery date was late-May to mid-June. The seller had only one review, which was a good review. Usually, I look for a seller that has tons of positive reviews. Alas ...

For now, I have a pack of 50 masks (minus a couple) that a family member mailed to me. I'll have to make those last.

If you don’t mind recycled or bamboo toilet paper, check Vitacost.com throughout the day. I kept a tab open to their toilet paper page and have a big seventh generation pack coming to me tomorrow, about a week after ordering. As with other sites, you need to put it in your cart and checkout ASAP. I paid the shipping and just bought the toilet paper because there is a chance it will get cancelled too. I had a couple orders canceled before one went through. Frustrating but eventually effective toilet paper solution without leaving the house! Vitacost and iherb are also good places to buy panty stuff that other places are out of. Now that I shared that you bitches better not go buy up the all the concord grape butter.

*pantry stuff 😉

Someone stole the last loaf of challah bread thatI had in my shopping cart. It reminded me of that "Seinfeld" marble rye episode. Plus, they also stole a deli container of Thai grilled chicken from it. I'm more upset about challah - it still bugs me, three days later.

Your physical shopping cart r219 or your online one? If someone tried to grab my items out of my cart in a store, while I was standing there, I'd literally threaten to chop their hands off.

Physical. I didn't see them taking it, since I was getting another item, trying to minimize my time in the grocery store.

Heads Up.

Walmart has Lysol wipes available - Limit 1 per order. You have to order it from the Next Day Delivery which means you have to either pay $5 in shipping or have $25 in Next Day Delivery items to ship for free.

Direct Link Below.

^Meant to say the Lysol Wipes are available as of 345 PM PST on 4/10/2020

I am now accepting the offered squirt of hand sanitizer offered by staff as I enter my market. I was hesitant at first but now I do it, though the small amount one gets makes me feel like Oliver asking "Please sir may I have some more?"

Ok, here is my contribution. Don’t know how helpful it will be. Paper Source has hand sanitizer in stock, because who would think to even buy it from them. It is only a 2 oz container, you’re only allowed to buy one per order, and it just says it’s “greater than 60% alcohol as recommended per the CDC.”

So not the best, but perhaps it will be better than nothing.

Oh, and it’s $8.95 so definitely a rip off.. but again, if you’re desperate...

If anyone still needs toilet paper, Costco has their Kirkland brand available for delivery. $20 for 30 rolls and a $3 delivery fee.

In London, huge queues outside Tescos and Lidl but you can stroll straight into the more upmarket and expensive Marks and Spencers Food Hall and get everything - so I do.

yes, that hand sanitizer is definitely a rip off. more like price gouging. you can get sand sanitizer at CVS but you have to go there after they get a new delivery...it's like 2oz and costs $2.50.

[quote]I bought some blue shop towels from home depot a week ago after reading the article. I slip a sheet inside my mask when i go out.

Do you mean you fold a full sheet or you're using 1 layer? The testing in the link I posted a few days ago indicated that it takes 2 layers of the better shop towels to reach 80-90% filtration. I have the crappier Scott ones, so I cut mine in half and fold the halves into thirds for a perfectly sized 2 layer filter.

R205 if you’re in Houston, Bread Man Baking Co is a local artisan bakery. Their bread is sold at select HEB and Whole Foods locations in and around Houston (see link). Also the fresh bread at Sprouts is pretty good.

I wanted hot cross buns for Easter!

R230, I am using 2 layer, I cut one sheet in half and fold it. the sheet is big. I use it to clean my kitchen etc after using it.

Why are people saying there won't be Easter Luncheon this year. I still plan on making one. Ham, Turkey Breast, Dressing, Macaroni & Cheese Casserole, Peas, Corn, Potato Salad, fresh yeast rolls, and Coconut Cake. The world is a dark place right now, I need some celebration.

I just came back from my supermarket, less people at night. the employees all wear masks, one of them was wearing 2 masks. one had a face shield as well.

also on my way back I stopped in at a korean deli and they were selling disposable face masks. 1 box of 50 for 50 dollars.

what is a face shield you wear?

R163 Why are you shopping there? That woman seems like a major bitch and I wouldn't give her my money.

R234

Because many people aren't travelling and or holding large gatherings of any sort this Easter/Passover holiday.

Unless every single person is tested and comes back negative you don't know who could bring something else to Passover Seder or Easter brunch/dinner.

R236 I assume R235 was talking about the clear plastic big face shields like one at the link

R238 You can have it with just your household, that is what I'm doing. And, then I'll be delivering plates to various elderly relatives. I won't be visiting, just delivering food.

r232 Make your own hot cross buns, bitch! I'm hanging on a fucking CROSS, and you can't even be bothered to mix together a few ingredients?

I just did another Walmart grocery pickup order. The stuff they're out of is so random ... seems to vary all the time. The one thing they NEVER have (in six attempts over a three-week period) is butter. Couldn't get buttermilk, but got some buttermilk powder instead. (For baking.) They had pork chops for the first time. I noticed they've extended their pick-up time options -- used to be you could only see the current day and the next day -- now it's out five days (and the fifth day at 6PM was the only slot they had open -- and two other local stores had NO time slots for five days.)

Meanwhile Amazon Pantry has gone all to hell. They basically have NOTHING. I ordered some stuff from them a couple of weeks ago and was able to get enough stuff to make the $35 minimum. This time -- zero. I don't know what the problem is -- maybe they just weren't prepared for the huge upswing in orders and can't get the inventory they need. But it's really a joke.

Even worse? Big Lots. They sent me a 20% off coupon and now they're offering store pickup so I thought I'd give it a try. Again -- NOTHING (at least in the grocery department, which is what I was looking at.)

And my local grocery store chains were the worst -- NO pickup or delivery times available at all. They show that they have items in stock, but I'm not willing to risk going into a store to find out.

Wow if face shield is the new face mask can gas masks be far behind?

[quote]Wow if face shield is the new face mask can gas masks be far behind?

If they are, Cheryl will have a lot of new friends.

Target has the worst order pickup service. First, they have closed the other entrance/exit so you can only enter/exit where everyone else is and then you have to walk all the way around to the other side past all the cashiers/baggers/etc to get your pickup. Then, they've got all these people just standing and sitting around chatting there like everything is normal. You are better off going down the aisles and buying so you don't have to congregate with all the weirdos having their social time. They also don't let you pickup many items like bleach or water, you have to shop for it.

I was in line as the next person to be waited on for my order pickup, there was a guy on my right sitting with a mask pulled down to his neck calling out to the guy on my left (no mask either). He was yelling out "hey man, where did you get that sweatshirt, what kind is it?" So bizarre.

Just wanted to let you know that Peapod added another day at 1:00 a.m. They list two weeks at a time and they add a new day every evening. I was checking it every five minutes and, when I went in right at 1:00, there was only one time slot left. I'm getting an order tomorrow so two weeks from now will be just right.

It’s not possible to get an Instacart slot anymore in Northern Virginia.

Stupid.

This is where I ordered my hand sanitizer from, it's 62% alcohol and not too drying. You can get it by the gallon for $60, or 2-8 oz bottles for $19.98.

Please give your location when you post.

R248 I've seen that hand sanitizer available on Walmart, Target, and I think CVS. Seems to be the only brand that's readily available?

In response to the person's comment about looking for buttermilk.... for buttermilk, if you're baking, just make your own.

Milk + Vinegar will do the trick.

[quote]I am using 2 layer, I cut one sheet in half and fold it. the sheet is big. I use it to clean my kitchen etc after using it.

If you're using Scott, folding it thirds is better. It didn't rate as high in the tests as the other 2 brands, so you will probably need that extra layer.

I hate to mention this now because I think they just sold out literally seconds ago, but Walmart online at 4:45AM Eastern Saturday morning had Lysol spray. I got the two-pack I usually buy and just checked out without trying to get free shipping because it went from 8 left to 2 left within a few seconds, so I may not get it, but it's good news because it means stores are starting to get some back in stock.

R253, Lysol seems to have been going in and out of stock at Walmart for the past day or so. Usually just one scent, gone in seconds, or it's an in-store purchase only. Earlier today they showed it as in stock at my local Walmart, but with the inaccuracy of the websites on store inventory I wasn't willing to don my Chernobyl gear and head over to look.

Not to be a jerk, but if you're self quarantining, you really don't need to be obsessively trying to hunt down Lysol wipes/products. Particularly people (like myself) who live alone. You don't need to be obsessively spraying down your entire house 24/7 if you're not going anywhere.

R256, I live with three other people, and although we're supposed to be self-quarantining, getting all of them to cooperate is not as easy as it should be. One is still working outside the home and comes and goes from the house several times a day, and cannot always be trusted to sanitize. We aren't involved with grocery delivery, which means we still have to leave the house to shop, and then we're bringing stuff into the house which needs to be sanitized. In other words, you have no idea what the story is for each individual posting in this thread. So trust us to know whether we need to 'obsessively' try to find sanitizing products online which are impossible to find on the shelves (and nearly impossible online), especially when we are attempting to limit our movements outside the house. You do you.

^^That should be R255, obviously.

R255 and the guy who liked R255, my partner works at an essential job and we use Lysol to spray down his work bag and items every day, and the car sometimes as well, in case he has it on his clothes. Plus I'm high risk with high blood pressure, plus a history of massive upper respiratory infections as a child, and even a few in adulthood -- in February I had my first bout of bronchitis in over a decade, which I didn't shake off until after we went into lockdown for CV-19.

Scoff all you want at my being "obsessive" if it makes you feel better. Meanwhile, I'm going to buy Lysol to try to keep from dying, thanks.

R234, send me a plate over by your son Tarik.

"Why are people saying there won't be Easter Luncheon this year. I still plan on making one. Ham, Turkey Breast, Dressing, Macaroni & Cheese Casserole, Peas, Corn, Potato Salad, fresh yeast rolls, and Coconut Cake."

Oh Mary...

Good luck fitting into your skinny jeans after all THAT!!

