Items

2022-06-10

From Sourdough to Inflation: How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Eat

This is a news story from Eater by Jamie Feldmar. This chronicles the changing food habits of people throughout the pandemic. In 2020, there was a wave of panic buying for things like flour, canned soups, and frozen vegetables. The use of grocery store delivery apps also increased that year. Instacart, a grocery delivery app, saw a 229% sales increase. With the panic buying came people looking for ways to use up things like canned goods and dried pasta. Things like sheet pan dinners, salads, and other easy meals became sought after in that time. Another change that occurred was people trying food trends popular during the pandemic. Things such as sourdough and whipped coffee were major food trends of that time. Meal kit delivery rose during the pandemic. Blue Apron had subscriptions to their food service skyrocket. Hello Fresh did as well, and was forced to close down temporarily to hire 3,000 extra workers to tackle the rising demand. In 2021, other food trends occurred while many restaurants and other dining establishments could not operate at full capacity. Things like espresso martinis and the dalgona candy, and candy made popular by the TV show Squid Game, were just some of those food trends. The food trends were not without labor issues though. In October 2021, Kellogg's workers went on strike, which affected the supply chains of that brand. Supply chain issues have become an ongoing problem since the beginning of the pandemic. In February 2022, the US temporarily shut down avocado imports from Mexico, making the food more expensive. With supply chain issues comes rising inflation. According to the USDA, food prices in 2022 were expected to rise between 6.5% to 7.5% increases. The Russian war with Ukraine cited as one of those causes. May 2022 saw a baby formula shortage, where 40% of baby formula was out of stock. Today, the USDA is looking to learn from the pandemic and the food issues that are occurring. One way they are doing this is through "a framework to transform the food system," which has the focus on building a more resilient supply chain while providing for rural and underserved communities. My own prediction is that the supply chain issues will mean more local food and less imported food overall in the United States. This means opening more food processing plants and increasing work domestically within the food industry to meet demands. The global food system is very fragile to things like pandemics and war. If food prices are to ever get lowered as well, it is important that more food gets produced and used locally. It would have the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly too, as the food would not have to be shipped as far away to where it gets used.

2022-05-04

Erika Groudle Oral History, 2022/05/04

Erika Groudle is a resident of Monroe, Washington. She lives in a tiny house with her partner on her mother’s property. In this oral history interview Erika discusses working with kids during the pandemic and her opinion on how they handle mask wearing. Additionally, Erika discusses her “pandemic garden,” caring for her grandfather, staying connected to friends and family during the pandemic, how she first realized the pandemic was close to home, and the realities of living in a state that not only had the first case and death of COVID-19 in the United States of America, but also highly publicized protests in Seattle. Interviewer: Jason Inskeep Interviewee: Erika Groudle

2020-04-09

How fast things can change

At the start of 2020, and even into the beginning of March, we had absolutely no idea what was lurking right around the corner. I recently got shown this video, and I thought it did a perfect job of capturing the suddenness of the pandemic. So much happened in only a matter of a few weeks; the shift in what life was and would be like in April compared to January was stark.

2020-03-13

Last Costco run before shutdown

It was two days after the NBA had shut down and the first day our school district had shut down. Not sure about what was to come next (and honestly pretty scared to go) I took on last trip to Costco to buy supplies for the lockdown of unknown duration that was about to begin. The scene was chaos, with the lines running the full length of the store. The most eerie part, though, was someone who decided to “play us off” in a sort of Titanic-style farewell to our old life. Having endured the line for longer than I can remember, I chose to record the moment (which I felt would be one to remember.

05/03/2021

Jeff Foster Oral History, 2021/05/03

Elizabeth Hathorn interviews Jeff Foster, a college student and member of the U.S. Army. He discusses the effects of COVDI-19 on college classes and on military training. He also touches on a few other aspects of life during the COVID-19 quarantine.

2020-03-19

Toilet paper being cleared out dubbed with Walking Dead zombie noises

A video meme making fun of the panic buying of toilet paper in march of 2020. Appears to be a Costco. Dubbed with zombie noises from The Walking Dead. I feel its important for videos of these events to be preserved as well as the social/ popular response to events like panic buying

