Frenzied Buying Leaves Warsaw In Short Supply Of TP
WARSAW – Mary Kester looked down the long, empty portion of the aisle reserved for toilet paper and then grabbed a package of napkins instead.
“It’s definitely going to be a backup,” Kester said in half jest. “This is crazy.”
Mary and her husband, Greg, found themselves at Owen’s Supermarket early Friday evening, March 13, surrounded by an intense shopping atmosphere – hours after they learned their daughter’s classes had been canceled for a few weeks and a national emergency had been declared as the spread of coronavirus continued to expand its impact on the nation.
Mary said she learned of the TP shortage from her mother. “She’s like, ‘There’s none in town!”
Indeed, other grocery stores in Warsaw – Martin’s Super Market, Meijer, Aldi and some of the dollar stores – struggled to keep some merchandise stocked Friday.
Other items in short supply at area stores: Milk, bread, hamburger and various cleaning supplies.
Whether shortages would persist was unclear.
A manager for Owen’s declined to comment and said questions should be directed to the company’s marketing person who could not be immediately reached.
While hand sanitizer has been difficult to find anywhere locally in the recent days, a crescendo of panic buying seemed to arrive Friday. Similar sporadic shortages were reported across other parts of the country as shoppers reacted to the short-term uncertainty brought upon by the virus.
Shoppers at Owen’s seemed to have extra pep in their step and there was an air of aggravation as many navigated their carts in heavier-than-normal traffic.
For some, the frantic buying and lack of toilet paper felt like a scene from a bizarre comedy with an apocalyptic theme.
Panic buying in Warsaw – the normal run on bread and milk – is usually reserved for blizzards and ice storms. But this was different as Americans saw a week of plummeting stocks and large-scale cancelations of classes, events and athletics.
Jerry Pifer, of Warsaw, found the circumstances stunning. He said he’d never seen anything like what was happening Friday despite the fact not a single case of coronavirus had been detected in Kosciusko County.
“Amazing,” Pifer said while standing in the toilet paper aisle. “People are going overboard.”
Dudley Allen said he came to Owen’s to send a Western Union letter to his family in Nicaragua and saw what was happening inside the store. He ended up with a cart full of items.
“They convinced me to do so,” Allen said as he unloaded merchandise into his vehicle.
“I am not so worried,” Allen said, saying people just need to stay alert and be smart.
“All the news that’s going on, 50 (percent) is true and 50 is not,” he said with a smile.