Food stockpile in case corona virus comes nearby

(charlie3) #202

This is a situation where people believe they may need the option of staying home for 30 days or more. That would be a lot of food for a family of any size. Once the veggies are gone I could go carnivor + peanut butter and hold out for weeks longer but I’m not planning for that to be neceessary. The grocers and their distributors claim they can’t be overwhelmed. I’m betting they are right.

P.S. Now i hear CA governor predicts in the coming weeks half of the population of the state will be infected. Sounds like a big earthquake event.

#203

This thing is getting ready to get crazy. I don’t want to scare anyone, but look for mandatory “stay in” orders here shortly. Got to go that route to keep people in. Too many states (not mine) played this thing off to keep the money flowing (looking at you Florida and your spring breakers) and that is going to make this thing spread much faster. We have pretty much closed everything but the Wal Mart, grocery stores, and pharmacies in Kentucky and people still flock to the Wal Mart like its Black Friday. The governor here has been pleading for weeks to keep distance and limit interactions in groups. I’m in for the long haul right now. Plenty of meat in the freezer and enough personal items to go for a while.

Looking back at the thread the only thing I regret is not getting more hand sanitizer like I said I would three weeks ago. I had quite a few bottles, but eventually it will run out if it can’t be replinished. I should of made a few more trips to the dollar tree considering I started stocking up on it in January. I have plenty of hand soap but I like the kids to use sanitizer because it probably gets the job done regardless of a effort.

#204

Chest freezer is now full of meals. We had a bit more time here and it’s autumn, so lots of veges just harvested. fresh food converted to frozen meals.

Just had notice that the first community spread case has been identified in our rural area. As the medicos know, that is a snapshot of the infection status 5 to 14 days ago.

@charlie3 thread, this thread, has been a real help in our preparation here. I thank you again.

The people who denied and scoffed at my caution are now scrambling to respond. The likelihood is that their panic buying will now get them infected with supermarkets the likely place most people will go. I do sympathise with them. Many of them will have some cold and flu symptoms as a result. They have turned inward and selfish as they try to gather their resources. The benefit of having started earlier is that resources are under control and that allows those more prepared to face outward again and be able to help the community and support the most vulnerable.

(Doug) #205

In the U.S. state of West Virginia, the bars and taverns were closed earlier this week. Now, beer and liquor deliveries, being deemed “non-essential,” will stop too. Lots of home-brewing and distilling is starting up…

(charlie3) #206

Then deliveries should be stopped on cigarettes too, right? Let’s stop deliveries on everything we don’t like. I vote for stopping deliveries of junk mail.

(Doug) #207

Charlie - yeah, one would sure think so. I was talking with a few of my co-workers here (West Virginia; last day I’ll be here for a while - going home to the state of Georgia tonight to isolate with my wife) and no booze or cigarettes would darn near mean a revolution. :smile:

That said - the numbers thus far in the U.S. are not encouraging at all. My opinion - a vastly greater and more pervasive lockdown is coming, and should have been done sooner.

(charlie3) #208

Unexpected important problems are coming up. Found a news story about food distribution here in Michigan complicated by too many people staying home. That might trigger more hoarding. I’m considering whether I miscalculated. May be food will be scarce after all. My plan is to shop Monday morning, wonder what i’ll find.

(Scott) #209

I am seeing shortages in South Carolina but I feel that is mostly related to panic buying and hoarding. I have not done either and have enough to get by so I leave the rest on the shelf for others. We need to avoid getting sucked into this panic buying. If the distribution system is intact, and it is, we will have an ample supply.

I story I heard yesterday made me feel good. A shopper was able to find a case of TP and opened it. She removed one muli pack and was leaving the rest for others. When another women came and started to pick up the entire case she said “no”. She than stood guard over it and gave one to each person in need including the greedy woman until all was gone. That is how we need to behave to get through this.

#210

Word on the street is Michigan will be in complete lock down soon. Hubby took the rest of the day off work, and is picking up pet food for the doggies and kitty- just in case Tractor Supply closes. I’m gonna guess he will get some of his hay-making supplies as well, should this whole thing last longer than we think.

