stuff not in stores lately??

[razz]

Canada made an exception for offshore labour because they are so essential to agriculture especially and southern Ontario farmers rely on them. The benefits to the economy locally and to their home areas is huge as well. The farmers are responsible for and need to ensure that the workers are isolated for 14 days upon arrival.

Quite innocently, I had been buying items on sale, as Steve mentions, and storing or freezing them so have enough protein, beans and meat, TP and tissues, shampoo etc., for several months. I pressure canned tomatoes, salsa, applesauce, beet and dill pickles and froze fruits last fall. When I saw flour and sugar on sale earlier this year, I bought enough for a 6 month supply. Lots of yeast for bread. Most of the time, I only feed myself so the demand is comparatively quite low but I do donate prepared food to various gatherings throughout the year.

That said, I will need fresh veggies, eggs and olive oil in a another week or two. I have a 5lb bag of powdered milk and canned milk to make my morning yogurt but will need a fresh carton of commercial yogurt to supply the bacterial culture. I have never tried to make yogurt from my current homemade supply. I may just experiment this time to know.

Locally, the shelves are empty unevenly, hit and miss, and reports of the older adults shopping times indicate a limited turnout but disappointing supplies at the early hours.

It all is a wake-up for the just-in-time shoppers each week. I think that is what triggered the hoarding impulses. People got scared. I wasn't inclined to hoard because I have practiced maintaining an inventory for years. Different approach for different folks.

[ApatheticNoMore]

If you are buying most of something in a supermarket, just stop, don't do it. That just means other people don't get to have any of whatever it is, eggs, yogurt, milk etc..

I don't think much of what people are buying now matches the typical American diet. Who knew that lentils were suddenly the most popular thing in the world, not to mention the great popularity of any and all legumes in general. I regularly make lentil soup but I didn't know everyone in the world did.

[Teacher Terry]

We grocery shop for a month. Then pick up perishables once in between. Have done this ever since retiring.

[JaneV2.0]

I've been stocking up for some time, and it's paid off. Dried beans, rice, that kind of thing. Friends report they couldn't find beans or rice locally; too bad I'm so far away. I laid in provisions like TP in late February when the news started trickling in. Maybe I should have bought double the quantity. But I foresee being fine--even if Dado Potato's conjecture proves true--which it certainly could. In the meantime, If I find myself low on something, I'll have it delivered. No reason to visit a store.

[catherine]

I have not seen or experienced any dire shortage of things I need.. and to be honest, I think this whole experience calls into question what we think we need vs what we actually need. My little supermarket seems to be doing well with food and supplies. Yesterday I was on a soup-making kick so I went to the store to find chicken thighs and cheap stew meat. Well, they had chicken thighs, but their stew meat was not what I would have chosen in a perfect world but was chuck blade steak. I've never cooked chuck blade steak before but I looked it up and learned how to braise and tenderize it.

We have been to the store maybe 3 times over the past two weeks and have left with less than $50 worth of stuff. No artisan bread? Any French bread will do. No portabello mushrooms? White button mushrooms will do. Do I need Dijon mustard, or is spicy golden OK? Honestly, I do not feel deprived of anything at this point. I have been able to find everything on pinkytoe's list.

Plus one of our neighborhood FB groups posted a great list of all the local farms that are delivering to people here. There will be no shortage of eggs or meat or basics for me because of this. I will work with what I have.

[JaneV2.0]

"Close enough!" is my motto. In many things.

[jp1]

I haven't seen any drastic shortages of most things. But this is also the first time in my life that I've turned the corner in the grocery store and seen great big swathes of empty shelf. Like Steve, I've had to ramp up my purchasing habits because we "normally" use "just in time" food purchasing. Now, for the first time in years, we have enough food in our home that we could easily go 3, or even 4, weeks without needing to go to the store.

[Tybee]

Went out yesterday. Low on regular soaps and cereals--no sanitizer or toilet paper and few paper towels. Lmits on soap. Low on cough syrup. Certain brands gone completely, so it's weird to shop because they rearrange it to fill in with other things. Lots of rearranging.

Our pressing needs were dog biscuits, cookies, ice cream, and cough syrup. (We were just trying to feel more normal for a day.) The cough syrup was low but available.

I am finding it hard to break into my emergency stash since I don't want to reassemble it, and I don't know when this weill end. So far, only things we have run out of are dog biscuits and cough syrup.

[Yppej]

I haven't been able to find ammonia which I make into floor cleaner but did snag a bottle of Spic and Span at the gas station/convenience store. More expensive but it will do for now. Went to CVS and of course they were out of thermometers. I am finding food though not always the desired brand. I saw rice at PriceRite Friday.

[iris lilies]

We got in a big supply of dog food, like probably 60 or 80 pounds of it, from the free place that supplies to rescue organizations in early March. So that is good because our current foster dog is a big guy although to be honest he doesn’t eat any more than our smaller bulldogs. He is a young dog at a slim healthy weight.