Stocking the cupboards in the event of a pandemic in the USA

[Anonymous]

I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

[Anonymous]

Has anyone been out to the stores today/recently? Where - how did it look?

Went to Target Falls Church (Seven Corners) last night around 8 pm. Do NOT bother. The shelves were wiped clean -- no soap of any variety; no Advil or Tylenol; no TP; maybe 5% of paper towels left; no wipes or cleaners generally -- a few lingering cans of Ajax on the shelves; 80% of laundry detergent gone; 90% of feminine hygiene products gone -- apparently people plan on menstruating more than once a month or being shut in for like 6 mos.

Food was relatively ok. No bottled water. Pasta/PB/granola bars/gatorade -- you can get but likely not the brands/sizes you'd actually want. Cereals and breads were fully stocked; oatmeal was a bit low but still there.

IDK if this was after the MoCo cases were announced. It's not that the store was packed -- it actually wasn't; it was just picked over probably all day/for days on end. Doesn't seem like this particular location is handling ordering and shelf stocking all that well compared to other places I've gone which weren't THIS sold out (though that was Wed so maybe things got worse everywhere?). They had 2 employees wandering around, not restocking anything -- I'm guessing bc ordering/distribution is messed up so they have nothing to stock.

[Anonymous]

If there hasn't been a run on groceries where you live yet, then I'd say grab a few extra bags of beans and rice while you can.

My retired parents (in mid-west) were laughing at "all the crazies in DC" on Tuesday when I told them our local grocery store was out of TP, water, Lyosol and dried beans. I made my mom do a stock run to Costco that day. As of this morning, on her rx refill I insisted she do, their local Hyvee was also out of all of the above. Now I'm looking like the not-so-crazy prophetic hero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I may be developing some OCD about my prepping. I go between “I have enough” to “what if I don’t get this and I regret it when I can’t get it anymore”.

I’m doing the same thing!!!

Same here. I’m going to get more toilet paper again today . More freezer food.

Hahahaha ..brilliant minds think alike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there hasn't been a run on groceries where you live yet, then I'd say grab a few extra bags of beans and rice while you can.

My retired parents (in mid-west) were laughing at "all the crazies in DC" on Tuesday when I told them our local grocery store was out of TP, water, Lyosol and dried beans. I made my mom do a stock run to Costco that day. As of this morning, on her rx refill I insisted she do, their local Hyvee was also out of all of the above. Now I'm looking like the not-so-crazy prophetic hero.

Boy, how can you do rice and beens without prunes. White rice causes constipation and beans cause gas.. This can make you undo in stitches!!!!

Eat some raw veggies ia a must wit the rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone been out to the stores today/recently? Where - how did it look?

Went to Target Falls Church (Seven Corners) last night around 8 pm. Do NOT bother. The shelves were wiped clean -- no soap of any variety; no Advil or Tylenol; no TP; maybe 5% of paper towels left; no wipes or cleaners generally -- a few lingering cans of Ajax on the shelves; 80% of laundry detergent gone; 90% of feminine hygiene products gone -- apparently people plan on menstruating more than once a month or being shut in for like 6 mos.

Food was relatively ok. No bottled water. Pasta/PB/granola bars/gatorade -- you can get but likely not the brands/sizes you'd actually want. Cereals and breads were fully stocked; oatmeal was a bit low but still there.

IDK if this was after the MoCo cases were announced. It's not that the store was packed -- it actually wasn't; it was just picked over probably all day/for days on end. Doesn't seem like this particular location is handling ordering and shelf stocking all that well compared to other places I've gone which weren't THIS sold out (though that was Wed so maybe things got worse everywhere?). They had 2 employees wandering around, not restocking anything -- I'm guessing bc ordering/distribution is messed up so they have nothing to stock.

Thanks for the update. Reads like Orwell

[Anonymous]

Pooping once a week will really help with the TP shortage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

Maybe when you are sick you just grab a-bottle and no trips to the kitchen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found weird places with hand sanitizer? That’s the only think I didn’t get and I’d like to have one for my purse and car.

Bath and Body Works? Bed Bath & Beyond? Not weird places, but maybe not the first place people would think to go.

People said gas stations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

Maybe when you are sick you just grab a-bottle and no trips to the kitchen?

It think the consensus ~20 pages ago that people are afraid if something happening to the water supply (boil alert, water main break, etc) that repairs won't be done in a timely manner. And also that COVID-19 will eventually get into the water supply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

Maybe when you are sick you just grab a-bottle and no trips to the kitchen?

I get it because FEMA and other disaster guides say to have water on hand, but I agree that it is unnecessary for this particular event. People in Wuhan still have water and electricity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found weird places with hand sanitizer? That’s the only think I didn’t get and I’d like to have one for my purse and car.

Thanks to my moms stocking stuffers, I have a very healthy supply of godawful smelling bath and body works hand sanitizer. Anyone want to know what a coral reef smells like?

i would imagine it falls between “ Friday afternoon in Alaska” and “grasshopper’s breath” ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

Maybe when you are sick you just grab a-bottle and no trips to the kitchen?

I get it because FEMA and other disaster guides say to have water on hand, but I agree that it is unnecessary for this particular event. People in Wuhan still have water and electricity.

But in theory we neither should not expect a diarrhea either but we are each sitting on a Fort Knox of toilet paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

Maybe when you are sick you just grab a-bottle and no trips to the kitchen?

It think the consensus ~20 pages ago that people are afraid if something happening to the water supply (boil alert, water main break, etc) that repairs won't be done in a timely manner. And also that COVID-19 will eventually get into the water supply.

You want to minimize who is touching the taps and shared glasses if you have a mix of well and sick people in you home. I say this as someone who has worked a cholera epidemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just came home from Costco. Why are people stockpiling flats of individual bottles of water? I cannot see how "bad flu" means we wont' have water coming out of our taps??

I stopped by Sam's Club at lunch time and it was a mad house. I walked in and there were like 15 lines each like 6 deep. And every cart had bottled water in it. When I was leaving a heard a woman talking with a friend. She said that her husband went to Costco last night and they were completely out of water. Then she went on-line and saw the 40-packs of bottled water on Sam's Club web-site, but decided not to buy it. When she got to Sam's they were out of the 40 packs, so she bought 2 24-packs.

I'm not sure why there is such a run on water (I didn't get any). My guess is that people are paranoid that the virus will get in the water supply and they won't be able to drink the water from the tap? But even if that happens, there would just be a boil water advisory. Viruses (including Coronavirus) cannot tolerate temperatures as hot as 212 F.

And as a last resort for our house, I have a camping filter bottle (only 16 oz) that can filter out impurities including protozoa and viruses. If we were really concerned, I would just start to use the camping filter on the tap water.