Supermarket Food Supplies: 'There Is No Need To Panic'

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Glaringly empty supermarket shelves across Long Island do not signify a disruption in the food supply chain, Suffolk County Steve Bellone said Friday. Instead, they are an indicator that people are hoarding essential supplies.

Bellone discussed the issue Friday in call with the media and said some residents have expressed concerns that there may have been a disruption in the food supply chain.

"There are no issues with the food supply chain," Bellone said, adding that he had spoken to grocery retailers Thursday. "There is a demand because people are buying in bulk out of concern that those products might not be there. There is no need to panic."

The demand is consumer driven, "and not necessary," Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming said. "There is no reason to hoard or to over-buy."

The only thing residents should not do, she said, is to purchase distilled water if regular bottled water is not immediately available. Distilled water, she said, is used by those with medical needs.

"The supply chains are wide open," Bellone said. "The food will still be there. The critical products will still be there."

Stores, he said, are putting limit in place on key items to prevent shoppers from hoarding.

Senior hours

Bellone also announced senior hours for a number of grocery retail outlets and supermarket chains about their new senior hours, which are as follows:

Dollar General Store: 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Stew Leonard's: 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Stop & Shop: 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Uncle Guiseppe's Marketplace: 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Target: 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesdays

Walmart: 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Wednesdays

Bellone said, though, that it remains to be seen whether senior hours "makes sense. We sometimes do things to try and help that have unintended consequences," he said. "No decision is black and white. There are always trade offs. We will have conversations about whether senior hours are creating a potential environment that is causing more harm than good," in terms of bringing too many seniors together. Those conversations with retailers, he said, will continue.

Crowds of seniors at supermarkets seen this week, he said, "may be because of pent-up demand — the newness of this; it's just started. But if that's not the case, we may need to look for guidance from the health department on how to keep this moving forward. We don't want to solve one problem and create another."