I had, at one point, narrowed down my shopping to my local Target because it was empty of people the past couple of weeks and they were wiping the self checkout registers. This past weekend, it was ridiculously crowded, no one was observing social distancing, and when I asked an employee at the register how to scan multiple numbers of the same item at once, she started walking right up to my face. I was wearing a mask and gloves, but bitch, stay back!

I told her, "Stop, don't come any closer" and she dismissively responded with, "Oh, you're fine" as she continued to approach me. Idiot. It's the only time in my life I thought I might punch someone. If she hadn't stopped where she did because I gave her the look of, "You in danger, gurl," there would have been a "Clean up at the register!" call. Damn!

I've never liked grocery shopping and now I just hate and fear it. What is our lives???

[quote]You don't need to be obsessively spraying down your entire house 24/7 if you're not going anywhere.

Also, if you leave stuff alone for 3+ days, then the virus dies off on its own. If you're properly self-quarantining, then you shouldn't need to touch things like car keys, wallets, etc. more frequently than that.

R260 Do you not understand portions? I won't be eating massive portions, and I'll have leftovers for days.

Instacart canceled my order for pickup (not delivery) today at the last minute "due to demand". They offer NO alternative pickup times for rescheduling. What a fucking joke! I understand that there are bound to be waits for service, but once they've said they're going to fill an order, they should follow through.

Other services in my area - Peapod, Shipt - are also fully booked, with no dates being offered. Amazon Fresh is at least honest enough to admit that they're "not available for this location." There is literally nothing. I'm in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Are other people experiencing this problem?

How are people supposed to stay and home and self-quarantine if they they have to go out and shop to get groceries? Sure, you can stock up, but some items, like milk, bread and produce, only keep so long. I don't understand how this continues to be issue in many areas, but no one in authority seems to think it's a priority to solve.

R264: Same here! I wanted to make my usual large Easter meal, but could not find anything I wanted on the delivery sites or delivery times. I went to Shoprite when it opened (last Wed) and there was a long line down the street. Nope. Went to Target, no line, but out of all the stuff I wanted. So, it will be spaghetti and candy for Easter this year.

Just got my Aldi order (Instacart) and hardly anything was out of stock or substituted. They're doing much better than Walmart (although obviously they carry far fewer items.) I'm so thankful for Aldi and Instacart that I tipped $15 through the order and left another $10 in an envelope for the shopper.

Where do you live R266? Because northern NJ and NYC don't have any delivery times on Instacart (no Aldi). Just checked.

I wonder if there's a trend in terms of which areas or types of areas are having more problems with grocery deliveries. I'm talking about regions of the country, but also types of areas: urban, inner suburbs, outer suburb/exurb, rural. Here, in a middle-ring suburb of Philadelphia, there is nothing from anybody at any time.

On another note: States should allow unemployed people to continue to collect full unemployment benefits while working for delivery services and other services that are experiencing a massive temporary surge in business. Meanwhile, if Instacart can't find enough workers, they should pay more ... and, YES, charge more. I'm OK with "surge pricing" for grocery pickup/delivery. So many people are temporarily (I hope) out of work. I'll bet if they could earn $25/hour working for Instacart or Peapod while collecting unemployment, the delivery services would be fully staffed.

I admit this is an entitlted, bourgeois problem, but it's infuriating that I can't get an important service no matter how much I'm willing to pay.

Some of you need to think or do more research before trying to act like righteous bitches!

Try keeping in mind that some people have or live with people who have jobs that are considered essential and therefore, they may in fact have to disinfect more than you deem appropriate.

Further, it's unknown exactly how long the virus can live on surfaces, but it can be more than 3 days, on some surfaces it's 5.

R265, Honey-Baked Ham is open with plenty of hams in the Philly area. They close in a couple of hours, though. They sell various sides and rolls in addition to ham, but you could have ham and spaghetti. More Eastery than candied spaghetti, anyway. :-)

R270: Thanks, but Philly is too far from me. I am 10 mins away from NYC.

R267 L.A. suburbs.

IMO, just "make do" this Easter. Maybe you can't have your normal spread. It's a set-up for disappointment to think you need to have the traditional spread. Be grateful for what you can have.

R271, just in case you're interested for the future, HBH has stores in West Caldwell (I don't know if Carmella Soprano shopped there) and Edison, NJ, and Hartsdale, NY.

Just picked up from Walmart and briefly ran into a Kroger. Got everything I asked for. The Kroger was completely stocked (except of course, toilet paper and cleaning products). I think the panic buying has subsided (where I live anyway).

R275, ya idjit, why wouldn't you say where the fuck you live?

Suburb of Denver R276.

Honeybaked's smallest hams - 6 lbs - are $70 where I live. WTF?

I really want to make a coconut cake for Easter, but there's no way I'm going to the supermarket right now. They'd probably be out of flour anyway.

I was in midtown manhattan home depot and they have Clorox germicidal bleach, I bought one. there is a limit 4 per customer.

they also had scott blue shop towels (200 count) for $12.98 bucks. I didn't buy it.

Now that Amazon Prime isn't really sending anything out 2-Day delivery, should they be offering refunds to those paying for Prime memberships?

I suppose they'll say you also get streaming video with your subscription, but still. If you solely get Prime for the 2-Day shipping you're not getting what you pay for right now.

[quote]they also had scott blue shop towels (200 count) for $12.98 bucks. I didn't buy it.

I know that Scott's Blue Towels weren't considered effective for use in masks, but are Scott's products generally bad? I've noticed that when all other products are sold out, there are plenty of Scott's branded items. It's like no one will touch them, even when the choice is between them or the generic brand - they buy the generic.

No hominy grits...who’d have thought that they would be hard to get?

R283 that doesn't surprise me actually. I generally expect all dry, shelf-stable, items to disappear in times like this.

Oatmeal was completely cleared out of every store around me.

R284 Here in the South, there is plenty of oatmeal and cream of wheat, but grits fly off the shelves as quickly as they put it out.

R284 , do you like steel-cut oats? (The ones that look like little pebbles.) I found some of those recently. I usually buy in bulk, but my doctor said not to do that any more, for a while. (Too much random handling of the bulk bins, the scoopers, etc.) Anyway, you might be able to find some of the steel-cuts, prepackaged.

Ordered stuff on Instacart. Two days, and still no delivery.

Yes, R286, I only eat steel-cut oats and have enough to last me, thanks. I just noticed when I was going through the stores that all the Oatmeal was gone, and I know most people around here wouldn't normally eat it.

Yesterday I had an upset tummy. Someone tried to pull less than 6 feet away from me when we were in line and I ripped ass. Repeatedly.

They all social distanced!

Dallas— Instacart Costco delivered within 8 hours of ordering. Lots of frozen prepared meal choices were not available

The article said the Scott brand blue towel is the LEAST effective of the blue shop towels.

R278, really? That's what a 9 lb pound ham would cost at the store in Exton, PA (exurb of Philadelphia). The 5-lb ham I got yesterday was $48. Mind you, I still think that's overpriced, but that's the regular (overpriced) price at HBH. Wegmans spiral-sliced ham is less than half the price and just as good, but delivery is unreliable to say the least, and I'm not going in supermarkets at this point.

[quote]Ordered stuff on Instacart. Two days, and still no delivery.

You don't order stuff from Instacart. Instacart shops for you at a store. And you have to pick a delivery time before you start ordering. So this makes no sense.

A spiral, glazed, ham at Costco/Sam's goes for about $3/Lb.

Re: the Blue Shop Towels. It says it takes two towels to get up to 93% filtration. Does that mean one folded towel would get 93% filtration or did they use two folded towels as an insert?

Toilet paper is rolling off Walmart’s shelves so fast that the retailer sold enough in the last five days to give every American one roll, CEO Doug McMillon said Friday.

That suggests customers snapped up some 329 million rolls of TP as coronavirus panic shopping continued to hit the giant department store chain.

McMillon urged shoppers to make regular trips to the stores rather than hoard goods as Walmart works with its suppliers to keep shelves stocked.

“There’s plenty of flow coming but if everyone could just kind of manage and buy week to week rather than stocking up at this point, it’d be helpful for everybody,” McMillon said on “TODAY.”

Walmart’s food supplies are in “good shape” but the company has struggled to maintain a stock of hand sanitizer, which it’s providing to its employees amid the coronavirus pandemic, McMillon said.

“We’re working to put it on the shelf, but as soon as we do it’s gone,” he said.

Toilet paper sales skyrocketed in recent weeks as lockdowns aimed at stopping the coronavirus spurred consumers to stock up. Sales in the US spiked 845 percent on March 11 and 12 after climbing 51 percent in the preceding two weeks, according to NCSolutions figures reported by the Associated Press.

Walmart has pledged to hire 150,000 hourly workers through the end of May as shoppers flooded stores. The shopping sprees have been a boon to large retailers including Costco, which reported a 12.3 percent jump in comparable sales in the five weeks ending April 5.

[quote]If you're properly self-quarantining, then you shouldn't need to touch things like car keys, wallets, etc. more frequently than that.

You guys are the ones who would call the police on someone not self-quarantining properly, aren't you?

As I said, and as I know others have mentioned, there are plenty of people who are still working, my partner included, and stuff gets wiped down and sprayed every day, not just once a week.

This new troll topic of "you don't NEED Lysol" is bullshit and you guys should to take it to another thread where you can cunt up a storm, and leave these threads to those of us who are actually trying to offer advice and information to each other.

R293, that's not true. I just went to the Instacart website and you can start shopping by choosing which store you want to shop from and start filling your cart. The delivery time isn't chosen until you check out, and when you go to the checkout page, you can discover there are no times available.

I was cleaning out some drawers today and found a big can of Lysol. It must be about 4 years old, would it still be good?

Just so you know r71, shipping anything with a majority of alcohol in it, be it consumable, beauty or cleaning products are considered hazardous and combustible materials and has to be shipped ground with a higher shipping cost.

