Supermarket Status [Monmouth County, NJ]

(Starting a new topic, because this info is getting lost under other headers.)

Shoprite in Old Bridge (ok, not quite Monmouth County, but close, and we don’t need another thread!) crowded, but mostly in the front cross-aisle, because they really have no space for queueing. I found most of what I wanted–for some items they were out of the Shoprite brands and had only the pricier stuff (e.g., mac and cheese, whipped butter, many kinds of canned beans, etc.). Produce fully stocked–big piles of cabbages, potatoes, and everything else. Fish fully stocked. No 5-lb boxes of matzoh. (Given that I have plenty at home, not a problem, and I didn’t have to worry about making $50.)

Also, of course, no toilet paper or tissues (other than a dozen boxes of really expensive tissues).

BTW, flushing tissues rather than toilet paper is not a great idea–toilet paper is designed to disintegrate fairly quickly, but tissues are not. Ditto for “flushable” wipes.

Just had a call from a friend who was at the Super Super Market (I think that’s the name) on Memorial Drive in AP and THEY HAVE TOILET PAPER…also said they’re well-stocked with other essentials.

foodtown red bank-
produce ok but thinning; meats thinning but they were getting more pork and veal in. Chicken was present - organic and butcher counter mostly. Hot dogs, gone. Beef was there.
eggs gone
dairy- not much left but foodtown brand milk
bread- about 15% capacity
liquor store was stocked
pasta, soup,broth, canned beans/veggies prob less than 10% left;
paper towels in stock; no TP
prob 15 cases of water left at 11AM

My husband did a run to ShopRite in Aberdeen earlier. Said it was busy (no carts) but he was in and out in 20 minutes with milk, ground beef, bag of frozen shrimp, broccoli, mandarin oranges, 2 dozen eggs and an enormous bunch of bananas. I don’t think he checked the TP aisle. I have ours on auto delivery subscription from Amazon and curious if it will arrive this week. It says that it is ordered (on March 4) but yet to be shipped.

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I thought that was him but couldn’t tell because of all the bananas

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Beginning Thursday Stop & Shop will be open between 6-7:30AM exclusively for customers age 60 and over.

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nice- although I hope they make this car side service to help polder both with heavy items like water or canned goods and to keep them safe from spread…

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Not sure how you got that pic, but yup that’s him!

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I was at the Neptune Shoprite at about 1 this afternoon. It was crowded but orderly. I only “needed” a few things so didn’t go down every aisle. I did notice that:

  • Many frozen vegetables were sold out but there were plenty of bags of green beans, brussels
    sprouts, and okra
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables were plentiful
  • The Passover section seemed a little "light"and they were out of a few of my Passover staples.
    There was not a lot of matzah left
  • People who wear gloves think it’s ok to play with their faces, pick their noses and cough into their
    hands and then touch every apple on the shelf or punch their pin into the ATM reader
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Good reports. I just left mine in the Lidl thread before I saw this one.

Jr or Dave, can you possibly move that to here or copy it?

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Lidl now open 8a- 8p

Stop and Shop opening 1.5 hr earlier for senior population.

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When I was at Shop Rite in Shewsbury over the weekend they had limits posted on many items. Most of which they were already out of.

Wegmans did the same, limit 4 on canned goods, but no limits on Goya canned goods as they had cases and cases out.
Limit of 2 on eggs, they were wiped out

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Only 2 eggs per person! Wow! (joking)

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I figure it all bears repeating since change is the new normal.

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Luckily I have about 20 pounds of matzoh from previous years. No, it doesn’t go stale. (Or as one friend claims, “it comes pre-staled.”)

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I always buy (or get for free) the set of 5 one pound boxes. Each year I end up donating 4 pounds to the local food pantry even though my family probably makes up half the Jewish population of our small town.

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[A bit OT] I always get 2 5-lb packages free (and my friend gives me her leftovers, which often include whole wheat or whatever). But I eat it year-round, so I go through a box a month even not during Passover. And I also make my own farfel and matzoh meal from it.

[Slightly on-topic] A 1-lb box of matzah provides close to the minimum daily requirement of calories for one person, so it will carry you through quite a bit. (Think Mark Watney on Mars while you eat it. :slight_smile: ) And unlike bread, it won’t go stale, moldy, etc. And if you have a coupon and spend enough (not hard these days), it’s free.

I often wonder if food banks get too much matzoh after Passover, because I see lots of it in the donation basket at our library.

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Made another MIddletown Shop Rite run today. Needed a few things for tonight’s dinner.

Happy to say that most shopping carts were not filled to the brim. People seemed to be sensical at the moment (except one guy whose cart was literally spilling over).

They had a decent amount of chicken, but were low on pork and red meats. This is opposite of the other day, when there was no chicken and plenty of the others.

Toilet paper only available in individual rolls for $1.29 each.

Today is one of my days off this week. Shopping is complete. I don’t have to leave the house until tomorrow for work, since I am “essential” and we will not close. My part-time lecturing gig has already reached out seeing if I want to do some online courses through Zoom to be made available for free for students. Might get on that for next week.

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We are not big matzoh eaters except Mr Bean who prefers onion or egg. I’m gonna guess my local food pantries are not inundated. The Passover Section at my local Shoprite is maybe two shelves big.

I think I’ll keep my matzoh this year just in case I need it.

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