Author Topic: Pandemic hoarding  (Read 262152 times)

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #250 on: October 16, 2020, 08:38:36 AM »
Maybe he is thinking of creamed corn? To me that is the standard canned corn.

Creamed corn is also disgusting, but all canned vegetables I've tasted are ass (corn and peas being the only two I'm familiar with - granted).  They're about 3% of the flavour of fresh or frozen vegetables.  The canning process destroys any 'good fresh quality' that may have once existed and converts the vegetable into a mushy off-colour facsimile of the real thing that tastes markedly different.

LaineyAZ

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #251 on: October 16, 2020, 08:51:57 AM »
Maybe he is thinking of creamed corn? To me that is the standard canned corn.


Creamed corn is also disgusting, but all canned vegetables I've tasted are ass (corn and peas being the only two I'm familiar with - granted).  They're about 3% of the flavour of fresh or frozen vegetables.  The canning process destroys any 'good fresh quality' that may have once existed and converts the vegetable into a mushy off-colour facsimile of the real thing that tastes markedly different.

Agree about the taste, but canned food keeps people alive, which is the goal of getting through any food shortages caused by supply-chain, weather, or other disruptions.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #252 on: October 16, 2020, 08:53:11 AM »
I don’t eat much corn that’s not on the cob, but I don’t think canned corn is mushy. It tastes like... cooked corn. It’s nice for casseroles like tamale pie or corn casserole. Some years I have so much fresh corn that I freeze a bunch, but not always.

I like canned green beans, too. They don’t taste like fresh, but they are good in their own way, especially with bacon. ;-) And I think pressure cooked green beans taste pretty much like canned.

Not my first choice, but they have the advantage of being shelf stable and I usually have a can of corn and a can of green beans in the pantry.

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #253 on: October 16, 2020, 08:57:37 AM »
If you're pressure cooking green beans, peas, corn . . . you're doing it wrong.  That may actually qualify as an international hate crime against vegetable.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #254 on: October 16, 2020, 09:14:40 AM »
Maybe he is thinking of creamed corn? To me that is the standard canned corn.

Creamed corn is also disgusting, but all canned vegetables I've tasted are ass (corn and peas being the only two I'm familiar with - granted).  They're about 3% of the flavour of fresh or frozen vegetables.  The canning process destroys any 'good fresh quality' that may have once existed and converts the vegetable into a mushy off-colour facsimile of the real thing that tastes markedly different.

Wow, how do you really feel? No one said you had to buy them. Of course canned vegetables are not equivalent to fresh in texture. Everyone knows that. Sometimes we choose to use other sources of food items during shortages for nutritional reasons. Not all of us find that canned vegetables taste like ass. Some are better than others. A lot of people home can their own vegetables and take a lot of pride in doing so, putting good food away for the harsh winter months.

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #255 on: October 16, 2020, 09:37:07 AM »
Wow, how do you really feel?

I'm not a fan.

:P

Fiddlestix

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #256 on: October 16, 2020, 10:40:18 AM »
Around these parts, this is a staple: John Cope's Toasted Dried Sweet Corn (and yes we made corn pudding for many a Sunday and holiday dinner).

https://lancasteronline.com/features/why-do-so-many-people-insist-on-serving-copes-dried-corn-for-thanksgiving/article_c16b3d2e-751b-11e4-800e-9bebf9d9fd60.html

In fact, I think I'll look for some now.

OtherJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #257 on: October 16, 2020, 10:44:42 AM »
I'm biased because most vegetables served to me in childhood came out of a can and were then boiled to death (grayish green beans and peas and mushy beets, carrots, and mushrooms are horrid), but I do understand that they are important shelf-stable staples. One of the local food banks just put out a request for donations of various canned veggies.

I tend to prefer frozen vegetables if fresh aren't in season. And I like frozen broccoli in recipes (broccoli rice casserole, broccoli cheese soup) and frozen mixed veggies in soups and cottage pie.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #258 on: October 16, 2020, 12:22:52 PM »
I actually just added a can of corn to my grocery order. LOL

What amazes me are canned potatoes.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #259 on: October 16, 2020, 12:39:43 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

Pigeon

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #260 on: October 16, 2020, 01:44:37 PM »
I am grocery shopping once a week.  I need to start building a small stash of  paper products as I do think everything will go back to lockdown.   We have fairly decent supplies in most of the stores.  I haven't seen Lysol wipes, but plenty of other off brands.  We've got toilet bowl cleaners in the stores.  The meat supplies seem to be mostly back to normal.  My freezer is full and I tend to keep stocked up on most things.  We did a CSA this summer and had our last delivery this week.  I used a different one than in prior years because of WFH, and it was a disappointment.

