How to shop for groceries if you’re isolating or over panic buyers
With panic buyers stripping supermarket shelves, there’s a growing anxiety among Sydneysiders as to how they’ll buy their essentials. These are the operators stepping in to fill the gap.
NSW
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As Sydney’s biggest supermarkets struggle against a wave of panic buyers, smaller operators are finding themselves in the hot seat when it comes to food, meal and booze deliveries.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison today confirmed there would not be a lockdown and urged Austtralians to stop pani buying and hoarding, saying it was ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unAustralian’.
However as the coronavirus crisis deepens in NSW and more people work from home or self-isolate, getting food and other essentials remains a stressful part of life for many.
Which is why it’s good to start shopping local.
Many smaller local supermarkets are offering free drop-offs and deliveries to locals who need it, such as QE Foodstores in Newtown, and are managing to maintain stock including fresh produce, meat and the ‘unicorn’ item, toilet paper.
IGA Lilyfield owner Leon Van Rensburg will have an online shopping service set up by the end of the week due to demand.
He’s also returned to an old-fashioned approach to service locals — accepting phone orders from the elderly or vulnerable, even driving customers home if they can’t carry their shopping.
At a time when local businesses desperately need the support, he said it was heartwarming to see locals coming in to skip the stress of the big supermarkets.
“We’re not getting the aggression you’re seeing in the chains,” he said.
Delivery businesses like Doorstop Organics based in Marrickville, is also stepping in to fill the gap, especially as more shoppers try to avoid the aggro at supermarkets.
Doorstop Organics, usually a same-day grocery delivery service, is now bumping deliveries two, three even four days into the future for the first time in 15 years to meet demand.
“Our business has doubled by 100 per cent at least,” said owner Peter Richardson, adding they were turning off some of their advertising to help stem demand.
“We’re making it up by the day because the situation changes daily, it’s insane.”
“I’m living on four hours of sleep a night trying to keep it all going.”
With more than 5000 grocery lines, the bulk Australian made, supply wasn’t an issue, he said.
But meeting demand was challenging, as every order was packed by hand, although customers were being patient and supportive despite longer delivery times.
Meanwhile, demand for pre-made meals has been intense at Dietlicious and Gourmet Dinner, said director Janel Horton, who’s been in the kitchen working 12-hour days.
Both Dietlicious and Gourmet Dinner Service have seen a 25 per cent sales growth in the last two weeks.
“It’s like a Christmas rush in March,” said Ms Horton, who said they’ve had to add staff to keep up as kitchen, packing and delivery staff were working from 5am to 6pm.
“Frozen food has never been cooler,” she said. “We are meeting the demand for frozen meals and fresh salads and will continue to do so with our huge range of chef made healthy frozen meals that are supporting people through this time”.
BOOZE DELIVERIES BOOM
Tipple, which partners with local independent Sydney bottle shops, has seen a huge spike in orders over the past two weeks, said head of operations Travis Barrington.
“Last week, numerous customers were ordering in bulk — in excess of $1000 per transaction. This is unusual on our platform as customers mostly use our service for fast on-demand ordering yet we are seeing many scheduled later-day deliveries,” he said.
Tipple has increased its delivery fleet to meet the demand, which is expected to continue as they’re already seeing daily requests from customers who are in isolation.
Alcohol home delivery service Jimmy Brings co-founder Nathan Besser said they are actively recruiting drivers daily to meet demand.
“We are doing our very best to keep up with demand, and introducing new procedures to maximise safety and hygiene for our team and customers,” Mr Besser said.
He also said customers were showing patience and respect to staff.
“While some parts of the community are reporting otherwise, we are seeing our staff and customers come together to support each other.”
While the business has plenty of stock available, it is expecting some supply chain issues and may need to substitute items for similar products of equal or greater value.
A GUIDE TO GETTING ESSENTIALS
SUPERMARKET CHAINS
Woolworths and Coles have suspended click and collect services, and Coles has stopped home delivery orders to dedicate its van network to get groceries to the most vulnerable.
Woolworths home delivery windows are closing at record time.
Coles has also temporarily cancelled its UberEats delivery service to improve availability in stores, a spokeswoman said, and is currently recruiting 5000 staff to help meet demand.
Costco Australia would not comment on its online services status.
GROCERIES
Harris Farm is open for business online, and says there is no “unmanageable risk” to the food supply system in Australia.
The majority of Harris farm produce is Australian and co-CEOs Tristan, Luke and Angus Harris said any short term rushes and out of stocks were likely to be just that – short term.
Amazon Australia also offers pantry staples and beverages, including tinned food, cereals, cooking ingredients, instant meals, baby food, sauces, condiments and more.
Online meat deliveries are available in much of Sydney, however some have been swamped by demand, such as The Meat Store, which has temporarily stopped orders until March 23.
Others including The Meat Boutique, My Meat Online are taking orders.
Kingsmore Meats in Rose Bay has also stepped away from online orders, instead asking customers to text so they can let them know what they have in stock.
Owner Joel Horton said staff were working from 4am until 10pm to fill orders.
“I’ve had so many Woolies and Coles customers in here because the shelves are empty. I think it’s a big lesson for consumers that maybe they need to support the little fellas a bit more,” Mr Horton said.
FRESH PRODUCE
There are loads of fresh fruit and vegetable delivery options in Sydney.
Fruit and Veg 2u delivers to most north western suburbs of Sydney three days a week, while
The Fruit Cart delivers seasonal boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
Sydney Fresh delivers Australian grown fruit and vegetables direct from Sydney Markets.
Google fresh produce deliveries in your area for more.
MINI GROCERY RUNS
You can order some groceries and alcohol, as well as meals, via Menulog depending on which area you live, as well as UberEats. Contactless delivery is also an option.
You can also place a job on Airtasker and get your shop done and dropped off.
CHARITABLE HELP
If you’re in need of food assistance, contact Foodbank on 02 9756 3099 which can help people find a charity in their area that can support them.
How are you getting your groceries? Share in the comments