I could’ve broken down and cried at the store on Wednesday. Not for myself, as much for the lack of compassion and empathy in the world today.
Don’t worry, on account of my disappointment and anger I held it in until much later in the day before the flood gates opened wide and I wept in the shower before laying down for bed. I hate it when that happens.
I saw a meme on Facebook that made me laugh and normalized what I experienced. You can take a peek at it here.
Here’s the deal, right here in this little town that I deeply love, people were so rude with their looks, sighs, and words as they saw me pushing around a cart full of food for my family of six.
I documented a bit of my experience through my Instagram Stories.
This is the very reason I typically shop out of town since our new grocery store opened because the judgment can be strong here. I’m telling you though, I’ve never experienced it the way I did this past week.
The world is being changed by this pandemic and as many good stories as we hear coming out of this, you’ve got to know there is still heartache. Keep reading those good stories though, because I’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking.
What I’m saying is, there are still lessons to learn here.
People are looking at each other as hoarders rather than neighbors and community members.
Simply understanding supply and demand would tell you that the problem we are facing in the grocery store is not a matter of hoarding. The limits of two-four canned items, toilet paper, etc. that some stores are implementing is actually making the problem worse, not better as some with only 1-3 people in their household might believe. It’s also causing families to enter the store more than once every two weeks, and some I’ve heard need to go daily to get the supplies needed for their family. These people never had to shop daily prior to this panic.
In the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, the governor of Iowa is suggesting to grocery shop once every two weeks, otherwise, stay home.
Stay.the.crap.at.home.
Okay, do you have any idea what two weeks of just produce alone looks like for a family of six?
At a conservative 6 servings a day (3 fruit + 3 veg) per person which is below the recommended guidelines, that’s 36 servings PER DAY for my family. For a visual, that looks like 18 small apples and 216 baby carrots (18 cups).
Take that times two weeks: 252 apples, & 252 cups of baby carrots.
I bought about 8 apples, two bags of potatoes, and a bundle of celery before the eyes got big around me.
I had four half gallons of milk in my cart because that’s how the lactose-free milk I buy is packaged. I bet if it’d been two full gallons instead it wouldn’t have caught attention.
Common sense is in shorter supply than toilet paper, start stalking up!
We only eat cereal on Fridays and occasionally a Sunday. I put 4 small boxes of Cheerios in my cart and a lady huffed at me. Legit, huffed!
Yes, by the end of my trip my cart was crazy full, BUT it still wasn’t enough food to feed 6 people for two weeks, and certainly not to feed them a well-balanced diet, despite my clipboard and well thought out list that I prepared ahead of time. My total was $179 if you’re curious.
PEOPLE, wake up. You are smarter and more kind than this. You’re being brainwashed into treating one another as the enemy here and that’s just not the case. You know better, now please, DO BETTER.
Tip: You can order your groceries online using Amazon Prime Pantry
Additional reading that I’ve found beneficial this week:
What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
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