So called "sssential items"

Minshy
I agree, if it is available and you want it, why not?

Anyone else agonising over buying a daily newspaper? I don’t want to pay for one to be delivered and am perfectly able to go to the newsagent’s. I’m justifying it in my head by making it the half way point in my daily walk! Essential for my mental health. The cheery newsagent is wearing a mask and has a screen on the counter. No money changes hands as I am a subscriber so only have to hand over a voucher.

Well, Daddima, your sons friend made an unnecessary journey and interacted with people when he didn’t need to.

The bottle of milk and loaf of bread might get him out of the fine but it won’t change the fact that he doesn’t care about spreading the virus ?

Hithere
People can buy what they like if the item is in the shops.
If I’m in buying my normal groceries ( and don’t forget this is not a time of rationing) then I will. It’s keeping the economy going.

I guess Easter eggs and other seasonal items are planned way ahead of time and need to sell if they are taking storage space in the supermarket.

I was surprised to see Easter eggs in the supermarkets. I consider them nonessential, they are a luxury. Having said that because they are available I bought one for each of my granddaughters. They will not be getting them tomorrow though as I will not see them until the lockdown is over. I have taken photos of them which I will send to their mothers phone tomorrow with messages for each of them. I do fear however the availability of them will mean a lot of people will decide that they will visit family to deliver in person

Our local Tesco has been brilliant there is always a queue but it moves along quite quickly. The man in charge offers to clean your basket or trolley and there are free gloves if you want them. He's so cheery and constantly apologies for the wait. I'm finding shopping quite stressful now there's all the arrows to follow and now a place marked out to stand at the checkout. It's like an X factor audition to pay for your shopping. Don't move from that circle. I can't imagine all the hustle and bustle of a Primark just now. Like many others it's my garden that's keeping me going.

Honestly, if you get something from a volunteer but it is not the supermarket of your choice, you would be written out of my list to be helped so fast - ungrateful person

Exception if it is for medical reasons such as allergy, gluten.
If it is because you prefer one supermarket over another that provides the same item - beggars can not be choosers

Can I use this thread next time somebody claims that Jobseekers Allowance of £73 per week is enough to buy "essentials"?

The large brewers here have started home deliveries as have some of the wine suppliers,
Thursday when I was coming in 2 of the students on the top floor were going out, they shouted hello and asked after my health then said "do you need any wine for the weekend".
They know I cannot carry much and also know I like a nice white.
If the Police started policing shopping here there would be riots.
People do one shop here and what is in it is their business.

Psalmody
Compost maybe essential for those fighting depression???Biscuits however you see as non essential ??? Nothing lifts me out of my 'lows' like a biscuit or two and a cuppa. You can keep your compost.

Can't see this. As long as we are not going overboard with our shopping ie no more than three of the same item is my Tesco rule, why not buy what ever you want although some shops selling non essentials are closed.

In my local supermarket they are announcing " no browsing " which makes sense as there are a queue of people outside waiting to get in.

On our local Facebook page there were people that had been stopped by police whilst out driving and asked where they are going, if it was non essential they were told to go home.

My son’s friend was fined £30 for buying a bottle of wine ( that was all he’d bought)! Policeman was outside the supermarket, and told him wine was not essential! Next time he’ll buy a loaf and carton of milk as well!

A thought. As many of you know, I am in the US and in shelter at home state - only essential trips till June

Wouldn't the rule of once a week for groceries put the public more at risk?

Here, more people are allowed to "hoard" or stockpile food because we normally do shopping monthly or 2x a month and we have the space to store it.
So for some of us, that practice, post covid, hasn't changed that much.
I am talking frozen food and non perishables.
Isn't shopping less often minimize the changes of spreading it around?

Lulubelle500, it rather blasts the recommendation to only shop once a week out of the water. I doubt a family of four could get a week's shopping in a basket. As your example shows even, you cannot manage it.

Our local supermarket only allows one basket per customer. It's surprising how that concentrates the mind on only buying what you actually need! I'm trying to only go out every four days, so on 'large milk days' that's pretty much all I can buy.

Hetty58 how true. The media are responsible for so much that is frightening and false. They twist anything they can to make sensational copy. Journalists at the five o clock briefing on Covid19 seem to waste time rephrasing the same question in different ways when they already have the answer, and then print what they have heard in sensational terms. An MP was recently asked about some statistics; he responded that they weren't available at that time but would be, hopefully, in the next day or so. This was translated as 'MP forced to admit he had no idea'. Forced? Admit? He simply answered a question; this is the kind of irresponsible journalism that creates anxiety.

I think "essentials" are different for all of us, but I do think when doing your normal weekly shopping, if it is usually wine or beer etc then it should be classed as essential.About closing Garden Centres, I think they are an essential part of life at the moment if you have a garden, and gardening is a kind of therapy, they can close the cafe and keep the Garden Centre open if people keep their distance what is the difference buying outside and buying in a more occupied supermarket, surely a Garden Centre is better and healthier outside shopping.

My friend has set up a group to match volunteers to people needing things. Her most frustrating part is having to deal with complaints ie the lady who wanted cracked black pepper only from Aldi, and the person who asked for a different buddy because she wanted her food from Waitrose and the volunteer went to Tesco. Different people have different expectations even in these strange times

Why do people keep spreading these ridiculous rumours? There are so many 'non-stories' in papers, where something is misunderstood (as here) or somebody has a wild idea. By the time you've read them, there's obviously nothing to them!

My seeds arrived today, about three weeks after the order went in, which was understandable because they had had to change their working practices and recruit staff to replace those who are at home for various reasons to do with the current situation.

A kind Gransnetter offered to send me some if mine failed to arrive - Gransnet at its best!

I think we have two type of categories in essential items

1. Regarding physical health
2. Mental health

No. 1 is a little bit more clear to define- food, cleaning supplies, etc

The hardest thing is to define what items belong to no. 2 category. Safeguarding our mental health is key as well but it may put others in danger at the same time.

There are many reasons why some items eg compost would be considered essential for some who, maybe are fighting depression or other invisible battles. So many food items could be considered non- essential eg biscuits. We have become a greedy, selfish society and we have learned to be incredibly intolerant & judgemental without care for those who are weaker. Thank God for the Food banks, but they and other front line carers are struggling to get the real essential goods. We have it so good compared to those fighting the same battle in other countries. It would be good if the TV or newspapers followed a real family in crisis.

The person who is worried about ordering plants on line but doesn’t want to waste essential delivery needn’t worry because the delivery companies are keeping people in jobs and it is Essential to keep the economy going . If we don’t buy stuff the economy will be badly hit. I ordered 3 plants for my garden , 3 days later my postman delivered them. Royal Mail are all working so why not?