Possibly, though my gut feeling is that places like Instacart and Amazon have been able to beef up their workforces quickly as so many in the hospitality and restaurant industries have been idled
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I agree that the beefing up of the delivery workforce is the likely reason. But having product to deliver must surely contribute, no? No beef, no beef delivery.
In any case, if the market for thinking dries up, Iām glad I have some alternate career options: āThis is fooddabbler with your groceries, and Iāve thought a lot about them.ā
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Thanks, thatās great news about Market Basket extending their hours. A later closing should ease the end of day crush and give essential workers more access. I hope they can keep their employees as safe and healthy as possible in the process.
Morning shopping is not an option for us so Iāve been making larger MB (Wilmington) grocery runs twice a month in the slight lull between lunch and closing. Partner supplements with Trader Joeās (Burlington) in-between and confirmed a similar usage pattern with the store crew.
Weekday dinnertime grocery shopping tended quiet in the beforetimes so itāll be interesting to see if that still holds and how the stock holds up.
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^ Iām curious about whether this quieter period will return, too.
I realized today that itās been a couple months (that feel like years) since I gave Neighborhood Produce in Medford a bit of love. I canāt tell you what a great resource this place has been for someone who lives within walking distance during the course of this whole thing. When stuff was really bad and the big stores were floundering and you couldnāt get deliveries and had giant lines, there was a nice, small, friendly market around the corner where I could buy apples and eggs and lettuce and onions and grains. Etc. There were some rocky times early with ordering online and some shifting schedules of availability, but they stayed flexible and stuck with it and updated always about what their current situation was.
Theyāre now shutting down online ordering (I think for a week at least), as the space in their building that theyāve been using to sort and pack is about to become a construction zone. They say theyāll use the time to rethink the logistics of how theyāll be able to manage web orders and curbside pickup, though the market itself will still be available for walk ins at least Friday to Tuesday. In any case, I wanted to mention them again because theyāre a great local market, theyāve been an invaluable and dependable place for me to get groceries in a pandemic, and in general they just seem to be on top of their game.
Iām not averse to corporate markets (cf. my weekly trips to HMart) but Iām sure heartened when a little local indie outperforms almost everyone when it comes to delivering during a disaster. This place has been so useful for me recently, and Iāll support them here on out.
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Canāt ask for more than that. What a great concept. And great intention.
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Shopping calmed down a lot this summer, so as the calendar turns to September where do things stand now? Iām relieved to say that my grocery runs are much less stressful.
People at my chosen Market Basket in Littleton MA seem to have adapted to masking and distancing protocols, minus the occasional sighting of someone wearing their mask as a chinstrap or ignoring one way travel down the aisles.
With every passing week, items have been more reliably in stock.
This first week of September the baking aisle looked normal again at last. I wonder what will happen when the weather cools and folks retreat indoors.
The cheese case continues to offer a greater selection than I have noticed in the past, possibly because not as much of the product is going to restaurants and events. Once or twice a month, cheese and salad night has become a treat at our house.
Certain cleaning products remain a notable exception, particularly any type of cleaning spray. Also disinfecting wipesāI recall seeing those only 2-3 times since mid-March. Spot shortages and fewer choices continue for sure, cleaning-wise. Itās trickier for me because I am sensitive to fragranced products, so Iām careful not to run low on unscented laundry detergent and dish soap.
Oh, and I swear I saw the first of the Halloween candy today. Iām so not ready!
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Oh, youāve been behind on Halloween candy then. I saw those displays and āsalesā offered since early August. 
Grocery runs are also fairly ānormalā now too. The only difference is when I go to the smaller local neighborhood grocery stores. Some are using a queuing system if the store is busy. The wait times arenāt too bad though. I was at the Fruit Center marketplace in Milton yesterday, where the aisles are much tighter, and it was less than 10 minutes waiting to get in.
Dairy, and specifically creams (light, heavy, etc) continues to be an issue only at the one Stop & Shop that is my regular grocery stop (or maybe all Stop & Shops). Crazy, but I donāt see these prices at any other store. I think itās just Stop & Shop trying to screw us.
