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Help requested. My wife, who is in her 50s, is immunocompromised, and she also has a history of fast escalating and difficult to treat respiratory problems. W

Help requested. My wife, who is in her 50s, is immunocompromised, and she also has a history of fast escalating and difficult to treat respiratory problems. We are and have been (for the past 32 days) treating this bug very carefully. If she catches it, she has a very good chance of not surviving it. Our son and I are at less risk, but we can easily bring this bug home. We've been having more and more trouble getting food. We have a fair quantity of emergency supplies, but we'd rather not tap into those. At first it was the various delivery options: instacart, various others, but they became less usable. Early last week we started doing Amazon Prime Now, which allowed us to place and pay for orders at Whole Foods, then wait in the parking lot for them to put the orders in our trunk. Over the past few days, this has gotten less viable. We'd find ourselves driving 50 miles to pickup a $30 order. So, we're open to suggestions. We live in Mountain View, the SF Bay Area. We have been able to buy quite a bit of chicken and beef, and we have a 50 pound bag of flour coming in, so we're certainly not in any danger of starvation. It's just kind of a low-grade anxiety that kind of sucks. Thanks! PS: We have a pretty rigorous decontamination process that everything goes through before it comes into the house, so we feel pretty good about that.

swsieber 7y ago
> we have a fair quantity of emergency supplies. If you won't use them now, when will you? Are we talking days, weeks or months?
- Diederich 7y ago
  There are few universal truths, but one of them is this: Things can always get worse. (Even if that might be unlikely at any given time.) At this moment, we have enough normal food to not need to dip into the emergency stuff, though it's getting more challenging. Plus, we rather prefer normal food. Basically, we don't consider our current situation an emergency yet.
- smileysteve 7y ago
  When someone in the house gets sick and nobody is supposed to leave because they've been exposed.
  - swsieber 7y ago
    Well, that's I ask about duration the food supply will last. If you have a 1 week supply, then yeah, don't dip in. If you have a 3 month supply, then I'd be a little more open to it (personally). I'm pretty much fine with it as long as I think it's reasonable that I won't deplete more than some fraction of it before I can top it off.
airstrike 7y ago
Consider soylent or other meal replacement items and military rations for emergency. Stock up on non-perishable grains, pasta, tomato sauce and canned fish. And I really mean stock up – at least 3-4 weeks worth of meals. Not in the SF Bay Area, but WF through the Amazon app is still what's been working for us, though I have to log in repeatedly to find a delivery window available...
- Diederich 7y ago
  Thanks for your response. We do have a fair amount of such emergency supplies, primarily in the form of protein bars, but a lot of other things as well. We would rather leave those be until (and if) there's an actual legit emergency for us to face. I think the Whole Foods via Amazon is still working, it's just extremely over-used in the bay area, so the orders we actually manage to get through are very small.
  - justforyou 7y ago
    This is an actual legit emergency.
    - Diederich 7y ago
      > This is an actual legit emergency. No disagreement; remember, we consider every box that arrives as potentially life threatening. And we're quite aware of the local, national and global scope and impact.
  - hamandcheese 7y ago
    I find the chocolate Soylent drink to be quite yummy now and then, especially for breakfast (far above what my standards would be in an emergency) and Amazon is showing delivery this Friday to my apartment in SF.
wear_a_mask 7y ago
I am not allowed to post because Dang is kind of a dick, but I can tell you that you should go out and shop with PPE at local Lunardi's markets. They are really doing a great job, have lots of inventory, and enforce social distancing. Wear a mask and gloves, come in to your house, strip down and wash/throw everything away. Delivery is just not going to work. Conversely, you could post on CL offering $100 cash (Venmo, square) to someone who can get groceries for you. Hopefully a shadow-mod sees this and lets it appear.
Cerium 7y ago
Instacart releases slots throughout the night. 2am to 5am are great for getting one. There are many currently lesser known delivery systems - search for ones targeting minorities. For example Yamimeal (despite having meal in the name - they do groceries). Also, buy bigger orders if you can. I have been getting at least a couple hundred dollars at once, good for 7-10 days. I would get more at once, but I want to eat some vegetables.
- Diederich 7y ago
  > throughout the night We haven't tried at very odd hours as you suggest; we'll give it a try, thank you.
  - shadowoflight 7y ago
    My mother-in-law's strategy for getting a slot with Wal-Mart grocery pickup has been to pre-fill her in-app cart in the evening, and set an alarm to wake up a few minutes before the window to place the order and get a pickup slot opens up (I think somewhere in the 12:00-2:00am timeframe). This may be applicable for placing Instacart orders (and the like) as well, unless they require you to pick an available slot before populating your cart...
  - MrFoof 7y ago
    At least where I live (NE USA)... * Whole Foods (for delivery) releases slots at midnight. This is pretty obvious, because you'll actually get what is basically a, "rate limiting" dialog page if you don't start checkout successfully. The site is getting slammed THAT hard. So for 2-3 minutes, hope you actually can get to the page to confirm placing the order. Those slots go FAST (< 5 minutes). * Amazon Fresh seems to start releasing slots at 12:30AM. These seem fairly easy to get at release. No rate-limiting page for checkout. * Instacart seems to have a "semi-hold" for orders in carts that aren't yet confirmed orders. I can watch delivery slots for the next 2 weeks disappear until none remain. But at midnight, they become wide open as soon as 3-4 days out. If you're on point, you can get one early in the day, where stock is likely good, or late in the day, where places like ALDI will have replenished the shelves since the rush is before noon. Amazon (Whole Foods and Fresh) seem to only hold items in a cart so long if you've not purchased. I've not nailed it down yet, but it's measured in "hours" (not sure of the number), not days. My recommendation is to have a firm list and start filling your cart 60-90 minutes before the above times. That seems to get everything committed in the order 100% of the time. If you're trying to stock up to not have to go out for a good while, consider a, "defense in depth" strategy. Place a Whole Foods order, place a Fresh order, place an Instacart order. Stagger them by a few days. If something comes in the first two orders, remove it from the Instacart order. You may be able to cancel the Instacart order several days in advance, and still have gotten basically everything. ----- I'm done buying groceries online for a long while, so rather someone who could use it have the knowledge I learned through far too much effort trying to figure out how the black boxes worked. Legitimately felt like I was routing a speedrun for a grocery video game to get a world record.
r0m4n0 7y ago
Personally I have been utilizing Costco same day delivery powered by Instacart. The next available delivery day is usually 5 or so days out but you can modify your order until they actually start physically shopping so I just add groceries all week once I have my delivery day. I start a new order the day my last order arrives so I have a constant flow of fresh groceries every 5 days. Totally affordable (free delivery and only slightly marked up over sticker prices) and I haven't left my house in 3 weeks. Just make sure you setup replacements as I'd say 15% of items I choose are out of stock. Instacart now leaves your groceries at your front door and sends you an SMS so you don't even have to interact with anyone.
