Adventures in grocery shopping

[Tiam]

I also have found lots of price increases. I wonder if it's due to the $2 per hour increase most grocery stores are giving in hazard pay.

My mom is one of those high risk people who insists on venturing out and will not let me do her shopping for her.

I'm high risk, and I really don't like it when others shop for me. They do their best, but the problem is, they don't know when I'm not willing to accept a substitution. For instance. I wanted dried pinto beans. Seems simple, but I kept getting substitutions I didn't want. Like Kidney beans or canned pintos. Or minute rice for rice or cup of noodles for good Shin Ramen or margarine for butter. I know people are trying to considerate, but I don't want the substitutions and now I'm stuck with them till I can donate them and so there they sit. So, I'd rather do my own shopping.

[Yppej]

Tiam that's the beauty of a cell phone. My son is very particular and on occasions when I've picked something up for him and had a question I called him from the grocery store.

The latest with my mom is she wanted to go buy paint but my brother talked her out of it.

[flowerseverywhere]

We have a farm market about five miles from my house in Florida . I am willing to pay 25-50% more to shop there. Smallish market with beautiful fruits and vegetables, roam around the barnyard eggs for $4.50 dozen, organic wander around a field local meats for $6 plus a pound. Artisan baked breads from a local bakery. Big loaves for $6, pack of 6 bagels for $6. I feel very lucky this is available and have the extra money to afford this.

About every two weeks or so I get a pick up order at Walmart for myself and whatever 2 at risk friends have requested. I get up early to book so I can get an early slot a week out. No other grocery stores around here have this option. I can get almost everything We have wanted. The workers are safer with fewer people in the store. They come out a back door and load your car. They wear mandatory masks provided by the store (I asked). I make a point to write a report to the store about how wonderful each employee has been. I would tip them but they refuse a tip.
I drop my friends requests at their front door. They can’t stand owing me money so leave a check or money. So it’s working out great. I’ve even been able to get a package of toilet paper each time for someone.

[Tradd]

I'm high risk, and I really don't like it when others shop for me. They do their best, but the problem is, they don't know when I'm not willing to accept a substitution. For instance. I wanted dried pinto beans. Seems simple, but I kept getting substitutions I didn't want. Like Kidney beans or canned pintos. Or minute rice for rice or cup of noodles for good Shin Ramen or margarine for butter. I know people are trying to considerate, but I don't want the substitutions and now I'm stuck with them till I can donate them and so there they sit. So, I'd rather do my own shopping.

Did you tell the people shopping for you what you were willing to accept as a substitution?

I've begun shopping for a senior who is a close friend from church. She emails me a very specific list and includes what is an acceptable substitute. Then I call her and talk it over. If she wants one thing and even the substitute isn't available, I don't get her that item.

[Sonora Shepherd]

We discovered a neat thing. A meat restaurant supply business in the large town closest to us has lost a lot of business because of restaurants closing down. They started selling meat boxes - three different boxes with a variety in them. You order your box and go pick it up at their gate or they go to about 10 towns in the area where you can pick your box up. We did it and love it because we don't have to go into a store. Good stuff, too.

[happystuff]

Finally got a pickup time slot from my grocery store! Now to gather lists from shut-ins, etc. and get prepared.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Went to Sprouts, as others have said here, not recommended, wouldn't go back, too many people, everyone let in at once, I guess one can just say luckily it's never as popular as some other stores here, or everyone let in at once would be worse than that. Got behind some moron who insisted on bagging her own groceries in reusable bags even though that's not allowed and did. Horrible.

No TP nor paper towels there either. But at any rate, it is done for this week. And I only went groceries this week because mom needed stuff, but got some stuff for me as well because hey fresh food has it's appeal.

[Tybee]

We had a weird experience grocery shopping today--we drove by my husband's favorite grocery store and it had gone out of business, and was bought up by the local co-op in our lockdown absence.

So it was the same store but with a different name.

I guess we need to get out more. But he pointed out we hadn't shopped there in a month. . .

[happystuff]

Had my grocery pickup yesterday - shopped for three households. Got most of what was ordered. May actually do in-store shopping next time, as I think I do better both item and cost - wise. But definitely grateful for the items we did get.

[Rogar]

I've been on what has turned out to be an every 3 week grocery shop. I recently went to both Sprouts and Safeway starting at the 07:00 opening time. I had a list, pretty much knew where everything was located in the stores, and was done and home in a little over an hour. What I noticed most was far fewer shoppers in both stores compared to last time. I guessed that people were in less of a panic mode? Shelves were better stocked but still some shortages, especially paper products and flours. Almost everyone in Sprouts had masks, but maybe only half in Safeway. Starting today it will be a misdemeanor to enter any business in the city without a mask. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

I felt better about any social distancing issues and if the outing was an indication of how things will go I may shop more often.