We got flu shots a couple weeks ago.  I haven't gotten them consistently in past years, but figured this was the year not to skip.  I dragged one reluctant adult daughter with me to the local grocery store's pharmacy, as they had signs plastered all over about the ease of getting them, just walk right in.  Not so much, as it turns out.  We got there at 1:30.  We waited ten minutes to be told they close at 2 for half an hour for the pharmacist to take lunch, which is fine, but you'd think they'd have that on their hundreds of signs.  Because there was someone ahead of us, they wouldn't get to us before that, so they told us to come back at 2:30.  We did, but didn't get our shots until nearly 4.  Adult daughter was not amused with me.

I am WFH, and other than the grocery store and outside walks, don't go anywhere.  Dh is a public school teacher, and has to be in classrooms with far too many students and not terribly careful colleagues.  Ugh.  Two adult daughters and one boyfriend live with us.  Oldest one is in nursing school, with some in person clinicals and labs, but most classes are online.  BF is working remotely.  DD2 is in college living at home this semester with minimal outside exposure, except for periodic trips to visit her bf.  I'm not thrilled with our level of outside contact, especially spouse's  public school, and suspect they will have outbreaks.

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #261 on: October 16, 2020, 03:07:36 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #262 on: October 16, 2020, 03:20:21 PM »
Pigeon, Sounds like you have a lot of people around you that are out and about. I hope they are all careful with social distancing, washing hands and all that stuff.

Maybe you could think about doing curbside shopping for most shopping and only go to the store maybe once a month. One of the bigger stores in my town finally started offering curbside service and it is great. Of course, I prefer to pick out my own meats but most everything else is prepackaged except produce. If you shop once a month you could stock up on meats and then do curbside other times. My Hub needed a prescription the other day and I had the pharmacy deliver. I wasn't too happy that they had a delivery fee but less chance of exposure. Curb side had a fee too but only about $2.95 which I thought was fantastic. You could do some vegetable delivery service like Imperfect foods or Misfits. They delivery every week or every two weeks. You can pause delivery too if you need too. I also order a lot of stuff on line thru Walmart, Target, Amazon, Boxed and other odd ball places. Most places have a minimum order amount then you can get free shipping. Stick to smaller orders. Walmart has a $35 minimum for free shipping. If by chance I order a lot, I try to break it into two orders. Otherwise, they will pack the boxes with 100 lbs. of product. Learned that the hard way! Also, avoid buying anything in glass jars thru Walmart or Target. I have had many broken jars.

Also, can you have a pow wow with your family and set down some plans so that all of you are on the same page protecting yourselves. Like maybe having sanitizing wipes at the door when you first enter to wipe hands and anything that might have been exposed to the virus.

It is just the Hub and I and we don't go out much but when we do I cringe. The Hub has pain in his one foot so I had to take him to the doctors office two weeks ago. The office only wants the patient in the waiting room and not the spouse. So, I waited in the car. However, he needed a prescription so I had to go into the pharmacy and I was not thrilled at all! Sick people go to pharmacies! UGH. We all need battle plans to fight this thing. Take care, be careful!

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #263 on: October 16, 2020, 03:26:59 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

 . . . what fresh hell is this???

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #264 on: October 16, 2020, 03:27:56 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

One of my local stores has it and I have also ordered it on line. Maybe Walmart or Amazon. However, you might have to buy a case! Crazy, but that is what I did! It will last a long time and is very good for any meal of the day. Even a dessert!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/B-M-Raisin-Brown-Bread-16-oz/10291606   Pick up only

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #265 on: October 16, 2020, 04:53:28 PM »
We've been letting go of some of the food we stockpiled in the first month of the pandemic.  I know we won't eat it all and I want to donate food when it still has time left before the "best by" date.  I hate to think of shortages returning -- maybe I should start buying fresh meat each week now and save what we have in the freezer for potential shortages.

Our kid had surgery this week, which was postponed because of a Covid positive co-worker in late September.  While the other kid is still going to work (great safety protocols in place -- no one tested positive despite the coworker), none of us are going into stores or anywhere we could be exposed, because getting Covid while recovering from surgery would be bad.  And given increasing Covid numbers, we're going to keep it this way.  We did it for 3 months starting last March, and we can do it again.  We'll use curbside pickup or delivery.  I've had mixed feelings about it, but my risk is just too high to make shopping safe.

