Read chapter 84 here
I confess it struck me as an anomaly when I saw a Willy Street Coop employee replacing bulk containers to the shelves on a recent visit. On the day that I first saw this section of the store draped in plastic, the 7-day average for new Covid cases was 6. By the end of the month, it had risen to 124. On November 9th, the 7-day average had skyrocketed to 5,925. Why would the staff at Public Health of Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) decide that it was OK to resume selling products in bulk – and allow customers to use their own bags? I asked the employee if he knew the reason for the change of policy, but he offered no specifics, just that the store had been given the green light to do so. And a search of the PHMDC website proved to be equally unenlightening.
Was this one of those overreactions during the earliest days of the pandemic? Like people who were afraid even to step outside?
Not that I’m complaining. JoAnna and I have greatly missed this economical method of buying certain foods – grains, beans, rice, flour, nuts, and herbs and spices, in particular. In one way, it’s a sign that we have adjusted to living with the virus. In fact, the two of us haven’t changed our food-buying habits at all. We still purchase on meat at Knoche’s, produce at Brennan’s, staples at Woodman’s (huge selection and rock-bottom prices in a space that takes up the equivalent of almost 4 football fields), and most of the rest of our needs at Metcalfe’s, a locally owned grocery chain with 3 stores.
As you can see from the November photo, the return of products sold in bulk is a limited edition version – grains, beans, and rice, for the most part. Herbs and spices, for example, are still just available in small, pricey containers.
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