How are the supermarkets holding out where people live? When advance notice of the lockdown came out there was a rush on toilet paper, face masks and hand sanitizer. The last two items I could sort of understand but toilet paper? We make the stuff and it was mainly one ethnic. group that was involved with the run on it.
With everyone at home the nations ovens are fired up and there is a huge demand for all types of flour and yeast. Being early autumn there is probably more bottling (canning - US) going on than there has been for more than 70 years.
The toilet paper thing turns out to be partly or mostly because a lot more people are staying home. TP used at home is not the same product as what’s used at work etc.
– not just hoarding and not because people are going to the bathroom more than normal. It’s also because so many consumers are going to the bathroom in different locations from before the pandemic – at home instead of workplaces, which often use a different kind of toilet paper than used at home.
Voluntary social distancing here. We’ve had half a dozen cases in the county being attended to in Norfolk. A couple have recoved, 2 deaths. One person was caught sneaking on the island in the trunk of a car. Another had his car shipped on the back of one of those flatbead tow trucks. Some are coming by boat which gets around the 2 roadblocks manned by the police. Some shortages, nothing life threatening. Won’t go hungry, plenty of fish to catch.
There are a fair number of farm stands around here. They are unmanned, just leave the money in the box.
They generally sell most of the produce to local restaurants. Now the restaurants are all closed so they have excess produce.
So we’ve started getting our produce at these stands. It’s very fresh, about the same price, safer then going to the supermarket, plus supporting the locals.
5 Likes
How much produce is there your way this time of year? Aren’t you going to get 6-10" of snow tonight?
1 Like
Yes, it’s snowing right now.
I’m not 100% sure if it’s all local or not. The one farm I know has a lot of greenhouses. Had a salad the other day, I think it must have come from a greenhouse as it seemed very fresh. Lettuce, spinach and cherry tomato.
Bought some pinto beans from the farm down the road. Cooking them right now for some chicken chili. Day before yesterday we got the root vegetable “grab and go” bag… Carrots, turnip and a beet. Cooked the beet in the pressure cooker yesterday and ate it for supper.
I’ll report back when I know more.
Snowing hard at the moment, but it’s 35 F 1.7 C, not sticking.
My wife’s background is in medical statistics so we went to DEFCON 3 about the end of February and provisioned at Costco for a three month lockup. We do Trader Joe’s for stuff like milk and eggs at 10 day intervals, will stretch to at least 14 this cycle owing to anticipated peak. Local TJs now has most everything in stock and is doing good job on enforcing anti-hoarding and social distancing policies. All incoming is disinfected in the garage before entering the house, car and doorknobs wiped down after entry, etc.
Earl
2 Likes
I read about the sneaky ways some are trying to get back in. Those game wardens and cops in Dare County are not to be trifled with. Prior experience! From what both tenants tell me, all is fine with a few inconveniences. Outerbanksvoice.com Have a few of the farms in Sandbridge/Pungo area using honor system. A few of our local fisherman are selling the stuff that local eateries are not purchasing due to the obvious. Pre-order, delivered end of the week.
1 Like
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to get on a boat and get away from the house and the land and away from it all. As someone who started smoking in the 50’s and continued until a few years ago I’m not taking chances.
What red-blooded 15 year old boy could have resisted this come on?
1 Like
Same here, saw recently a few idiot non-residential owners suing to get back to their properties to “Prepare for summer”.Ain’t gonna be a summer unless everyone stays away. Shit gets loose down there, NIGHTMARE. There are plenty of grocery stores, but a 19 bed hospital cannot handle an outbreak. Glad they shut the borders in and out of OBX down.
We are like many who live on an acreage in the country. Three freezers, and two fridges and a pretty good supply of pantry items together with a fairly large kitchen garden and orchard means we normally go to the store about every 14 days. Further scrutiny of what we have and what we have in our trailer means we can hold off for a lot longer and if we get to the bottom of the freezer we will top up from a paddock at hand.
We are harvesting tomatoes,potatoes, beans,beets,cabbage and pears,apples and peaches.
With the lockdown there is no fishing or hunting permitted. No one is allowed to go swimming or surfing.
2 Likes
I ordered today, as usual, my food from an online supermarket which will be delivered Saturday between 14.00 and 16.00 hours, you can choose the period. I pay on delivery with my credit card on a mobile machine. No need to punch-in PIN numbers for the amount, it is contactless. You pay € 6 extra for the delivery and they also have to collect all the ordered items and pack it in a crate for that money.
Most supermarkets reserve one or two hours exclusively for seniors above 70 only so that they can do their shopping at their pace while it is not crowded as during the rest of the day.
Things are getting desperate. We have resorted to eating things previously considered inedible. Although I hear in places like New England a slow lingering death from starvation is preferred.
9 Likes
The fact that you purchased it in the first place speaks more to the dire straights we all are in right now. 
3 Likes
Other than the still unobtainium TP and paper towels, hand sanitizer, bleach and Lysol wipes, the local grocery stores are starting to get back to near normal.
Feh. It’s minestrone with clams. Call it anything else and they’d be lapping it up. “Manhattan” or “New York” is to New Englan what “blucher” is to a Bavarian horse.
4 Likes
I am meeting old “friends” in the garage freezer as well. And more canned goods in the pantry…WAY in the back. TP I ordered last month claims to be on schedule so far to rescue us. My gal next door usually cuts my hair, but doesn’t have 6 feet arms. But… no stress here. I enjoy watching my bird feeders on the patio, well stocked for them. Life ain’t so bad sitting with my bride and trusty mutt watching them with an occasional cool one.
So cal here. I missed out on most of the chaos at the grocery stores. Luckily my wife saw the zombie apocalypse from a mile away and stocked up whilst i was on the tug. There has been issues getting chicken and certain dairy products, lots of hit and miss. Most recently in the last couple days i would say stores are back to normal here except them limiting how many folks are in the store at the time, and if you don’t happen to be there when the paper products are stocked up you are SOL on getting them till the next time.
1 Like
With the shut-down order and temporary (initially) closing of Michigan’s schools coming toward the end of winter, it seemed as though the 2 week stock of “snow supplies” I always thought Michiganders kept on hand would minimize the crush at stores…nope.
In the last week, things have stabilized but there are generally limits on TP/sanitizer/flour at most stores. The shared rural upbringing of the girlfriend and I has shown through as our basement has multiple shelves of homecanned fruits and vegetables, syrup, paper products, plenty of bulk flour and sugar, and 2 freezers well stocked with last fall and winters “outdoor shopping trips”. I realize not everyone is able to do the same but, for Pete’s sake, if you don’t have a stock of basics for bad winter weather, what the heck?!? Snow/power loss happens up here.
1 Like