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Stockouts, panic buying, and how you cook...

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
We ran out of milk yesterday. That kind of upset our younger son who likes hot chocolate for breakfast drink every morning, and it's not the same made with just water. But he still gets his 2-egg bacon-&-cheese omelette and pancake every day, so ... "first world problems". Our egg supply will last a week or so at least.

We'll run out of fresh vegetables first, after milk, and then eggs. We still have a good supply of food, just not everything we are used to or would prefer on a daily basis. So ... it's an inconvenience, not a crisis, in our food supply. We had modest supplies to begin with, and we did stock up more when this thing was coming over the horizon.

My Great-great-great Grandmother lost her husband and fled the Irish potato famine back in the 1840s with her eight children in tow. When I think of what they must have gone through ... I'm not complaining about running out of just milk and toilet paper!!
Yep, they had tough times. Ireland produced a lot of food, but it was mostly sold to wealthier English customers. The famine was generated by greed at the expense of the relatively poorer Irish person.
 
Learned something today. It was seeming like the generic lower priced groceries were in much shorter supply than the same products in “name brand“ configuration. Turns out that the generic goods possibly qualify for WIC; a lot of the higher end products although the same...don’t.
Lots of people who depend on those benefits will shop for the upcoming weeks as sometimes the scheduled receipt of WIC vouchers can vary I am told.
With that in consideration I now shall be mindful of what I buy in the market. I plan to refrain from buying the generic products when at all possible and leaving them on the shelves for others. I humbly suggest anyone here who possibly could do so..
think of doing the same.
 
Passover shopping has been a real doozy this year. Passover is a PITA even under normal circumstances, since you basically have to completely replace everything you want to eat for a week with Passover-certified versions (that are usually lower quality and often sold in sizes way bigger than one would need for an 8-day holiday), but this year we had trouble finding some pretty basic things, like eggs, and the kosher meat mail-order company we usually order from was sold out of just about everything we wanted. And to top it off, the one nice thing about Passover, the Seders, isn't so much a thing this year because of social distancing.

Then again, compared to a lot of points in Jewish history, this is positively luxurious, so I guess in the big picture there's only so much to complain about. And it is a good excuse to stock up on half-sour pickles and gefilte fish.
 
Yep, they had tough times. Ireland produced a lot of food, but it was mostly sold to wealthier English customers. The famine was generated by greed at the expense of the relatively poorer Irish person.

That seems to be a common theme of a lot of famines, especially in 19th Century Europe...it's not that there was no food, just no cheap food. Having plenty of, say, meat around doesn't do you much good if you can only afford potatoes.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
That seems to be a common theme of a lot of famines, especially in 19th Century Europe...it's not that there was no food, just no cheap food. Having plenty of, say, meat around doesn't do you much good if you can only afford potatoes.
Indeed.
 
We ran out of milk yesterday.

The day I put this thread up I noted the cream was all gone. Later in the week all the dairy was gone and has been sporadic ever since. Powdered milk gone too but surprisingly even today condensed & evaporated milk remain in good supply. I have no use for condensed but evaporated I do.

Read a book years back about an Aussie that moved out into the Pacific and set up a home on one of the islands. He would always get evaporated milk with his supply drop along with flour etc. so he could make biscuits, bread, and have milk in his tea. You only mix it up as you need it. I mentioned this to a boat owner I know and he looked at me as one would a slow child; "Welcome to the party.". In other words, evap milk a staple of boat owners too I discovered.

My wife puts cream in her coffee and evap a good sub for it. I use milk when I bake and you add water to evap 50/50 to approximate fresh milk. Might be an option for you with hot chocolate. I've stopped buying fresh milk (not much choice really) and am coming to prefer evap as you use it when you need and leave it on the shelf when you don't. I can see powdered milk filling the same role.
 
I'm eating weird stuff. Whatever I can find. Since our cases doubled in one day, really don't feel like going out.

Cheese grits with chopped up chicken breast was actually very good. Might be a thing some day.

Yesterday's Hormel sausage hash and applesauce, not so sure ...

The above sounds like every Boy Scout overnight I went on with my son, dinners & breakfasts. Whatever there was turned into stewage w/ some variants quite good. Others though best left at campsite, never spoken of again.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
With that in consideration I now shall be mindful of what I buy in the market. I plan to refrain from buying the generic products when at all possible and leaving them on the shelves for others. I humbly suggest anyone here who possibly could do so..
think of doing the same.

I noticed the same thing a couple of weeks ago, so that's also what I did. I consciously went for a premium option for staples (eggs, cooking oil, etc.) so as to leave the less expensive options on the shelf for someone. WIC or not, some folks have to count pennies right now. It won't make any significant difference to my living whether I spend an extra $1 or so on a bottle of cooking oil or a dozen eggs, but it may very well make a difference to someone else.
 
Allready stocked for the big run (it helps when your mum was in the hunger winter and she remembers from her mum what to buy first)
But after the big run it is a bit stabilized now and most of everything is there (at a price because those are up).
 

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The Instigator
The above sounds like every Boy Scout overnight I went on with my son, dinners & breakfasts. Whatever there was turned into stewage w/ some variants quite good. Others though best left at campsite, never spoken of again.

I'm just back from the once-weekly grocery trip.

It's wierd out there ... Masks and jumpy people.

We had four cases and two deaths here in this tiny town. I get it.