rb2k_ 7y ago
We've had no issues getting same Whole Foods deliveries via Amazon in Menlo Park. We just had to refresh a few times over the course of 15 minutes or so and always got a slot.
alleyshack 7y ago
You don't specify why Instacart "became less usable", though if your experience is like mine I'd guess it's a combination of delivery windows being a full week out and the results being somewhat unreliable between replacements/out of stock. What's been working for my household is to make the Instacart order knowing it won't be delivered for at least a week, and use that time to fill out the order as needed. We're not to this point yet but I've also thought about doing a rolling window (i.e., make one order with a delivery window of next Saturday, then start another one in two days with a delivery for next Monday, etc) so there's always something coming in. Another suggestion, which I have not tested yet personally, would be to look up small grocers in your area. If you're willing to drive to pick up your shopping, a small grocer may be willing to prepick your order and have it ready for you in the parking lot without an intermediary. A third option would be to check for local milkman deliveries, since many of them deliver more than just milk. A quick search for the Bay Area brings up "Bay Area Milkman" and "Milkman SF". Again, haven't tried them so can't vouch for them, but I'm keeping similar options in my own back pocket if/when we need them.
- Diederich 7y ago
  Ok, this is all very useful, thank you kindly.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  > You don't specify why Instacart "became less usable", though if your experience is like mine I'd guess it's a combination of delivery windows being a full week out I can't get a delivery window at all in Instacart right now. I can't get pickup of delivery from any grocery store in northern New Jersey right now.
  - alleyshack 7y ago
    Oh yikes. Mine's been iffy, but looking a full week out I've usually been able to find something. I suppose I should consider my area fortunate for that. I don't know if either of my other suggestions are of any use to you, but I genuinely wish you luck in your search.
  - 7y ago
zapstar 7y ago
I have been very impressed with ordering online at Target. Many items that my local grocery store did not have were able to be shipped to me in 2 days. I hope maybe this can help with your situation, at least as far as non-perishable food is concerned. (They do have warnings on every product now about potentially being out of stock, but so far, they've been able to fulfill every order I've made.)
influx 7y ago
Do you have Amazon Fresh available? You might have to check through the day to get a slot, but it's been a life saver for our family.
- Diederich 7y ago
  We do have Amazon Fresh, it's just been hard to get slots. When you 'check through the day', can you say roughly how many times you are checking? Thanks!
  - simmons 7y ago
    I think they must be adding slots fairly frequently. (But they might also be snatched up quickly.) My wife and I put in an Amazon Fresh order yesterday after doing a quick "dry run checkout" to confirm there was an available slot. While shopping, we got a notice that the slots were exhausted, but we continued in the interest of getting an order prepared. When we checked out, it again said there were no slots. I waited a minute and refreshed the browser, and a slot had opened up for tomorrow. I'm in Colorado, but I assume AF works the same everywhere. So far, I've had a better experience with Amazon Fresh than with Instacart (King Soopers/Kroger) due to 1) the ability to "call dibs" on items instead of waiting for the shopper to see there's no stock and struggle to find a replacement, and 2) the quick 1-2 day delivery (but maybe I've just gotten lucky). On the other hand, lots of stuff is out of stock which makes shopping challenging. We also put in an Amazon Pantry order yesterday. Expected delivery: April 26! :O
  - chaz 7y ago
    Dozens of times per day. It's on my bookmark bar, and I click it routinely: https://www.amazon.com/afx/slotselection/ https://www.amazon.com/afx/slotselection/
  - odysseus 7y ago
    My wife placed our first Amazon Fresh order last week and received it the next day, as expected. Worked great - on time, well-packed, and it was nice to be able to see when the driver was 6 stops away. One other option you might try - if you don't have any relatives nearby that can help, community groups on Facebook and church groups in your area may be delivering groceries to residents in need. Get on a couple of neighborhood/church mailing lists and see what's available.
kirykl 7y ago
Contact local pet sitters, and see if they would do in-store shopping for you. Many have lost business with people cancelling vacations
- Diederich 7y ago
  That's a very interesting idea, thank you!
- repiret 7y ago
  My wife is also immunocompromised, and we live in the middle of nowhere, where instacart and uber eats and all the other gig economy services don't operate. We were able to hire our housekeeper to do grocery shopping for us. Housekeepers; Pet sitters; more generally, there's a lot of people out of work right now, connect with them and you'll find someone who will help with your shopping.
julianramirez 7y ago
We’ve been using a meal delivery service like Blue Apron for several years now and have increased our order from 3 nights to 7 nights. We still use grocery delivery for snacks and other meals, but it’s been a great having dinners taken care of.
- Diederich 7y ago
  We have been avoiding prepared meals until there is clearer data about how safe they can be.
  - anthonypasq 7y ago
    Blue Apron isnt prepared. You cook it yourself...
ipsum2 7y ago
I'm happy to purchase groceries for you, I'm in the same area. Email is in the profile. For other people who are also in a similar scenario: NextDoor and local FB groups are great for this.
- Diederich 7y ago
  Wow thanks! We might take you up on that, very much appreciated.
- ipsum2 7y ago
  update: got groceries for Diederich.
  - Diederich 7y ago
    You did indeed, thank you very much, we truly appreciate it.
gwittel 7y ago
I am in MV. Unfortunately most online things are overwhelmed. They don't have enough shoppers. You can keep checking for a slot opening up, but its a challenge and hard to plan for. Are you specifically looking for fresh items, or are there particular things you need? Staples are usually available, and you can sometimes get them from smaller vendors online. At least those you can plan ahead for a future delivery. For some staples I've had luck with Target and random online (usually specialty/gourmet) sellers. For fresh items, its harder -- either get lucky with online or go =/. You can try the smaller chains as they are lower foot traffic or in some cases are better at rate limiting customers. I've had luck with Ava's downtown (they also have early hours for senior and/or immunocompromised). Nijiya is rate limiting, as is Trader Joes (expect 30+ min line though). Nob Hill has been OK, they also have special pre-packaged boxes for seniors and at risk customers. They are first come/first serve, and have mixes of staples/fresh foods. They say they're available via e-cart as well, but I haven't tried. I've had to book Nob Hill ~1 week ahead (and didn't get everything). Dittmer's is also rate limiting (but sounds like you're good on meats). As a last resort -- the MV farmer's market opens an early for seniors and immunocompromised (so either 8 or 8:30, I can't remember and its not listed online). I've been ~9 and its busier than I'd like. They're trying to enforce line spacing and do limit number of people in booths. Some booths only sell pre-bagged items held behind the counter (e.g. apples from Rainbow). As a last resort -- maybe a shared grocery need list with friends/neighbors? Someone can pick up an extra item or two when they're out. We've been doing that at times and following usual safety procedures afterward. Take care!
