How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Oh, please. Have you heard of those various containers that actually do keep vegetables fresh for at least several days if not the 9 days they claim?

You mean to tell me that in the year 2020 someone has actually thought about how to keep produce fresh for longer than 24 hours? Mind blown.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Oh, please. Have you heard of those various containers that actually do keep vegetables fresh for at least several days if not the 9 days they claim?

No, never in my life have I seen that, and they probably aren’t available here. But regardless, the space issue remains. Bunches of kale take up a lot of room.

I actually really hate the American habit of huge grocery shopping trips once a week or less, to buy mostly packaged food. Even if we had a pantry, it wouldn’t be stocked with cans and in any event things like rice and beans and pasta require fresh ingredients to go along with them.

I don’t think shopping for food at least every other day is out of step with the norm where I live. No one has the fridge/pantry space, and you only buy what you can carry home on foot.

You guys are acting as if the very air outside will kill you. Meanwhile most people are trying to go about their lives as best they can. If it was just me, there wouldn’t be lines.

[iheartthed]

Windsor, Ontario is worried about an outbreak from Windsor residents who commute daily to work in Detroit hospitals. Michigan currently has more confirmed infections than all of Canada put together (21.5k vs 20.6k), and the city of Detroit has more than all of Ontario (6k vs 5.2k):

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...l-in-pandemic/

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by 10023

No, never in my life have I seen that, and they probably aren’t available here. But regardless, the space issue remains. Bunches of kale take up a lot of room.

The “green bags” are designed for fruits and vegetables that ripen by the production of the plant hormone, ethylene. Ethylene gas is produced in copious quantities by certain fruits, most notably bananas. As the concentration of ethylene gas increases in an enclosed environment, the fruit ripens faster. Removal of ethylene helps keep fruits from over-ripening quickly. The green bags are made of a polymer that allows the escape of the gas while keeping others, and some of them actually use additives to the film to absorb other gases that promote ripening or deterioration.

The green bags do work for certain types of produce. Some caveats–the shelf life is extended as long as the product is very dry (mold growth appears to be a problem in damp produce). Also, the bags have a shelf life and can only be reused 10 times.

https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/...produce-fresh/

I find that these things can at least double the freshness time of a lot of produce. Living alone, I find it hard to use up fresh produce before it goes bad but these bags (and there are also plastic containers etc) give me more time to finish off what I buy.

[10023]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

A neighbor stopped by randomly today with packets of seeds that he was offering for free to anyone who wanted to start a garden. We ended up with kale, cucumbers, and squash.

It would be great to have outdoor space during this.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/...produce-fresh/

So they’re mostly for fruits, especially bananas (which I don’t eat).

I doubt they would keep the asparagus (it’s Spargelzeit!), wild garlic, zucchini, radicchio and other things currently in my fridge fresh for long enough to make a difference to my shopping needs.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by 10023

I don’t think shopping for food at least every other day is out of step with the norm where I live.

Sure, when there's not a pandemic otherwise I think the vast majority of your fellow Londoners are altering their lifestyles somewhat for a while even at the point of inconvenience.

[Crawford]

I don't think too many Europeans shop North American style. Really none of my in-laws do the Costco-type shopping. Small fridges, kitchens and cars, emphasis on fresh food from narrowly focused specialty retailers, to be consumed on the day purchased.

And not in a precious/twee/upper class manner; factory workers generally have the same lifestyle. No Brooklyn-SF style $15 artisanal mayonaise made by Princeton dropouts, just good, simple, fairly priced food. Daily visits to baker, butcher and fruit and veggie place.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by 10023

I’m also adamant about supporting local business during this time, so I’ve tried to stop going to Whole Foods (the typical UK high street grocery stores suck), and instead go to the greengrocers, a bakery, a butcher, a fishmonger, etc.

The local shops have hour long waits?? I've specifically been shopping almost exclusively at small green grocers, etc now because they don't have huge lines. It's the big supermarkets that should be avoided (though still need to do it once every couple weeks to stock up on pantry goods and household items).

On the other hand, I had to wait in a 20 minute line at the liquor store today. Business must be way up though. I counted about 25 people in the lineup outside, plus maybe another 15 once inside. I've definitely never seen 40 people at my little neighbourhood liquor store all at once - let alone at 2PM on a Thursday!

Good thing I've been laid off and have all the time to wait in these lines now though.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by 10023

No, never in my life have I seen that, and they probably aren’t available here. But regardless, the space issue remains. Bunches of kale take up a lot of room.

I actually really hate the American habit of huge grocery shopping trips once a week or less, to buy mostly packaged food. Even if we had a pantry, it wouldn’t be stocked with cans and in any event things like rice and beans and pasta require fresh ingredients to go along with them.

I don’t think shopping for food at least every other day is out of step with the norm where I live. No one has the fridge/pantry space, and you only buy what you can carry home on foot.

You guys are acting as if the very air outside will kill you. Meanwhile most people are trying to go about their lives as best they can. If it was just me, there wouldn’t be lines.