[quote]This new troll topic of "you don't NEED Lysol" is bullshit and you guys should to take it to another thread where you can cunt up a storm, and leave these threads to those of us who are actually trying to offer advice and information to each other.

R297, I don't know who you are but I love you.

Damn, I knew I should have bought blue shop towels last week.

[quote]they also had scott blue shop towels (200 count) for $12.98 bucks. I didn't buy it.

That's the usual price for the box. A roll of 50 usually sells for $3.99.

[quote]should they be offering refunds to those paying for Prime memberships? I suppose they'll say you also get streaming video with your subscription, but still.

They still charge a rental fee for many of their movies, even with Prime membership, and also charge additional fees for unlimited music and Kindle. I don't buy from them often enough to justify the $120 a year for shipping, so I cancelled my membership.

R299, try it out. It's aerosol, right? How does it smell? Better than nothing, right now.

I normally don't go to the supermarket on the weekend but I needed to get my phone credit recharged on the self-checkout so I tried Saturday night about 7pm. I was pleasantly surprised that there was hardly anyone there, but no TP. No line to enter and spotted a couple of masked people. One couple had the woman masked and the man not and they were standing close together. Got in and out pretty fast though the staff girl at the exit seemed too close to the small break in the barricades.

[quote]Re: the Blue Shop Towels. It says it takes two towels to get up to 93% filtration. Does that mean one folded towel would get 93% filtration or did they use two folded towels as an insert?

The women making the tested masks used two layers (not folded), cut to the shape of the masks they made and tested. They just reported today that they are finally in the final testing phase by an outside company. 🤞🏼

Istil l can not find paper towel or toilet paper.

[quote]I know that Scott's Blue Towels weren't considered effective for use in masks, but are Scott's products generally bad?

The Scott towels weren't ineffective for filters, just less effective. They are partially made with more permeable recycled pulp, but the competitors' towels aren't. They are still more effective as a barrier than regular paper towels, coffee filters, or cotton, and are also great as replacement Swiffer pads (the original reason I bought them).

Thank you R269 and R297.

Trust those of us who are seeking Lysol and sanitizing wipes to know our situations better than some random DL bitches do.

No Monistat for me ANYWHERE.

R310 , yeast is in short supply!

[quote]I know that Scott's Blue Towels weren't considered effective for use in masks, but are Scott's products generally bad?

That was meant to say "weren't considered AS effective for use in masks,"

[quote] I am using 2 layer, I cut one sheet in half and fold it. the sheet is big. I use it to clean my kitchen etc after using it.

You can wash it 3 times and it will retain 95% of its effectiveness.

I realize it’s not exactly on topic, but I’m noticing a lot of people sitting around on chairs in their garages. What’s that about? And while I’m peeking at them as I stroll past their houses I notice all the rolls of toilet paper and paper towels they have hoarded in said garages.

It's so easy to notice hetero women and trans women on here right now.

What are you doing walking around, r314 ???!!!111!!

R316 Every stay at home order, says you can exercise outdoors.

Wanna know where all the toilet paper and masks went?

[quote]You can wash it 3 times and it will retain 95% of its effectiveness.

Do you have a link for this claim? I would love for this to be true, but I didn't see anything in the article about them testing the towels after they were saturated.

I'm find it really hard to be patient and pleasant while grocery shopping during the last week. I'm usually not a raging cunt, I swear. I think the collective feeling and suspicion is starting to get to me. I almost lost it on an elderly couple chit-chatting in front of the damn potatoes today. Let other people grab their produce and fuck off!!!

Fellow Canadians how are you finding the grocery stores? I can't be bothered to wait in the lines for Superstore/No Frills. I'm spending the extra money to go to Save On Foods because they're generally well-stocked, at least compared to Safeway. However, my local Safeway stores have put those portable hand-wash stations in the entrances of their stores, which I think is great. I'm trying to avoid Wal-Mart as much as I can.

Of all things, semi-sweet chocolate chips were out of stock, so my fat-ass bought a 1kg bag. I want to make chocolate chip cookies, dammit.

R319 this was in the article:

[quote]The team also discovered the mask held 95% of its filtration abilities after up to three machine washes.

[quote]The team also discovered the mask held 95% of its filtration abilities after up to three machine washes. "We are calling them semi-disposable at this point and are continuing testing after six, seven, 10 washes," Pavlu said.

[quote]Trust those of us who are seeking Lysol and sanitizing wipes to know our situations better than some random DL bitches do.

If you don't think there are people out there wasting all their sanitizing shit when they don't need to, you're just naive. If you don't think some of those people are on DL, you're even more naive. You'll be singing a different tune when you run out because morons sprayed and wiped down their entire apartments every day even though they hadn't left it in two weeks.

R316 my neighborhood streets are all but empty, not an urban area. People can walk about though. You?

Wow, thanks for the info about washing blue shop towels, I had no idea. Thank you !!

R298 is correct. You shop first on Instacart and they don't give you delivery days until you check out.

Got up at 5:30 am and nabbed a curbside pick up at Shoprite on 4/20, I feel super accomplished! Thank you Jesus, it’s been booked up for a week+. Added some fun munchies for 4/20 too ;)

I cannot believe - hit the local wally world - the meat aisle is wiped out. People are hoarding the hell out of meat. It's weird. That and you cannot find canned or dried beans either. This is in Metro Atlanta. And by george, even disinfectants are non existent in stores.

Recently, an employee of a company called GIR, which apparently makes kitchen equipment, mentioned they are now selling silicone face masks. Of course, they are also selling 10 packs of filters for them as well. The main reason I'm sharing this post, is that they mentioned you could also use Hepa filters in place of their own filters they are selling.

I suppose buying some Hepa filters, and cutting them up into masks might not be a bad idea if you're having trouble finding masks.

R329 Never use a HEPA filter for a mask you will be breathing in fiberglass and acrylic fibers which will become embedded in your lungs and cause serious permanent damage.

Fresh produce has taken a hit where I live, in northeast Ohio. It's not that it's not available, it's that it's practically wilted/spoiled already. Things like lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc... go bad in a couple of days. I have started freezing stuff like fresh parsley, fresh chives, fresh cilantro, and such - it's still better than dried, and adds some freshness to a dish. I've got diced frozen onions, and bell pepper and onion blends in the freezer as well. Gourmet Garden brand garlic in the refrigerator.

People are going to get sick of eating out of their pantries.

R331 Do you have any farm shares where you live? I let mine lapse last year but I signed back up for this summer. Starting in June we'll have fresh produce without having to venture into a store, then I can rely on Costco delivery for everything else. In the meantime, yes the produce situation is grim here in western PA as well.

[quote]Shipt fucked me again!!! They must me hiring some real mouth breathers - I will not stand for this!.

They delivered my order to the wrong house this week. Luckily because she was new I had her get it from the other house, I don't actually think they are allowed to do that, once the groceries are out of their hands. I don't think the other people knew they were on their doorstep because I had her text me so she didn't ring their doorbell.

I wish I had the money to order food delivery and grocery delivery all the time. I would be ordering yummy food delivered from restaurants and I would never have to leave the house.

Could someone please tell Spanish speaking individuals that they need to keep 6’ away from everyone. They also need to stop congregating in parks. For some reason, the message is not getting through!

R335, La vida loca!

R335, I'll tell them if you tell all the gringos to do the same, like my next-door neighbors who have invited their entire extended family over today. Please take particular pains to get the word out to all those white biblebangers who are planning to attend their 7,000-member megachurches today, won't you?

r326 Not if you start at the store's site and not at Instacart. I started at Aldi's website and it works with Instacart. Delivery date and time are selected first.

[R337] Fantastic! While you’re at it, tell all the Spanish speaking folks on Scruff that I’m on for conversations ONLY. They’re all telling me that they’re healthy and that I should come over to play.

p.s. Which flyover state do you live in?

I am not religious and forgot this is a week of religious obserances, this might explain some of the shortages and crazy prices. Prices are higher, shortages endure and lines are still crazy. I am grateful fresh produce is still available in abundance, this is an incredible luxury as we are seeing from people who have shortages in their area.

I am not religious and forgot this is a week of religious obserances, this might explain some of the shortages and crazy prices. Prices are higher, shortages endure and lines are still crazy. I am grateful fresh produce is still available in abundance, this is an incredible luxury as we are seeing from people who have shortages in their area.

NPR says to calm down with the disinfecting of groceries.

Did anyone buy any Peeps for Easter? I'll be very sad if there are rows of unwanted Peeps sitting on store shelves right now.

I wonder how long Peeps last R343? Marshmallow dries out fairly quickly. They aren't like Twinkies.

Actually, stale Peeps are a thing, a desired texture. Google it.

I reviewed Instacart in the other thread. I got my Peapod delivery today. Half of the order was not filled. I didn't realize there was such a shortage on groceries already. I planned my order to last me two weeks, but now I only have enough to hold me over for one. I wish they made more of an effort to offer substitutions, like the Instacart shopper did. What also peeved me was that the delivery guy did not wear a mask, though he wore gloves. Overall, I actually preferred using Instacart, but if I can get another delivery from Peapod at midnight tonight, since that seems to be when it consistently opens up, then I will take it. I haven't been able to get another Instacart delivery date yet and the midnight trick doesn't work for their site.

Should mention that my father has a Costco Instacart order scheduled for Tuesday. I will let you know how his experience went.

I got a tip from our local store manager today (a 6' mask-to-mask brief conversation). If you like bacon, buy as much as you can while you can. It's going to disappear, maybe for a long time.

Also should mention, since I can't edit posts, that if you want the best availability for delivery dates from Costco, you have to do it from their website directly, not from Instacart. The disadvantages are you have to have a Costco membership to use it (unlike when you do it through regular Instacart) and you can't communicate with the shopper via the Instacart app while they're shopping, which is a big inconvenience. Here's the link in case anyone wants to use it.

as a former colleague often said, bacon is a condiment in the united states. I can weather TP shortage but may lose it when bacon disappears.