- gwittel 7y ago
  Ace Hardware is doing curbside pickup. Cost Plus World Market is as well (they sell random pantry goods).
- Diederich 7y ago
  I'm working (at home!) at the moment, so I can't reply properly right now, but thank you for all of this!
- Ozzie_osman 7y ago
  Rose Market on El Camino across from Castro Street also has good groceries, just don't carry paper towels, toilet paper, etc. But if you just want food they're usually well-stocked.
azakai 7y ago
Aside from Whole Foods, Amazon also has Amazon Prime Now (go to https://primenow.amazon.com/ https://primenow.amazon.com/ and pick store: Amazon). They have a lot of staple foods there, and sometimes they have more availability than Whole Foods. (I'm guessing there might be different bottlenecks at Whole Foods stores and Amazon warehouses.) Another option are restaurant deliveries. Those are easy to get (they're happy to get the orders!). Up to you how you feel about the risk, but all the experts I've read say you can reduce the danger there to something comparable to grocery delivery (mainly to discard the original packages and you can also reheat the food).
graeme 7y ago
> Over the past few days, this has gotten less viable. We'd find ourselves driving 50 miles to pickup a $30 order. You might consider making tiers of food. And maybe get a standup freezer if you have the space/budget: Tier 1: fast perishable fruits/vegetables, e.g. bananas. You buy these in quantity at the store, but accept you’ll run out between trips Tier 2: root vegetables and other long lasting produce. You buy in quantity and store in a cool, dark place. Should last a while Tier 3: frozen meat, frozen nuts, frozen vegetables. Frozen sliced bread Tier 4: canned fish, canned fruit, canned vegetables. Canned meat/jerky I’m Canadian. My grandma had a root cellar in the basement. Tier 1 was basically out of the question every winter for a portion of her life You more or less arrange things as a tradeoff between tier 1, and trips to the store, which are both costly and increase exposure odds. You also then keep checking all delivery options and look for alternate qaya to keep tier up. But tiers 2 and 3 are fairly decent. There’s also bulk meal cooking + freezing after a store run. This is where the freezer comes in handy again. If you have a backyard, also a good time to experiment with gardening. It sounds like you’re already doing a good job of having emergency stockpiles. Am hopeful this might give you some more ideas for how to make the long term stockpile more palatable in between orders.
jefftk 7y ago
Have you considered buying from stores that normally target commercial businesses? They generally have a lot more slack right now with restaurants not running. The minimum order size is kind of high, but if you buy non-perishables it might be good? https://www.webstaurantstore.com https://www.webstaurantstore.com is what I've used.
- Diederich 7y ago
  My wife has tried that but so far she's run into the 'must be a restaurant' wall. We'll try https://www.webstaurantstore.com https://www.webstaurantstore.com , many thanks.
  - fennecfoxen 7y ago
    When I was in San Jose, there was a "Cash and Carry" foodservice store where one could just walk in and browse the food (I once randomly met the properietor of Psycho Donuts there, looking for new flavor ideas.) It appears to be operating under a slightly different brand now, but seems to be open the the public still? https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/store/san-jose-571/ https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/store/san-jose-57... Looks like there's a click-and-carry option, but no deliveries unless you Instacart.
    - Wistar 7y ago
      We have one near us in Bellevue, WA and it has been an absolute zoo and filled with people who just seem unable to adhere to physical distance rules.
RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u 7y ago
Expensive options: - Subscribe to meal kit services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron (or both). - Buy from other mail order grocers like Imperfect Foods, Omaha Steaks, etc. - Hire someone with TaskRabbit to do the shopping for you, particularly from grocers that don't deliver (i.e. Trader Joe's, smaller specialty grocers, etc.).
- Diederich 7y ago
  We actually have bought a fair amount of meat from Omaha Steaks. > TaskRabbit I had not considered that, we'll take a look. Thanks!
tehlike 7y ago
I live in MTV, and I have helped a neighbor who was going through chemo once last week (so roughly in similar situation from immunity pov, her family does not leave home for same reason), and would be happy to help you. Email in profile. I stop by costco once every two weeks, and would not mind picking up some stuff for you. Like another commenter mentioned, nextdoor is fairly decent for getting help, you can find highschoolers doing runs for their neighbors. Small side note: it's kind of hard finding some staples - toilet paper, eggs, etc, so make sure you are aware of it.
- Diederich 7y ago
  That's very kind of you, we'll keep it in mind! Many thanks.
urxvtcd 7y ago
You could try replacing some meals with Huel or whatever.
whymauri 7y ago
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote a really good COVID-19 Food Safety Guide [0]. You may find it useful when preparing food at home or dealing with food delivery. He's also really active on Twitter and Reddit, so you can probably ask him more specific questions or even this question and he'll reply with some good, professional advice. [0] https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavi...
- Diederich 7y ago
  Beautiful, this is great. I really appreciate it.
- orchard_vkm 7y ago
  Great resource. Thanks very much for sharing!
iandanforth 7y ago
https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/home https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/home - Can be busy but slots are opening up https://zeroshop.co/ https://zeroshop.co/ - Limited selection but good availability Can't speak to if they deliver to you, but both do in Menlo Park.
caymanjim 7y ago
It sounds like you're shopping with alarming frequency, almost daily. Why so much? I stocked up over a month ago because it was clear this was coming, and while I've supplemented a little bit with one delivery and one shopping trip since then, I certainly didn't need to. I especially wouldn't be relying on InstaCart and other one-off prepared food deliveries with an immunocompromised person at home.
- Diederich 7y ago
  > alarming frequency, almost daily We've only been able to get pretty small orders for a few weeks. We incorrectly focused too heavily on building up the (not so tasty/suitable for 'normal' consumption) emergency supplies as the crisis was unfolding.
JoshTriplett 7y ago
Definitely try alternate services. We had much more luck with local stores than with Prime Now. In our area, Prime Now for Amazon has never had a delivery window, Prime Now for Whole Foods rarely does, but the local Fred Meyer has delivery windows open up regularly, often for same-day delivery. Also check Albertson's, Safeway, Target, Walmart, Shipt, and any other service. Talk to local non-chain or small-chain stores and see if they have any options; I've found that several places that don't normally delivery are happy to deliver in the current situation, especially for a tip. That goes for restaurants, pharmacies, and many other services. In some areas, TaskRabbit and similar are still operating, and "pick up XYZ for me" tasks are very common. And if all else fails, ask around for someone willing to pick things up and drop them off for you, and pay them well. Also, this may depend on your financial situation, but if you can, don't make small orders; make large orders less often. (This is true all the time, but it's especially true right now.) Then, even if you have to drive a long distance for a pickup or pay a larger delivery fee, you don't have to do it as often.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