You and your partner need to get better at cooking and shopping. My girlfriend and I only buy fresh foods and meats, the only "packaged" food we get is canned whipped cream for me (addiction) and tortilla chips for her (she makes her own salsa). We live in a tiny condo and have small fridge to accommodate the limited space. We've been going once a week, maybe stopping in quickly a second time if there is something one of us really needs. Plan your meals, freeze your meats. Eat leftovers. Don't buy things like strawberries that go bad in a day or two, be smart with the produce you buy. Spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, bananas, raspberries, pineapple... all these things easily last when properly stored.

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't think too many Europeans shop North American style. Really none of my in-laws do the Costco-type shopping. Small fridges, kitchens and cars, emphasis on fresh food from narrowly focused specialty retailers, to be consumed on the day purchased.

And not in a precious/twee/upper class manner; factory workers generally have the same lifestyle. No Brooklyn-SF style $15 artisanal mayonaise made by Princeton dropouts, just good, simple, fairly priced food. Daily visits to baker, butcher and fruit and veggie place.

During normal times, sure. But there is currently a pandemic that makes grocery shopping a time consuming nightmare, so people adjust accordingly. My sister in Brescia, Italy just made her first trip to the store in two weeks and has a family of four to feed.

[10023]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

The local shops have hour long waits?? I've specifically been shopping almost exclusively at small green grocers, etc now because they don't have huge lines. It's the big supermarkets that should be avoided (though still need to do it once every couple weeks to stock up on pantry goods and household items).

On the other hand, I had to wait in a 20 minute line at the liquor store today. Business must be way up though. I counted about 25 people in the lineup outside, plus maybe another 15 once inside. I've definitely never seen 40 people at my little neighbourhood liquor store all at once - let alone at 2PM on a Thursday!

Good thing I've been laid off and have all the time to wait in these lines now though.

Not individually. But when you’re going to the local shops and not the Whole Foods with a super long wait, you need to go to 3-4 places.

My local wine/beer shop has actually had to stop delivering because the drivers are too expensive, so there are queues at those too.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Handro

You and your partner need to get better at cooking and shopping. My girlfriend and I only buy fresh foods and meats, the only "packaged" food we get is canned whipped cream for me (addiction) and tortilla chips for her (she makes her own salsa). We live in a tiny condo and have small fridge to accommodate the limited space. We've been going once a week, maybe stopping in quickly a second time if there is something one of us really needs. Plan your meals, freeze your meats. Eat leftovers. Don't buy things like strawberries that go bad in a day or two, be smart with the produce you buy. Spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, bananas, raspberries, pineapple... all these things easily last when properly stored.

Ahh, a freezer? What’s that like? Mine has a couple of ice trays, a cold pack for my injured ankle, and a couple of frozen confit duck legs (I made 8 of them at once in the sous vide, but you can only eat so much duck in a week). That’s all it has room for. And frozen and thawed meat isn’t the same anyway. I live to eat, I don’t eat to live.

Again, space is the main issue. You simply can’t fit a week’s worth of kale in my fridge. And asparagus is only at its peak for a couple of days at most. At least we don’t have to refrigerate our eggs here.

Meanwhile I do have steaks for tonight, bought on Monday with a date of April 11 on them, but they’ve started to turn grey. I’m not going to do that again.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

The local shops have hour long waits?? I've specifically been shopping almost exclusively at small green grocers, etc now because they don't have huge lines. It's the big supermarkets that should be avoided.

On the other hand, had to wait in a 20 minute line at the liquor store today! Business must be way up though. I counted about 25 people in the lineup outside, plus maybe another 15 once inside. I've definitely never seen 40 people at my little neighbourhood liquor store all at once - let alone at 2PM on a Thursday.

Good thing I've been laid off and have all the time to wait in these lines now though.

Sorry to hear about your layoff - hopefully it's temporary while this is going on! At least they are fastracking EI / CERB right now.

Sounds like your strategy is pretty much the same as mine, and given as we live in similar areas may have crossed paths (at a distance!) at some point. I also waited in line 20 minutes at the Dufferin Mall LCBO today, which is pretty much unheard of outside of New Years eve! Once I was inside it was great though - they also aren't kidding around as plexiglass shields have been installed and they gave everyone a squirt of hand sanitizer upon entering. I mentioned this in another thread but according to friends who work at Collective Arts and Great Lakes Brewing, sales are actually pretty steady compared to pre-lockdown - deliveries have actually made up for the loss of licensee sales!

I was thinking about stopping by the Lansdowne No Frills to get some things that are harder to find, but nixed that immediately on account of the line snaking through the edges of the parking lot. I have heard from friends in Parkdale that Longo's has had zero lineups so may check that out later this weekend.

Aside from the produce we've been ordering, I've found the convenience store beside Burdock is actually quite well stocked. And I can visit Burdock after for beer and sourdough bread (both necessities right now).

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by 10023

So they’re mostly for fruits, especially bananas (which I don’t eat).

I doubt they would keep the asparagus (it’s Spargelzeit!), wild garlic, zucchini, radicchio and other things currently in my fridge fresh for long enough to make a difference to my shopping needs.

I don't use those bags either; I've never heard of them. We use something called the "crisper drawer" in the fridge.