R238 - Lucifer, have you visited the Super H Mart out beside Spaghetti Junction? I'd be willing to bet you can find all the food you want there. It's a fantastic Asian supermarket, loads of produce and loads of meat and more fresh fish than you can buy anywhere in Atlanta except maybe at the DeKalb Farmers Market ( which is out of the question, as far as crowds are concerned right now). Super H may not be so big on paper products and cleaning chemicals, but all the FOOD, they've got it. Great prices too, and seldom crowded.

^^^ I meant R328...oopsy.

^^^AND Super H has a Hispanic Dept., and I guarantee you they've got *many* kinds of beans for sale. And and Indian dept, same for other legumes, lentils, chanas, dal, etc. You guys need to head to the "ethnic" markets and stop trying to shop with all the white-bread, hoarding Johnnys and Karens in the US. The food is available, you just have to do some research and find those smaller ethnic markets, look around.

[quote]p.s. Which flyover state do you live in?

I live in California, twit. Now go sit all the way down, and let the adults get back to the topic of the thread.

Where’s the bacon going??

[quote]Where’s the bacon going??

Nom Nom

There was a post on Reddit stating that a pork rendering facility has had to shut down.

I dread the day I absolutely must go to a grocery store.

Just yesterday, with gloves and mask on, I drove to the bank and Post Office (both outside tasks) and noticed on my way more than a few shoppers with no mask or gloves merrily entering a couple grocery stores and a street-side fruit and vegetable tiny market offering zero opportunity to "social distance".

In one of the hardest hit areas of one of the hardest hit states, PA.

IOW, plenty of Americans will ignore safety precautions whenever Trump says "Go!"

Why would all the bacon disappear? That plant that's closing for two weeks is only responsible for 3-5% of the total bacon production in the US. I never even heard of Smithfield bacon.

Smithfield is now owned by the Chinese.

I wish that was a joke.

I prefer Canadian bacon myself.

Is anyone going to Asian supermarkets for anything?

You're kidding right r362?

[R354] What part of CA? Assuming Inland Empire or Bakersfield. Maybe even Long Beach.

R348, I haven't eaten bacon since the last century.

R320, I can’t find Clorox wipes, but no real shortages of anything. Some stores are low or out of table salt and sugar. I managed to find 1kg bag, which is enough for us.

R346 here. Peapod has opened up times for the 26th if anyone wants one. It seems the magical hour is 1 AM. I know that sucks for people who are essential workers and need to be up early the next day, but that's how it is. Better hurry, as the slots fill up quickly.

I'm sorry to say I have not found tp or pt anywhere yet. It isn't from a lack of resourcefulness, either. Both are not needed badly yet but worrying about a shortage of anything for me. So, cautiously optimistic will find some before I have none. 1st-world problems??

**is a first** oops

Here in Seattle, the toilet paper hoarding has finally run its course. People finally figured out they don't NEED to have 120 rolls in their house. And, other than eggs being gone (Easter) and the usual suspects being in short supply (cleaning supplies/hand santitizer) the food aisles are pretty much fine. Oh....flour is hard to find. Everyone is a baking fool it seems.

[quote][R326] Not if you start at the store's site and not at Instacart. I started at Aldi's website and it works with Instacart. Delivery date and time are selected first.

Aldi doesn't have a shopping website for the one here in town so I can't check that store specifically, but I can tell you with both Kroger and Hy-Vee, if you start on their website, you don't get a reserved time until you put at least one item in the cart and then specifically go out and reserve a slot. Otherwise, you choose a time when you check out.

I know this bothers you, but you'll just have to live with the fact that for some people, their store websites don't let them choose a time slot first.

R368, try Amazon in the overnight hours on weekdays. They may be damaged packages but otherwise new, or new stock which won't ship for 2-3 weeks, but you'll eventually find some.

Watch out for Quilted Northern "double rolls" that have a bad rating, those are single rolls being sold as double rolls. Also, there are some odd foreign brands with sketchy descriptions. Still, Amazon will get Angel Soft, Cottonelle, Charmin and even the good Quilted Northern once or twice a week.

R362 I've been to 99 Ranch a few times they have been cleaned out of all the hoarded items the same as others markets I have gone during the week and there are fewer shoppers and the atmosphere has been relaxed plus the fruit and vegetable selection is better. I usually get the roast pork at the hot food bar I can do a stir fry which lasts for a few meals.

[quote]I'm a science geek and decided to investigate whether BBB's Smart Values wipes are listed as effective against SARS-CoV-19. I've found that t's not on the approved list of disinfectants effective for killing SARS-CoV-19 virus from 3 authorities in these matters. The EPA, ECRI (affiliated with the HHS), and ACC (American Chemistry Council-Center for Biocide Council) do not have Smart Values on their lists. I'm guessing from glancing at the approved list of products with active ingredients on ECRI's list, that ammonium chloride concentrations on the Smart Values wipes appear to be lower.

I finally received my order of Smart Values wipes today and with your post in mind, decided to do a comparison of the Smart Values ingredient list with other brands of wipes. You're right that the ammonium chloride concentrations are lower than, say, Lysol's wipes (Smart Values: 0.1212%, Lysol .26%). The information on the Smart Values canister specifically mentions its efficacy against SARS-CoV-19, human coronavirus and even HIV-1 (which it has a detailed set of instructions for). Its exact ingredient list and its proportions match that of the Fabuloso Complete Disinfecting Wipes, which ARE included on the list, and if you go to the product page for the Smart Values wipes on the BBB site, there's a 'product ingredient disclosure' link you can click on, which reveals that the Smart Values wipes are actually Lonza Disinfectant Wipes, EPA registration # 6836-336. So they do appear on the EPA's SARS-CoV-19 list, just under the Lonza name.

I've read that to be put on the EPA's list, companies have to submit a request for their product to be included. I'm pretty sure that Smart Values is a BBB house brand that was only just recently put together in haste in order to capitalize on the demand for wipes. It may have not even occurred to anyone associated with them to submit a request to be included in these lists under the name.

there are probably only 3 ocd posters on this whole thread.

R375. You fit right in.

Is Angel Soft much worse than Cottenelle and Scotts?

Pretty much always use Quilted Northern (pre-CV) but have noticed that Angel Soft seems to be the last brand left in a lot of online stores.

Is that because it's crap or because they just make more Angel Soft and so stores have more stock?

I took DL's advice, logged onto Costco at 6am, and found some weird brand of bamboo-based toilet paper. We usually buy the Whole Foods 100% recycled so I'm sure we won't mind it. Thanks, DL!

r377 it is way too soft and three sheets to a roll, not a good value.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Another key meat processor, JBS USA, ceased its operations for two weeks at its beef plant in Sounderton, Pennsylvania, and plans to re-open on April 16.

Several members of the plant's management team could not go into work due to experiencing flu-like symptoms, leading to the decision to close the plant.

Another Pennsylvania plant in Hazleton has also paused its operations where 900 people usually work.

Speaking to CNN Business, Jon Nash, North America lead for Cargill Protein said: 'This will allow us to minimize the impact of COVID-19 and continue [to] follow health department guidelines.'

South Dakota has seen six deaths resulting from the virus so far. The United States of America has now seen 561,767 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and 22,129 deaths.

Amazon will not accept new grocery delivery customers amid spike in orders

[quote]I didn't realize there was such a shortage on groceries already.

Have you been out of the country for the past month and a half?

I have the biggest craving for a BLT sandwich. Right when there is probably going to be a shortage of bacon. Ugh.

Ugh! I just returned from my first grocery store trip in over three weeks. What a horror show. I picked the biggest store near me, thinking I'd have more space. I also thought that it being the day after Easter, the crowds would have done their shopping last week. NOPE. Crowded, lots of mask-wearing but no one social distancing AND the aisles were full of store staff restocking...at 11:00am. Aren't they supposed to be doing that sort of thing overnight? Naturally none of the store employees were masked, either.

Pardon me while I go assume the fetal position for the rest of the afternoon.

Why didn't you go shopping earlier in the day?

R386 Because we're out of wine and waited until the wine/beer section of the store opened. (I live in Ass-Backwards PA that shut down its liquor stores and imposes Byzantine rules on grocery stores that sell wine and beer.)

[quote]the aisles were full of store staff restocking...at 11:00am. Aren't they supposed to be doing that sort of thing overnight?

When do you expect them to replace what was purchased earlier in the day?

R385, Buck up, sister.

If you qualify for senior early admittance, that is the best chance of finding what you want.

For those of you who use Amazon, go see what you can find when you go into the Pantry option. Just pick a random category or do a random search. For example "Cooking and Baking." there are exactly SEVEN items. SEVEN. Total. Including sugar-free Jell-O. It's a complete joke. Try "Cereal." ONE page of items, one of which is "Dr. Brown's Standard Replacement Nipple." Also beef stew, Perrier, and pretzels. As cereals.

How the fuck can the richest most successful country in the world be out of anti-bacterial wipes, even online. Shame on us.

Stores have regular days for shipment and you have to ask the staff which days deliveries are made. I visited the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle first thing this morning in pouring rain to avoid the crowds. The store is fully stocked EXCLUDING toilet paper and hand sanitizer ( gel). This location is selling the spray version of hand sanitizer, Trader Joes also sells their version of this product. Plenty of hand soap for sale and it is expensive. I was able to grab a bag of flour but there wasn't much there and it is also expensive. The meat shop is fully stocked and fully staffed. I already have bacon but the next time I am out I will pick more and freeze it. As others have mentioned, shortages are coming and it is infuriating to think about.

Stores have regular days for shipment and you have to ask the staff which days deliveries are made. I visited the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle first thing this morning in pouring rain to avoid the crowds. The store is fully stocked EXCLUDING toilet paper and hand sanitizer ( gel). This location is selling the spray version of hand sanitizer, Trader Joes also sells their version of this product. Plenty of hand soap for sale and it is expensive. I was able to grab a bag of flour but there wasn't much there and it is also expensive. The meat shop is fully stocked and fully staffed. I already have bacon but the next time I am out I will pick more and freeze it. As others have mentioned, shortages are coming and it is infuriating to think about.