Animats 7y ago
Costco is still shipping. I just ordered about $135 worth of stuff, including fruit, bread, milk, and hand cleaner, for delivery today.
- djrogers 7y ago
  That depends entirely where you live - around me, this is aboslutely not true for all intents and purposes (no delivery windows available, or no products available, or both).
  - Animats 7y ago
    Redwood City, CA.
pottertheotter 7y ago
My parents live in Sunnyvale and my mother is also immunocompromised, so they're going through the same thing. They have some people helping them get things from stores, and I'm absolutely certain they would be happy to help out your family. Feel free to reach out (email on profile) and I'll make sure you're taken care of.
credit_guy 7y ago
Some restaurant suppliers have opened their online store to individuals. I can't speak for California, but in New York City we just shopped yesterday on baldor[1]. For most items the minimum quantity is way to high for a single family (e.g. for potatoes you can only order 50 lbs or so). But you can still find some stuff. It's not a very pleasant online shopping experience, but it'll do for now. [1] https://www.baldorfood.com/ https://www.baldorfood.com/
everybodyknows 7y ago
For produce, eggs and chicken, consider a "CSA" -- Community Supported Agriculture: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CSAS-THAT-DELIVER-TO-THE-BAY-AREA-2648340.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CSAS-THAT-DELIVER-TO-...
gnicholas 7y ago
I hear Sigonas Market has their own delivery service. I go to their store in Redwood City and at the Stanford Shopping Center, but dunno if they'd deliver to or have shops in MV. Prices are quite good on some items, but they're not full-service (no meat, I think).
tehjoker 7y ago
I'm on the east coast, but I'm participating in a mutual aid network that does exactly this kind of thing. Try googling your local branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (I think you're in Silicon Valley DSA's territory). Each chapter is independent and not great at communication with each other, but I found a web page that said SV DSA is doing grocery delivery mutual aid for elevated risk people. I don't want to post it here because I don't want them to get trolled, but it's easily to google. I only mentioned DSA because I'm member of the national org, but there are probably many other organizations doing similar work. Please be safe and stay healthy! Good luck! Edit: Just want to emphasize to people in a similar situation, that the key words to search for are "Mutual Aid" on google, facebook, and twitter if you don't know someone already connected to an organization. Many of these orgs are also looking for volunteers.
deleted 7y ago
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pkaye 7y ago
Trader Joes seems to follow a bunch of procedures that makes me feel safer. They limit the number of people controlled by staff at entry. They space out those waiting in line and at the counter. They given you sanitizer for the cart and hands. If you are especially concerned, speak to the manager of the store. They are willing to bag things up for you to pay and pickup. Atleast our store manager was nice enough to offer but in the end I felt comfortable to shop by myself. Also wear a mask when you go and use sanitizer when you return to the car. Lastly there are many people on nextdoor in your community that will help out with shopping as a good gesture. You just reimburse them the cost of what they bought for you.
arkades 7y ago
Tried freshdirect? It takes a bit to find an open slot for their Recurring Orders, but since we've gotten one they haven't let us down. It's the one-off order slots that don't exist.
rainbowzootsuit 7y ago
I found the following videos helpful in explaining how to apply sterile technique to processing groceries. Many are just using gloves or masks as a talisman to ward off the corona but not appreciating how these PPE items, when used poorly, are likely worse than having no PPE, a few items for sanitizing, and awareness. https://youtu.be/sjDuwc9KBps https://youtu.be/sjDuwc9KBps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wTWrQoDhPw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wTWrQoDhPw
temp167 7y ago
Happy to help, I live in SVL and can deliver groceries or pick up if you would like.
- Diederich 7y ago
  Wow, thank you so much. We've gotten quite a few offers.
fernly 7y ago
The Market at Edgewood (Embarcadero at 101 in Palo Alto) has an online order form and brings the order out to your car. https://www.marketatedgewood.com/delivery https://www.marketatedgewood.com/delivery
sarah2079 7y ago
I am also in Mountain View and haven’t been in a store since February. I have been able to place pick up orders with Nob Hill Foods for two weeks out (delivery has not been available lately). One of my husband’s colleagues has had good luck with Draeger’s via Instacart (he said same day!). If you make an Amazon Fresh cart and then refresh the page where you select your delivery window a lot between 9 pm and 12 am you can sometimes catch the new batch of delivery windows being released. For most Amazon Fresh warehouses they are released at midnight, but it is controlled by the local warehouse, and ours releases the new slots at random times in the evening. When I can get a slot Amazon fresh is my favorite—good selection and 90% of what I order actually arrives, which is great. My husband also mentioned a friend successfully having toilet paper delivered from Home Depot.
peterwwillis 7y ago
Driving 50 miles ? There's tons of places for groceries in Mountain View... Here is a list of CSAs and farms near mountain view: https://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=37.412895&lon=-122.04989&scale=9&ty=6&zip=94035 https://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=37.412895&... Try the Farmstead app: https://www.farmsteadapp.com/ https://www.farmsteadapp.com/ Some stores are near you on Mercato: https://www.mercato.com/ https://www.mercato.com/ Check grocery stores near you on Yelp; call them to see if they deliver, I'm sure some do (Safeway definitely used to): https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=groceries&find_loc=mountain+view%2C+ca https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=groceries&find_loc=mou... Grocery On Wheels seems to prioritize deliveries to senior citizens, they may also make an exception for the immunocompromised: https://www.groceryonwheels.org/ https://www.groceryonwheels.org/ You should also check the news, google and call any wholesale food distributors nearby you, the ones that deliver to restaurants. Near me they have been delivering boxes full of fresh food to residences for very low prices, something like $35 a box. Basically, abandon the idea of national chains, look for local places. In rural areas this is nearly impossible; near and in big cities, there are tons of options. And don't forget to look for non-white-owned businesses - but you might have to actually ask someone nearby, as they don't always advertise on Google.
adsljfl3 7y ago
I'm using a CSA which guarantees delivery: https://www.goldengateorganics.com/ https://www.goldengateorganics.com/ There are some CSAs that target south bay that might work for you. These support farms and you get a strong assurance that you will have food every week. We also have enough rice and beans in our house that we can probably go for about a month without groceries. Make sure you have rice and beans. Tender greens is also delivering grocery boxes: https://www.tendergreens.com/blog/002020-grocery-boxes https://www.tendergreens.com/blog/002020-grocery-boxes I would also try smaller stores on Instacart. Finally there are several groups doing shopping for people like you, my Nextdoor feed has them posting regularly.