(charlie3) #211

I went to the local Kroger looking for a few items. No eggs, the important one. The meat counter was entirely empty (I wasn’t shopping for meat). Three other items were available. I was told eggs should be in stock today so I’ll go out again and check. Turns out I can probably extend shopping from every 10 days to every 12 but for that too work everything I’m looking for would need to be available otherwise I’m out more often anyway.

This was the first shoping since bars and restaurants, etc. were closed. So, use my hands, don’t touch my face. Fine, I did those but I get home, time to put the groceries away. Are the items contaminated? I wash a container of cream and the shrink wrap around some mushrooms. Do I wash the avecados? Will that work even if it’s needed? Driving home hands are on the steering wheel and controls. Am I supposed to clean all those every time I drive the car? Will that even work? I’m not optimistic about me or almost anybody being really effective at avoiding infection if you have to food shop or even if you don’t.

#212

As of midnight tonight, MI is closed. Given the way the numbers were progressing over the last few days, the gov could have looked at other similar states, projected how MI was going to go, and closed a few days earlier. My personal feeling is she wasted precious time.

As for shopping, I do it before or after work. In my work clothes. Then peel off my outer layers, throw them in the wash when I get home. I keep a big bottle of hand sanitizer in my car, and clean the stick and steering wheel. Lysol spray to disinfect. Just do the best ya can!

Heck ya, food is contaminated! Clorox wipes cans and bottles; wash all the produce, and wipe off meat packages.

#213

Charlie! I went through the same on the other side of the world. No eggs, we have to preorder them, as well as medication.

Presume the items have been touched by others.

I wore vinyl gloves to shop and packed the cloth shopping bag. Disposed of gloves before getting to car. I wipe car steering wheel, door handles and controls each trip. My car has never been so clean!

New gloves and off load items on kitchen bench. Remove packaging and dump it for things I can. Freezer will hopefully kill virus on other things. Clean all items before storage. Dump gloves. Shopping bag goes in washing machine.

I then remove my shopping clothes into washing machine direct lid open ready to go. We are washing clothes daily and drying them in sunshine. I have a soapy shower after heading out into the community.

I’m as clean as a courting teenager in a Doris Day film from the 1950s.

Staying home, taking these steps are not for me. I do it for my community to reduce risk to other people’s lives.

#214

Bureaucracies will always be slow to respond. Taking individual action and responsibility as you have is important and eventually the government will catch up, once they get rolling.

#215

I was able to get another pickup appointment at my local WM today. No need to even open the car window. They load from the back and I didn’t have to touch anything except when unloading the bags.

The loader said that their inventories are starting to build back and things are slowing down. He’s starting to see more staples and their delivery trucks have tripled.

I have been trying to pick up some canned veggies and was thrilled that they had canned green beans. When I got home I had 4 cans. Only problem is they were the mega size. Now, I have 24 lbs of green beans. It made for a much needed belly laugh.

#216

And then, at work today- had the misfortune of running into one of these:

‘Covidiot’: “A Dense Creature That Ignores Simple Instructions, Endangers Others”

Begging for a thermometer. Begging to put her on a list so that she could get the next available one. Not just to me, but to the pharmacist, the other technicians, the store mgr, then me. Like WTH? And why did she need one so desperately? “We just got back from NY. Our son is an INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST at XXXX hospital. He said we should monitor our temperatures.”

I told her 3-6 month wait. If you’re that desperate, go buy a meat thermometer at the grocery store or online. But Good Lord! On Senior Day…yes, let’s go out an infect the most frail of our community!
Damn. What the hell are people thinking?!

IMMEDIATELY after that encounter, I grabbed the Lysol, and did a “twenty-three nineteen” in the aisles, pharmacy, sprayed down the techs, and the whole area that covidiot walked!

Watch Monsters Inc if you don’t know what a “twenty three nineteen” is.:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#217

Just learned today in the UK higher weight is correlating with Covid19 intensive care admissions. Cant find it, dated today, here is the website. 25th talk is hiding somewhere.


