Shortages

Day before yesterday I had to go to a local supermarket/pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Mom and picked up some of the items on my list. I was there about 1:00 PM, and the entire stock of paper goods (TP, facial tissues, paper towels) was gone. In the packaged meat section there was no beef or pork or lamb. There was a fair amount of chicken and I grabbed some, but I really wanted some ground beef and couldn’t get it.

The shipping companies have assured us that they plan to keep to their schedules, so I’m not sure whether this is hoarding by customers, a bottleneck between the docks and the distributors, or a glitch (shortage of truck drivers?) between the distributors and the stores.

All the local groceries have initiated “senior hours” for their older customers. The idea is that the most at-risk population can shop then without worrying about mingling with all the younger crowd which might carry the virus. I applaud the goal and plan to take advantage of it, but the times are generally the first hour after store opening, which is often 5:00 – 6:00 AM. I recognize the logic but wish it were more convenient. On the other hand, presumably the stores re-stock overnight; if they’ve got the stuff I need I have to get there before it sells out, so dawn is the best time.