I was watching a video with 5 tips on "staying COVID-19 free while grocery shopping" and one of the tips was:

Avoid unnecessary trips. Buy enough groceries for 2-3 days. Don't just buy enough groceries for 1-2 meals.

This is was a video aimed at millions of people. WHO DOES THIS? Is anyone that stupid?

2-3 days? I buy enough MILK, FRESH VEGETABLES and HIGHLY PERISHABLE FOODS for 1 week. When it comes to canned goods I prefer to have 12-18 months worth. Tortilla chips last 3 months, so I try to keep 2 months' worth on hand. Why have (1) 4 lb. bag of sugar on hand when you can have 10? And so on.*
If I could grocery shop ONCE A MONTH I would. But we don't live off canned goods, so...

What is wrong with people? Their lives are so empty they don't know what to do with themselves if they have to stay home? They have to go to the grocery store to "improve their mood" and thus avoid committing ѕυιcιdє? They can't handle the "regular" lines and want to keep their cart under the 15 item limit for quick-checkout? Give me a break!



* And no I'm not hoarding. I hoarded once in 2006 and since then, I just purchase what we consumed :)
Yes I buy a lot of groceries, but I spent $1500 a month (about 3 full grocery carts per week) on groceries *before* the virus.
I've only purchased (2) 4-count rolls of toilet paper since February. I am entitled to buy more than that, as a family of 10, without being considered a "hoarder".
Oh, and those 10 people stay at home 24/7 -- no work, school, etc. to reduce the TP load.

//They can't handle the "regular" lines and want to keep their cart under the 15 item limit for quick-checkout? //

OK I know this isn't everyone, but for autistic people this could legitimately be a concern.  I've legitimately gotten stressed out standing in wal mart lines, lol

The last time I stepped into a grocery store, or any box store, was two weeks ago.  Probably will go another two weeks.  But then again, we did stock up in anticipation.  If/when we do need to shop again, it will be only me, I'll most likely be suited with a mask, protective glasses and gloves, and will go in, get what I need, them come back out.

One of the BBQ guys I follow on YouTube is Harry Soo.  Not saying that I would, at this point, feel comfortable going into a box store like Walmart, but he does a decent job of taking at least some precautions.  The one thing I would definitely do differently, is wash everything out in the garage before bringing it in the house.

What is wrong with people? Their lives are so empty they don't know what to do with themselves if they have to stay home? They have to go to the grocery store to "improve their mood" and thus avoid committing ѕυιcιdє?

I was talking to a friend today from work, his wife still working at the local Walmart by his house. She tells him, the same people come in EVERY SINGLE DAY. And sometimes don't even buy anything, but walk around the store for hours. Like a bunch of mall zombies, totally freaking insane. The people in America  just don't know what to do with their selves and they will walk head-on to this virus like a runaway freight train. This country was tailor made to be taken out on a bio-attack.

They can't handle the "regular" lines and want to keep their cart under the 15 item limit for quick-checkout? Give me a break!

I'm one of those guys, I can't handle lines either. Well, really it's people, I don't like the  people in those lines.


And yes, I head for the self-checkout or short list line. I get it, you have a big family, God bless you. When my kids were younger, I had cart fulls myself. but I would get to the market at least 6 in the morning, get in early, get it done and get the hell out, that's how I did it for years and still do. but most people don't have that discipline.



Another thing. I can live on a few basic items  like eggs, fruit, oatmeal, rice, beans and water. I don't need a fancy cuisine every night like it's the last supper. I've worked construction for over thirty years, I literally lived on peanut butter and jelly at break time. One thing I do need is coffee, I'll admit.


Problem in america is we have way too many choices. Well, we used to anyway.


CV is going to teach a lot of people to reel it in and live on less. Americans need a good lesson in humility.

