Two food shopping trips a week?

[Coffee234]

Hi. I know this isn't a big issue.
Just wanted to see what people thought and what you will be doing.
I usually do one big click and collect shop and then a small (fruit and milk) shop a few days later. No chance of getting a click and collect slot and I'm thinking it should go to the more needy anyway.

So do you think one big shop and one little shop is ok with the current lockdown.
How are you going to plan you essential food shop now?
?

Sorry @32Qwertygert but you're being precious. Guinea pigs will not die without fresh fucking kale twice a week. And yes I have kept several healthy long-lived Guinea pigs over the years! As if their natural habitat is a kale plantation...
Man up, cut them some grass, give them a carrot.

In other news... stocks settling down in our supermarket today, so many less people in and largely on their own I'm pleased to say. Though I did have an interesting conversation with a lady who said she'd been to 'at least 10' shops in a week looking for tinned tomatoes...
Yes, 10x more exposure and virus spreading opportunities (face-palm! ) Rethink, people. Change your habits.
And still some oldies and disabled out - have a word or help them out, if you know who they are!

As a family of 5 with limits of 1 loaf of bread for example I think I will go 3 times a week

One rule - and the main rule - is to limit the time you spend outside your home.

Hope a couple of extra loaves of bread is worth risking your family’s life for. Alternatively, just do what thousands of others are doing -Go without the bread.

Hope you don’t pick up the virus in your quest for bread. Even more I hope you don’t pass it on to others who are minimising their time outside their home but have to shop for essentials - as per the rule!

As a family of 5 with limits of 1 loaf of bread for example I think I will go 3 times a week.

Like a PP said, why not just buy a loaf of bread, some bagels, some crumpets and some pitta? Or just have something different. You don't need bread. Eat something else.

@Queenbean - the supermarket I went to today wouldn’t let me do that. I’m shopping for us and DP’s parents as they’re confined to the house (elderly and health issues). I will need to go more than once per week due to the restrictions on what you can buy.

I tried to book a delivery for them online using my account but I couldn’t as I’m not vulnerable (have done this in the past when we’ve been on holiday) so didn’t qualify for a slot. I tried to register them but they’re not accepting new registrations.

I’m sticking to all the other regulations but I can’t see a way around the shopping at the moment.

@05voxnihili are you saying the supermarket you went to wouldn't let you buy several different bread type products e. g. Sliced bread, pittas, bagels? Not heard of that one, wouldn't be an issue at ours.

I've been living under a rock for a few years, well actually I've shopped at Lidl for years so the world of supermarket food delivery is unknown to me. So I gather all delivery slots are booked for weeks to come but I've just discovered there is such a thing as 'click and collect'. Is this booked up too? (Don't want to go through the palaver of registering if I'm wasting my time). And is it only Tesco? Thanks.

I couldn't get a click and collect slot for tesco but I think they are more easily available. Sainsburys do them to, not in every store but they are now saying that they will make arrangements for car park pick up in more stores to help.

I completely agree with shopping as infrequently as possible, but this is going to be really difficult if supermarket shelves are empty. If this continues people will end up having to go out more frequently and might even need to go to various supermarkets to get what they need.

@ACertainSupermarket - yes that’s correct. I was surprised. I knew there were restrictions on products (quite rightly given some of the panic buying) but it seemed they’d applied them across products. I also thought I could have two (very small) tins of beans and two of spaghetti but it was applied across the products.

I’m 100% behind the restrictions and prioritised shopping slots (online and in store) but it’s problematic when you’re shopping for others as well.

As a family of 5 with limits of 1 loaf of bread for example I think I will go 3 times a week.
Especially as we are eating every meal at home now.

This really isn't necessary. We are a family of four with two teenage boys.

You can buy bread, crumpets, wraps, bagels (hopefully flour at some point again).
I plan to go once a week.

Just a suggestion on reviving veg - some veg you can perk up by soaking in water for a bit. Works really well with carrots and parsnips when they start losing their firmness. I believe it works with other veg too. Bananas and apples should last nearly a week. Tinned peaches and pineapple are nice as desserts too. I think we just need to organise fresh things e.g. eat berries on the first few days, then things like grapes, then apples and bananas and finally tinned fruit on day 7 if everything else has run out.

I’ve moved my fruit bowl into the shade. It gets wolfed down usually so doesn’t get time to “turn”. However, if it’s to last, it needs to come away from the window/radiator.

I keep all my fruit in the fridge until i need it - lasts ages past the date. Ditto most veg especially potatoes.

@Waxonwaxoff0 I didn’t know fruit went in the fridge. All my veg dies, though. And bread is now frozen and removed per slice/unit, as needed.

There’s no way we can go for a week without a top up shop, especially now we’ve got two kids at home who seem to be eating more than the adults!

The only thing (in terms of fruit and veg) that we don't keep in the fridge is tomatoes. bananas go in a banana bag thing in the fridge when ripe and last for at least a week if not more (usually they are eaten by then!) Skin changes colour but banana is fine inside. If you have fruit that is becoming too ripe (or is on the cusp when you buy it) the fridge will stop it ripening any further.

We have 4 large adults (3 tall men (18 & 19)) and I can manage for a week depending on what is available.

I can’t imagine shopping less than four times a week. Supermarkets are out of essentials and no deliveries, so have to use a variety of local shops which is preferable anyway. Bakers, veg shop, corner shop, butchers/fishmongers.

But when we’re all traipsing round, shop to shop, to get basics, isn’t that incredibly dangerous? Last Thursday, I kept seeing the same faces in the 3 main supermarkets I tried.

Shop alot here as teens keep eating. All off at moment. Sometimes stock low shop so end up going next day. Aldi beside office get few bits there. They just keep munching when they home

Even in China people were allowed out to shop every 3 days. It isn't unreasonable to go more than once a week. But do you best to go as infrequently as possible.

There is no hard and fast answer to this. It depends on what's available (or rather not available) when you get there and also how many people you are shopping for. If you can do it all in a once a week shop - fine. If not, the try to keep trips to as few as possible. We are getting by with one food shop a week topped up with milk runs (can't get milk in large quantities and we're being rationed to one 4 pint carton a trip here - usually get three three times that a week).

In normal times my big shop is by delivery and then I go midweek to get milk, fruit and veg. I'll carry on getting a delivery - got a vulnerable person in the household and I've had the Sainsbury's email, but I will still have to get milk midweek so I'll go to my Sainsbury's Local at around 7am, should be okay.

As a previous poster said,if you don't drive (yes I know that it is an unforgivable sin on MN) you will probably need to do 2 trips a week. I use a trolley and can get a maximum of 5 days supplies in before I risk breaking it,or not being able to lift it on and off the bus.

"Why do you need a second fruit and milk shop? Both those items will last a week. Just buy enough."

What planet do you live on? I couldn't get the basics like milk, bread, toilet roll and fruit either on my online shop or at my local small shop. I'm assuming you 'buying enough' is one of the reasons I can't even get enough for a few days.