I had no idea canned corn was getting hard to find.  I have a case I pulled out of the pantry with the intention of donating it.  I think we have 10# frozen corn, so we'll still donate the cans, and hopefully someone will be glad to have it if there is indeed a shortage.


Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #266 on: October 16, 2020, 05:07:05 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

 . . . what fresh hell is this???

Wow, so much negativity. If you never tried it, how can you make comments on it? Lets try to be more positive! We are in a pandemic and we are all trying to find alternatives to things we take for granted. If you have tried it and don't like it so be it but why bash something you have no experience with. Let us all be more positive in our comments. We are all trying to survive this pandemic as best we can!

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #267 on: October 16, 2020, 06:19:56 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

 . . . what fresh hell is this???

Wow, so much negativity. If you never tried it, how can you make comments on it? Lets try to be more positive! We are in a pandemic and we are all trying to find alternatives to things we take for granted. If you have tried it and don't like it so be it but why bash something you have no experience with. Let us all be more positive in our comments. We are all trying to survive this pandemic as best we can!

These comments are intended to be tongue in cheek.  Also, as a Canadian I'm genetically pre-disposed to whinging.

If you like canned vegetables, more power to you.  My mom was a huge fan of canned peas and corn, and we spent a lot of my childhood living in remote northern communities where fresh veggies were not always available.  Let's just say that the first time I tasted fresh peas and corn was pretty eye opening and resulted in some vows to solemnly stand against the menace of canned vegetables.

Coming from that background . . . I'm sure you can understand a certain recalcitrance to immediately sing praises of canned bread.  :P

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #268 on: October 16, 2020, 07:08:12 PM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

 . . . what fresh hell is this???

Wow, so much negativity. If you never tried it, how can you make comments on it? Lets try to be more positive! We are in a pandemic and we are all trying to find alternatives to things we take for granted. If you have tried it and don't like it so be it but why bash something you have no experience with. Let us all be more positive in our comments. We are all trying to survive this pandemic as best we can!

These comments are intended to be tongue in cheek.  Also, as a Canadian I'm genetically pre-disposed to whinging.

If you like canned vegetables, more power to you.  My mom was a huge fan of canned peas and corn, and we spent a lot of my childhood living in remote northern communities where fresh veggies were not always available.  Let's just say that the first time I tasted fresh peas and corn was pretty eye opening and resulted in some vows to solemnly stand against the menace of canned vegetables.

Coming from that background . . . I'm sure you can understand a certain recalcitrance to immediately sing praises of canned bread.  :P

I'm not sure anyone would can bread, when you can have the dry ingredients to hand. Even over a fire, a quick bread is very simple and quick to make.

Dicey

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #269 on: October 17, 2020, 07:20:30 AM »
Don't forget to buy canned B&M brown bread in a can. It is very good!

I have been trying to find this in multiple stores, no luck yet.

 . . . what fresh hell is this???
Maybe GuitarStv reads nutrition labels...

https://www.bmbeans.com/product/brown-bread-plain

My Dad was from Boston.  This bread and Gulden's Mustard were two of his faves. I think I might give one of each to my siblings for Christmas. I think seeing it on the pantry shelf might be a poignant reminder of him. RIP, Pops.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #270 on: October 17, 2020, 07:37:19 AM »

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #271 on: October 17, 2020, 07:48:50 AM »
Bread in a can:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bread-in-a-Can

What dark, soul destroying secrets must be lurking in your shady past to have so twisted your perception of acceptable comestibles?

Dicey

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #272 on: October 17, 2020, 09:03:32 AM »
Bread in a can:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bread-in-a-Can

What dark, soul destroying secrets must be lurking in your shady past to have so twisted your perception of acceptable comestibles?
OMG, at my childhood home, our neighbors were Mormon. She used to bake all of her bread in tin cans! The top of the loaf straight out of the oven and slathered with butter, honey, or PB, or jam was so, so yummy! But it wasn't brown bread.

NotJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #273 on: October 17, 2020, 01:19:06 PM »
Bread in a can:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bread-in-a-Can

What dark, soul destroying secrets must be lurking in your shady past to have so twisted your perception of acceptable comestibles?
OMG, at my childhood home, our neighbors were Mormon. She used to bake all of her bread in tin cans! The top of the loaf straight out of the oven and slathered with butter, honey, or PB, or jam was so, so yummy! But it wasn't brown bread.

