{"id":14430,"date":"2020-03-15T18:13:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T17:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/?p=14430"},"modified":"2020-03-21T17:42:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T16:42:21","slug":"coronavirus-lockdown-food-shopping-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/expat-life\/coronavirus-lockdown-food-shopping-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Lockdown Food Shopping Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re coming to the end of the first week of total lockdown in Italy<\/strong>, since the government passed the \u201cIo resto a casa\u201d (I stay home) decree that makes it illegal to go outside for reasons other than work or health (with proof). I won\u2019t lie to you and say I\u2019m doing great in this situation, but my husband and I are adapting<\/strong>, like all Italians, to life inside. From my point of view here in Florence, Italians are proving more law-abiding and polite<\/strong> than anyone imagined. We\u2019re resilient, collaborative, empathetic and most of all, creative<\/strong>. Things are tough, and it\u2019s not going to be instantly better when this is over, but at least at the moment the feeling is that we\u2019re all in this together<\/strong> and all trying to help each other out.<\/p>\n

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An empty Ponte Vecchio | Photo by Tracy Russo taken on her way to go food shopping<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am amongst the lucky ones<\/strong>: I think about all the people who aren\u2019t receiving their salaries right now or whose businesses are suffering, who are locked in a small apartment with three kids or worse yet, are alone, or abused. Tommaso and I both have jobs that make smart working possible, a good sized apartment with some outside space, and savings to get us through tough times. I am, as always, a person of privilege.<\/p>\n

For this and other reasons, I have hesitated about writing something on my blog<\/strong> about the Coronavirus quarantine. There is something I\u2019m really good at though, and that is organization<\/strong>. And for reasons I\u2019ll explain below, one thing I am extremely organized about is food. So although it has nothing to do with art and travel, the themes of this blog, I\u2019m hoping that this practical guide to food shopping <\/strong>under lockdown, based on personal experience, will be helpful to you.<\/p>\n

Food shopping and cooking in quarantine<\/h2>\n

My colleagues tease me because I am super organized about everything, especially about food. I don\u2019t talk about this much with strangers, but I\u2019ve suffered from a lifetime of digestive problems and was recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), a chronic auto-immune disease that affects the colon. More on that another time; the point is, I\u2019ve always had a slightly restrictive diet, and with this disease, I\u2019ve found that following a very specialized diet developed in the USA for UC is key to keeping my symptoms under control. That, and reducing stress, which right now is not easy. To make sure I always have \u201ccompliant\u201d foods in the house, I need to shop and cook strategically<\/strong>. I developed meal prep methods of my own, and learned a lot from one of my favourite American food blogs, Detoxinista<\/a>. In preparation for the lockdown everyone knew was coming, I spent about a week ensuring I have all the ingredients I need to stay healthy \u2013 no small feat, as many are not typical Italian pantry items.<\/p>\n

Speaking with my mom in Canada, and reading comments from friends in the States on Facebook, I realized that I\u2019ve taken my usual planned food shopping and meal prep a step further at this time, and so am going to share my method with you<\/strong>, hoping it will help you when the time comes for you to stay inside. I can\u2019t emphasize enough how important it is to isolate and patiently wait this out, and applaud the Italian government for being strict with us. I hope that in other countries, grocery stores and governments will soon quell the panic and stop the stockpiling; here, stores have worked hard to ensure that (almost) everything is in stock. So get out your mask and disposable gloves, it\u2019s time to go food shopping.<\/p>\n

Food shopping strategy<\/h3>\n

Shop for 5-7 days<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The rules around here are: only one person per family is allowed out to food shop, and must carry documentation and proof of destination should there be a police check. Supermarkets are enforcing one person per cart rules, and making you line up, separated by carts to create distance, to enter one at a time. Line-ups can be two hours long in some places like large city supermarkets (although a friend in downtown Florence reports that her small shops aren\u2019t busy at all).<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve been asked to go out as little as possible, this is not the time to run down to get some bread. You\u2019re going to need a list and to buy multiples. In our household, my husband dons a respirator mask and disposable gloves and goes out for us and for his parents, fills two large carrier bags and then delivers the goods. Gloves are removed before entering the car, and outside clothing is removed at the front door (inside the house, to the neighbours\u2019 relief).<\/p>\n

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This is the line at our suburban esselunga store in Florence | ph. courtesy husband Tommaso Olivieri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Balanced, good food<\/h4>\n

Tommaso came in yesterday after his 2.5 hour supermarket voyage and declared that he had thrown caution to the wind and bought a whole round of cheese, organic salmon, craft cookies\u2026 If you\u2019re in quarantine, you don\u2019t have much to look forward to, so if you can afford to do so, my tip is to eat well \u2013 cook elaborate and delicious meals for yourself and try to enjoy it. Since I\u2019ve had UC, I\u2019ve stopped eating grains, but am also borderline vegetarian, so we need a constant stock of fresh proteins and vegetables which is a big challenge right now.<\/p>\n

This is my shopping list \u2013 consider that this is not a standard pantry list, since I\u2019m assuming you, like I, have many things at home all the time, like spices, sugar, flour, tea, coffee and the like. We are two adults, I expect families might have a list that looks a bit more kid-friendly. NB At the bottom of this article is a downloadable two-family shopping list (if, like us, you’re shopping for someone old or sick as well as for yourself.)<\/p>\n