swsieber 7y ago

> we have a fair quantity of emergency supplies. If you won't use them now, when will you? Are we talking days, weeks or months?

Diederich 7y ago
There are few universal truths, but one of them is this: Things can always get worse. (Even if that might be unlikely at any given time.) At this moment, we have enough normal food to not need to dip into the emergency stuff, though it's getting more challenging. Plus, we rather prefer normal food. Basically, we don't consider our current situation an emergency yet.
smileysteve 7y ago
When someone in the house gets sick and nobody is supposed to leave because they've been exposed.
- swsieber 7y ago
  Well, that's I ask about duration the food supply will last. If you have a 1 week supply, then yeah, don't dip in. If you have a 3 month supply, then I'd be a little more open to it (personally). I'm pretty much fine with it as long as I think it's reasonable that I won't deplete more than some fraction of it before I can top it off.

airstrike 7y ago

Consider soylent or other meal replacement items and military rations for emergency. Stock up on non-perishable grains, pasta, tomato sauce and canned fish. And I really mean stock up – at least 3-4 weeks worth of meals. Not in the SF Bay Area, but WF through the Amazon app is still what's been working for us, though I have to log in repeatedly to find a delivery window available...

Diederich 7y ago
Thanks for your response. We do have a fair amount of such emergency supplies, primarily in the form of protein bars, but a lot of other things as well. We would rather leave those be until (and if) there's an actual legit emergency for us to face. I think the Whole Foods via Amazon is still working, it's just extremely over-used in the bay area, so the orders we actually manage to get through are very small.
- justforyou 7y ago
  This is an actual legit emergency.
  - Diederich 7y ago
    > This is an actual legit emergency. No disagreement; remember, we consider every box that arrives as potentially life threatening. And we're quite aware of the local, national and global scope and impact.
- hamandcheese 7y ago
  I find the chocolate Soylent drink to be quite yummy now and then, especially for breakfast (far above what my standards would be in an emergency) and Amazon is showing delivery this Friday to my apartment in SF.

wear_a_mask 7y ago

I am not allowed to post because Dang is kind of a dick, but I can tell you that you should go out and shop with PPE at local Lunardi's markets. They are really doing a great job, have lots of inventory, and enforce social distancing. Wear a mask and gloves, come in to your house, strip down and wash/throw everything away. Delivery is just not going to work. Conversely, you could post on CL offering $100 cash (Venmo, square) to someone who can get groceries for you. Hopefully a shadow-mod sees this and lets it appear.

Cerium 7y ago

Instacart releases slots throughout the night. 2am to 5am are great for getting one. There are many currently lesser known delivery systems - search for ones targeting minorities. For example Yamimeal (despite having meal in the name - they do groceries). Also, buy bigger orders if you can. I have been getting at least a couple hundred dollars at once, good for 7-10 days. I would get more at once, but I want to eat some vegetables.

Diederich 7y ago
> throughout the night We haven't tried at very odd hours as you suggest; we'll give it a try, thank you.
- shadowoflight 7y ago
  My mother-in-law's strategy for getting a slot with Wal-Mart grocery pickup has been to pre-fill her in-app cart in the evening, and set an alarm to wake up a few minutes before the window to place the order and get a pickup slot opens up (I think somewhere in the 12:00-2:00am timeframe). This may be applicable for placing Instacart orders (and the like) as well, unless they require you to pick an available slot before populating your cart...
- MrFoof 7y ago
  At least where I live (NE USA)... * Whole Foods (for delivery) releases slots at midnight. This is pretty obvious, because you'll actually get what is basically a, "rate limiting" dialog page if you don't start checkout successfully. The site is getting slammed THAT hard. So for 2-3 minutes, hope you actually can get to the page to confirm placing the order. Those slots go FAST (< 5 minutes). * Amazon Fresh seems to start releasing slots at 12:30AM. These seem fairly easy to get at release. No rate-limiting page for checkout. * Instacart seems to have a "semi-hold" for orders in carts that aren't yet confirmed orders. I can watch delivery slots for the next 2 weeks disappear until none remain. But at midnight, they become wide open as soon as 3-4 days out. If you're on point, you can get one early in the day, where stock is likely good, or late in the day, where places like ALDI will have replenished the shelves since the rush is before noon. Amazon (Whole Foods and Fresh) seem to only hold items in a cart so long if you've not purchased. I've not nailed it down yet, but it's measured in "hours" (not sure of the number), not days. My recommendation is to have a firm list and start filling your cart 60-90 minutes before the above times. That seems to get everything committed in the order 100% of the time. If you're trying to stock up to not have to go out for a good while, consider a, "defense in depth" strategy. Place a Whole Foods order, place a Fresh order, place an Instacart order. Stagger them by a few days. If something comes in the first two orders, remove it from the Instacart order. You may be able to cancel the Instacart order several days in advance, and still have gotten basically everything. ----- I'm done buying groceries online for a long while, so rather someone who could use it have the knowledge I learned through far too much effort trying to figure out how the black boxes worked. Legitimately felt like I was routing a speedrun for a grocery video game to get a world record.

r0m4n0 7y ago

Personally I have been utilizing Costco same day delivery powered by Instacart. The next available delivery day is usually 5 or so days out but you can modify your order until they actually start physically shopping so I just add groceries all week once I have my delivery day. I start a new order the day my last order arrives so I have a constant flow of fresh groceries every 5 days. Totally affordable (free delivery and only slightly marked up over sticker prices) and I haven't left my house in 3 weeks. Just make sure you setup replacements as I'd say 15% of items I choose are out of stock. Instacart now leaves your groceries at your front door and sends you an SMS so you don't even have to interact with anyone.

rb2k_ 7y ago

We've had no issues getting same Whole Foods deliveries via Amazon in Menlo Park. We just had to refresh a few times over the course of 15 minutes or so and always got a slot.

alleyshack 7y ago

You don't specify why Instacart "became less usable", though if your experience is like mine I'd guess it's a combination of delivery windows being a full week out and the results being somewhat unreliable between replacements/out of stock. What's been working for my household is to make the Instacart order knowing it won't be delivered for at least a week, and use that time to fill out the order as needed. We're not to this point yet but I've also thought about doing a rolling window (i.e., make one order with a delivery window of next Saturday, then start another one in two days with a delivery for next Monday, etc) so there's always something coming in. Another suggestion, which I have not tested yet personally, would be to look up small grocers in your area. If you're willing to drive to pick up your shopping, a small grocer may be willing to prepick your order and have it ready for you in the parking lot without an intermediary. A third option would be to check for local milkman deliveries, since many of them deliver more than just milk. A quick search for the Bay Area brings up "Bay Area Milkman" and "Milkman SF". Again, haven't tried them so can't vouch for them, but I'm keeping similar options in my own back pocket if/when we need them.

