Pics of an Arizona Grocery Store During the Coronavirus Pandemic Walmart shelves are getting better, but are they really?
The covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic changed everything around the world in 2020. Financial markets crashed, and a month of panic buying kicked off, leaving grocery shelves empty worldwide. In the United States (and much of the western world), the loot system for this weekend’s grocery raid was as follows:
Common (gray) – junk food, soda, fruits/vegetables, hardware, stationary, beer, flowers
Uncommon (green) – meats, eggs, dairy, juice, frozen foods, cleaners, water filters, eye care
Rare (blue) – canned goods, pasta, boxed meals, sauces, oral care, medicines, supplements, hygiene and feminine products, sweeteners, cooking oils
Epic (purple) – tissues, paper towels, napkins, Lysol, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, flour, beans, rice
Legendary (orange) – toilet paper
Parties must contain less than 10 as a general rule, and mismatched gloves, head protections, and other protective measures could be found. I live near a variety of grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Safeway/Albertsons, and Frys/Krogers, as well as a Costco. But I spent the past two weeks watching the Walmarts especially.
There’s both a Fresh Market and a Walmart Supercenter within walking distance, so I watched how the most efficient retail supply chain stocked its shelves. These pics are from Friday heading into the weekend buying.
Whether you find what you want depends on what it is you were looking for. This is a spring most Americans have never seen, although some are no strangers to shortages and financial problems, much less life-threatening diseases.
The effects of the covid-19 coronavirus will ripple through our society for years. The lines between the haves and have nots are wider than ever, and price changes in what used to be common goods will further the divide. Meanwhile, the government is using the crisis for a power grab.
All I can do is document this one day at the end of March and show what the grocery stores looked like during an unprecedented global pandemic outbreak lockdown. This is what Arizona looks like…