My brother-in-law sent a group text, himself standing in the "conga line" (his words) outside of Costco this past Saturday. He texted again that he was happy to be around people again. Makes me wonder about my sibling's marriage. I didn't realize he (BIL) was such a simpleton.

Thermometers are available again at Target, Walmart and Amazon.

R395 I agree with your brother-in-law. When I go to a store, I practice social distancing and wear a mask, but it is still nice to be around other people for a few minutes, as long as they are six feet away.

This afternoon went to the Superwalmart. Again, store pretty empty. 99% of the people were wearing masks and gloves. (It's been STRONGLY suggested but not mandated by local govt here) Most everything in stock, except TP and sanitizer. Even scored some paper towels. Could not find frozen Cauliflower! WTF? Plenty of flour for those that bake,

Went over to Greenwise. Store practically deserted. Got their fab panini and a couple of other frozen things. No paper goods this week.

Went to the little Jewish Deli run by an Indian family, scored a couple of rolls of TP PLUS... Latex gloves! They were selling boxes of em.

Can't find a mask anywhere. Made one out of a sock. It worked.

what they aren't telling you about the pork is that even though they are not testing hogs for the virus they did carry other corona viruses. Wonder if they don't want to know if the hogs are carrying the disease and can pass it on to people.

Bacon is cured with a shit tonne of salt. I am assuming all that salt kills those bugs.

If not, at least they'll be tasty bugs.

[quote] I agree with your brother-in-law. When I go to a store, I practice social distancing and wear a mask, but it is still nice to be around other people for a few minutes, as long as they are six feet away.

R397, I understand what you're saying. The "simpleton" feeling came from BIL being at Costco on the Saturday before Easter and enjoying the experience. BIL has a flexible schedule as far as I know. He's not an essential worker, so it's not the only time he could have been shopping. Up to him, really, when he wants to shop.

[quote]Thermometers are available again at Target, Walmart and Amazon.

Rectal, I hope?

r391. I never shop Amazon and even I think that is anxiety inducing.

r391. I never shop Amazon and even I think that is anxiety inducing.

[quote] If not, at least they'll be tasty bugs.

Yes, please!

I just put in a Costco online order for different kinds of vitamins. I felt kind of silly doing it, but I'm running low and I am avoiding Costco. The multi-vitamin was low stock, so my order may come in 2 shipments.

I couldn’t sleep so I was browsing Amazon and Walmart’s website around 1 or 2 a.m. last night. I found some disposable nitrile gloves on Amazon and ordered them since my brother may be going back to work sooner than anticipated and may need them. They were Amazon branded and in XL size, 100 for around $13. Of course they won’t be expected to arrive until May but it’s something. I also noticed there was a huge pack of Angel Soft TP on there, but I’m good for toilet paper at the moment. It seems as though a good time to browse is late at night/very early morning.

Then on Walmart’s site I saw there was some 2-packs of King Arthur Bread Flour available for in-store pickup so I jumped on that.

r408 Not in my area. (The flour, I mean.) Soon as I clicked on it, it was OUT OF STOCK. Guess there are more bread bakers in my area. (And I tried three different locations.)

[quote] Of course they won’t be expected to arrive until May but it’s something.

R408, I don't want to get your hopes up, but two of my Amazon orders shipped sooner than I thought they would. One of them was a 3rd party seller (masks); the other was Amazon as the seller and fulfiller (rechargeable batteries).

Good luck.

I apparently picked a good year to stop eating baked goods, including bread.

Are Costco or Sams carrying toilet paper yet?

I went to Target, where they had a few small packs of toilet paper. I’m guessing suppliers aren’t supplying warehouse stores, because they can split up the rolls into much smaller packs for more money. Even Target usually has much larger packs than they had.

If that’s true, pretty soon they’ll only be selling toilet paper at Seven Elevens in a four roll pack. Or maybe in a one roll pack.

R375, I second that. This thread reads more like one or two hetero white women having conversations with themselves.

whole foods at bryant park will be closed...so they can focus on online delivery.

And you're one of them, Karen at R413.

Actually this thread is very DL. These new people who think they are so smart and know everything about this site grate on my last remaining nerve.

I FINALLY FOUND LAUNDRY DETERGENT THIS MORNING!!!!

Target.com have many things in stock (better than Amazon)

Between Whole Food delivery, and going to Krogers on off hours, we’re staying stocked

I was trying to score some discounted Easter candy, but neither Target nor Amazon is offering it for pickup -- you have to go inside the store, which I'm not doing. And Amazon doesn't have any, naturally.

R417 where are you that you haven't been able to find laundry detergent?

If you find that liquid hand soap is unavailable or marked up, try liquid body wash or shampoo- it's basically the same thing, but available in larger sizes.

Ventured out today to get some produce and frozen goods (I've been averaging going out every two weeks)- stopped by the TJ's by 3rd/Fairfax, and they had at least 20 people queued up outside waiting to get in, so I went to the WeHo Sprouts and they had 5 people. Plenty of produce and frozen goods. And I had a craving for chocolate, so kinda went nuts on chocolate bars.

Got my first Peapod order yesterday. Terrible service. They only delivered about a third of what I ordered. And it wasn't unusual hard to find items. No communication. Won't use them again.

I have to get bread Tuesday or Wednesday...anytime past that they don’t have the oatnut or multigrain breads I like.

I just ordered lobster tails, large scallops, and salmon from Mainelobsternow.

We'll see what happens. (tm Hair Furor)

R420, my grocery store has not had "High Efficiency" unscented laundry detergent for nearly a month now. I need the "h.e." for my front-loader, and I need the unscented hypo-allergenic for my sensitive skin.

Today was the first day I'd seen it in stock. I was getting worried.

If it's available, just buy one of those huge jugs of Kirkland (Costco) laundry soaps. They last for a long, long time unless you have a huge household. I'm so glad I already had one that was about 3/4ths full when lockdown began.

I buy the white one, no scent, because of skin issues.

After reading that article someone posted yesterday about how it's actually not a good idea to wipe down our groceries with disinfectant (something many of us have been doing the past few weeks), I find myself feeling a bit nervous now about eating the food I currently have in my refrigerator. Hopefully we're not, in an effort to avoid the virus, gradually poisoning ourselves with every bite we take. Per the article's suggestion, I will no longer be doing that.

I've decided that whenever I bring groceries home now (or have them delivered), I will clean them with soap and water before putting them away. As the expert in that article noted, disinfectant is made for hard surfaces, not a package of turkey bacon.

Yeah, R425, but that doesn't answer the question as to where you are!

Why is it bad, R427? Can you link the article?

R427, they didn't say you couldn't wash off the plastic packaging of turkey. They meant not to use disinfectant like Lysol spray or wipes to wipe things like apples or carrots, etc.. Unless you are rubbing down each slice of turkey in the bag, it's absolutely no problem to wipe off the outside of the packaging.

I use hand soap to wash fruits and vegetables

Do the Instacart and Shipt shoppers have to wait in line at the stores?

I can’t imagine how that would work - they must not be counted in the store density.

I got stopped by police in my market asking why I was sweating so much and wondering if I had the virus. I said no and I was sweating because 1. it was humid 2. I had walked to the market 2km from home 3. I am a sweaty person anywhere and 4.I get social anxiety (probably because people approach me with dumb questions). They let me go on shopping.

R433 where was this? Police checks wow! My fresh hell is my power went out due to storms here yesterday so what food i have in the fridge/ freezer is now at risk of spoiling. I took a xanax and am just waiting. I did put some in coolers with ice but i really didn't want to keep going to stores for ice.

The Kroger I pick my groceries up from just announced that they have employees who tested positive for coronavirus.

I'll leave you all my stuff in my will.

R429, it might be this one?

[quote]If you really want to wash your groceries, don't use disinfecting spray or wipes

[quote]If it somehow lessens your anxiety to wipe down every last jar of jelly, there's no harm in that, experts agree. But Graham warns that if you feel compelled to wipe, it might be wise to stick to soap and water. "A lot of the packaging that groceries come in is really not meant to be sprayed with disinfectant, and you [could] actually end up contaminating your food," she says.

[quote]Schaffner adds that disinfecting sprays and wipes are meant to be used on hard surfaces, which would not include many of the kinds of plastics or cardboard used for food packaging.

R435, I've always thought the paid buyers are the weak link in the system. How do people know that the buyers are uninfected?

[quote]Amazon will not accept new grocery delivery customers amid spike in orders

Shipt will not either, just saw the message today

I have bought plenty of groceries, but I cannot get motivated to cook. I said that I would cook healthy during this isolation, but I have gotten lazy. Takeout is my friend.

After 5-6 days of trying, Instacart has some delivery days available and I was able to get one, but they couldn't give me an exact time yet, only that the shopper would be taking my order in the next 1-3 days. I just have to watch my account to see when they'll start the actual shopping. My order is with Western Beef and I hope they're pretty stocked on merchandise. I'm just getting staples, nothing frivolous like ice cream and cupcakes.

R440, you have to check Instacart each day. Sometimes nothing open, then the next day, plenty available days, even same day.

R440 here and I think Instacart availability depends on where you live. I'm in NYC and I checked that site multiple times a day for 5-6 days and I would get a message like 'no available deliveries - try later'. I assume you're in a less populated area and it's easier to get a slot.

HA - try having one of the arms on your prescription glasses snapping off and having the lenses crack at the bottom when they hit the tile floor. Backup pair of glasses are out of date prescription (my fault). Luckily I can still wear the damaged ones using one arm but it’s not easy. I can’t even go anywhere to get sample contacts to tide me over while I wait for new glasses. Express shipping rates at the moment are a fortune and I have no choice but to buy online. Plus, even though these frames have a 4 year warranty - I got them from the UK, that shipping is going to be a nightmare if they honor the warranty.