Diederich 7y ago
Ok, this is all very useful, thank you kindly.
vonmoltke 7y ago
> You don't specify why Instacart "became less usable", though if your experience is like mine I'd guess it's a combination of delivery windows being a full week out I can't get a delivery window at all in Instacart right now. I can't get pickup of delivery from any grocery store in northern New Jersey right now.
- alleyshack 7y ago
  Oh yikes. Mine's been iffy, but looking a full week out I've usually been able to find something. I suppose I should consider my area fortunate for that. I don't know if either of my other suggestions are of any use to you, but I genuinely wish you luck in your search.
- 7y ago

zapstar 7y ago

I have been very impressed with ordering online at Target. Many items that my local grocery store did not have were able to be shipped to me in 2 days. I hope maybe this can help with your situation, at least as far as non-perishable food is concerned. (They do have warnings on every product now about potentially being out of stock, but so far, they've been able to fulfill every order I've made.)

influx 7y ago

Do you have Amazon Fresh available? You might have to check through the day to get a slot, but it's been a life saver for our family.

Diederich 7y ago
We do have Amazon Fresh, it's just been hard to get slots. When you 'check through the day', can you say roughly how many times you are checking? Thanks!
- simmons 7y ago
  I think they must be adding slots fairly frequently. (But they might also be snatched up quickly.) My wife and I put in an Amazon Fresh order yesterday after doing a quick "dry run checkout" to confirm there was an available slot. While shopping, we got a notice that the slots were exhausted, but we continued in the interest of getting an order prepared. When we checked out, it again said there were no slots. I waited a minute and refreshed the browser, and a slot had opened up for tomorrow. I'm in Colorado, but I assume AF works the same everywhere. So far, I've had a better experience with Amazon Fresh than with Instacart (King Soopers/Kroger) due to 1) the ability to "call dibs" on items instead of waiting for the shopper to see there's no stock and struggle to find a replacement, and 2) the quick 1-2 day delivery (but maybe I've just gotten lucky). On the other hand, lots of stuff is out of stock which makes shopping challenging. We also put in an Amazon Pantry order yesterday. Expected delivery: April 26! :O
- chaz 7y ago
  Dozens of times per day. It's on my bookmark bar, and I click it routinely: https://www.amazon.com/afx/slotselection/ https://www.amazon.com/afx/slotselection/
- odysseus 7y ago
  My wife placed our first Amazon Fresh order last week and received it the next day, as expected. Worked great - on time, well-packed, and it was nice to be able to see when the driver was 6 stops away. One other option you might try - if you don't have any relatives nearby that can help, community groups on Facebook and church groups in your area may be delivering groceries to residents in need. Get on a couple of neighborhood/church mailing lists and see what's available.

kirykl 7y ago

Contact local pet sitters, and see if they would do in-store shopping for you. Many have lost business with people cancelling vacations

Diederich 7y ago
That's a very interesting idea, thank you!
repiret 7y ago
My wife is also immunocompromised, and we live in the middle of nowhere, where instacart and uber eats and all the other gig economy services don't operate. We were able to hire our housekeeper to do grocery shopping for us. Housekeepers; Pet sitters; more generally, there's a lot of people out of work right now, connect with them and you'll find someone who will help with your shopping.

julianramirez 7y ago

We’ve been using a meal delivery service like Blue Apron for several years now and have increased our order from 3 nights to 7 nights. We still use grocery delivery for snacks and other meals, but it’s been a great having dinners taken care of.

Diederich 7y ago
We have been avoiding prepared meals until there is clearer data about how safe they can be.
- anthonypasq 7y ago
  Blue Apron isnt prepared. You cook it yourself...

ipsum2 7y ago

I'm happy to purchase groceries for you, I'm in the same area. Email is in the profile. For other people who are also in a similar scenario: NextDoor and local FB groups are great for this.

Diederich 7y ago
Wow thanks! We might take you up on that, very much appreciated.
ipsum2 7y ago
update: got groceries for Diederich.
- Diederich 7y ago
  You did indeed, thank you very much, we truly appreciate it.

gwittel 7y ago

I am in MV. Unfortunately most online things are overwhelmed. They don't have enough shoppers. You can keep checking for a slot opening up, but its a challenge and hard to plan for. Are you specifically looking for fresh items, or are there particular things you need? Staples are usually available, and you can sometimes get them from smaller vendors online. At least those you can plan ahead for a future delivery. For some staples I've had luck with Target and random online (usually specialty/gourmet) sellers. For fresh items, its harder -- either get lucky with online or go =/. You can try the smaller chains as they are lower foot traffic or in some cases are better at rate limiting customers. I've had luck with Ava's downtown (they also have early hours for senior and/or immunocompromised). Nijiya is rate limiting, as is Trader Joes (expect 30+ min line though). Nob Hill has been OK, they also have special pre-packaged boxes for seniors and at risk customers. They are first come/first serve, and have mixes of staples/fresh foods. They say they're available via e-cart as well, but I haven't tried. I've had to book Nob Hill ~1 week ahead (and didn't get everything). Dittmer's is also rate limiting (but sounds like you're good on meats). As a last resort -- the MV farmer's market opens an early for seniors and immunocompromised (so either 8 or 8:30, I can't remember and its not listed online). I've been ~9 and its busier than I'd like. They're trying to enforce line spacing and do limit number of people in booths. Some booths only sell pre-bagged items held behind the counter (e.g. apples from Rainbow). As a last resort -- maybe a shared grocery need list with friends/neighbors? Someone can pick up an extra item or two when they're out. We've been doing that at times and following usual safety procedures afterward. Take care!

