To be fed up with shop shamers on here

[MonaLisaDoesntSmile]

Firstly, please dont think I encourage people going out three times a day to get some chocolate or ice cream or whatever. The guidance is clear to go as infrequently as possible (although unlike some people think, it's NOT to go shopping once a week or fortnight). However, the amount of people saying stuff along the lines - your shopping is not essential/ we did it, therefore everyone else can do it/you don't need this or that/ you can make your own bread* (whatever other item) is a bit shocking. In times when empathy is particularly important too.

So just to say, the reason while some people cannot just go out to shop once a month like you:

• some people have multiple food allergies and/or have limited diet, making shopping and finding the items needed more difficult.
• some shops around are not well stocked as those in other areas and essentials are not always available the time they go shopping
• not everyone has an industrial size fridge and freezer. I for one have no space to freeze 4 gallons of milk or 2 loafs of bread
• not everything people may need freezes well
• some delivery shops offer fresh produce which expire quickly. Our only delivery which we managed to sort out over the last two weeks had everything expiring within 2/3 days, with the bread expiring the next day, not a week like we hoped, we were not able to freeze all the stuff we wanted either. My two local small shops are notorious for selling fruit and veg which lasts 2-3 days is we're lucky
• not everyone had an amazingly stocked pantry before, nor space to buy a lot of items with long shelf life
• one's person essentials are not the same as other people- the fact someone do not consider something as essential does not mean it is also not essential for other people and the other way round
• not everyone has a car and can do a huge shop infrequently
• not everyone has an amazing support network
• not everyone is lucky to have enough money to make one big shop a fortnight
• not everyone has local shops which deliver to your doorstep- we have nothing in our area, no butchers, no corner shops do home deliveries so we depend on ourselves having to go out and actually hope we can buy what we need
• not everyone has equipment, know how and/or ingredients to make lets say bread or whatever else people think you can magically whip up on the spot.
• some people do not have a great support network, and asking strangers to do a huge shop is not always possible

I'm sure there are other reasons too, we all have different needs.

I think isntead of shouting at others that they dare to go out shopping, maybe lets just accept that without knowing the circumstances it may be best not to judge? Everyone is doing their best with what we have.

I wouldn't make a special trip out for a 'non-essential' but once I've gone out for milk or whatever (not that anything really is an essential), why does it matter if I buy an Easter egg and some pringles too? I genuinely don't understand why anyone would have an issue and I'm a very lockdown-abiding person!

Ah yes. The Shopping Stasi who can't remotely believe that anyone has different circumstances to them. The 'just get a taxi and shop in bulk' brigade. They can kindly (but socially distantly) kiss my arse.

I shop safely and sensibly but if my basket contains a bottle of wine or bar of chocolate it will.

God yes. So many people who think you shouldn't be allowed any kind of pleasure at the moment and how dare you buy some chocolate or gin at the same time as your buy your "essentials" because don't you know we're IN A PANDEMIC.

So much unpleasant holier than thou behaviour on here right now. it's pretty disgusting and thankfully I don't see it at all in real life.

This morning my daughter went to do a supermarket shop for herself and her flatmate, who is a hospital doctor in London. I asked her to get him an Easter egg on my behalf. I hope no one would begrudge him, or any other NHS worker, a simple treat. I think it will be appreciated more than a clap by those who are responsible, either directly or because of they way they voted, for the underfunding of the NHS.

Deux I'll see your easter eggs and raise you 6 unicorn cup cakes.

OMG PEOPLE WILL DIE!!!1!

I bought nothing but two packets of biscuits and some ferroro rocher on Monday. This was because I’d gone to my local small supermarket on my way home from my shift at work (key worker according to government but not as far as the keyworker slots in shops are concerned) I wanted milk, bread, eggs and soap (for the school as we are running out) - there were none of those things available. No fruit, no veg, no dairy products at all. So I bought some treats for me and my colleagues - it’s not my fault that at 4pm on a Monday the store had been cleared out of all essential items.

Well I have sometimes made my own bread, but only because I enjoy doing so. We dont have a breadmaker, but a kneed tool on my mixer.
However, the last time DH went shopping, he could only find wholemeal bread flour and the results were not as good.
Frankly, if people dont buy the bread in the shops, it will be wasted.
I have not been stockpiling, but just before the lockdown, we bought some lentils, and some dried milk.
We have since the lockdown bought a couple of Easter Eggs. I expect by now, they will have been reduced, because they will be wasted if not bought.