When I was a kid, my mom made banana bread and pumpkin bread in cans.  They would be special treats for us, or gifts for our teachers.  I don't know why - probably we couldn't afford bread pans.

I have made single-serve cakes in repurposed vegetable/bean cans.  I thought it was a cool way to "reduce-reuse-recycle" instead of buying a new thing. (Though this is completely different from "canning bread").

OtherJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #274 on: October 17, 2020, 03:50:12 PM »
Using an empty can as a bread pan seems very reasonable.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #275 on: October 17, 2020, 04:04:10 PM »
Also, they work for baking in the crockpot.

Sibley

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #276 on: October 17, 2020, 04:25:25 PM »
I have stocked up on people and cat food, nonfood items, and voted. Covid cases are increasing in my area, and given the number of Trump signs and people with masks on yet I can see their noses just fine plus the people without masks.... I'm staying home. I will have to venture out to the pharmacy this week, as I will need to pick up my new inhaler. Otherwise, plan to limit my trips out to the minimum.

I am also not a fan of canned vegetables. Much prefer to buy frozen. As for those debating hoarding vs stocking - when it comes to food, my definition of hoarding is having more food in the house than you can eat before it goes bad. If you're donating food because it'll expire before you get to it, you hoarded.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #277 on: October 17, 2020, 05:01:11 PM »
I have stocked up on people and cat food, nonfood items, and voted. Covid cases are increasing in my area, and given the number of Trump signs and people with masks on yet I can see their noses just fine plus the people without masks.... I'm staying home. I will have to venture out to the pharmacy this week, as I will need to pick up my new inhaler. Otherwise, plan to limit my trips out to the minimum.

I am also not a fan of canned vegetables. Much prefer to buy frozen. As for those debating hoarding vs stocking - when it comes to food, my definition of hoarding is having more food in the house than you can eat before it goes bad. If you're donating food because it'll expire before you get to it, you hoarded.

I too prefer fresh veggies first, frozen second and canned third. As far as canned veggies go, only kernel corn and green beans. But when in survival mode you need green veggies. I hope it never gets so bad that we only have canned veggies to survive on. I certainly am not a farmer and am limited on vegetables I can grow. I did grow lettuce, basil, peppers, tomatoes. Not enough to survive on! I subscribe to Imperfect foods and get fresh veggies thru them.

I am doing a curbside grocery store run tomorrow. Have to go to another store too but not curbside. YUK!

HBFIRE

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #278 on: October 17, 2020, 05:34:59 PM »

I like canned green beans, too. They don’t taste like fresh, but they are good in their own way

Call me weird, but I prefer canned green beans to fresh ones.  In fact, I'm not that fond of the fresh version now that I think about it haha.  I think that's the only case for me.

fuzzy math

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #279 on: October 17, 2020, 06:45:46 PM »

I like canned green beans, too. They don’t taste like fresh, but they are good in their own way

Call me weird, but I prefer canned green beans to fresh ones.  In fact, I'm not that fond of the fresh version now that I think about it haha.  I think that's the only case for me.

I know. I'm tempted to go buy a can because they're so junky and delicious. I don't buy anything in a metal can due to BPA concerns and the horror of having opened some past expiration date cans at my mom's house and seeing what a leeched / disintegrating can looks like.  I'm also oddly hungry for creamed corn now too!

I don't think I'm specifically stocking up on anything now, other than dog food. There was a moment in March where I thought about the horror of my dog having a month straight of diarrhea if they were to stop stocking my warehouse store dog food. It was incredibly difficult to switch her last time. When we move in a couple years we'll be going to an area that only has the other brand of warehouse store so I'm going to have to very slowly switch her food. I also recognize that overall we keep slightly higher stock levels than before February and wonder how I'll ever learn to keep less.

My local FB group has warehouse employees who post daily what they got in. Tons of locals read it and ask daily about this or that. The hot items seem to be TP, paper towels (lots of people are apparently picky about brands of both of these), Lysol, wipes, face shields, bacon, chest freezers and trampolines. I think the trampoline shortage is finally over now that its fall!


Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #280 on: October 17, 2020, 08:16:22 PM »
My stockpiles are quite full. The only thing that is annoying is that dairy, produce and deli products are not hoardable. You can't buy 20 lbs. of lettuce or any fresh veggies or deli or dairy stuff to last long.

I thought I had a good idea and froze two lbs. of deli roast beef. When I opened the first package, it was totally gross! YUK! It looked gray and wet and gag me gross. It was nice pink roast beef when I froze it. I chucked it. It probably could have been salvaged somehow but, YUK, gag me, no way!