One would think that making sure people could see would be essential but nope. I’m lucky that I decided to quarantine at my mothers (I was dying without some human interaction, even if it means being with family) I’m also lucky that my glasses are semi-functional. However, this did make me think about people who are alone and their glasses break and they can’t get them replaced, can’t drive, can’t see.

Grocery shopping has been a little odd and bothersome at times but after this calamity I started thinking about how many important things we take for granted (or can be easily fixed quickly) can go terribly wrong. I also feel for the people who recently had all the power outages - considering internet and cable is really our only lifeline at the moment, having that ripped away would have been my breaking point.

I tried Instacart’s new “fast n free” option, which is a 5 or 6 day delivery window. The shopper can come at any time suiting that window, so you have to keep your phone turned up.

I wasn’t expecting my delicious until the very last day (3 days from now), but last night at 10 pm, the guy started shopping. I had to be on hand to do substitutions in the app, and he delivered around 11:30 p.m.

This was Northern Virginia, ordering from Shoppers Food.

*any time during that window

R443 Where do you live? I don't know about other places, but I know LensCrafters is still open for emergencies including exams for replacing a broken pair and the stores are open for making new pairs that are needed. I don't usually by my glasses there, but my eye doctor's office is connected to one.

I waited too late to get my eye check up. I was supposed to have one earlier in the year but I had to bring my dog to the vet so I cancelled. Now, I am afraid to go...you don't know if the machines have been cleaned properly, the doctor has to stand pretty close to you to check your eyes etc...

I wear contacts and need to update my prescription...

I’m waiting on the eye dr until june /july just wearing my old glasses for now

Every time I go out, one or two people come up to you to ask for money, one guy stands outside a supermarket and ask you to buy him milk, food etc.

I live in Morris County (I'm 60 miles from NYC and 30 miles from the Delaware Water Gap). The Shop Rite in Wharton had TP and PT on the shelves on Saturday when I was last there. The one I can walk to has been out since they announced schools would be closed.

The meat section has been full although there was a limit on packages of chicken. Since I'm single, that's not a problem. I believe they had flour on the shelves. I don't bake so I didn't notice.

The Shop Rite in Wharton is open 24 hours a day but has instituted senior hours between 6 and 7 am. I wear a mask but not gloves, although I do have them.

Back on March 14th I ordered TP from Amazon. Didn't realize it was coming from China! It's been in the garage since it was delivered back at the end of March.

R443, there are a lot of online companies that sell eyeglasses VERY cheap. If you can get a copy of your prescription sent to them, I’d check them out. You can get prescription eyeglasses as low as $30. They may not be fancy, but it’s always good to have a spare set around anyway. If you can afford it, get a couple.

If you look on the earpiece of your glasses, there’s a measurement on the inside. It looks something like 53-18-35. The first measurement is the width of the frame side to side, the second one is the bridge of the nose, which is really important so your glasses aren’t constantly slipping down, and the third is the ear pieces.

Try to pick a pair of glasses online with a measurement as close to the measurement of your current glasses as possible for a good fit. Don’t just buy them on looks alone, the nose measurement really matters. The side to side measurement depends on the width of your face.

Also look for a pair that is the same style as your current pair as close as possible, especially the nose bridge. If your current pair has a dip in the nose bridge and it fits well, get the same thing. Some people have a low nose bridge, and they need glasses with a low nose bridge, so look at the ones you have. If you have an old pair that fits better, get the measurements from that pair and choose the same type of nose bridge style.

Look for spring hinges if you can afford it, that’s a better hinge that will accommodate thicker lenses if that’s an issue. They’re more expensive, so if you have thin lenses you may not need it for a cheap pair. But spring hinges generally mean a higher quality frame.

For eyeglasses, can you make do with some cheap readers from Walgreens or CVS?

The only thing I couldn't find at the grocery store was baking soda. That surprised me. They had everything else, including flour and toilet paper, although they were out of some of the preferred brands. Things have definitely stabilized a lot since the last time I was there 3 weeks ago.

They were also very low on almond milk.

I still can't get bread flour or split peas anywhere.

R440, I'm in NYC as well, and Instacart will open availability, just keep checking. Check all stores available. I just ordered this morning and got same day delivery spot open.

R451, thanks for sharing this!

I had a pair of glasses made at VisionWorks. They are sooo fucking wide it's not funny! Last year, I got a pair from my optometrist. They fit perfectly. I just checked the numbers and they are really different. The ones from my Dr. fit inside the VW ones when open.

I'm outside Atlanta. Went to a Kroger this morning, they had some toilet paper packages (first I've seen for sale in 4 weeks); paper towels; Clorox brand sanitizing wipes; quite a few kinds of beans and other legumes. And bacon, which I bought. All of these things were all gone when I was there 2 weeks ago. So maybe the hoarding phase is relaxing a little (?).

Cosmo, a lot of people don’t know that. It’s really important though. A lot of times you see cute glasses and they are huge. Especially designer ones or ones with thick frames. Those big eyeglasses that cover your whole face are too big for a lot of people and the nose bridges are really large. The ones from the eye doctor usually fit well because they won’t sell you a pair that’s too big without at least telling you.

If you have a high prescription, smaller frames are better, because the higher the prescription, the more curve you get at the edges. So you may get some blurriness in your peripheral vision. High index lenses will stop some of that, but if you’re buying oversize frames it won’t stop all of it. Get the ones that fit your face.

Ray Ban sometimes has frames that come in two different sizes for their most popular frames. Wayfarers original style and and Wayfarer new style do. Most Ray Bans have wider nose bridges and wider lenses so I have to buy the smaller size Wayfarer.

If you’re buying glasses online, it’s better to have your measurement and know your nose bridge style, then search for your sizes by filter. Don’t go for the glasses style first, because once you start looking at the measurements, you’ll see some of them are ridiculously large.

It’s probably better not to go outside your regular style right now. Later, when you can try on glasses in person, you can try them on, then buy them online if it’s cheaper. You can download your picture on some websites and virtually try them on, but be aware, a lot of times there are really minuscule differences in frames that you don’t notice online by eyesight unless you really know what you’re looking for. Your best bet is to go with what you have, or as close as you can get.

If you’re going for cheapo glasses, it’s probably better to go with full frames too. A lot of really cheap glasses have thinner frames, so don’t throw them around too much. Keep them in the case when you’re not using them. You’re not going to be able to adjust the earpieces until you can get to an eye doctor, but anyplace will do it.

I order mine through Goggles4u.com, they only cost around $12.00/pair. But, they are really better than pairs I paid $300 or more for at brick and mortar shops.

This is in the Los Angeles area, but here is a list of wholesale restaurant suppliers for produce, meat, fish, and pantry items:

I've also ordered via Goggles4U and can also highly recommend them. I think I paid $9 for glasses that also turned out better than the $500 ones I bought through the Optometrist.

Yay! Scored facial masks at the little pharmacy in the area. No Chinese packaging or writing either (although prob still made in China).

Costco was out of all normal sliced bacon today. Only premium types and turkey, and limited to 1 package per customer.

My cloth face masks won't get here until Friday...even the supplies for making homemade masks are at a premium.

I ordered blue masks off Newegg the other day. They are shipping from here, not China.

I’ve been able to get a 2 hour, same day Instacart order 2 days in a row by ordering around 8 pm. This is for Shoppers Food in Northern Virginia.

Had to keep reloading the app to score a spot.

Started a Walmart Grocery Pickup order last Friday. First pickup time available was today at 6PM (only ONE slot available for three different stores.) So all during the intervening days, I edited and updated my order. Today, two hours before pickup time, I got an email saying they cancelled the order. I clicked on the "reorder all items" button and am trying again; first available slots were on Sunday. This has got to improve.

[quote] I ordered blue masks off Newegg the other day.

The computer site is selling masks?

R464, I went on fabric.com, and they were out of a lot of mask fabric. Elastic is out. They recommend interfacing but I bet that’s out too. T shirt material is out. Quilting cotton is out. A lot of flannel is out or low. At least it’s good for the fabric stores. JoAnn’s is the same.

use drapes...curtains. home depot sells them.

I actually have some fabric. They’re saying to use pipe cleaners for the top of the mask. They’re probably out of those too. I had a bunch and finally got rid of them last year. I’m so mad at myself for doing that. I was Marie Kondo-ing and now there’s a lot of stuff I could have used that I got rid of.

Pipe cleaner is available on Amazon. If you need something quick you can use those metal ties for produce or bread.

R471, you can buy a roll of guage wire on etsy for $7, which is plastic coated and looks like sandwich bag ties, to make the adjustable nose part. There are also sellers shilling the flatter adjustable metal bar pieces.

I just received 2 masks with straightened paperclips for the nose part. Whatever works is fine for me. I also bought some nose clips to keep my glasses from steaming up, which still happens even with the nose part having a wire in it.

R473 some tips to prevent your glasses from steaming up, fold a tissue between your face and the mask. If you want to really make sure your glasses don't fog up, spit on your lenses and rub them dry. It's gross, but it will work.

If you need fabric to make a mask, go buy a 100% cotton flat sheet.

Thank you, r474, but that makes the mask sit differently and it slides around as a result.

Well, spitting on them certainly won't make your mask sit differently.

The fogging itself is not the issue, it's the potential of breathing the virus up into my eyes. Spitting on my glasses won't prevent that (and sounds gross). I need to stop my breath from leaking out the top of my mask and prevent unfiltered air from being inhaled through there, as well.

[quote]The fogging itself is not the issue, it's the potential of breathing the virus up into my eyes.

Your own mouth can't infect your own eyes? If you've got it in one place, you've got it everywhere.

R479 Exactly, it would be like someone with AIDS saying they won't eat their own cum because they have AIDS.

Probably, r479, but the kidney doc says not to breathe vapor up into my eyes. Maybe he thinks there's a chance to inhale it and then immediately exhale it into the more sensitive eye membranes, doubling my chances? My eyes are often irritated and when I see him on Fridays, he mentions it each time.

I wonder why the medical workers' goggles don't fog up?

