Posted on 03/13/2020 1:49:13 PM PDT by Kaslin
Fancy grocery stores like Trader Joe's in affluent neighborhoods have lines out the door, regular stores, not so much.
Different types of people handle situations differently, especially when it comes to stuff like a pandemic of a deadly Wuhan virus. But in New York City and elsewhere, an interesting pattern is emerging in regard to fancy chain grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods which have been picked over like a carcass and still have long lines. Meanwhile, regular neighborhood chain stores have a few shortages, but are operating pretty normally.
The evidence is anecdotal, but it’s reflected on social media as well. I went to my local grocery this morning and there were a few people hoarding, but it wasn’t packed, it was well stocked, and seemed to be humming along.
COVID-19 has officially hit NYC.
There’s not a single piece of food left at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. pic.twitter.com/L5mF15LmRs
— Yano (@JasonYanowitz) March 12, 2020
Over at Trader Joe’s, multiple news reports have made the popular millennial hot spot sound like a post apocalyptic hellscape.
Here is video of the line inside one Manhattan location.
There is probably more than one reason that these differences are occurring, but it seems highly likely that the dispositions and incomes of the two sets of customers are playing a role in the run on Trader Joe’s and the slow steady traffic of old school grocers. The former are almost all in affluent sections of the city, the latter more often in middle and lower middle class neighborhoods.
But it’s not just in New York City.
This pattern is also happening in DC. Costco and big-box stores much worse than neighborhood grocers. https://t.co/mq9XzZaUfm
— Inez Stepman (@InezFeltscher) March 13, 2020
Whole Foods, Los Angeles. 8:00pm Thursday, March 12. pic.twitter.com/fpVJb4yHK3
— Arezou Rezvani (@ArezouRezvani) March 13, 2020
In the industrial part of Houston supermarkets are stocked with light traffic. In the expensive parts of town the whole foods are packed. It doesn't pay to be extremely online.
— Chris Raab (@ChrisRaab3) March 13, 2020
Welp.
This is what the Trader Joe’s on 14th street in DC looks like this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/31BDKERnEn
— Peter Suderman (@petersuderman) March 13, 2020
The scene this afternoon from the Trader Joe’s in Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/wysIrl8Ujz
— Jonathan Yuan (@jyuanathan) March 13, 2020
There is something to be said for the fact that more affluent people may be paying closer attention to the virus, but before we get to that, there are a few practical reasons this could be happening.
The first is income. New Yorkers who aren’t wealthy are not known for being swimming in savings. For many, the idea of dropping $500 right now for a stockpile would interfere with tight budgets. Another factor is space, people in small apartments don’t have storage for 27 twelve packs of toilet paper. And small apartments mean small fridges and freezers compared to those in new luxury buildings.
But it’s not completely off base to point to some psychological differences as well. For one thing, white collar professionals are far more likely to have jobs that allow them to stay tuned in constantly to the updates that cause anxiety and panic buying. The wage-worker, who isn’t on a device all day, is watching a severe pandemic occur, but not in a constant cascade of panic. The affluent in these areas also tend to be more progressive than middle class New Yorkers, and the progressive media has leaned very hard into the worst possible outcomes, whether for political reasons or not.
Whatever the reasons for the disparity, there seems to be two different realities playing out in the city regarding the Wuhan virus. Everyone might be taking precautions, but in different ways across socio-economic lines.
In the working class neighborhoods rules and advice from officials are being followed, but not exceeded to the point of baring the the shelves of the stores. Ultimately, this is probably a much more responsible approach, as local stores will have better control of their supply lines.
It’s a tale of two cities, one experiences a bit of a panic-driven freak out and another takes a more measured approach. I find myself in the latter camp, and I could be wrong, but at least I won’t be spending two hours on line at Whole Foods.
My Safeway is a madhouse, and it’s not one bit fancy.
That picture is of a regular store. And from what I’m hearing the regular stores are getting mobbed too. At least in some neighborhoods. It’s really about who’s crazy and who isn’t.
Liberals shop at the fancy places, Whole Foods, Everman’s, Trader Joe’s, etc..................
Because the stuff is organic.
Affluent or effluent?
Why? Stupidity. Are not the folks standing in line at crowded Costco, Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s more likely be putting themselves at risk of virus exposure than if they were shopping at emptier, less chichi stores?
Aldi’s stock plenty of organic foods.
I’ve never heard Trader Joe’s referred to as a “fancy grocery” before. I would call it the “Ross Dress for Less” of food stores.
Trader Joe’s is not fancy. They have some of the best prices outside of Costco/ Sams. I would shop there more if there was one convenient to me. They do carry a great many organic products so a lot of libs probably shop there, hence the panic buying.
“fancy chain grocery stores like Trader Joe”
Ah, now the word is “fancy”! I guess because they’re so damn expensive. Because they’re “organic” which is at best what they should be called.
That’s because of the kind of people who tend to get suckered into that kind of store. They’re paranoid that so much food is bad for you, of course they’re paranoid more bad stuff is going to happen - and they’re ensuring to stock up on “healthy” food rather than the evil capitalist “processed” food.
I have been in our local Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods within the last five days. I have also been in Lowe’s, CVS, and Harris Teeter.
This has not happened here yet, and I am about 2 hours south of DC.
There are some items that are gone, but there are no empty shelves.
My wife visited a local Kroger in normally sane north GA, and it was packed with people, with most meats, produce and paper goods gone.
This was BEFORE the declaration of a national emergency.
Rule #1 of prepping applies: you don’t talk about your preps. <— this just went live.
No sign of panic here and there’s one guy in the county diagnosed with it. Yet, Dollar General still has alcohol, bleach and TP.
First, the writer is a snob. Affluent people pay more attention to the news? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure blue collars understand quite well what’s going on. They’re just not stupid enough to spend their hard-earned money at a high-end grocery store! And second, I really hope but the blue collar bosses pay attention shut down their factories for a while and let people go home. This is completely insane I think I really don’t think it’s the worldwide pandemic that we think it is. These things are almost always overblown. However I could be wrong. Is just I panicked over Y2K SARS Ebola and I’m fed up with these media manufactured crises. Now all the schools are closed up here. I sure hope it doesn’t get a foothold into the place where I live which is a long story I’m only 57 and I don’t have Alzheimer’s but I live with these people. And if it gets in here it would be decimated; weak elderly people they have no chance
Because your average suburbanite is too dumb to recognize anything that sells food if it doesnt say something like Costco on a big sign.
Chocolate. Trader Joe’s brings in that 70% stuff by the boxcar load.
Food 4 Less (Kroger’s discount supermarket) in San Diego had plenty of TP at regular prices while Walmart and Costco were sold out. Walmart not upscale so...
In my best Southern Belle voice: why Sir, I do believe that I am quite fancy. LOL
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