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #281 on: October 18, 2020, 04:59:19 AM »
Hard salami freezes fine, and luckily that’s also the only lunchmeat I especially like. Milk, butter and cheese freeze well, and eggs freeze well enough to use in baking.

Thinking more about green beans - in the Before Times, I regularly cooked at my church’s soup kitchen. Canned green beans were always a hit. People asked for seconds. Salad, not so much.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #282 on: October 18, 2020, 05:37:30 AM »
"Hard salami freezes fine, and luckily that’s also the only lunchmeat I especially like. Milk, butter and cheese freeze well, and eggs freeze well enough to use in baking."

Yes, I have not resorted to freezing eggs yet but have considered it. Have watched some video's on youtube on how to do it. When I shop, I buy about 3 dozen eggs at a time so I have plenty all the time. I have frozen butter in my freezer. Milk is another story, I have been buying the shelf stable 8 oz. boxed milk by the case. It is so perfect for us. We don't use much milk here but when we do, all we need is one or two containers so no waste. As far as cost, I have not analyzed it but I do know when I bought normal milk in the past, I have thrown out so much milk over the years. We just don't go thru milk fast enough and it goes sour. We freeze cheese, sandwich pepperoni, deli ham, deli turkey, and walnuts.

Cranky: "Thinking more about green beans - in the Before Times, I regularly cooked at my church’s soup kitchen. Canned green beans were always a hit. People asked for seconds. Salad, not so much." Did you make the make the green bean casserole that people have during the holidays?

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #283 on: October 18, 2020, 08:13:21 AM »
We pretty much just use milk for cooking and the occasional bowl of cereal, so the half gallon of ultrapasteurized milk works pretty well for us, but I like to have a backup for winter weather, and I was glad of it last spring when it was so hard to get a pickup slot for groceries. Shelf stable milk doesn’t seem common around here - I’ve only seen the little individual cartons for school lunches.

We don’t even make green bean casserole for the soup kitchen, just the industrial sized can of green beans heated up. But clearly plenty of people love them. Oh, I also often work at a food pantry we operate at a public school, and while nobody wants canned peas (and no wonder) canned corn and canned green beans are snapped up.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #284 on: October 18, 2020, 08:24:59 AM »
We pretty much just use milk for cooking and the occasional bowl of cereal, so the half gallon of ultrapasteurized milk works pretty well for us, but I like to have a backup for winter weather, and I was glad of it last spring when it was so hard to get a pickup slot for groceries. Shelf stable milk doesn’t seem common around here - I’ve only seen the little individual cartons for school lunches.

We don’t even make green bean casserole for the soup kitchen, just the industrial sized can of green beans heated up. But clearly plenty of people love them. Oh, I also often work at a food pantry we operate at a public school, and while nobody wants canned peas (and no wonder) canned corn and canned green beans are snapped up.

You can get the individual 8 oz. (18 count) containers of milk thru Costco or Boxed.com. Costco is a few dollars cheaper

saguaro

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #285 on: October 18, 2020, 08:47:38 AM »
I too prefer fresh veggies first, frozen second and canned third. As far as canned veggies go, only kernel corn and green beans. But when in survival mode you need green veggies. I hope it never gets so bad that we only have canned veggies to survive on. I certainly am not a farmer and am limited on vegetables I can grow. I did grow lettuce, basil, peppers, tomatoes. Not enough to survive on! I subscribe to Imperfect foods and get fresh veggies thru them.

Same here, fresh, then frozen, then canned though I absolutely hate canned peas.

We have a plot in our local community garden and grew peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, cabbage.  I grew lettuce in a pot on my deck during the summer (too many rabbits in the community garden).  Canned and froze what I could but with limited freezer space still not going to last the winter.   Have stocked up on other things though and plan to do a big Costco run next week. 

Also my garage gets cold enough in the winter that's safe to store things like potatoes, carrots, apples in closed containers but not subject them to freezing.   Just have to make sure I use it all before it warms up in there which is like in March.

Covid cases are also spiking in our area so starting to limit the grocery trips again like we did in spring.

fuzzy math

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #286 on: October 18, 2020, 08:52:50 AM »
I have pinto beans soaking and ham thawing this morning for soup beans!! I have unknowingly been making them for the last year. I normally put leftover pasta sauce or some concentrated tomato paste in them and have been calling them "ranch beans".

