Can’t get food ANYWHERE

[GaaaaarlicBread]

Husband and I don’t drive , my husband is however, currently having lessons and close to passing but that’ll be a couple of months away as his lessons have been cancelled .
Anyway besides the point, we have two supermarkets by us. An Aldi and a Tesco (Tesco is 40 min walk though and buses have been made less regular now). Neither store have any food, no exaggeration . I have been after work to aldi and husband has too (he finishes late so we thought they might have restocked but no).
We tried to order online last night- Ocado have suspended online shop as they have too many deliveries- Tesco, Asda, Morrison’s, Iceland and Co-op have zero slots until end of April. What do we do? Seriously? We have frozen bits from our last shop but nothing to last us more than a week.
I’m pregnant , so being extra cautious about going out other than work, my husband works shifts and we literally can’t get anything . We have loo roll , shampoo you know normal toiletries but food we have a bit of milk left , and a few tinned things and cous cous etc. A few people on here might say ‘why have you left it until you have nothing’ but we have been trying and trying and it’s getting worse because people are selfish and bulk buy unnecessarily. We both work for the nhs so work long days and this is just ridiculous .
We ended up buying nappies etc for baby even though I’m not quite half way through the pregnancy yet but every single shop is out of baby essentials too so we thought sod it we will get some in case it’s still like this in 4 or so months time.

Any ideas what we can do? Please be kind .

Sorry you are going through this too, it’s just an awful situation. Where are you based OP? people might be able to give you advice specific to your location or help signpost you to local services.

We are in the East Midlands @MedicoreOmens , it’s just madness especially when people are buying so much at once and leaving people who can’t get round as easy to get things from further away. We had a co-op near us but that’s shut down and turned into something else now and the buses are being cancelled shortly to town too. At a loss

Can you go in before work? Arrange with your supervisor if it means impacting your shifts.

Have you tried Milk & More?
Any farm shops or petrol stations near you ?
Corner shops?
There are online poundshop type businesses that may have tins and jars and try approved foods (short dated stuff)
Muscle foods might be worth a go, online delis too.

I think/hope things are going to change today because this is getting out of control with food now.

There’s another similar thread that suggests trying service stations, farm shops, Facebook groups and getting friends or family to shop for you.

Any family or friends drive? Can't they take you to a shop or get you some basics? Taxi to Tesco, get more than a few bags and book a slot for delivery asap.

Have a look at your local Facebook pages. There are lots of people offering to add things on to their online shops or picking up things for people who can’t reach the shops.

I’ve found that local smaller shops are much better stocked than the supermarkets too. Our local farm shop had lots in.

Also look on local FB pages, lots of cafes around here are ordering extra milk/veg etc and selling on to people who can't buy anything from shops

We’ve found that our local supermarkets are stocking up first thing in the morning then that’s it for the day. So if you have anyway of getting to your supermarket when it opens that should hopefully sort you out.

Have you got any local companies which deliver? For example I use an old fashioned green grocer which run a gritty I and veg delivery service. They also sell dairy items and bread, and their service is running as normal. Quality is better than supermarkets and priced are comparable.

things like Gousto (if you take a Thursday delivery day) mindful chef and hello fresh are good for evening meals and doing well keeping going at the moment

Ignore supermarkets and go to local, small independent shops. I’ve found ethnic stores and corner shops usually have decent stock. Restaurants are also selling produce - check your local ones Instagram pages.

You may have to change what you eat, but there’s plenty of recipes online for ingredients and at least you’ll be eating.

Do you have a local corner shop/smaller store? They seem to still be stocked where I am. Big petrol stations too have basics here e.g. bread, butter, milk etc. Do you have anyone you know who already has a delivery slot booked? I've added to mine for my friends parents. They live an hour away but we couldn't see any other way to get them food.
Im really sorry this is happening to you.