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Count me as a fan of this practice. Husband went to Trader Joeās (Acton) for us for the first time since before the pandemic and was impressed with their attention to queuing and distancing.
Too dangerous for me to buy Halloween candy in advance with both of us home all the time. 
I wonder if kids will be trick or treating this year? Iād be happy to have treats available on our porch, contactless style. I plan to keep an eye on whether our town designates trick or treating hours or not.
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You know I thought of that only after I bought a giant bag of candy while on a Costco run this weekend. 
I was hoping that neighbors can be creative and try to make a ācontact freeā trick or treating. I was thinking of putting out a stand on my front lawn and having pre-bagged treats for kids to grab, so they wonāt have to come all the way up to the door. Since Iāll be home this year, rather than running home from work and missing half the kids, I figured it would be harder to pretend Iām not home this year. 
I hope this happens, or Iām going to have to work myself through a GIANT bag of Costco candy.
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I am of the giant bag of candy persuasion as well. Odds are good that Iāll cave on my next grocery run, no matter what virtue I claim here.
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I hope so too. The kids could really use a release! Iām counting on the internet to delivery some creative ideas.
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An interesting theory being thrown around is that companies are trying to get ahead in case local municipalities decide to put a stop to the trick or treating activities.
We have a balcony above the front door, so an option is to dress up headless horseman style and lower a skull basket for the kids to grab. The best option is still turning off the light and pretending nobody is home, but that got vetoed, sadlyā¦
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Iām still lurking here, but moving to South Shore means that there arenāt too many great restaurants to write home about 
The Chinese food situation is dire enough that Iāve resorted to almost all home cooking unless I can go up to Quincy for takeout.
There are still gems scattered around here, and having easy beach access gives us plenty of fish and foraging opportunities. (I canāt be the only person looking up edible plants and fruits on every walk 
)
What do people feel about a cooking post for GBA (NJ has one) since everybody still cook plenty at home and weather is getting cooler? I am mightily curious about what people are buying at the store and what they are doing with them.
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Trust me, the first greedy kid will steal all of it. Been there. This will work only if you watch from your door or window, and are obvious and well-lit while doing so.
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Trader Joeās in Burlington was the same for me. Iāve only been once since this whole thing started, and it was very recently. There were two people there with hand sanitizer wiping down carts and baskets for new shoppers. As one person left, you were called up to take the next clean cart. The wait time was about 8 minutes for the 4 of us on line. I appreciated their attention to cleaning detail a lot. IIRC, I went on a Friday at about noontime.
Wegmans in Burlington is still busy, but less busy than they usually are on a Saturday afternoon. Other than things like the bulk food section no longer existing, they seem to have a handle on supplies - meats, cheeses, produce, breads, dairy, packaged goods, ice cream 
are all well stocked. Didnāt check out the paper goods last time I was there, but cleaning supplies were not in great shape.
Market Basket no longer has lines to get in; mostly people are aware of others and will pause if youāre coming down to an area they want to get to. They seem to have fully restocked, although paper goods and cleaning supplies are still skimpy at times.
Hannaford has the same thing at TJs - carts and baskets are only obtained from one of the entrances (the other is left empty), and thereās someone there wiping everything down prior to you taking something. I have noticed that shoppers here tend to ignore the one-way aisles the most (although itās still infrequent) and their supply of paper goods and especially cleaning products is in very short supply, if not completely decimated. Their produce often leaves something to be desired, so I try and use MB for that.
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Such a useful report, @LindaWhit. Cutting down the frequency and range of my errands have made me a boring, one-store shopper most of the time. Thanks for the intel!
Iām also a CSA member in summer, which will be ending in a few weeks. So Iām wondering about signing up for a fall farm share (small) from Farmer Daveās. I wonder if anyone has had a fall share from Farmer Daveāthoughts?
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Their Spring/Summer CSA is great. Iād assume a lot more root veggies in the Fall share. Have they listed what to expect?
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so name some names, haha. good to see youāre still around!
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