gwittel 7y ago
Ace Hardware is doing curbside pickup. Cost Plus World Market is as well (they sell random pantry goods).
Diederich 7y ago
I'm working (at home!) at the moment, so I can't reply properly right now, but thank you for all of this!
Ozzie_osman 7y ago
Rose Market on El Camino across from Castro Street also has good groceries, just don't carry paper towels, toilet paper, etc. But if you just want food they're usually well-stocked.

azakai 7y ago

Aside from Whole Foods, Amazon also has Amazon Prime Now (go to https://primenow.amazon.com/ https://primenow.amazon.com/ and pick store: Amazon). They have a lot of staple foods there, and sometimes they have more availability than Whole Foods. (I'm guessing there might be different bottlenecks at Whole Foods stores and Amazon warehouses.) Another option are restaurant deliveries. Those are easy to get (they're happy to get the orders!). Up to you how you feel about the risk, but all the experts I've read say you can reduce the danger there to something comparable to grocery delivery (mainly to discard the original packages and you can also reheat the food).

graeme 7y ago

> Over the past few days, this has gotten less viable. We'd find ourselves driving 50 miles to pickup a $30 order. You might consider making tiers of food. And maybe get a standup freezer if you have the space/budget: Tier 1: fast perishable fruits/vegetables, e.g. bananas. You buy these in quantity at the store, but accept you’ll run out between trips Tier 2: root vegetables and other long lasting produce. You buy in quantity and store in a cool, dark place. Should last a while Tier 3: frozen meat, frozen nuts, frozen vegetables. Frozen sliced bread Tier 4: canned fish, canned fruit, canned vegetables. Canned meat/jerky I’m Canadian. My grandma had a root cellar in the basement. Tier 1 was basically out of the question every winter for a portion of her life You more or less arrange things as a tradeoff between tier 1, and trips to the store, which are both costly and increase exposure odds. You also then keep checking all delivery options and look for alternate qaya to keep tier up. But tiers 2 and 3 are fairly decent. There’s also bulk meal cooking + freezing after a store run. This is where the freezer comes in handy again. If you have a backyard, also a good time to experiment with gardening. It sounds like you’re already doing a good job of having emergency stockpiles. Am hopeful this might give you some more ideas for how to make the long term stockpile more palatable in between orders.

jefftk 7y ago

Have you considered buying from stores that normally target commercial businesses? They generally have a lot more slack right now with restaurants not running. The minimum order size is kind of high, but if you buy non-perishables it might be good? https://www.webstaurantstore.com https://www.webstaurantstore.com is what I've used.

Diederich 7y ago
My wife has tried that but so far she's run into the 'must be a restaurant' wall. We'll try https://www.webstaurantstore.com https://www.webstaurantstore.com , many thanks.
- fennecfoxen 7y ago
  When I was in San Jose, there was a "Cash and Carry" foodservice store where one could just walk in and browse the food (I once randomly met the properietor of Psycho Donuts there, looking for new flavor ideas.) It appears to be operating under a slightly different brand now, but seems to be open the the public still? https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/store/san-jose-571/ https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/store/san-jose-57... Looks like there's a click-and-carry option, but no deliveries unless you Instacart.
  - Wistar 7y ago
    We have one near us in Bellevue, WA and it has been an absolute zoo and filled with people who just seem unable to adhere to physical distance rules.

RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u 7y ago

Expensive options: - Subscribe to meal kit services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron (or both). - Buy from other mail order grocers like Imperfect Foods, Omaha Steaks, etc. - Hire someone with TaskRabbit to do the shopping for you, particularly from grocers that don't deliver (i.e. Trader Joe's, smaller specialty grocers, etc.).

Diederich 7y ago
We actually have bought a fair amount of meat from Omaha Steaks. > TaskRabbit I had not considered that, we'll take a look. Thanks!

tehlike 7y ago

I live in MTV, and I have helped a neighbor who was going through chemo once last week (so roughly in similar situation from immunity pov, her family does not leave home for same reason), and would be happy to help you. Email in profile. I stop by costco once every two weeks, and would not mind picking up some stuff for you. Like another commenter mentioned, nextdoor is fairly decent for getting help, you can find highschoolers doing runs for their neighbors. Small side note: it's kind of hard finding some staples - toilet paper, eggs, etc, so make sure you are aware of it.

Diederich 7y ago
That's very kind of you, we'll keep it in mind! Many thanks.

urxvtcd 7y ago

You could try replacing some meals with Huel or whatever.

whymauri 7y ago

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote a really good COVID-19 Food Safety Guide [0]. You may find it useful when preparing food at home or dealing with food delivery. He's also really active on Twitter and Reddit, so you can probably ask him more specific questions or even this question and he'll reply with some good, professional advice. [0] https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavi...

Diederich 7y ago
Beautiful, this is great. I really appreciate it.
orchard_vkm 7y ago
Great resource. Thanks very much for sharing!

iandanforth 7y ago

https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/home https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/home - Can be busy but slots are opening up https://zeroshop.co/ https://zeroshop.co/ - Limited selection but good availability Can't speak to if they deliver to you, but both do in Menlo Park.

caymanjim 7y ago

It sounds like you're shopping with alarming frequency, almost daily. Why so much? I stocked up over a month ago because it was clear this was coming, and while I've supplemented a little bit with one delivery and one shopping trip since then, I certainly didn't need to. I especially wouldn't be relying on InstaCart and other one-off prepared food deliveries with an immunocompromised person at home.

Diederich 7y ago
> alarming frequency, almost daily We've only been able to get pretty small orders for a few weeks. We incorrectly focused too heavily on building up the (not so tasty/suitable for 'normal' consumption) emergency supplies as the crisis was unfolding.