Thanks everyone . The supermarkets are crazy first thing , Aldi had a queue of over 60 people at 6am the other day (husband saw on his way to work) , like when the elderly queue up at birds before Christmas !
No other delivery services here. Family have offered , my friend took me to Asda the other day and the shelves were empty . Family are struggling too especially with elderly relatives .
I’ve never known anything like it I just feel so stuck. I’ll check out Muscle foods and the above suggestions to see if I have any luck. Thank you so much. My husband and I don’t have FB but might make one for this purpose !

Our corner shop has shut down recently for refurbishment 😕

If you're in the East Midlands OP, you'll definitely be able to find a box delivery scheme.

Do you have any friends who can keep an eye out? My best friend is pregnant and her husband is away at the moment with work; I've been buying bits and bobs for her whenever I've been somewhere. Over the course of a week have managed to get her enough food for a fortnight, although it's a bit of an odd mix but stuff she will eat.

Hmm I’m based in East Midlands too, luckily where I am I’ve found bits. Have you tried calling the vulnerable number, I think pregnant counts as well as older. Some food banks will deliver.

The stores near me have brought in rationing. I still couldn’t get baby milk or nappies in Aldi tho. I’m having to buy expensive pampers from local Tesco. It’s a pain you can’t drive :( as mostly you have to drive from shop to shop to find it all in small ones. Any friends that could help you out? X

Facebook has been really good where I live with the local town making a list of all shops that will deliver. Facebook is honestly invaluable for times like this.

Milk and More have a few bits but have sent out an email to all members saying they are incredibly busy and depending on where you are might not be able to take on new people.

Local farm shops tend to be delivering. Look at Google for your closest ones and call them.

Otherwise if you are super desperate as in going to starve, then you could call your local food Bank and see if they can help or point you in the direction of someone who can.

Shires in Hucknal usually does catering deliveries but are now open for domestic as well.
Have a look see if anything like that is near you.

You could try wholesale grocers too - the one my Dh works for usually supplies restaurants and schools but as the bottom has fallen out of that , they're doing box scheme

I think the problem is you have to get there early - by 'after work' even the fairly well shops near me are out of stuff. I know it's easier to say that than do it because you work long days, but on your next day off can one/both of you get up early and be at the shop when it opens. If you are pregnant and an NHS worker I am sure they will let you in even on the hours they are reserving for vulnerable/elderly people.

other than that, I know the online deliveries have stopped but a lot of them are still doing click and collect within a few days. Could you place an order for that and either get a taxi or a friend (or a bus route)to take you to the nearest bigger supermarket even if it is further away? You might get a few substitutions but at least you'll be near the shop to get some things too.

All the supermarkets are currently heavily recruiting so the online deliveries might open up again soonish.

Any friends/family you can ask to pick up a few things for you? Even work colleagues?

Any non-supermarkets by you? By me some of the little corner shops actually have more in. Particularly asian/polish shops or whatever.

Other than that do you have a local fb group/next door app? I'm sure if you explained you were working for the nhs and pregnant people would be more than happy to help you out.

Round our way there are lots of companies that usually supply restaurants, cafes etc advertising delivery services. Their usual customers aren’t ordering so they are delivering to the public. Might be worth looking on your local FB pages. Also round here it’s the small shops that have stock. Difficult if you don’t drive. Can you cycle?

On Facebook I've just seen a post that Tesco are opening an hour early for NHS staff. You might want to check it's true first but hopefully it is!

Yep you definitely need Facebook on this occasion - make yourself an account and search for the bane of your local town, there will bound to be a few groups.

On mine people are sharing where they can find certain items, advising best times for shops, offering food/delivery etc. Also look at the social media of your local pubs and restaurants, as PP said many may now be offering delivery. Butchers and greengrocers may have expanded their offerings, mine certainly have.

Google all shops within a certain radius of you; don’t just get a lift to a supermarket, if you can get another lift go to a smaller corner shop or petrol station, as suggested here.