Grocery Shopping During COVID-19
Last week I was preparing to go grocery shopping and honestly, I felt like I was leaving the safety of my house and heading into a zombie apocalypse. I was a little nervous. I packed supplies. I had a plan.
To reduce my chances of contracting the virus, there were a lot of small considerations I planned out for my trip to the grocery store. And where I could, I tried to remain plastic-free and where I couldn’t I did the next best thing by buying a larger amount to make the plastic worth it.
Make a Plan
In trying to limit the amount of times I would leave the house, during what’s supposed to be the worst week of the pandemic, I planned to buy two week’s worth of groceries instead of my usual one week’s worth.
The night before, I wrote a huge list. I also thought about different back-up items in case the item I wanted was not available. Finally, I put a mask and a small bottle of hand sanitizer by the door.
The next morning when I left for the grocery store, instead of bringing my whole purse, I took out my credit cards and driver’s license and wrapped a rubber band around them and stuck them in the pocket of my jacket.
Shop Early, but Not During Vulnerable Hours
Many grocery stores in the Bay Area have dedicated the first hour to those who are vulnerable to the virus. So, Whole Foods normally opens at 8am but now their hours online say they open at 9am. Those who are vulnerable can show up at 8am and shop when the store is the cleanest and without a lot of people. So, I went at 9am when I figured it would still be clean but I wouldn’t be infringing on senior hours. Before getting out of the car I put my mask on. It’s a really eery feeling taking these extra steps.
Wipe Down the Shopping Cart
I chose not to wear gloves because, having worked in a cleanroom environment, I know gloves give you a false sense of cleanliness. You end up touching more things and being less cautious because you think you’re safe.
When grabbing a shopping cart, instead of grabbing it by the handle, I grabbed the side of the cart that’s less likely to be touched. Before walking through the doors, a Whole Foods employee offered to spray the handle of my shopping cart down and I accepted.
Try to Avoid the Extra Plastic
The first thing I noticed was that there is now a lot of plastic where there was none before. For example, in the bakery case, where I used to get croissants, bagels or donuts.
Everything is now wrapped in plastic. So, I skipped the individually wrapped items. Instead I bought two bags of bagels in the bread aisle. We normally get bagels straight from our local bagel shop in a paper box or in the bakery case plastic-free but again, I wanted to avoid the extra trips and the second option is no longer available.
Check the Bulk Bins
A portion of the bulk bins were still open. They only portion that remained open was the type with the pull lever called a gravity bin. This is safer during this time because it avoids open containers where people could potentially deposit their germs. And there were currently no restrictions on using my own bags. So, I took advantage of this and bought extra rice.
The only bad thing about these dispensers is that work best with dry products and I needed raisins. Raisins would never work in these types of dispensers since they are sticky.
Be Prepared for Quantity Limits
There were quantity limits all over the store. From milk, eggs, butter, beans, to meat. It nearly prevented me from getting everything I needed for two weeks. We usually go through a gallon to a gallon and a half of milk in our house which is 2 – 3 bottles of the glass Strauss milk I buy. I was intending to buy 3 bottles but there was a 2 bottle limit. So, I had to put one back.
I grabbed some extra meat and for the first time in a long time, I got it in a plastic bag wrapped with plastic-lined butcher paper. I normally go to my locally-owned grocery store to get meat since they allow me to bring my own containers, but to limit the amount of time I was out and the number of places I went to, I stuck to one grocery store.
To make the plastic worth it, I bought a full 5 pounds of chicken and froze most of it.
Put Loose Produce in Cloth Produce Bags
Normally when I pick up produce, everything is loose. I throw loose carrots on the conveyer belt and don’t think twice about it. This might gross people out but honestly, the trip from the farm to your grocery store is much worse.
To avoid the cashier touching my produce, I put as many items in my own produce bags as possible. After about 15 bags, I ran out and resorted to using the store’s plastic produce bag for bigger leafy greens. I plan to reuse these bags later, if needed.
Sorry, the Bar is Closed
I normally buy olives at the Olive Bar but like the Salad Bar, it was closed. Basically any food that is open to the public and self-serve was closed or packaged in plastic.
Keep Your Distance
At the checkout line, you could see lines that reminded you to keep your distance. There was also a plexiglass barrier in front of the cashier.
I didn’t bring my own grocery bags this time but for a reason unrelated to COVID-19. I put a large paper grocery bag in my freezer and put my compost items in the freezer before trash day. I usually grab one paper bag during a trip but this time I figured I would get all my groceries in paper bags and have a stock in my house. This prevents me from having to buy compostable plastic compost bags which compost facilities hate. I used to use newspaper but it didn’t hold up quite as well.
Instead of having the employee bag my groceries, I asked to do it myself to limit the number of people touching our food.
After loading all my groceries into the car, I made sure to sanitize my hands and the steering wheel of the car.
Use a Car Pantry
When I got home, I washed my hands. Then, I brought only the meat, dairy, and produce that needed to be refrigerated into the house. I left the bags in our garage and transferred items into the house. I left everything else in my car for 3 days. (The virus survives on cardboard for 1 day and plastic for about 3 days.) Luckily, during this time of year it’s cool in my garage and it’s about 50 – 60 degrees, which is a perfect cool pantry temperature.
For the foods brought into the house, we now wash any fruits and vegetables with soap if we are going to eat them raw. After I put part of the meat in the freezer and put the produce away, I sprayed all the door handles with 70% alcohol. I put all the produce bags in our washer for laundry day.
Here is a guideline I found after going to the store.
Takeaways
Overall, I did the best I could to avoid plastic where possible. The few items I wouldn’t normally get are two bags of bagels, two bags of meat from the butcher, and three plastic produce bags.
The more important thing is that we remain safe and limit our potential for exposure. Remember to do a little planning beforehand and while you’re out don’t touch your face!
What do you think? What are some of the ways you’re trying to reduce waste during COVID-19? Have you changed any of your grocery shopping routines? Tell me in the comments!
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