Central Ohio stockup

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My local grocery stores are taking Y2K seriously - stockup is really obvious now, which I find comforting.

Meijers (just north of Worthington): Yesterday they received their weekly shipment of bottled water - 4000 gallons of it (the usual per week is 600 gallons). According to my mother, there are Y2K displays with "stockable" items nearby. TP has definitely taken a hit, we were almost out of our regular supply (we don't touch our preps) and was surpised at how low the inventory was on the shelves.

Krogers: All aisles (sp?) are fully stocked and surplus inventory is put on top of the aisles (in fact, there is no room on top of the aisles now, I've never seen that many boxes ON TOP of the shelves before, EVER, at ANY store). Spam is clearly evident, two shelves full, stocked full, all Kroger's canned veggies are 6/$2, firewood is being sold INSIDE Kroger (this is a first, they've never done that before). While paying for a money order, I overheard one clerk ask another about the firewood. The second one said (direct quote) "It's for that "Millenium madness"...

Yep, it looks like these stores are prepping.

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), December 23, 1999

Answers

Big Bear (the local grocery chain, fyi) has sold firewood inside its front doors, and even some on the shelves, for years. While most retail outlets are winding down their Xmas season activity, the supermarkets get a big rush in the day or two just before Xmas (like they do for Thanksgiving)... a good opportunity for the stores to get rid of slow-moving veggies. The only empty spots I saw yesterday on the shelves were where the obvious price reductions have been posted.

For what it's worth, my power went out last night... a minor Y2K test of sorts, and indeed, something failed: my world-band radio. Bad batteries shorted it out, it seems. Need more candles too. Funny how you never notice such things until you need them ;)

-- Just (anotherbuckeye@columbus.org), December 23, 1999.


"Millenium madness"

Hee hee, all governments, militaries, utilities, big businesses and her own employer are prepping. But what do they (and we) know compared to a checkout drone?

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


I was at WalMart, off the 15 at Rancho Cuckoo in SoCA, the other day hunting down a Coleman oven for someone. I was shocked. WalMarts Y2K style products were sitting untouched. No one was prepping. Not only did it have the Coleman ovens but items like canned hams. And in the midst of the store were six packs of bottled classic coke on sale for twice the price. Not a soul stopped and pondered that price tag.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), December 23, 1999.

Northern California Safeway:

The store is jam packed with non perishables and a lot of Safeway "club" specials. More stock than I have ever seen. No Y2K signs per se. The checker said the biggest sellers are water. Let me tell you why I know this:

My son and his wife finally "get it". Of course this was after dutifully nodding to my suggestions for 18 months all the while thinking that the old girl (moi) had really lost it this time. Maybe it was the terrorism issues and the information about petroleum, who knows. Of course they are budgeted to the hilt for Christmas and both of them work crazy hours in healthcare and silicon valley tech stuff.

So, mom, being a GI softy, copied off her Y2K inventory spreadsheet, made a Safeway run and picked up about 3 weeks of food stuffs that I will bring with me on Christmas day along with a spare sleeping bag and a five gallon collapsible water container. The loyalty card helped. I saved about 35% of the total bill.

Maybe what finally fixed it in their exhausted, workaholic brains was the conversation about insurance. Better late than never?? Lets hope it is a 3-4 with a slow rampup so they have time to do more...

-- Nancy (wellsnl@hotmail.com), December 23, 1999.


Hi to all...Went to Wally'sworld today. Lots of batteries, only one coleman stove left, supply of propane low, gas cans almost all gone, only 3 left, noticed they now sell 6 gallons. Camp aisle has lots of coleman lanterns though. Proceeded onto Topps (this was different) a TON of bottled water against the windows. Alot of it too. Lots of lil signs mocking y2k against the potato chips "do you have everything for y2k?" I failed to see the humor probably cuz i get it. Didnt see anybody prepping, just usual Christmas Madness.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), December 23, 1999.


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