Stocking Up On Foods For Winter

                                                              TSM /Bart Sadowski

At this point Americans are facing the worst spike in COVID-19 so far, and not just in large cities, but in rural areas as well.   Many companies, local businesses and schools are still having many employees and students working from home online.

Many people  are staying put  to avoid contact with anyone who might be carrying the virus.  The grocery store is where most people go to when they do leave their homes.  If you do hit the store here is a list of items that some say you might want tp stock up on incase they are in short supply this winter. (toilet paper is not on this list)

Canned soup.  This item grocers are seeing more and more people stocking up on.  For most of us, soup is a comfort food, when it is added along side a grilled cheese sandwich of course.

Coffee and hot cocoa.  Of course more people will be purchasing these items, since you are not at work.  Before working from home became the norm, your boss or company picked up the tab for your caffeine habit.

  Salad greens and fixins.  Now that folks are home they are choosing fresh, over boxed   Greg Doonan, marketing communication consultant at Nielsen, says this might be because Americans are "prioritizing health and immunity boosting in their purchase habits".

If you want to use lettuce or other greens in your cooking, you can chop it up and freeze it for use later.

Meat alternatives.  Products like plant based Beyond Meat saw a huge spike in sales.

Nectarines and other less ordinary fruits.  Fruit purchases for the 'at home group' saw a huge spike in fruits, especially nectarines.  Buy the fruits now that you love and freeze them for future use.

Oat milk and Almond milk.  Sales of these purchases were through the roof.  Sales have increased around 300%.  These products can sit on the shelf for awhile before use, which means they are a great 'buy ahead purchase'.

Yeast and other baking supplies.  Baking is on the increase as more 'at home' cooks are spending more time in the kitchen and doing way more baking that ever.   Baking for this Holiday season has seen a huge spike in sales of yeast, flour and other baking supplies.

Pizza crust.  The ready made packages of crust are great to have on hand when you don't have the time or energy to bake your own.

These are just suggestions and not meant to cause a panic, see no T.P. on the list.  Just a few things it would be good to have on hand when you don't feel like leaving the house.