How Hoarding Hurts Everyone

REGARDING HOARDING: While shopping at the Natick Walgreens on Saturday, I observed two rows of completely bare shelves where the soft paper goods and household disinfectants used to be. Of course the bleach was sold out. I later moved onto neighboring Roche Bros., which was equally lacking. I decided to try Stop & Shop, Home Depot, and Walmart early the next day.

At the Walgreens register, there was a woman in front of me, who had filled her carriage with 6 cases of water bottles, about half the store’s remaining stock. Although hoarding water is unnecessary in an area where sparkling, clean water pours from household taps, it still occurs.

When it was my turn at the register, shaking my head, I said to the young cashier, “I guess she was thirsty.” The cashier was not happy. She said, “These people can afford to hoard items, for no real reason. But, many of us, who live paycheck-to-paycheck cannot afford to stock up. When we leave work to shop, and these items are sold out, we’re stuck.”

There are real victims of this hoarding - not just inconvenienced, but people actually forced to do without. Many of them are the very people working to serve us in grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, etc., provided they are lucky enough to still be working.

The main reason for this hoarding has nothing to do with reality. There are no production shortages. In fact, production has increased, and truck drivers are working overtime to deliver extra goods to market.

This hoarding is a chain reaction by panicked consumers - hoarding caused by hoarding. There are consumers with 6 months worth of toilet paper in their homes, while others are down to their last two rolls and worried. There are consumers with more cleaning/disinfecting products than they’ll use in the next 10 years, while others go without. Recommended hand sanitizer is sold out within minutes of being stocked. This current craze of hoarding for the sake of hoarding is not smart or responsible behavior. It is cruel.

What’s worse, emptied store shelves force thousands of people to move from store to store, even town to town, to search for items. This is a perfect storm for spreading any number of contagious viruses, including COVID19 and the flu.

Let’s get back to being good neighbors. Buy what you need, and go home. Two weeks worth of groceries and sundries for your household members and pets is recommended by the CDC. It will also minimize your surface and interpersonal contact in public places.

The following article has some great shopping recommendations, including those from the CDC website, for preparing for quarantine:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2020/03/12/everything-you-need-home-if-youre-quarantined-coronavirus/5012744002/

Thank you, and be well, Natick!