Empty shelves, not only in the pasta aisle. Tinned tomatoes, disinfectants, flour, and yes, – even if we have heard it a thousand times – toilet paper have become a scarce commodity. But do we really need 10 bags of flour, 50 kilos pasta and 80 litres of milk for a few weeks staying at home?
‘Do I have enough toilet paper?’ – a question that currently concerns many people. The toilet paper consumption calculator could help. Assuming you have 10 rolls of 4-ply toilet paper, the operator of the site says, if you use the toilet twice a day, you can do your business carefree for roughly 75 days – so, more than 2 months. There is absolutely no need to panic, or even become aggressive, over a few rolls of toilet paper.
Of course, we understand that a relaxed toilet routine is important, but is it really essential? Maybe the better question should be: what is on the quarantine menu?
Long before the coronavirus outbreak, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief has always advised to keep a personal emergency food supply. The list of basic food items is aimed at one person for 10 days with an average daily energy intake of 2,200 kilocalories. Ideally, the menu should consist of cereal products, vegetables, fruits, eggs as well as dairy products. Does this correspond to our current hoarding behaviour?
The figures released by the market research company Nielsen on the effects of Covid-19 on German retail and our consumer behaviour show: Since the first week of March, Germans have been buying and hoarding tinned goods, staple foods such as flour and rice as well as salty and sweet snacks. Pasta products are particularly popular. For example, according to pasta manufacturer Teigwaren Riesa, orders at its online shop have quintupled compared to the previous year. Pasta is delicious – no doubt about it. But are they even part of our diet to begin with? What happens when we get tired of spaghetti with ready-made sauce? All of us have definitely been craving the delicious fresh pasta from the Italian restaurant around the corner.
Homemade baked goods may offer a good alternative. At least that is what the piles of white dust on the floor of numerous supermarkets suggest. It is safe to assume that there was flour available for sale here. But you will not get full from eating flour alone. It takes a few more ingredients (even perishable ones) to make bread or cake.
How much would you have to bake – and eat, of course – to go through one pack of flour? Assuming an average of 200 to 300 grams of flour per recipe for a standard cake pan, that would mean you can bake three to five cakes per pack of flour. In times of social distancing, that would be quite a bit for a household, especially if you look at how much flour people have actually been taking home. Why not continue to get delicious bread and sweet pastry from the bakery around the corner in a targeted and moderate manner? The baker will definitely be happy, because he earns his money through baking.
Despite #stayhome and #flattenthecurve in these critical times, our culinary world does not just have to revolve around durable food. Restaurateurs are particularly worried about their continued existence and must be creative. Ordering food from home is a nice option for both sides: It offers variety on the quarantine menu and simultaneously supports the restaurants in their current position: in other words, #stayhome and #saveownbusiness.
Restaurateurs who are not working with large delivery service providers now often offer private deliveries to homes or a contactless pick-up service and contactless payment. Many restaurants use their online presence, for example on social media, to provide information about ordering and delivery options.
As you can see, nobody has to worry about starving. Even in the unlikely event that your pantry is empty, the hospitality industry will be ready to provide you with your favourite pizza, a fresh bowl of food or good coffee. People using this service a little bit more during this time instead of lugging tinned ravioli home in pallets are making an important contribution to maintaining gastronomic diversity.