I passed by home depot in midtown manhattan and they have a huge sign that everyone entering the store must have face covering...

Goggles are banded at the bottom- vapor doesn't enter behind the lenses.

I'm so tired of this stupid Coronavirus! As God as my witness, I will never be out of tp again!

I was using self-checkout at the market and this staff girl approaches and says she wants to check my purchases. I step back and she gives me a look, asking if there is a problem. I tell her she is too close to me and she gives me another look as if I have insulted her and says, "I'm not sick." When she goes I wipe down the machine again before finishing my payment and see that she returns to the machine after me and wipes it down too.

Fat frau clogging up the candy / cookies aisle. Aisles are now marked one-way. Aisles somewhat narrow (not like Costco). I'm waiting for her to make her selections because I can't get by her without getting close to her. She finally picks out what she wants / needs. Then, instead of pushing forward, turns around and heads back my way. I "reversed." She was wanting a confrontation and I didn't feel like it. (Other people in the store were quickly making selections and moving along; I was baffled by this frau.)

Behind my mask, I said, "You win, fat frau."

I feel petty for feeling petty. The store had a lot more stuff than it's had in the past. I do feel grateful for that.

[quote]"I'm not sick."

This idiocy is why pandemics go full-throttle for so long. Watch the fucking news, bitch! It's called asymptomatic spread and we've known about it for 2 months!

R487, I know the feeling. It's not about this person or that person for me, it's that maybe 20% of everybody was actually doing social distance inside the store, including staff. One staffer bumped into me as he was hurrying past. It seemed pointless to be one of the few people paying attention.

The three-packs of Clorox wipes are in stock on the Walmart site as of 11:19 PM PST.

And they're gone.

R490, they're showing up as "out of stock" when I search for "Clorox wipes". I've also had my browser open to the Lysol spray search results for three days. I've checked at all hours of the night, and they're always sold out. Damn.

No large, SoftSoap refills in 2 stores.

Plus, all the paper products are out again.

Hey guys, it's been mentioned above (by me and others): just use body wash to wash your hands. I use a large pump jug of Aveeno body wash. It's great because it doesn't dry out your hands that much.

My local Wally World has everything now except hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. They've got plenty of paper goods, soap, bleach etc. Some of the food selections are limited, but at least they have stuff instead of mostly empty shelves.

I live paycheck to paycheck, I got paid today and just tried placing a delivery order and one place there is nothing until next Thursday and the other place does not have any delivery times available so I am refreshing my screen like a madman.

R492, here is the Clorox wipes link, still showing as in stock.

At one market I was flabbergasted that they made such a drama about customers keeping away from each in the line, reinforced by police presence, yet staff are willing to cut through the line to go somewhere. This happened to me twice, one time I saw them approaching from the side, the other they suddenly appeared from behind. This store apparently doesn't have a private entrance for staff.

I feel like this is like the old days when I used to bid on ebay or buy concert tickets online, I keep refreshing for a delivery time.

anything cotton for masks is fine. I would NOT use any kind of drapery fabric because they sometimes use formaldehyde and God knows what else to treat the fabric and I don't think you want to be breathing that.

I bought some Birch Bender protein pancake mix...regular stuff was picked over at the Target. It has a great recipe for peanut butter and banana muffins. Can’t wait to make them.

Woohoo I have been refreshing the last couple hours and delivery just opened up for tomorrow and I grabbed it!

R469, bungee cords are full of elastic cords if you cut one open.

I've been using Boxed for a lot of non-perishables. They call themselves an online wholesaler-- stuff is here today, gone tomorrow. They have soaps, detergents, wine, coffee, chips, etc.

I'm happy with it. It saves me from having to use instacart for everything.

Still no bread flour or split peas anywhere.

Went to my local Shop Rite yesterday around 5:30 pm. They had paper products on the shelves including toilet paper and paper towels. I'm set with disinfecting wipes so I didn't go down that aisle.

I have something called Miracle Clean from Joy Mangano. It says it kills 99% of germs so I can use that in pinch. Has anyone tried QVC or HSN for their brands of disinfectants? It might be worth a try since they are online only.

Stay safe!

R506: At least you can go to your ShopRite! The one in downtown Jersey City has an insane line down the street that does not move. Luckily, the local Target sells groceries and is spaced out nicely.

R505 I went to Kroger at 7 this morning and they had quite a few small (2 lb) sacks of Gold Medal flour. I hadn't seen flour in the stores in weeks, possibly because I've been going too late in the day.

R351: Yes I've visited H Mart. My other favorite is Nam Dae Mun.

R507 I waited on line at SR for and hour before I got in on Tuesday morning.

Friend of mine told me she was going to make a trip to Walmart this AM. I asked her to let me know how it went.

The store opened at 7AM (So Cal area) and she said there were maybe 15 people in line. She basically walked right in to the store.

She said she was able to find soap refill, gloves, hydrogen peroxide and lysol... all in limited quantity (she said there were less than 10 bottles of each on the shelves) and limited 1 per customer.

She said she was surprised that there were about 6 shelves of wipes available, mostly 3-packs. She mentioned the containers in the pack were small, like 50 wipes per container. Makes me wonder if manufacturers are making smaller batches so consumers buy more?

She mentioned plenty of bleach but no abrasive cleaners.

Flour was wiped out as was all pork products.

She

Wow, R507!! I've only waited once to get into my local Shop Rite. I only waited about 2 minutes.

I waited once to get into a Target but that was because I needed to be there when it opened. Their website said they had a limited stock of toilet paper. When I walked in at 8 am when the doors opened (this was a Sunday morning and before Senior hours), the staff was just stocking the toilet paper.

my korean deli is also selling face shields $10 each. Also disposable face masks at 50 bucks for a box of 50.

The latest thing appears to be micromanaging shopper movements while inside the store. Enforcing direction of travel, etc. it’s getting out of hand.

R514, I think the micromanaging is a direct result of people being so goddamn stupid out there. Too many STILL aren't practicing social distancing, still aren't wearing masks and gloves, are dragging too many unneeded extra people into the store (including babies and grandma) and are basically showing a total lack of brain function.

[quote]Enforcing direction of travel, etc. it’s getting out of hand.

I think there needs to be more of it. This pandemic has revealed how astonishingly stupid a whole lot of Americans are.

[quote]This pandemic has revealed how astonishingly stupid a whole lot of Americans are.

I think the 2016 election took care of that question for good.

Touché, R517.

N95 respirators can be decontaminated and re-used on a limited basis, according to NIH study

From CNN Health’s Arman Azad

A critical piece of personal protective equipment, the N95 respirator, can be safety cleaned and re-used, according to a study published Wednesday by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

The respirators are designed for single-use, but according to the NIH study, they could potentially be used up to three times if they’re properly decontaminated in between uses.

The study has not been peer-reviewed, but was published on a pre-print server designed to expedite the release of research.

In a statement, NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that a variety of cleaning methods – such as vaporized hydrogen peroxide, dry heat, ultraviolet light or ethanol spray – could successfully decontaminate the respirators.

Some of these methods caused problems with the fit and seal of the masks, but one technique – vaporized hydrogen peroxide – did not result in failures. Masks undergoing that treatment, then, could be re-used three times, NIH said.

The US Food and Drug Administration has now authorized three respirator decontamination systems for use during the coronavirus pandemic, all of which rely on hydrogen peroxide decontamination.

Went to grocery store this morning. I'd say 60% were using masks and/or gloves.

As I was leaving, saw a man & woman with three kids going into the store. These are the problem people.

I went to the "senior hour" at a Kroger yesterday at 7 a.m. First thing you go into is a very big produce area. I had put about 7 or 8 things in my buggy, which I had left in a central place in the area. I came back to put something in it and it was gone....I looked around, wondered if I was losing my marbles, and then I spotted this old blond housewife in a peach-colored dress, slowing pushing my cart along. She had no mask on, was not wearing gloves. I stepped into her oncoming path and stopped her, which startled her. Without saying anything, I pointed at the contents of the buggy. She looked down at the stuff and then back up at me, blankly. She didn't have any idea what I was getting at, she was living completely in a dream world and paying no attention to what she was doing. I said, "That's my buggy and you've got your bare hands on it. Get away from it." She still seemed not to really get it and argued defensively, "I think I put some strawberries in that." There was already a large carton of them underneath the ones she had just set on top of mine. I handed them to her and rolled on. Incredible. I wondered if she might have been drunk but it was 7 o'clock...

R521 personally i would have berated her further. You are kind.

^^I was kind of dumbfounded that she seemed to be so stupid she didn't even realize what she had done. And my mask was so snug on my face that it was almost pointless to try talking through it.

R511, it’s really noticeable that toilet paper is being packaged in smaller packs. I went on the Costco site today. It’s says “new product” and shows a pack of 30 rolls of toilet paper. In February I got that same brand at Costco in a 40 roll pack.

At Target I got a four or six roll pack. Target used to sell much larger packs too.

I got a 24 pack of toilet paper at Kroger yesterday. It wasn't my beloved Charmin, but that's okay. I was practically skipping out of the store knowing that I can poop with abandon now.

R347 Here. So yesterday my father got his order from Costco from Instacart yesterday. He was very impressed. They had almost everything he ordered, except for like toilet paper, paper towels and a few other things. It was the most he ever spent in his life at that store for a non appliance or electronic order. He said the shopper loaded his items into his trunk, as he had it delivered to my grandfather's house. What they couldn't fit, they left on the sidewalk for him to load into the back seat. He would recommend using the link I mentioned in R349. It makes a difference for getting availability times. Hope this information was helpful.

Where are you all that people aren't distancing in supermarkets and all?

If you use Instacart for Costco, you don't have to be a Costco member?

R528 Yes.

you pay about 20 percent higher than if you just went and got the items. that's a costco thing, they don't extend the same discount on instacart.

The stores are filled with these professional shoppers who are clogging aisles and standing on your heels DESPITE the social distancing measures. Most wear gloves and masks, but not all. Yes, they provide a needed service but for those of us who do not use the service their presence is problematic.

