Will Johnston: Look out for friends and family - and don't panic buy

Empty supermarket shelves in Tauranga. Photo / Supplied

COMMENT:

On Thursday night I went to the supermarket to buy food for dinner. We had friends coming over and I was, as usual, unprepared to feed them.

As I was walking around buying ingredients for a My Kitchen Rules quality meal, of nachos and a Pams Apple Crumble, ahem … I was disappointed with what I saw …

No bread or toilet paper left on the shelves.

There weren't even that many people in the supermarket, but those who had been there earlier had obviously decided they wanted to be inconsiderate and small-minded individuals and panic-bought things they really don't need to be panic-buying.

This got me wondering about whether it depends where you live and what social/economic level that area is, as to what is running short because of idiots panic-buying?

Most supermarkets are probably going to get hit with the general toilet paper, sanitising products, bread and flour thing.

This is still bizarre to me, because literally none of those things are essential items. Even toilet paper is something that can be substituted with multiple other things if it came to it, right?

Anyway, I called New World Mount Maunganui yesterday and wanted to check that they hadn't run out of quinoa, kale, coconut yogurt and almond milk.

Don't worry, they're in healthy supply! Phew!

Despite the urge to hoard things we don't really need just because someone else was buying it or it looked in short supply, there is something that is even more disappointing about any potential lockdown, or alert level rise … People apologising for being anywhere near another human in public.

I've been in a cafe and a supermarket in the last 48 hours where people have had to get closer than 1-2m away from me and they've apologised for it.

I know it's the rules and best practice and great that lots of us are abiding by that.

But it doesn't make it suck any less that humans are saying sorry to other humans for being anywhere near them.

The worst part is that I'm a hugger. I know, I know; people who aren't huggers hate that. Don't worry, I always ask first. I've just wanted to hug these people who are clearly worried, as we all are, about being physically distanced from others.

Until this year that would have been such a hard thing to even get your head around – no hugging, handshakes or high-fives.

Whatever happens with lockdown levels over the next few weeks, the main thing is to actually think about not just yourself. Because you already know how you handle this kind of thing, you've done it before and you know how it feels.

So now it's not as new and might be our lives for the next few years on and off, why not turn your attention to others if you can?

Call a friend, fire up the "house party" app, even just ask the neighbour how they are going when you see them.

What did you learn from the last lockdown? I'd hazard a guess it was more contact with others, in whatever form, is so important.

So let's panic-contact some friends for a catch-up, rather than panic-buying bread.