The message cannot be louder, stronger, and can’t be repeated often enough. Three simple, straightforward words. Stay. At. Home. By now, we already know that unless it’s unavoidable and of necessity, vigilance, social distancing, and self-restraint must become our “new normal”. And now that new normal includes the way we grocery shop and finding ways how to do it. Staying at home for as much as we humanely, possibly can, is one of the most effective ways to address the pandemic, which is why online shopping has taken off – so much so that it stores are not able to keep up with demand.
As of now, groceries are not even able to deliver within a few days, the earliest seems closer to a week, if not longer. So you may be asking, if I can’t book a delivery time for at least a week if not longer, what’s the point of even trying?
In my opinion, I feel there is still reason to be persistent to lock in a future grocery delivery day, even if it’s a week or perhaps more in advance. Why? Simple. That means ONE LESS TRIP to the supermarket in a week or two weeks, or whenever, and that means one more opportunity to practice social/physical distancing. Every time counts.
With that in mind, here are the online grocery delivery services in WNY:
Wegmans website now says:
“Online Grocery Delivery & Curbside Pickup: Due to high demand, Grocery Delivery & Curbside Pickup times are extremely limited. We encourage you to keep checking the available windows, as they do open up.”
www.wegmans.com/groceries-online
Tops Markets also provide the same service. Not surprisingly, when I signed up for the service, I was informed that the delivery would not be until the evening of April 2, 2020 – six days from the time of writing this article (March 28)
Dash’s Market was similar. Their message stated: “All Times Sold Out”. However, they did say that if you do place an online order, it would be saved and customers were asked to check back regularly.
Some suggestions as alternative options:
- Consider putting together a small group of friends/neighbours/family members, and establish a “designated shopper” to shop on behalf of the group members. Each group member would then take their turn at being the appointed day’s “designated shopper,” again another way to cut down on more people using the supermarket.
- If you can’t find, or don’t a group of people to band together, an option might be to get in touch with your local neighbourhood association to see if they might establish a neighborhood “designated shopper” initiative, bringing together neighbors taking turns to shop for each other, or maybe they already have a similar type service for local residents. Lastly, with their resources, they likely could connect you to community organizations that might be able to help you with your shopping needs in this time of uncertainty. Again, in my opinion, it’s worth a shot if it means one less trip to the grocery store.
Lead image: Photo by Giuseppe Argenziano | Lorne Opler is BR’s Toronto correspondent whose father was originally from Buffalo – he still pays plenty of visits to his beloved second home.