Imma

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #287 on: October 18, 2020, 10:01:08 AM »
We're in a second lockdown already. We get groceries delivered and I made sure to stockpile this summer. Ever since the second lockdown has been announced shops have been empty again. The first lockdown was a surprise (although I always have a full pantry) but everyone knew the second wave was coming. I also canned this summer and we're growing spinach, kale, beetroot and endive in the garden.

I actually just ate canned peas for dinner (in a Shepherd's pie) and I also eat canned corn fairly often. Both are not often found fresh where I live. I also eat canned beans and lentils quite often - I have dried ones too but I don't always want to plan ahead. I think canned beans taste perfectly fine. I make sure to buy the brands that don't add sugar or salt.

I much prefer fresh green beans over canned but I don't mind canned at all. We used to grow tons of green beans at home and 9 months a year we ate them canned. I won't eat canned potatoes, mushrooms or asparagus though. Those are disgusting.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #288 on: October 18, 2020, 01:30:10 PM »
This expert says "the darkest of the pandemic is yet to come".

Batten down the hatches, get your pantries full and stay home as much as possible!

I just did curbside and had to go into one store too. Scary times ahead.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/osterholm-pandemic-forecast_n_5f8c6e02c5b67da85d1f2d67

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #289 on: October 18, 2020, 02:12:35 PM »
As for those debating hoarding vs stocking - when it comes to food, my definition of hoarding is having more food in the house than you can eat before it goes bad. If you're donating food because it'll expire before you get to it, you hoarded.

We could certainly eat all of the food we stockpiled before the best by or expiration dates, which are years in the future, but I know a) we don't need to because we solved the fresh produce shortage when we found a produce wholesaler who started selling to the public, b) we don't prefer canned foods in general, and c) we bought canned corn because we couldn't get frozen, and once our preferred frozen option became available we bought that and planned to donate the canned.

When we were stockpiling, we knew all along we would donate some of it. Indeed, when I debated buying a case of canned corn, DH pointed out we could donate it if we didn't use it or frozen became available, which it did several months in. At the same time we were stockpiling we were also buying for the food bank -- in addition to non-perishable food we donated 240 individually wrapped rolls of toiler paper.

We did buy some canned foods we ended up not wanting. I had fond memories of Spam and au gratin potatoes from my childhood -- the taste didn't live up to the memories and meat ended up not being in short supply as long as one was flexible. I have one kid who liked the Spam and would have eaten it, but I decided to donate it anyway.  I kept the cans of corned beef hash (another memory that disappointed) for him. I didn't care for the canned chicken we bought, but we're using it in soup and make chicken salad for the guys to use in sandwiches.

The urgent need for food donations is now, not a couple of years in the future when the cans have a couple of months left before expiring. Our local food bank keeps sending out pleas for donations. When I bought a case of canned pumpkin last week I set aside half of it for the food bank. If I buy a two pack of oil I give one to the food bank.

As for canned vs. frozen or fresh vegetables, we prefer fresh, then frozen, with canned a distant third.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #290 on: October 18, 2020, 02:21:33 PM »
This expert says "the darkest of the pandemic is yet to come".

Batten down the hatches, get your pantries full and stay home as much as possible!

I just did curbside and had to go into one store too. Scary times ahead.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/osterholm-pandemic-forecast_n_5f8c6e02c5b67da85d1f2d67

Good advice! If I could have my kids on leave of absence again I would, but at this point they'd lose their jobs.

We're done with going into stores even with masks and hand sanitizer (we started going again in late June, I think). It will be Instacart and curbside pickups from here on out.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #291 on: October 18, 2020, 02:35:52 PM »
Curbside grocery service was really good, however, I didn't realize till I got home that the store didn't have certain items that I specifically wanted and needed. I looked at the receipt when I got home and there were things listed that they were out of. Frustrating!

Another frustrating thing is that there were 8 parking spaces dedicated to curbside pick up and people who were not doing curbside were parked and in the store shopping. GRRRRR! I was lucky to get the last space available.

I have not done instacart. How much does it cost and how do you go about doing that?


Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #292 on: October 18, 2020, 02:47:04 PM »
 Aldi does instacart and so does my local IGA. I think there’s a separate Instacart app, but I haven’t tried it. I understand that the prices are quite a bit higher than in the store.

Aldi, you order for curbside pickup through Instacart, but the people who put your order together are Aldi employees.