AA
 
In my county in the pacific northwet we are up to 175 deaths (262 state wide)

Been a week or so since I have gone to the store but as long as I was flexible I was able to pick up dairy and get my favorite brand of milk for espresso drinks and making yogurt. Bread seems to have returned and was able to pick up a loaf. A full selection of fruit/veggies was available. As a unexpected bonus there was seafood so grabbed some halibut and shrimp on sale and picked up some other meat so I should be fine for the next few weeks. Didn't check the egg aisle as my chickens and ducks are going crazy and laying more than I can use.

Recently I have been working on rolling one meal into another. For example: cook a roast and have for dinner; slice and use next day for sandwiches and salads; Chop the remains and add some leftover chicken and make some chili.

With my surplus of eggs, I have been making fritata, quiches, and scrambles quite often as well. I can't wait for my vegetable garden to get going.

Ruckin.
 
I don't like walking into establishments - even with ppe. I have been venturing out though and found out from a Whole Foods email that they open an hour early for those 60 plus. Tried it one morning and there were maybe half a dozen people outside waiting for them to open (I like to arrive early). I now get good eggs, sugar less bacon, and beef marrow bones for broth. I see they have beef heart but I have no recipe.

Routine stuff that's closer, is Albertson's or Smith's. Don't really want to walk into Smith's (my choice) since they have a long line before they open. Walmart I won't go to. I did start pick up orders at Smith's for routine stuff. Schedule pick up day / time and park in one of the marked stalls, call, and they bring out your order. First 3 orders had no charge (I think the charge is 4 bucks and change or somesuch). First order was 12 cans of wild caught salmon - I got three. Second order also was 50 pct partial - 1 kitty litter tub. Last order I got everything - saran wrap, two steaks, and two packs of calves liver. The lady said this is the first time she'd seen someone get a hundred percent of their order. I now have some dental floss and Bragg apple cider vinegar in my cart and will add some things later.

Walk ins, I wear a mask and gloves. I handle the cart by pulling the front, not touching any handles. I carefully remove my gloves and mask in the car so I don't contaminate any controls / steering wheel. I try not to handle the money or receipts or bags too much but sometimes I need duct tape to keep my head from exploding...
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
This morning, I did my first trolley jousting session since this whole fiasco took off. Got everything I went in there for, plus a couple of semi-impulse buys (planned to buy something, but didn't know what). I should be good now for another two to three weeks.

I've no decent mask, so had to make do with a Buff folded double, and had some rubber/plastic coated work gloves on. I got in on the elderly and vulnerable hour, and it was fairly drama free. Most people were observing the social distancing one-way system, but there were a few "hard of thinking" individuals who disregarded it. Keeping a sensible distance was still relatively easy though. The closest proximity was probably with the girl on the till, and the driver of the taxi back home.

I've easily got dried and tinned food for the month, plus some mushrooms, beetroot and bananas to dehydrate. The fresh veg will be frozen in the form of home made ready meals, and that will take up the remaining space in the freezer. 7-day quarantine to complete for having left the house (my own self-imposed rule), and the only other thing I might need this month is some more vape juice. Till then, it's comfy slippers time.
 
A visit to the local Walmart and the regional chain market in my burg revealed more "out of stocks" than usual yesterday. Then a dude at the barbershop said he saw shortages of some food and sanitary items are showing up. Told my neighbor this last night, and he said his brother-in-law, who is in the food distribution business, was buying half a beef and a hog, along with dressed chickens, frozen turkeys, lunch meat and cheese, plus a few months of non-perishable food. He mentioned the B-I-L was getting prepared before the next wave of food shortages hits. The B-I-L is convinced the SHTF pretty soon from what he has seen out in the field with his job. Here we go again?
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
A visit to the local Walmart and the regional chain market in my burg revealed more "out of stocks" than usual yesterday. Then a dude at the barbershop said he saw shortages of some food and sanitary items are showing up. Told my neighbor this last night, and he said his brother-in-law, who is in the food distribution business, was buying half a beef and a hog, along with dressed chickens, frozen turkeys, lunch meat and cheese, plus a few months of non-perishable food. He mentioned the B-I-L was getting prepared before the next wave of food shortages hits. The B-I-L is convinced the SHTF pretty soon from what he has seen out in the field with his job. Here we go again?
I sure hope not. We have ALWAYS been stocked for a month, including baking our bread if needed.

This year we have canned way more veggies than normal, freezer is stuffed, but I just don't like seeing and hearing about folks less prepared than us, either through misfortune or poor planning. Sad days my friends.

We don't need a repeat of early 2020.
 
I sure hope not. We have ALWAYS been stocked for a month, including baking our bread if needed.

This year we have canned way more veggies than normal, freezer is stuffed, but I just don't like seeing and hearing about folks less prepared than us, either through misfortune or poor planning. Sad days my friends.

We don't need a repeat of early 2020.
After the last few months my wife is finally seeing why it’s a good idea to make the efforts to set aside or prepare things for possible hard times. After 4 years, she’s finally interested in learning about my 1941 pressure canner so we can make meatloaf, soups and stews that will have a decent shelf life and not take up freezer space.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
After the last few months my wife is finally seeing why it’s a good idea to make the efforts to set aside or prepare things for possible hard times. After 4 years, she’s finally interested in learning about my 1941 pressure canner so we can make meatloaf, soups and stews that will have a decent shelf life and not take up freezer space.
I am blessed beyond measure in the wife department, and she enjoys (puts up with) my company in the kitchen. Both of us had parents that really enjoyed preserving food, but we are each the only ones of our siblings that caught the canning bug.

Our present canner was a gift from a friend and it's an old Presto from 1969 or so. Works really well.

Funny enough, the last one was a gift as well but it just kept going through seals. It did last us 20+ years!
 
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