2020-02-05

Pandemic Brand Reviews: I Miss Costco

Costco is my absolute favorite place. It genuinely makes me so happy. Even going during the pandemic makes me happy. However, Costco is definitely not the same as pre-pandemic. Obviously, there are no free samples anymore. This is because it would be a health concern. Although I will miss munch and shopping, I understand that this cannot be expected during a pandemic. As of now, they have the free sample stations up but with just a display of the food. I know that the free sample employees are contracted by Costco. I haven't seen some of the familiar faces recently. This makes me worried, I hope they are still doing okay during the pandemic. I know that Costco cares about their employees, so I hope they found away for the free sample people to still keep their jobs. Another change I've noticed in my local Costco is the food court. The food court is Costco's loss leader, the delicious and extremely affordable food lures customers in and in turn makes them shop. Due to COVID, Costco's food court menu has been severely shorted. Fan favorites, such as the $1.50 hotdog with a free drink, chicken bake, and pizzas are still available. However, they are not the same products anymore. The hot dog, although still delicious, has a smaller bun. The chicken bake is completely different now. It looks more machine-made, and according to my father, does not taste the same. This really disappoints me, as the chicken bake is my absolute favorite item on the menu. The pizzas are only offered in cheese and pepperoni; the combo flavor has been kicked off. This also disappointed me because I only like the combo pizza. In addition, there are self checkout kiosks where you order and pay, then go up to the window to pick up your food. Other than the food, Costco is still the same. I think life will only be normal again for me when I can go to Costco on the weekend, shop and nibble on the free samples, and still leave room for a chicken bake and combo pizza to go.

0021-01-06

Christmas During Covid

This year for Christmas, it felt the same. There was only a subtle difference between the holidays of last year and this year. On Christmas Eve, my dad and I went to Costco to buy necessities lacked at home. All of the shoppers needed to wear masks, which is different from previous years. However, the current guidelines have been initiated for many months already, so I have already adapted. Every Christmas morning, my little brother and I would wake up to find presents from "Santa" under the Christmas tree. This year, I received a crochet kit and polymer clay kit. I gave my mom a watercolor butterfly and heart hair clip; I gave my dad a Christmas-themed fortune teller. After the exchange of gifts, I spent the rest of the day playing and fiddling with my new gifts. Most of my Christmases, including this one, are the same.

2020-05-03

" The man feeding a remote Alaska town with a Costco card and a ship " - The Hustle

The advent of COVID-19 has made it more difficult for isolated, rural communities to maintain access to basic necessities such as food, water, and personal care products. In an article for the Hustle, journalist Zachary Crokett recounts the story of a Gustavus, Alaska grocer named Toshua Parker, who has taken it upon himself to supply the needs of his fellow townspeople in a time of crisis. Through the use of a shipping freighter, business connections, and a trusty Costco membership card, Parker has mostly succeeded in supplying the community's consumer needs and has made his business, Toshco, an economic pillar of Gustavus. The success of Parker's small, rural business in the face of COVID-19, according to Crockett, is representative of a "renaissance" of rural businesses, which are an important component of supplying a town's consumer needs. Without these businesses, isolated rural communities such as Gustavus would have a harder time enduring the pandemic relative to communities with robust economic centers.

2020-03-25

The Battle of Costco

HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assignment. Again, like many other memes I encountered, this one comments on how the events of this year will be studied, but more importantly how they will be remembered (as emphasised by the almost commemorative nature of the statues). Humorously depicting parents and two children racing with an overflowing trolley full of food toward the check-outs as though it were a battle scene, this meme seeks to ridicule the absurdity of purchasing and hoarding mountains of food during the lock-down period. It suggests that violence in the isles and the toilet paper crisis that saw people literally fighting each other in order to obtain toilet paper will not be looked upon favourably by future historians or students. The way that the figures are carved in stone and the title of ‘The Battle of Costco (2020 A.D.)’ positions the audience to view the image in reference to other major historical conflicts and to find this one, humorously, falling short.

2020-03-13

The great costco chicken shortage

My partner and I went to Costco to do regular grocery shopping for the week when we stumbled on the emptiest isles we have ever seen at any Costco. I remember turning to my partner and saying “This feels unreal. I have never seen a store this empty and I don’t think that I ever will again”. It was still March, and my partner was just told by his job to stay home and that the office would be closed for a while until Covid was under control. We didn’t know at that time seven months later he would still be working from home. It was eerie being in a store that was so empty and it is hard to explain what it felt like to see that. It was at a time of high panic for others but I hadn’t felt that same panic until that moment. I was very worried we wouldn't be able to get chicken for the foreseeable future and I didn’t know what we were going to do. I panic purchased a five pound bag of dry pinto beans that are still living in the back of a cupboard in my kitchen, unopened, on that trip. I think of my quarantine experience in multiple stages, the first to being before Costco, and after the great Costco chicken shortage. I think other people felt the same way I did; After they saw people panic buying, they started panic buying or fretting more than they may have been in the months before quarantine. The beginning feelings of panic did do good for me though, they made me more conscious of what we are eating and how much food we actually buy. I feel like the changes have benefited me for the better. Arizona State University HST485