Maybe she was senile.

Just got home from a trip to the supermarket....there was a LINE outside the door...they have a certain limit of people that they can allow inside...so now you have to wait! I’m thinking that it may be because of the time...folks who are just getting home from work and have to shop. It was a bit of a shock. I ended up going to the CVS to get what I needed.

I would have left her my cart, left her alone. And thrown new vegetables into a new cart. For crissakes!

PA Gov. Wolf now mandated masks for all in stores, shoppers and employees alike at all open "essentially businesses."

Paper towels available on Amazon

My shipment of face masks have arrived!!! All is well.

[quote]Where are you all that people aren't distancing in supermarkets and all?

I'm in the San Fernando Valley (Southern California) and there were people up my ass as usual today when I swung by Ralphs. Personal space is always an issue here. The 2 stores I've been to in the past 3 weeks put their tape marks every 3 to 4 ft apart, instead of 6ft.

This afternoon, I saw 2 people pull down their masks as soon as they entered, then closely slide up next to employees to ask questions. One of them wadded up her mask and stuck it in her purse, and the other walked around the store with his mouth covered but not his nose. 🙄

I don't know if the hospital grade wipes on ebay i linked was in this thread or a different one but, they did come today

R539 can you please post that link again? Thanks

for r540. and if you go through the sellers items, they have a ton of good pandemic stuff

You don’t have to be a Costco member if you order through the Instacart app or website.

r536 "Currently unavailable."

I was reading reviews of people who'd used Instacart and the customer told how one store was out of a particular item and the customer asked the shopper to try a 2nd store and found the needed item there. Does anyone ever do that - ask a shopper to travel all over town/go to multiple stores in one shopping "session"? I mean, I'd like a few things from Whole Foods and Aldi, but I'd feel guilty for making somebody hustle like my servant, even if I'm paying them.

I haven't heard the word buggy used for shopping before. I have heard trolley and cart and basket.

[quote] but I'd feel guilty for making somebody hustle like my servant, even if I'm paying them.

Why?

You are paying them. It's their job. They're probably happy to do it because it means they'll get paid more. Now if they don't get paid extra for doing the extra work, that's something else. But they may be happy to make the extra money otherwise.

R541 - that price for those wipes is highway robbery. $27.99 for a 16-count canister? I paid $6.99 for a 300-count canister of the same product at Costco.

I mean, I can see a little markup due to the pandemic, but that's simply outrageous.

160 count, not 16-count. Still that's seventeen and a half cents per wipe versus Costco charging two and a third cents per wipe.

Sheesh.

R545 It is a regional thing. I don't know where R521 is located, but buggy is a common term in the South for a shopping cart.

I never noted a lack of napkins, paper towels or kleenex but the stores I frequent haven't had tp in stock. No hand sanitizer (gel) either.

r548, I was out of wipes, couldn't find any anywhere. I go to the office once a week and take the bus. I needed them. I wouldn't pay that normally but I actually need them and was glad to find them or i was going to have to pour a bottle of alcohol in baby wipes.

How does Instacart work if you want the shopper to go to Costco or BJ's? Do they waive the membership for people using this service?

I was using the word "buggy" pretty much for its humor quotient. Yes, in the South, near Atlanta. It's not really a word I would normally use, and in fact I don't normally use those things. I just carry a basket in one hand. But I was stocking up on enough food for 2 weeks, so I used a buggy.

rt52, you go to instacart and click on the store you are interested in. it will tell you what the store policy is on pricing. for example here, price chopper matches all flier sales (bogo etc) and there is no store markup, just the additional 10 cents or whatever per item for instacart fee. costco on the other hand chargez instacart about 20 percent higher than membership prices.

for the second time in a few weeks a tractor trailer had an accident and this one caught on fire. Both had been carrying TP and paper towels

^^And you didn't take ANY photos, no. 555? SHAME...

I wasn't there. It was on the nightly news.

[quote]Where are you all that people aren't distancing in supermarkets and all?

NorCal.

Oh, I am PISSED. I just got my Instacart delivery and the delivery guy had the nerve to hint that "I should not forget about a his tip, you know, with the Corona". I had tipped over $20 on the app - do they not see that? I'm burning with disgust.

I would also mention a baby carriage or stroller is also often referred to as a baby buggy.

Aldi has flour more often than not. It's bleached and all purpose, but it's flour. I have about 20lbs of whole wheat from the Indian store, 20lbs of bleached white from Aldi, and a pound of SAF yeast from Amazon that took about a week to get here ($18).

I tip $25 on orders around $90-100, but FYI, even before Corona, Instacart shoppers felt they should be making $50,000 a year.

You can learn more about just how much they expect from you on their Instacart shopper Reddit.

R559, I read on Reddit that they get a very small portion of the tip you pay, or nothing, I forget which. The money goes to somebody else.

Some of them were complaining on Reddit that they were operating at a loss because after gas they lost money. And a lot of people were giving them no tip. And then some people didn’t answer the door, and they would have to haul all the packages back down again from the top of the hill or whatever. It sounded like a horrible, low paying, thankless job. It’s like Uber, somebody is making money all right, but it’s not them.

People who drive Uber are also operating at a loss. They're just unaware of it.

Instacart shoppers get the full tip. There was a lawsuit about it.

You have to sue these days to get your own tip.

Well, it frankly matters a damn to me here in NYC about their tip. Hell, I can't ever get a delivery time.

I implore breeders NOT to bring their little covid receptacles out in public. They are a health hazard to us all!

Cheap assholes are tanking the tip after their groceries are delivered - maybe that was what the guy was trying to prevent.

*yanking the tip

If the delivery guy is hot I'll leave just the tip!

I always over-tip but don't mind if the service is worth it. My father worked for tips for years (he was a barber among many other odd jobs to support his family) and always told us growing up that if a person provides you with good service, always leave a good tip and I've never forgotten it.

R528 R529 R542 R552 R554 So I'm the poster at R526. Here's the deal with Costco. You can get it delivered on the regular Instacart site without needinga membership, but delivery times are almost non existent and they charge extra fess. If you have a membership, your best bet is to order it from Costco's own Instacart platform, which I included in R349. More availability for delivery dates and no added fees. Hope this information was helpful.

I agree, R572. I also overtip, however, in some cases I can see where people get so used to it that it becomes expected while they do a half-assed job.

Does Costco raise the price for Instacart like it does for online products?

Walmart.com has peroxide available if anyone is still looking for it.

Went to Walgreens today for something specific, but I checked out what they did and didn't have.

No masks or gloves, no paper towels, no Clorox wipes, but plenty of toilet paper. Soup was available too (my local grocery store has been out of soup for ages).

This was after-work, around 5:30pm local time.

What area are you in R577?

I haven't seen canned soup in my store for weeks.

Don't berate people you run into like that, R521. You're most likely dealing with someone with a mental illness or possibly an alcoholic, as you suspected. If they're not harming anyone then just correct the situation the best you can and move on.

The lost and confused are really struggling right now. I know we're used to ignoring the oddballs in stores but that's almost impossible to do under the circumstances, so patience is the key. Also diligence, you can't leave your cart unattended anymore.

Now, if it had been someone who wasn't in her own little dream world and was obviously with it and really belligerent, then by all means, slap her Wilona.

I agree with some others. Sounds like she had some sort of problem, possibly a mental illness. She could be someone who shouldn't be out by herself but has no choice in these times.

While that person sounded crazy, I think it's also a little nuts to leave your cart in the middle of the produce section and then wander around gathering things rather than pushing your cart with you. What if everyone did that? Kind of rude when someone has to walk around your stupid cart while you peruse the carrots

I can't find antacids in the stores.

Yeah, R583, I picked those up as early as I could. Figured they'd be gone sooner or later with all this anxiety eating people alive. I'm breaking my Tums in half to conserve. Did you check Amazon? Or, a lot of pharmacies are now doing deliveries for free. I know they will add other things to prescription deliveries but am not sure if they'll just deliver regular non-prescription items alone for free.

I noticed antacids were flying off the shelves too and couldn't figure out why. R584 probably has it right.

I looked at Target and they have some you can order.

I checked and Antacids are available on Walmart but it won't deliver until the end of May!

Also still no flour or yeast available!

Actually, I noticed flour was gone immediately when quarantine kicked in and then the store was fully stocked again but now they're out again.

Salt seems to come and go at my stores.

Ive also noticed at one of my grocery stores, pick up times were impossible at first, and then eased up where you could get a time slot within the next day or two and now it's gone back to not being able to get a slot for a week.

New thread at the link below:

Today I saw the market's frozen desserts supply was greatly diminished. First time I have noticed this.

[quote]Oh, I am PISSED. I just got my Instacart delivery and the delivery guy had the nerve to hint that "I should not forget about a his tip, you know, with the Corona". I had tipped over $20 on the app - do they not see that? I'm burning with disgust.

LMAO that is making me laugh, I think I am tired and getting Corona crazy because here in Michigan they are acting like idiots going to Lansing and protesting the stay at home order. Anyway, the thought of you getting shook down for a tip like the mafia struck me funny.

[quote]Today I saw the market's frozen desserts supply was greatly diminished. First time I have noticed this.

I bought the last frozen tiramisu at Target the other day I wanted egg claires but grabbed this instead.

I wanted a New York baked cheesecake as the fresh ones are dry but they were all gone and I don't like their homemade brands.

[quote] I wanted egg claires

Oh, dear!

I tip the recommend amount in the Instacart app, then leave an additional $10 in an envelope under the mat for the driver to pick up when he/she delivers the stuff.

For you R595

I wouldn't recommend Miracle Clean if I were you, R506. It triggered a class-action lawsuit.

egg claires... LMAO oh, dear is right! What a way to end a thread

R599, that lawsuit is between the manufacturer and HSN. It's not about the ingredients or effectiveness against germs.

However, the article says the product is no longer being sold by HSN or QVC. It may be available through Amazon and 3rd party sellers.