Those with large families must have to shop more often, if the shops are limiting how much of anything you can buy. Our local Tesco is saying only two bread items per shop - if your house has lots of children in it, how are two loaves going to last a week, let alone a fortnight?

I agree. I went yesterday afternoon. Shop was bare. No eggs, ketchup etc. Two of my family have food allergies no GF flour or pasta for them. Plus I could only get two small milks so will have to go out again in a few days. I really didn't enjoy it and would prefer not to but I'm pregnant and need to eat as do my Young's dcs!

This - we had a local shop worker who got increasingly vitriolic on a local facebook page about what people were buying to the point I was avoiding going near the place in case my essentials were not essential enough

One of the workers in our local co-op was posting stuff like this all over Facebook too

Shaming someone for buying a bunch of flowers while they were in there buying loo roll and stuff like that.

I wouldn’t make a special trip out for non-essentials but see no harm in buying stuff if I’m already in a shop.

We had an ASDA delivery at the weekend but all the pet food was out of stock. The nearest shop that sells big boxes of cat food (I have 2 cats, the small boxes that you can buy in the local co-op lasts about 2 days) is The Range - while I was in there, I bought some paint so I can paint my dining room ceiling

@LoveLongLife maybe some of us can buy a weeks worth of groceries at an Off-licence

@kilisibird

It’s not essential to go out to a supermarket every day just to pick up a newspaper. Fine if its a local shop and on the route of your daily excercise but some people are still not grasping the “stay at home” message unfortunately.

I can't understand why some people think we need to suddenly be on wartime-like rations and eat completely differently from normal. If you normally stick some Jaffa cakes in the trolley then stick some Jaffa cakes in the trolley now. We haven't got to go without nice things! I've heard people asking for ideas/help with cooking stuff like lentils and spam because they've never cooked with them before but have to now because of lockdown! It's not the bloody hunger games. If people just shopped and ate sensibly there'd be more than enough for everyone and, as a PP has said, they wouldn't have to visit three or four different shops in the hope of finding everything they need.

I don't blame shop workers for being annoyed at people taking the piss with scratch cards and newspapers. It's multiple people, every day, increasing the risk of catching it, for something that is absolutely not essential.

Your want for a wee "dander to the shops" is not more important than the health of others.

However, buying non essentials with a shop is absolutely fine.

@chocolateisavegetable

@LoveLongLife maybe some of us can buy a weeks worth of groceries at an Off-licence

Really? Even loo roll?!!!😂

I can't understand why some people think we need to suddenly be on wartime-like rations and eat completely differently from normal.

Because some people are just utterly miserable and want everyone else to feel miserable too.

@Songofsixpence - mine was a coop worker too

You could peel the label off a wine bottle to use as loo roll?

God - I wasn't even aware that anyone is policing what is "essential" or not. No-one IRL is doing this are they? No-one I know anyway.

I am raising the stakes, and will divulge that in my Waitrose delivery today, I had wine, gin, tonics, biscuits, cake, chocolate puddings, ice cream, etc etc etc. In fact the usual shit that I usually buy every week. I couldn't get any tins of tomato, or porridge though, which are essential, but out of stock.

Oh, and I didn't wash it all down either .

*He says he sees the same faces every single day and bravely asked one elderly lady as he knew her as a regular and she said she always shopped every day because she liked coming out and what else was there to do.

This is so sad*

It’s also so stupid and so selfish. An adult who can’t occupy themself at home for a couple of days at a time during a massive pandemic without going to the supermarket to catch/spread the virus - including to staff? Come on.

Having said that, I fail to see why some think people shouldn’t buy treats for themselves when they do go shopping. It doesn’t make sense at all. We all need treats!

People have gone nuts - charitably, let's say because of fear (though that is being charitable in a lot of cases - they're just not using their brains and doing a lot of virtue signalling). It's the same with exercise.

I didn't know the shopping police were gawping at everyone's basket should they be that close to those they're judging?

I wasn't even aware that anyone is policing what is "essential" or not

There are a few on my local Facebook group who list daily the 'infractions' they have seen and froth at the mouth at anyone who is out.

Oh no, we've just had Easter eggs delivered, call the Police it's not essential!!