Coronavirus Impacts Our Grocery Shopping Habits
Going out anywhere often requires a mask, even though that’s not enforceable by law in Dallas County. Maggie Cook-Allen, a senior at Southern Methodist University, bought masks from Vickery Trading Company, a company that employs and gives back to refugees in Dallas, for when her family goes outside.
Any time she goes grocery shopping, she makes sure that she has her mask on her to help practice social distancing. She has also started using self-checkout more frequently so that she’s in less contact with other people and so she gets out of the store faster.
“When I go [grocery shopping], I always try to keep a safe distance from people and touch fewer items,” she said. “If I’m trying to decide between items, I won’t pick up each one to look at it. I’ll only touch the item I want to buy.”
Similar to Cook-Allen, the grocery buying experience is changing for people across the United States.
Before, it seemed that the peak hours for a grocery store were on weekends when people didn’t have to worry about a daytime job or the other priorities in life. Now, every day is packed at grocery stores.
This has also changed the perspective on how we as a society view employees at grocery stores. Arguably a job viewed as less essential or desirable, employees in the grocery industry are in high demand.
Consumers took note and flocked to grocery stores and continued spending more frequently at grocery stores as states begun locking down, according to an article from The New York Times. This change reflects the priority that many have put in groceries as we continue to eat our meals at home.
For others, they have changed the types of groceries that they buy in order to limit the contact with people outside their home.
That’s exactly what Price Morgan, a recent graduate of Southern Methodist University started to do.
Morgan, who works in the Simmons School’s Global Health Initiative, has repurposed a leftover N95 mask from a home remodeling to serve as his protection whenever he goes outdoors. He also makes sure to pack his hand sanitizer to keep his hands clean.
In addition to these changes, he began buying more non-perishable groceries such as canned goods and ingredients for vegan chili, peanut butter sandwiches, and rice and bean burritos. He has also started leaving his groceries out for a couple days as an extra precaution.
Leaving groceries out is becoming a new trend as people try to prevent the virus from spreading within their homes.
The shift in what people buy also represents an emerging divide between those who are continuing to plan for a long-term shutdown, and those who use the weekly outing to escape the home for a short time during the week.
While the measures in place are designed to keep us safe, there are also drawbacks to the constant coverage of the virus and the pressure to help practice social distancing.
Emma Waite, a freshman at Southern Methodist University, finds all the extra preparations to go outside bad for her anxiety. In order to calm down, she takes a shower after returning home to decompress.
“The general atmosphere in stores is very strange,” she notes. “You can tell how anxious people are, and it’s draining to be around.”
Although she understands that there is a good reason for the guidelines, she’d prefer to not deal with the stress. In order to establish more control on her grocery runs, she develops a list by section of the store and systematically checks off every item before going to the next section.
There is a lot of uncertainty at this time, and the way we view grocery shopping has evolved as requirements become more stringent.
For some, going to the store is a reprieve. For others, it’s a way to provide the basic necessities. For all, the way we approach grocery shopping has changed.
