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Writer's pictureSean Goh

Supermarkets and COVID-19: The New Supreme? And A Plan?

I was watching the news throughout the span of this pandemic from the United States all the way to the tenth floor of the Fairmount Pacific Rim Hotel north of the boarder and back into the United States before President Trump called for a level 4 travel ban and PM Trudeau taking further action of stop non-essential travel. I remember seeing how it went from "it's just like the flu" to a declaration that it is a pandemic and witness a 360 degree turn on the news. One thing that also took a turn was consumer shopping habits that first started in Singapore which has now became very popular among some North Americans.


I have come to understand the situation when I try to put my mind into the shoes of some of those who have started to see the simply toilet paper as a new kind of commodity and I understand. I even understand why people are stockpiling guns and ammunitions. It's simply, we think this pandemic will spread like warm butter on toast and soon enough, the fantasies of doomsday peppers will come alive. We have seen people hoarding anything from toilet paper, canned food, and condoms to something like fake lashes of all things at Costco, Kroger, Target, and many more stores across the entire continent of North America but one thing no one seems to show a sign for is consideration for the well being of others; its an all out every man/woman for themselves situation. However, I have came up with a plan in which I would like to discuss with all my fellow readers in the comments below before I send a suggestion in the form of a memorandum to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and supermarket stores nationwide. Its one hell of an ambition but lets go!


The Plan:

Let me keep it simple in bullet points below:

- limit supplies to a fixed quantity per person. This will make sure that everyone only comes out once a week for supplies and not everyday in hope for a restock on inventory.

- Like restaurants, it would be better for supermarkets like Walmart and Kroger to recommend curb-side pick-up to limit out times and also reduce consumer contact with various goods without purchasing them.

- To add on to that, supermarkets should waive grocery delivery fees to encourage people to shop online instead.

- The end


With a plan like this, not only do we get to reduce human contact with food supply and multiple surfaces of concealed goods, keep necessities available for everyone and for suppliers or manufacturers to easily predict and allocate quantities needed overtime but also, to prevent a doomsday-like shopping situation when supplies start to run low with the likelihood of people behaving like an anarchy in as soon as 3 months if this goes on. Solving the unforeseen root of the problem is where we should start.


I wrote this because I am deeply upset that I can't get toilet paper and the elderly are struggling to "compete" for supplies. See, it's already beginning. We need to impose measures like this in order to solve problems. People have to sacrifice something in order to solve another. Like how we sacrificed our freedom at airports after 9/11, we should do the same now.

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