Giant Eagle, the big chain in my area, uses their own employees which I prefer. Some of the Instacart shoppers seem pretty clueless about groceries.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #293 on: October 18, 2020, 03:17:52 PM »
Curbside grocery service was really good, however, I didn't realize till I got home that the store didn't have certain items that I specifically wanted and needed. I looked at the receipt when I got home and there were things listed that they were out of. Frustrating!

Another frustrating thing is that there were 8 parking spaces dedicated to curbside pick up and people who were not doing curbside were parked and in the store shopping. GRRRRR! I was lucky to get the last space available.

I have not done instacart. How much does it cost and how do you go about doing that?

We tried curbside with Target and it was a disaster -- they tried at first to send us home with half of what we'd ordered and been charged with. Then they brought out what they said was the rest, and it was still missing items.  I didn't order for curbside only to have to do an inventory in my car and repeatedly have to try to fix it.

I'm trying Instacart Express for free for 30 days (worked that out with online customer service). That's $99 per year (or $10 per month) -- it eliminates the delivery fee and lowers the service fee. One thing I learned was Sprouts doesn't have inflated prices on the Instacart website, and they honor their sale prices, so they're my preferred store. Aldi's markups are minimal.  Costco's markups are high, but so are their markups on 2 day non-perishable grocery delivery.  I plan to use Instacart at Costco only for things I can't get elsewhere (my dogs eat their Nature's Domain food).

This week I did two orders through Instacart, and in both cases I had groceries on my doorstop in just under an hour. I expect this to change as more people return to using grocery delivery. The person who picked out my produce and perishables at Sprouts did a fantastic job. I paid for an Instacart Aldi delivery several months ago and that was a disaster in terms of the produce -- I don't think it's going to work well someplace like Aldi where you have to really check the produce to make sure it's fresh.

It's still not frugal.  At Sprouts my food order was $76.18, the service fee was reduced to $1.45, and I ended up tipping $9.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #294 on: October 18, 2020, 03:39:22 PM »
I checked my Costco and instacart doesn't deliver to my zipcode. I am located about 15 miles from Costco. We have Stop & Shop either curbside or home delivery (formerly Peapod).

I have ordered some meat from Rastelli's (on line). Not cheap but really good quality. I ordered pork burgers from Red Top Farms, I order some things from Walmart (shelf stable). I have also ordered from QVC some meat products and Schwann's for frozen things. Imperfect foods for vegetable delivery. I have also ordered from a food service company on line too for frozen things. I have a lot of bases covered. Dairy, deli and some produce are the stumbling blocks. Where is the milkman when you need him? I could order from Stop & Shop and have that stuff delivered too.

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #295 on: October 18, 2020, 08:05:13 PM »
While I share the distaste for canned veg generally, for some reason Im okay with canned tomatoes for cooking only. I like the petite diced as far as size, already peeled and the canning semi-cooks them.  It doesnt taste like fresh, but I dont expect it to.

Dicey

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #296 on: October 19, 2020, 04:11:24 AM »
As for those debating hoarding vs stocking - when it comes to food, my definition of hoarding is having more food in the house than you can eat before it goes bad. If you're donating food because it'll expire before you get to it, you hoarded.

We could certainly eat all of the food we stockpiled before the best by or expiration dates, which are years in the future, but I know a) we don't need to because we solved the fresh produce shortage when we found a produce wholesaler who started selling to the public, b) we don't prefer canned foods in general, and c) we bought canned corn because we couldn't get frozen, and once our preferred frozen option became available we bought that and planned to donate the canned.

When we were stockpiling, we knew all along we would donate some of it. Indeed, when I debated buying a case of canned corn, DH pointed out we could donate it if we didn't use it or frozen became available, which it did several months in. At the same time we were stockpiling we were also buying for the food bank -- in addition to non-perishable food we donated 240 individually wrapped rolls of toiler paper.

We did buy some canned foods we ended up not wanting. I had fond memories of Spam and au gratin potatoes from my childhood -- the taste didn't live up to the memories and meat ended up not being in short supply as long as one was flexible. I have one kid who liked the Spam and would have eaten it, but I decided to donate it anyway.  I kept the cans of corned beef hash (another memory that disappointed) for him. I didn't care for the canned chicken we bought, but we're using it in soup and make chicken salad for the guys to use in sandwiches.

The urgent need for food donations is now, not a couple of years in the future when the cans have a couple of months left before expiring. Our local food bank keeps sending out pleas for donations. When I bought a case of canned pumpkin last week I set aside half of it for the food bank. If I buy a two pack of oil I give one to the food bank.