I am a day ahead, maybe this one?

#218

So, our Gov. shut down the state on Monday. Stay home, stay safe, Shelter in place, etc. Only essential workforce allowed out. Not terribly difficult to understand, right? Or so I thought.

I’m at work today (feels so special to be considered "essential!), asked a customer, “Is there anything I can help you find?” Customer responds with, “OH no. Just killing time.”

A college kid comes in to use the ATM. Three friends follow. Meander around the store, buy NOTHING. Don’t need an Rx. No food. Nothing. Just wander for 20-30 minutes.

Gang of 5 kids come in, roam the aisles. Mgr. asks them if they need help finding anything. They just shrugged their shoulders. And, bless her cranky-don’t mess with me-soul…She explained “You DO realize that the city will issue each of you a $500 fine if you’re not a essential worker with a pass, don’t you?” They all left.

Salesperson to another customer: “What brings you out today?” Customer: “Nothing really. We just needed to get out of the house and do something.”

Another customer: “I’m not afraid of the damn virus. I drink a pint of blackberry brandy every evening!”
Me: " Rock on, man. That’ll pickle your liver and kill you before the virus does. " He bought chips and bag of candy.

My backchannels informed me of a co-worker who recently got back from a trip. She’s been working for at LEAST 2 days with a fever and sore throat. Told no one. Took meds so she could work and mask her synptoms. Ended up too sick today with fever and chills- so she stayed home. Gee thanks from all of us. Glad I had to Lysol the day before with the crazy thermometer beggar lady. Hope that killed all the co-worker’s germs, too.

I texted my husband, and warned him. When he gets home from his trip, I’m going to have a hand shaped bruise across my face- from all the times I face palmed today.

Going to munch on my raw ginger, then a douse of oreganoil, and whatever other homeopathic potion I can find. I’ve been taking my temp 2-3 times/day. Can’t even get up to 98F. So, no fever. Just really annoyed with abundance of local Covidiots. Grandpa said that all our snow would keep the riff-raff and idiots away. Guess we had an early melt.

#219

Oh my. I go out myself (no quarantine in my country at all, fortunately) but I don’t go into buildings with people… I just walk and even avoid streets, I know a nearby forest where no one ever goes, at least I never saw that. It will be full with primroses soon, I always go to see them in spring.
I will go shopping when I will badly need something. Not in the near future - except for meat as I couldn’t get it before, that probably will happen in the first half of April.
But I am not a really social person, it’s easier for me.

#220

So much for a “lockdown”, and only go out for “essentials”. I remain baffled at the number of grown adults who seem clueless about the meaning of "essentials’ and lockdown.

Doritos and jellybeans are not essentials. Don’t care how one might try to rationalize it, but they don’t qualify. Food or meds, yeah. TP and toothpaste? Sure. But, a squeezy toy? a chocolate bunny to munch on in the car? Nope. And, 7 days in a row, the same guy comes in, buys 1-2 items each time. Not perishables— and I am wondering why he can’t just get his shit together, buy everything at once, or use the drivethru- and stop this nonsense? Yet, when I left work yesterday, there were 13 cars in our tiny parking lot.

Today was another story. People were still out, but whoa! The police cars!!! State police EVERYWHERE. Pulling people over, checking to see where they were heading and why. 3 arrests last night at location where people hike…because they violated the gov’s orders. According to my kids, the police are at parks, walking trails, everywhere.
I had to drive my son home from dropping off his car for a repair early, and was not pulled over. We weren’t out shopping at all. Got a carryout lunch, went home and relaxed. Maybe, if the police appear to crack down a bit more, people will stay home. Maybe I should phone in, and asked them to screen people before they come in our store? =) Much more of this nonsense, and I might just do that. Grrr. Sorry folks, had to vent. Its been a stressful week.
Got another day off tomorrow, so, I’ll take care of housework. I just needed to relax today.

(Susan) #221

Please stay safe yourself too, because @Bubby1 has it now, and Aimee got it from working in a grocery store like you – it is scary =(.