Many residents of big cities shop for at least some foods daily. When working, I live in NYC in a rented room.  I have no refrigeration and very basic “cooking” facilities, a hot plate, toaster oven, crock pot, electric kettle.  So no, we can’t store meat, dairy, or produce, especially not in warm weather.  In winter, I sometimes hang items in a bag outside the one window.  Water comes from the bathroom.
Not everyone lives in a private family home with a bathroom, kitchen, and, appliances.  Many city dwellers don’t own cars, either.  Try carrying 2-3 week’s worth of groceries on the bus, subways, or in a cab!  The latter is a little easier, but expensive, and where do you put the others while you’re carting 2-4 bags up three flights of stairs?  Leave them in the doorway, they’ll be gone when you return.  If you are wealthy, you just order everything and have them carted up in the elevator by the doorman.
If you have a bicycle, motorcycle, or electric scooter, two week’s worth won’t work.    Another factor is lack of storage.  I can’t imagine where I’d keep a 2-3 week food supply!  I can see you’ve never lived in a NYC studio apartment or rented room situation.  

Thank you, Sarephina, for reminding me why I never have a desire to live in a city.

I live ten miles outside a city whose population is around 22,800...and even it is too crowded for me.  I cannot imagine living in New York.

Well said. Big city life (no cars, small studio apartments in 100-story high-rises, only small grocery stores available, all of which are within walking distance) is about as foreign an existence to me as living in Africa -- or on Mars. And I have about as much desire to live there!

Seriously, I would rather live in a 50-year old dilapidated trailer, jobless, living off welfare, than live in NYC in a studio apartment. You couldn't force me into such a situation. Sounds like a fate worse than death to me. While I admit it's impossible to prepare for everything, nevertheless the big cities always take the full brunt of any disaster. If the grocery stores shut down for as little as 1-2 days, there would be rioting, fires, and murder all over the place. Also, the liberals, leeches, degenerates, and uncivilized types concentrate in the big cities. No thanks.

I have been stunned to learn during this lockdown about how many people make all kinds of unnecessary/superfluous trips for many reasons:  being disorganized/inefficient, having compulsive habits, being bored (shopping out of boredom), wanting "human interaction," etc.  Such people seem to have never done anything but that, and thus they are unable or unwilling to adjust to a New Normal.  

It's obviously just common sense to limit trips during a situation like this.  (Fewer trips, less exposure -- simple math.)  But for people who lack common sense, local authorities and daily (ad nauseam) news conferences leave no doubt:  they're providing the direction for you.

While overly-frequent trips are troubling, much more shocking to me is what I have also learned about America's eating habits, including their willingness to increase their exposure (through pick-ups, deliveries, and the food itself) by continuing to rely on take-out food.

I'm sorry, I don't understand:  I am not assuming that most people are gourmet cooks or glued to The Food Network, or anything like that.  But how difficult can it be to open a can of soup, pour it into the soup pot, and heat it on the stove top?  In my area -- an area that prides itself on culinary arts, from simple to advanced, and for all classes of people, it would seem that more than half of the local population nevertheless considers frequent (more than 2-3 times/week) trips to pick up prepared food to be "essential activity." 

I am much more understanding if one or both parents is working away from home.  But in these current cases when in many households both parents (and all of their children) are home because of work and school closures, why would it be necessary, let alone "mandatory," to buy prepared food? 

Also, of course, sold out, is anything frozen and prepared.  What is not being bought is/are fresh ingredients:  meat to cook, vegetables, and fruit.  What did the U.S. population do before "the pandemic?"  They all ate in restaurants and had never cooked before?

The third surprising trend is what's missing on the shelves -- besides (still) toilet paper:  junk food.  Good luck finding popcorn or most chips.  Combined with all the people enigmatically flocking to beaches and other recreation areas, did America decide that the job & school closures amount to paid vacations?  (Sorry, didn't hear that one on the news -- nothing about paid vacations).  If you're assigned to work at home, you interpret that as an opportunity to Par-TEE with all you've got, including at home in front of the tube, stuffing your face with junk food?  It seems like a bizarre response to worldwide illness.  Is this massive denial, or what?

Prior to being quarantined, my parents would go grocery shopping almost every day.  They live in town, one block away from a grocery store, so it was easy for them to just say “I’m walking to the store to get chicken for dinner” or something like that.  They wouldn’t buy a lot of stuff every day, but typically only regularly kept food in the house for breakfast and lunch, and would shop for dinner ingredients almost daily.  That’s changed now, of course.