I don't know about that other stuff you get, but zucchini can last about a week, and garlic can last close to two weeks, definitely at least 1.5 weeks. Are you not storing them unpeeled? A whole head of garlic can last about 2 weeks, I think, so long as you keep it whole/unpeeled. Even individual unpeeled cloves of garlic can last for a bit, even on the counter. We don't peel them until we're ready to use them. And we use garlic all the time so it rarely sits on the counter for more than a week anyway.

Pre-pandemic, we would go grocery shopping once a week or every 3-4 days. We don't buy a lot either, we get enough produce or meat that'll last us about a week. Since the pandemic, we've been trying to go once every other week, to avoid going out.

Most local farmers markets are only once a week, and I know people who only shop at local farmers markets... of course individual neighborhood/local farmers markets are held on different days of the week...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by 10023

You guys are acting as if the very air outside will kill you. Meanwhile most people are trying to go about their lives as best they can. If it was just me, there wouldn’t be lines.

This made me laugh, if I am reading it right. Sounds like "Grrr, if only every one took transit (except me), there wouldn't be so much traffic on the goddamn roads!"

Now I shouldn't criticize too much, as my wife is absolutely obsessed with eating fresh and it's hard right now to keep her from going to the store every single day. The best I can do is every two days. And even then I am not always successful.

I keep telling her that eventually we may get to be like Italy or France where I believe you have vouchers of sorts to leave the house. You write down the purpose of your outing and you're only really authorized to go the grocery store once a week.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by 10023

I don’t know what milk you’re buying that lasts two weeks! Or even cheese.

.

I have milk in my fridge bought earlier this week that has a best before date of April 27.

Cheese can last pretty long in the fridge as well.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by niwell

Sorry to hear about your layoff - hopefully it's temporary while this is going on! At least they are fastracking EI / CERB right now.

Sounds like your strategy is pretty much the same as mine, and given as we live in similar areas may have crossed paths (at a distance!) at some point. I also waited in line 20 minutes at the Dufferin Mall LCBO today, which is pretty much unheard of outside of New Years eve! Once I was inside it was great though - they also aren't kidding around as plexiglass shields have been installed and they gave everyone a squirt of hand sanitizer upon entering. I mentioned this in another thread but according to friends who work at Collective Arts and Great Lakes Brewing, sales are actually pretty steady compared to pre-lockdown - deliveries have actually made up for the loss of licensee sales!

I was thinking about stopping by the Lansdowne No Frills to get some things that are harder to find, but nixed that immediately on account of the line snaking through the edges of the parking lot. I have heard from friends in Parkdale that Longo's has had zero lineups so may check that out later this weekend.

Aside from the produce we've been ordering, I've found the convenience store beside Burdock is actually quite well stocked. And I can visit Burdock after for beer and sourdough bread (both necessities right now).

Thanks, all good though - I was actually in desperate need of a vacation. Getting $2000 per month to sit at home and play video games for a little while doesn't sound so bad right now.

Any NoFrills' are basically a no-go right now, but some of the slightly-smaller supermarkets like the FreshCo on Gladstone or Metro on College aren't too bad. I hadn't even thought about buying bottles from the local breweries - I'll have to skip the LCBO and do that next time I need to re-stock on beer (should have enough liquor to last me the next couples months now at least...).

[10023]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I don't use those bags either; I've never heard of them. We use something called the "crisper drawer" in the fridge.

I don't know about that other stuff you get, but zucchini can last about a week, and garlic can last close to two weeks, definitely at least 1.5 weeks. Are you not storing them unpeeled? A whole head of garlic can last about 2 weeks, I think, so long as you keep it whole/unpeeled. Even individual unpeeled cloves of garlic can last for a bit, even on the counter. We don't peel them until we're ready to use them. And we use garlic all the time so it rarely sits on the counter for more than a week anyway.

Pre-pandemic, we would go grocery shopping once a week or every 3-4 days. We don't buy a lot either, we get enough produce or meat that'll last us about a week. Since the pandemic, we've been trying to go once every other week, to avoid going out.

Most local farmers markets are only once a week, and I know people who only shop at local farmers markets... of course individual neighborhood/local farmers markets are held on different days of the week...

Wild garlic is a leaf, similar to the ramps that you get in the US. It goes bad if you look at it funny.

When you say “avoid going out”, I assume you’re still going for walks or running. Literally staying indoors all day is extremely unhealthy. I would personally become deeply depressed very quickly.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by 10023

It would be great to have outdoor space during this.

I'm 'bout to container garden alllll up in this bitch. We have a wee little patio out back that gets a lot of shade, but enough sun for government work, plus a sunblasted little patch of lawn and a porch on the front that cooks in the afternoon sun. But... some plants seem to enjoy getting to pretend they're rooted in the middle of a barren parking lot.

"Parking lot sun" is the phrase I heard for situations like our front porch, at a garden store. I rather liked it and have used it ever since.

[C.]

Has there been any suspending of high profile construction projects in your city? I'm amazed that construction work still seems to be going on in some places even with restrictive stay-at-home orders.

I imagine there are buildings that can't be exposed to the elements too long once construction has begun.