OKEECHOBEE — “Where are all these shoppers coming from?” asked an Okeechobee resident on social media last week. Local stores such as Publix and Walmart seemed to have even more customers than …
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OKEECHOBEE — “Where are all these shoppers coming from?” asked an Okeechobee resident on social media last week. Local stores such as Publix and Walmart seemed to have even more customers than ever.
There are several theories to explain the crowds, even as the federal government was asking people to maintain a “social distance” of at least 6 feet.
• As with hurricane season, people were stocking up on nonperishable food and household supplies.
• Based on the license tags on the cars in the parking lot, it appeared people from the coastal counties drove to Okeechobee to find food and supplies they could not find in their own local stores.
• With kids out of school at least until April 15, parents found they needed more food at home.
• Florida colleges have gone to online classes, so many college students are returning home for the rest of the semester, adding to their families’ household food bills.
So, how do you balance the need to buy food and supplies for your family, while limiting visits to the store and maintaining social distance? How do you put aside your own fear that you might not have done enough to provide for your own family and let someone else have the last package of hamburger in the meat case?
A few suggestions:
• If you have enough food and supplies for a month, give someone else a chance. Since a local state of emergency has been declared, the stores have already warned shoppers that they will not refund money for items purchased during this emergency. Buy only what you need.