SYDNEY, N.S. — Beverly Burton of Sydney feels she hit the grocery stores at the right time on Wednesday.
“Today it was better in there,” said Burton, loading groceries she purchased at No Frills on Prince Street in Sydney.
“There was hardly any milk Tuesday but (Wednesday) that was stocked well.”
“There’s still a few things I looked for that I can’t get. Meat was low, some is hard to get.”
Burton is not worried about food supply and is not overstocking but is ensuring she’s prepared. However, she finds many people are stocking up over fears of the coronavirus and as a result some items are scarce.
On Wednesday, the Nova Scotia government announced five new presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to three confirmed positive by the national lab in Winnipeg, and nine presumptive cases. A total of 1,141 tests have come back negative.
Mark Boudreau, director of corporate affairs for Loblaw Atlantic, said they are encouraging Canadians to remain calm and to trust that the Canadian supply chain for food and drugs is strong. Loblaws owns No Frills, Atlantic Superstore and Shopper’s Drug Mart.
“We are not running out of food or essential supplies,” Boudreau said in an email response to questions. “Our supply chain and store teams are responding to the spikes in volume and quickly getting the most important items back on the shelf.”
Boudreau said their distribution centres are moving food and products through quickly, and more governments are making changes to ensure trucks can get to stores more frequently. Plans are in place to address a number of potential future scenarios to ensure every community is served.
In the meantime, Boudreau said they know that as customers stock up, whether in-store or online, some items will be sold out.
“We understand the frustration of an empty shelf and have assigned an entire team to the challenge of rapidly re-stocking key food, health, cleaning and comfort items,” he said. “Our teams have increased inventory on those products and wherever possible we expect to fully back in stock in the coming days. In some cases, limits may be imposed to help us ensure more customers have access to the products they need.”
Jeenie Johnson of Mira was headed into the Sobeys store on Prince Street in Sydney looking for food items she couldn’t get on the weekend.
“It’s frustrating, “ she said. “I might be buying a few extra things than normal but I’m not preparing to hibernate. The grocery stores are so crowded and people are panicking buying and overbuying, hurting the rest of us.”
“I was shocked to see Walmart’s grocery section so low on the weekend.”
Ben Sickles of Eskasoni was found loading groceries in his truck at No Frills on Welton Street, Wednesday. Sickles said he didn’t find the stock too bad, although meat products were low.
Sickles said he’s not panicking over the coronavirus, adding our parents and ancestors went through serious world situations including the depression and Spanish flu.
“AIDS is still ongoing and the death toll is much higher,” he added.
Staff at Master Meats on Johnston Ave., Sydney, said they’ve never seen anything like this and have been non-stop since last Friday, busier daily than at their peak times at Christmas. The meat shop normally gets two trucks of product a week but now are getting one every morning, restocking all their shelves. Wednesday morning, staff were busy unloading a truck and another was due this morning. People are not getting regular orders but appear to be stocking up with enough meat to least a week or two, they said. However, the staff said they are ensuring their shelves are replenished for their customers daily.
Andy O’Brien, CEO of M&M Food Market, said It’s definitely a very busy time for them.
“We’ve seen a lot of traffic in our stores over the past couple of weeks,” he said in an email response to questions. “We’re also seeing a higher volume through our online shopping options. Customers are placing orders for pick-up and our delivery option available through our website is getting food to people throughout the community.”
O’Brien said their stores across Canada are staying open, they consider it a privilege to serve their customers in Nova Scotia and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, he said they’ve been getting their regular weekly deliveries and where necessary, some have arranged second shipments. They are closely monitoring inventory levels and are in close communication with their distribution partner to ensure a steady supply of the products their customers want.
Given the current situation and their commitment to providing a safe environment for their in-store teams and customers, O’Brien said some locations may reduce their hours to accommodate things like restocking and cleaning procedures.
The No Quarter Deli Market on Charlotte Street in Sydney sells grocery items such as deli meats, oils, jams, pasta, pickled vegetables and have noticed business up but especially some items like prepared lasagna in which people are taking several home to freeze. Scott Hemmings, who does everything from prep work to cooking, said due to the new provincial government regulations they have reduced their hours and now close at 3 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m.
At the Co-op in Baddeck staff say they’ve been very busy.
“Everyone is in a panic and are coming out,” said one of the workers.
The staff has found people buying more groceries than usual and items they might not normally buy such as powdered milk and disinfectant wipes. Hand sanitation and toilet paper products became huge in demand. So far, the hours haven’t changed there. In the meantime, staff has elevated sanitation regularly to include everything from doorknobs to shopping carts.
The Broadway Convenience Ltd. on Victoria Road – an Indian Food grocery store— has also noticed a bit of an increase. Staff say people are buying extras of products such as disinfectant and toilet paper.
Even the convenience stores have food flying off the shelves. Staff at a Sydney Needs store said they are selling more food items than ever before.
