The Household Executive order from an earlier Pandemic Pantry post has not been allowed to expire. The order however was amended. The following is the Amended Household Executive Order for grocery shopping:
“You are now allowed to go to more than one store per week so long as I need or want something that you cannot find at a single store. You no longer have to shop with the old people and are permitted to go at times when store traffic isn’t busy. You will continue to wear a mask and keep your distance from everyone else in the store. You may wander up and down the aisles like you usually do. You will not shower before going. When you come back you will wash your hands for 20 seconds then put the groceries away. Disinfect the items you think need disinfecting. The plastic bags will not be recycled. They will go into the garbage. You will then go into the laundry room where you will strip down and put your clothes into the washing machine. Then and only then you go to our bathroom to decontaminate (and don’t use my bar of soap, use your body wash).”
The grocery store was less of a scavenger hunt this week. There were still some empty shelves but I managed to buy most of the items on my list. With all of the supply chain issues still ongoing I didn’t know what to expect. Here are my observations from this morning. Bear in mind your specific locale may be a lot different.
- Toilet paper and paper towels were back in stock (limited brand choices and limited supply).
- Cleaners and disinfectants aisle was empty.
- Meat was plentiful. Those creepy scary pictures of empty meat cases you see online? That was not a problem here.
- Fresh fruits, vegetables, bagged salads all in good supply (except zucchini and I wanted some zucchini).
- Frozen french fries were available (another internet horror story of shortages).
- Dairy, cheeses, eggs absolutely well stocked.
Retails prices on meat are creeping upwards. So while the supplies are plentiful I picked up a few extra items for the freezer. Last week I found frozen turkeys for $0.49 a pound so I have a ten pound bird in the freezer. Here is my Pandemic Pantry Freezer Supply:
- The turkey
- Three or four loaves of garlic bread (one might be five cheese bread)
- Rolls
- Several loaves of whole grain bread
- Two deep dish pie shells
- Spinach and potato pirogies
- Spinach and cheese ravioli
- Cheese tortellini
- Corn, peas, spinach, butternut squash
- Two packages ground turkey
- Chicken breasts
- Two packages top blade beef
- Two small sirloin steaks
So now between the canned/dried pantry items, freezer items, and fresh finds when found we should be OK even if the excrement hits the rotating blades. I can shop at two stores a week. I had already bought some items at my first allowed grocery stop two days ago (because someone in the house tosses dairy on the expiration date and we needed ice cream).
I’ve been even more diligent about keeping my food waste low since the pandemic started, since our visits to the grocery store are few and far between. So when I was taking stock of what was on hand the other day, the puzzle pieces started to move into place in my head…
It’s comforting to know your thoughts are shared by others during the Greater Depression. I have definitely reduced the amount of food waste in our household. Shopping trips for grocery items are definitely reduced in number and some trips will be bountiful while other trips less so. Nice to know I’m not the only cook who stares at “the puzzle pieces” to figure out what to make.
garyskitchen.net 