2020-08-08

I quarantined but slipped up for 5 minutes. I gave my Family CORONA-VIRUS

Hi. Before I share my story I am going to share some other things about me. I play sports, will be graduating in the class of 2021 (-_-) and I study sometimes. Maybe more than sometimes but you get the idea. Well here I am having a normal quarantine life- waking up, eating, sitting down, eating, studying, eating- yeah you know the usual. I do hear stuff about the outside world every once in a while, but not too worried about it despite- the numerous amount of casualties from RONA, hospitals being flooded, countries being ... you get it, the usual- but I WAS calm. Like how could I of all people get corona when I haven't been past my garage in the past few months. Just before this gets going I want everyone to know that I DO wear a mask everywhere. My FAM doesn't mess around. Well fast-forward to the 1 day I interact with civilization outside mi casa on August 6th. This 1 special occasion, the one *** time I stepped foot outside my realm WITHOUT a mask was to get groceries from my grandma who at the moment had a mask on. These groceries were from.......... COSTCO. This is that 1 day I realized on AUGUST 8, I knew that I ****** up. Yes. You're probably thinking something near the realm of me being... well just plain stupid, but it gets even better. Today (August 8) I am starting to realize that I have touched every god dang snack in the cabinet. I may have given my WHOLE family corona-virus. My symptoms seem to be mild but who knows they may get worse as the disease progresses. More importantly I am praying that none of my family members nor anyone exposed to me has been given corona-virus. I'm sorry to everyone going through anything right now. Stay healthy and Stay Safe. No matter what wear a mask, speaking from experience- the consequences can be life threatening- A.O

2020

There Are Two Kinds of People in This World

This is a meme showing the two types of people in this world--those that buy and hoard toilet paper and those that are happy buying a case of Corona beer. Obviously, this is a pun on the name of the Coronavirus.

2020-03-17

Costco Lines Are Outta Control!

When the pandemic hit, and even just before, people ran to the stores and cleared out all the cleaning supplies, bottled water, hand sanitizer, canned food, rice and beans, rubbing alcohol, toilet paper, and paper towels. Costco is a big membership warehouse store with large quantities and good prices, so people flocked there. This video is typical of all of Southern California's Costco lines. The lines circled around the entire 150,000 square foot store! We watched the news footage in amazement. Shot by journalist @mrmarkpotts for the LA Times. I cut off the last few minutes and sped it up to 250%, but it took him 7 minutes to walk down the line. The apocalypse was surely nigh!

2020-03-17T10:08:27+00:00

Costco under the COVID-19

I was the very first few weeks after the lockdown. At that time, most of the groceries are sold out at the local grocery stores (Albertsons, Ralphs). No meat, milk, even toilet paper can be found on the shelves. Costco became the only store where food supply is sufficient. My roommate and I went to Costco to stock up some food. The store opened at 10 am and when we got there, the line was all the way to the end of the road (~50 meters). People were following the social distancing and 1/3 of them were wearing masks

2020-04-04

Hoarding in the USA? Coronavirus sparks consumer concerns

Supermarket shelves were stripped bare and videos posted on social media showed consumers coming to blows over bags of pasta.

2020-05-13

Swimming on Zoom?

I felt that there was nothing that made today stand out. I woke up really late. (Which seems to be the usual) I ate a cupcake and porridge. After that I did my schoolwork for the day. I am almost done with 7th grade! I then did my entire normal workout routine. I didn’t work out yesterday because it was my sister’s fifth birthday. I am so tired after taking only one day off. On the other hand, my mom and grandmother got me new running shoes since my other ones were giving me blisters. We ate Costco pizza for lunch. I had to eat fast since I had a scheduled Zoom meeting with my swimming coach to attend to. The meeting was about the Commencement Address by Admiral William H. McRaven. I also read his book a while ago. My coach, I, and other kids on my team my age talked about ten things you need to do if you want to change the world as discussed by Admiral McRaven. I also ate dinner, read a little, watched a little TV, and did more schoolwork. I am tired.

2020-05-08

Treatment of Essential Workers: Mask Protest and Response

This project aims to document the treatment and reactions to the treatment of the essential workers during this pandemic. This is the headline of an article describing the reaction some customers wanting to protest and boycott Costco after their implementation of making it necessary to wear a mask. Many people have come to the defense of Costco saying that they support this act

2020-04-07

Treatment of Essential Workers: “Insulting Rewards”

This project aims to document the treatment and reactions to the treatment of the essential workers during this pandemic. This image captures the headline of an article describing workers outrage at the “rewards” they are being given, such as free lunches. My friend works at a grocery store and has experienced this firsthand. No promise of bonuses, or sick leave, or extra protections for working during a pandemic, many are insulted that companies believe a free lunch may make up for the health risks these workers take everyday.

2020-05-25

My Coronavirus Costco Trips

A personal account of how the pandemic has changed everyday life.

A person with a mask wiping down a register.

2020-04-27

Costco Cleaning Procedures

Costco has made it the policy now that at cash registers, after each use by a customer, they will be disinfected by a team member with paper towels and a cleaning solution. In addition to the plastic barrier present at each register, this is to help slow the spread of the disease.

2020-03-31

Explore the Archives