JoshTriplett 7y ago

Definitely try alternate services. We had much more luck with local stores than with Prime Now. In our area, Prime Now for Amazon has never had a delivery window, Prime Now for Whole Foods rarely does, but the local Fred Meyer has delivery windows open up regularly, often for same-day delivery. Also check Albertson's, Safeway, Target, Walmart, Shipt, and any other service. Talk to local non-chain or small-chain stores and see if they have any options; I've found that several places that don't normally delivery are happy to deliver in the current situation, especially for a tip. That goes for restaurants, pharmacies, and many other services. In some areas, TaskRabbit and similar are still operating, and "pick up XYZ for me" tasks are very common. And if all else fails, ask around for someone willing to pick things up and drop them off for you, and pay them well. Also, this may depend on your financial situation, but if you can, don't make small orders; make large orders less often. (This is true all the time, but it's especially true right now.) Then, even if you have to drive a long distance for a pickup or pay a larger delivery fee, you don't have to do it as often.

deleted 7y ago
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Animats 7y ago

Costco is still shipping. I just ordered about $135 worth of stuff, including fruit, bread, milk, and hand cleaner, for delivery today.

djrogers 7y ago
That depends entirely where you live - around me, this is aboslutely not true for all intents and purposes (no delivery windows available, or no products available, or both).
- Animats 7y ago
  Redwood City, CA.

pottertheotter 7y ago

My parents live in Sunnyvale and my mother is also immunocompromised, so they're going through the same thing. They have some people helping them get things from stores, and I'm absolutely certain they would be happy to help out your family. Feel free to reach out (email on profile) and I'll make sure you're taken care of.

credit_guy 7y ago

Some restaurant suppliers have opened their online store to individuals. I can't speak for California, but in New York City we just shopped yesterday on baldor[1]. For most items the minimum quantity is way to high for a single family (e.g. for potatoes you can only order 50 lbs or so). But you can still find some stuff. It's not a very pleasant online shopping experience, but it'll do for now. [1] https://www.baldorfood.com/ https://www.baldorfood.com/

everybodyknows 7y ago

For produce, eggs and chicken, consider a "CSA" -- Community Supported Agriculture: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CSAS-THAT-DELIVER-TO-THE-BAY-AREA-2648340.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CSAS-THAT-DELIVER-TO-...

gnicholas 7y ago

I hear Sigonas Market has their own delivery service. I go to their store in Redwood City and at the Stanford Shopping Center, but dunno if they'd deliver to or have shops in MV. Prices are quite good on some items, but they're not full-service (no meat, I think).

tehjoker 7y ago

I'm on the east coast, but I'm participating in a mutual aid network that does exactly this kind of thing. Try googling your local branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (I think you're in Silicon Valley DSA's territory). Each chapter is independent and not great at communication with each other, but I found a web page that said SV DSA is doing grocery delivery mutual aid for elevated risk people. I don't want to post it here because I don't want them to get trolled, but it's easily to google. I only mentioned DSA because I'm member of the national org, but there are probably many other organizations doing similar work. Please be safe and stay healthy! Good luck! Edit: Just want to emphasize to people in a similar situation, that the key words to search for are "Mutual Aid" on google, facebook, and twitter if you don't know someone already connected to an organization. Many of these orgs are also looking for volunteers.

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pkaye 7y ago

Trader Joes seems to follow a bunch of procedures that makes me feel safer. They limit the number of people controlled by staff at entry. They space out those waiting in line and at the counter. They given you sanitizer for the cart and hands. If you are especially concerned, speak to the manager of the store. They are willing to bag things up for you to pay and pickup. Atleast our store manager was nice enough to offer but in the end I felt comfortable to shop by myself. Also wear a mask when you go and use sanitizer when you return to the car. Lastly there are many people on nextdoor in your community that will help out with shopping as a good gesture. You just reimburse them the cost of what they bought for you.

arkades 7y ago

Tried freshdirect? It takes a bit to find an open slot for their Recurring Orders, but since we've gotten one they haven't let us down. It's the one-off order slots that don't exist.

rainbowzootsuit 7y ago

I found the following videos helpful in explaining how to apply sterile technique to processing groceries. Many are just using gloves or masks as a talisman to ward off the corona but not appreciating how these PPE items, when used poorly, are likely worse than having no PPE, a few items for sanitizing, and awareness. https://youtu.be/sjDuwc9KBps https://youtu.be/sjDuwc9KBps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wTWrQoDhPw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wTWrQoDhPw

temp167 7y ago

Happy to help, I live in SVL and can deliver groceries or pick up if you would like.

Diederich 7y ago
Wow, thank you so much. We've gotten quite a few offers.

fernly 7y ago

The Market at Edgewood (Embarcadero at 101 in Palo Alto) has an online order form and brings the order out to your car. https://www.marketatedgewood.com/delivery https://www.marketatedgewood.com/delivery

sarah2079 7y ago

I am also in Mountain View and haven’t been in a store since February. I have been able to place pick up orders with Nob Hill Foods for two weeks out (delivery has not been available lately). One of my husband’s colleagues has had good luck with Draeger’s via Instacart (he said same day!). If you make an Amazon Fresh cart and then refresh the page where you select your delivery window a lot between 9 pm and 12 am you can sometimes catch the new batch of delivery windows being released. For most Amazon Fresh warehouses they are released at midnight, but it is controlled by the local warehouse, and ours releases the new slots at random times in the evening. When I can get a slot Amazon fresh is my favorite—good selection and 90% of what I order actually arrives, which is great. My husband also mentioned a friend successfully having toilet paper delivered from Home Depot.

peterwwillis 7y ago

Driving 50 miles ? There's tons of places for groceries in Mountain View... Here is a list of CSAs and farms near mountain view: https://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=37.412895&lon=-122.04989&scale=9&ty=6&zip=94035 https://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=37.412895&... Try the Farmstead app: https://www.farmsteadapp.com/ https://www.farmsteadapp.com/ Some stores are near you on Mercato: https://www.mercato.com/ https://www.mercato.com/ Check grocery stores near you on Yelp; call them to see if they deliver, I'm sure some do (Safeway definitely used to): https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=groceries&find_loc=mountain+view%2C+ca https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=groceries&find_loc=mou... Grocery On Wheels seems to prioritize deliveries to senior citizens, they may also make an exception for the immunocompromised: https://www.groceryonwheels.org/ https://www.groceryonwheels.org/ You should also check the news, google and call any wholesale food distributors nearby you, the ones that deliver to restaurants. Near me they have been delivering boxes full of fresh food to residences for very low prices, something like $35 a box. Basically, abandon the idea of national chains, look for local places. In rural areas this is nearly impossible; near and in big cities, there are tons of options. And don't forget to look for non-white-owned businesses - but you might have to actually ask someone nearby, as they don't always advertise on Google.

adsljfl3 7y ago

I'm using a CSA which guarantees delivery: https://www.goldengateorganics.com/ https://www.goldengateorganics.com/ There are some CSAs that target south bay that might work for you. These support farms and you get a strong assurance that you will have food every week. We also have enough rice and beans in our house that we can probably go for about a month without groceries. Make sure you have rice and beans. Tender greens is also delivering grocery boxes: https://www.tendergreens.com/blog/002020-grocery-boxes https://www.tendergreens.com/blog/002020-grocery-boxes I would also try smaller stores on Instacart. Finally there are several groups doing shopping for people like you, my Nextdoor feed has them posting regularly.