Shopping for critical supplies during COVID-19
Philadelphia— As news of the novel coronavirus outbreak spread across the U.S. stores saw Black Friday style crowds emptying shelves of toilet paper, beans, flour, and other essentials. This practice of what has come to be known as “panic shopping” may worsen as cities and states establish stay-at-home orders this week. The fear-driven desire to stock up for an unknown amount of time in isolation is understandable, but unrealistic and ultimately harms the greater community. People who can only buy certain food through program like WIC may be left with little to nothing to choose from. Older folks who cannot shop around due to mobility issues may leave the store without something they need. And system-wide, dramatic changes in consumer behavior like wiping out a store in one day puts a strain on the food supply chain.
It is crucial for the public to follow the orders to stay home so that cities and states can flatten the curve to avoid overloading the healthcare system. However, food shopping is permitted and encouraged to stay healthy during this time. Consumers should strike a balance between getting what they need for a significant amount of time eating at home, and limiting the number of trips made to the store to avoid contact.
This requires making a thoughtful and strategic grocery list so you can shop efficiently once in the store and ensure you don’t forget something you absolutely can’t live without (or think you can’t) while in quarantine.
Foods that Keep
Frozen fruits and veggies have the same amount of nutrients, but will last longer than fresh. Canned or dried beans and legumes are nutritious and can be made into a ton of different soups and stews. Stock up on your preferred cooking broth: vegetable, chicken, or beef. Dried pasta is always a good bet, since it can be a delicious meal on its own or added to soup or stew. You probably already have a few cans of tuna, salmon, or sardines, but if you like canned fish this can be a great way to liven up a salad, sandwich, or pasta dish.
Foods that Don't
It’s great to get some of your favorite dairy products like milk, eggs, yogurt, and hard cheese. When storing these products, keep them on the shelves in your refrigerator rather than in the door; they’ll stay fresh longer in the cooler part of the fridge. You can still get your greens in during this time. Opt for harder veggies like broccoli, brussel sprouts, or cauliflower. Carrots stored in the fridge and potatoes stored on the counter are versatile and can last for weeks.
To Stay Happy and Healthy
Make working from home a little more enjoyable with easily storable snacks like nuts, dark chocolate, popcorn, olives, pickles, and pretzels. This time is a great chance to eat less meat, but if you want the occasional nibble then dried meat like jerky or dry cured sausage can liven up your snack game.
To Care for your Little Ones
If you have babies or toddlers in the house, make sure to get baby formula, a good variety of baby food or other simple food you can make for them.
And your Furry Friends
Get your pet’s favorite wet or dry food to avoid having them get too used to indulging in your human food leftovers.
Prepare the Medicine Cabinet
No need to go overboard here, but it is important to have the essentials to get through a typical cold or virus. If you have kids, get some children’s fever reducer. Other items that are important to have on hand are your usual multivitamins, ibuprofen or tylenol, any allergy medicines you usually take, cough medicine like dayquil, and hand soap. If anyone in your household uses menstrual health products, check that you have one or two cycles worth of supplies. Yes, you should get toilet paper but remember that the country isn’t actually experiencing a shortage; it only appears so when people panic buy in bulk.
