Who you calling nobody?
Millions of us live here and in a much saner, safer, more sustainable, more self sufficient way. DC/msm and city people like to pretend we don't exist of course and for just those reasons. When they do acknowledge our existence, they like to think of us as dumb but when covid hit, meat and staples flew off the shelves faster than anything. The chip/snack aisle was fully stocked though. Oh and there was still some plant based meat alternative because that just doesn't sell here. Kids got off a month early from school in Spring 2020 but went back in Fall 2020 as scheduled because we trusted our observations over any experts, officials or talking heads. The Dawn of the Dead thing we were promised, never happened so we got back to normal. I don't know of any small business that failed, not even independent restaurants. They went back to indoor seating a year before the fast food places opened their dining areas. Blanket religious exemptions from the jab were given by most nursing homes, med centers etc.
and electric still goes out here. We have a lot of wind in the Ozarks and a lot of trees don't get a good tap root due to rocky ground. Since houses can be a mile apart, that's a lot of electric line per household for the electric co-op to cover too. Last time power went out, I fired up the generator to make sure we didn't lose any refrigerated/frozen food because it was out for 8 hours. Rural electric co-ops provide power to 42 million people. Only 12% or so of the population but probably 50% of the nations power lines by miles.
Pic would be more accurate if it was raining/snowing/sleeting, windy and 35 degrees because that's when the badass trucks and linemen tend to have to go to places like this. It's also usually a 30 wide swath with thick forest for walls on either side but I couldn't find a better pic.
As for the OP's subject of cashless, a lot of ads on craigslist in this area are trade only. "Will trade for" _______. Every grocery store has a bulletin board and many other places will let you post things. That will supplement or replace craigslist. Every Saturday morning, the local talk radio station has a garage sale. People call in and say they have an item for sale or are looking for an item and give a phone number. After that, it becomes two individuals making a private deal and usually the final deal will be in person. Track that gubmint. Kinda nice living in a place where people have little trust in the system.
I've been a prepper on and off for many years and when I saw empty shelves in Italy, I went out and bought the small freezer we'd been wanting for a while and filled it with meat and veggies. Also bought three 18 packs of Mega Roll TP. When the shortages hit, I drove by hundreds of head of beef cattle to go see empty meat dept. I'm getting into gardening more every year. I see deer every day.
IF they go CDBC/cashless, I'll keep working and buying what I can that way and produce as much as I can and do some trading. A year's worth of veggies for a year's worth of beef would probably be a realistic trade around here, especially if some of those veggies were canned. Some just raw pack and processed and some made into recipes and canned. Hot sauce, pasta sauce, bbq sauce, soups/stews, beans etc. Dehydrated onions, taters.
Salt and sugar are fairly cheap and if stored properly, last forever and are flavorings plus preservative. Wheat kernels will store forever but you'd have to get a grain mill or ten. 500lbs of each would last quite a while for personal use and barter. There's a Mennonite run discount grocery store about 100 miles away that also has 50lb sacks of white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, red or white wheat kernels, various beans. Salt I can get from the grocery store or walmart in 25lb bags. I currently buy my sugar in 25lb bags and keep it in a frosting bucket that most grocery store bakeries use and will sell for $2/ea. The round Allen brand frosting buckets are 4 gal and have a rubber o-ring seal.