Grocery Shopping in the Pandemic

We all know the feeling. After hibernating in our homes for the last week, we open the fridge, hoping to seek refuge in a warm bowl of chicken soup. Alas! The fridge is empty. A sense of doom strikes you, as you realise what you have to do - make the weekly trek to the shops! You put on your Armageddon gear as you walk out your door, into the warzone.

With a little help, grocery shopping won’t have to be so stressful! Here is our guide to grocery shopping, COVID19-style:

Bulk shopping is not easy for everyone, given that the nearest supermarket is not within walking distance! A possible solution is to buy groceries online for delivery. However, this will require a credit or debit card. If you don’t have one, check out our guide on applying for a bank account here.

First of all, let’s break down all the supermarkets that have online deliveries available, in order of price:

• Asda

• Aldi

• Sainsbury’s

• Tesco’s 

• M and S

• Waitrose

Remember to plan at least a week ahead as grocery deliveries are in high demand. However, some carers or the person you are caring for may be eligible for priority slots for online deliveries! If you are new to online grocery shopping, here is a simple walkthrough of the process: 

First, register for an account to buy groceries!

Then, you’re ready to start shopping for some groceries! Just follow these simple steps.

Some supermarkets like ASDA even have discounts for carers! All you have to do is sign up as a member discountsforcarers.com and you can start saving money for some extra groceries! Here’s how you can apply for carer discounts:

Some supermarkets like Sainsbury’s have been offering a Click and Collect service, where you can order your groceries online the way you would usually, but there is an extra ‘Click and Collect’ option available on checkout! All you would have to do is drive or walk to your supermarket and pick it up from a collection point! No human interaction needed.

Let’s say the delivery slots are full, or you need some essentials urgently. Well, all is not lost, because supermarkets have introduced protected hours where only NHS workers, the vulnerable, and carers are allowed to shop! That way, you can shop without worrying the shops will be full of people!

The protected hours are as below:

Remember to bring your ID or your registration number to show that you’re a carer!

But what about those queues at the checkout counter? How do we ‘social distance’ when so many people are scrambling to feed their family?

Well, here’s a protip: use ‘Scan and Go’! It’s an app that allows you to scan the groceries that you need, and leave the supermarket without having to join the queue! This also requires a credit or debit card for payment.

This is a free mobile phone app that can be downloaded from the app store or play store, by searching for ‘Scan and Go’ for the supermarket you prefer. The registration page looks like this:

Click yes when they ask you if you want to allow access to your phone camera, and then you’re good to go! Just scan the barcodes on the groceries that you want to bring home, click on checkout once you’re done, and input your card details. You’ll be home before you know it. 

We hope these tips will help you stay a little more safe and sane in these extreme times.  We’re here for you, and if you have any more specific questions about , pop us a question here and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!