As for canned vs. frozen or fresh vegetables, we prefer fresh, then frozen, with canned a distant third.
I used to do the same things for the Food Bank, until I got to take a tour. OMG, they are so efficient! They have such  great connections with manufacturers and growers that they buy food for way less than I can, even with my ninja shopping skills. Now I don't buy food, I give cash instead. I'm grateful that years of mustachianism has allowed me the freedom to give generously.

Earlier this month, my civic group hosted a city-wide Food Drive. We collected more than 19 tons of food and over $16k in cash. Someone from the Food Bank commented that the beauty of community food drives is the variety of food it brings in.  Mostly, it raises awareness, even if it is less efficient.

If you're interested, there is a picture and a video clip on the last two pages of my journal, which is linked below. No need to bother with the rest of my blathering, it's pure drivel.


Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #297 on: October 19, 2020, 04:42:23 AM »
While I share the distaste for canned veg generally, for some reason Im okay with canned tomatoes for cooking only. I like the petite diced as far as size, already peeled and the canning semi-cooks them.  It doesnt taste like fresh, but I dont expect it to.

I absolutely love tomatoes and canned are great too! San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes are fantastic! Also, look for fire roasted tomatoes.

Here is a simple sauce recipe that is delicious!
https://food52.com/recipes/13722-marcella-hazan-s-tomato-sauce-with-onion-butter

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #298 on: October 19, 2020, 06:55:57 AM »
While I share the distaste for canned veg generally, for some reason Im okay with canned tomatoes for cooking only. I like the petite diced as far as size, already peeled and the canning semi-cooks them.  It doesnt taste like fresh, but I dont expect it to.

Agreed.  Canned tomatoes are fine . . . probably because you're always cooking the crap out of the tomatoes to make a sauce anyway.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #299 on: October 19, 2020, 09:17:41 AM »
As for those debating hoarding vs stocking - when it comes to food, my definition of hoarding is having more food in the house than you can eat before it goes bad. If you're donating food because it'll expire before you get to it, you hoarded.

We could certainly eat all of the food we stockpiled before the best by or expiration dates, which are years in the future, but I know a) we don't need to because we solved the fresh produce shortage when we found a produce wholesaler who started selling to the public, b) we don't prefer canned foods in general, and c) we bought canned corn because we couldn't get frozen, and once our preferred frozen option became available we bought that and planned to donate the canned.

When we were stockpiling, we knew all along we would donate some of it. Indeed, when I debated buying a case of canned corn, DH pointed out we could donate it if we didn't use it or frozen became available, which it did several months in. At the same time we were stockpiling we were also buying for the food bank -- in addition to non-perishable food we donated 240 individually wrapped rolls of toiler paper.

We did buy some canned foods we ended up not wanting. I had fond memories of Spam and au gratin potatoes from my childhood -- the taste didn't live up to the memories and meat ended up not being in short supply as long as one was flexible. I have one kid who liked the Spam and would have eaten it, but I decided to donate it anyway.  I kept the cans of corned beef hash (another memory that disappointed) for him. I didn't care for the canned chicken we bought, but we're using it in soup and make chicken salad for the guys to use in sandwiches.

The urgent need for food donations is now, not a couple of years in the future when the cans have a couple of months left before expiring. Our local food bank keeps sending out pleas for donations. When I bought a case of canned pumpkin last week I set aside half of it for the food bank. If I buy a two pack of oil I give one to the food bank.

As for canned vs. frozen or fresh vegetables, we prefer fresh, then frozen, with canned a distant third.
I used to do the same things for the Food Bank, until I got to take a tour. OMG, they are so efficient! They have such  great connections with manufacturers and growers that they buy food for way less than I can, even with my ninja shopping skills. Now I don't buy food, I give cash instead. I'm grateful that years of mustachianism has allowed me the freedom to give generously.

Earlier this month, my civic group hosted a city-wide Food Drive. We collected more than 19 tons of food and over $16k in cash. Someone from the Food Bank commented that the beauty of community food drives is the variety of food it brings in.  Mostly, it raises awareness, even if it is less efficient.

If you're interested, there is a picture and a video clip on the last two pages of my journal, which is linked below. No need to bother with the rest of my blathering, it's pure drivel.

Our food bank has told us that for food, donating money is the best option.
But they have NO connections to get discounted toilet paper. They are in dire need of toilet paper.  Ironically, they did a huge toilet paper drive in February, because the need was so great.  I can't imagine how bad it got in March and April...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!