Beginning in March, Americans began stocking up on food and other essentials, not knowing what they might need and for how long. This particularly chaotic time in NYC had immediate effect on product availability and the supply chain, as well as long term consequences on grocery prices.
March 1: Panic Shopping for Coronavirus Supplies, but Brunch Is Packed
March 3: “Madness” At Park Slope Food Coop & Other Stores As NYers Prep For Coronavirus Spread
March 7: With Spreading Virus Comes Fears — and Lots of Stockpiling
March 13: Coronavirus chaos continues at NYC grocery stores ; ‘It’s hell in there:’ NYC food stores mobbed amid coronavirus fears
April 14: NYC Grocers Grapple With Soaring Prices, Strained Supply Chains
April 30: City Shoppers Stock Up Over Meat Shortage Concerns
April 30: Inside New York City’s Food-Supply Chain During the Coronavirus Pandemic
May 13: Grocery prices reach 50-year high amid pandemic
May 14: Coronavirus Causes a Price Spike in Grocery Stores
August 1: Consumer Spending during COVID-19
August 5: Grocery prices skyrocketing amid coronavirus recession, unemployment
October 21: Is a Second Wave Starting? New Yorkers Are Steeling Themselves
November 16: As COVID Cases Rise Again, NYC Supermarket CEO Asks Customers Not To Stockpile Essentials
The grocery shopping experience changed during the pandemic, with people buying different foods, more food, and shopping less often.
March 16: Stores Offering Shopping Hours to High Risk Population
March 24: NYC Whole Foods limits stores to 50 shoppers amid coronavirus
March 24: PSA Grocery Shopping Tips in COVID-19
April 6: People should limit trips to grocery store and pharmacy
April 28: Tips and Tricks for Getting Groceries During the Coronavirus Pandemic
May 6: Plastic Shields and Homemade Lysol: How a N.Y. Grocery Has Persevered
May 14: How one Brooklyn grocery store manager has survived the coronavirus crisis
May 26: Why a New York grocery merchant with 2 stores decided to sell online
June 2: The Best Options for Grocery Delivery During the Coronavirus Pandemic
June 9: Expanding SNAP to online grocery shopping in a time of COVID
July 9: Anything You Say in This Trader Joe’s Line May Be Used Against You
September 8: 7 Ways the Pandemic Has Changed How We Shop for Food
November 4: How COVID-19 is Affecting the Grocery Industry
February 2: Grocery Store Shopping Amid the COVID-19 Variants: Some Ways to Stay Safe
Stores experienced a sharp increase of the purchase of staples such as dried beans and rice, pasta, canned goods, flour and yeast.
April 3: Whaddaya Knead? Yeast And Baking Powder Top America’s Shopping Lists
April 14: Yes, #quarantinebaking has caused a temporary flour shortage. But not for the reasons you’d think.
April 23: Yeast shortage 2020: Baker’s yeast is hard to find due to COVID-19
May 5: Grocers limit meat purchases during coronavirus – New York Daily News
Some people turned to alternative sources for their grocery needs, turning to green markets, meal kits, produce vendors, and new direct to consumer pathways from restaurants and wholesale distributors.
March 27: 5 NYC restaurants that have turned into minimarkets
April 1: NYC Groceries and Coronavirus: Michelin-Starred Restaurant Suppliers Sell Directly to Locals
April 1: Why Outdoor Farmers’ Markets Matter More Than Ever
April 7: Coronavirus Update: NYC Farmers Markets Open With New Safety Guidelines
April 8: Restaurants are transforming into grocery stores because of coronavirus
April 9: Bodegas, Now More Than Ever
April 22: NYC Groceries and Coronavirus: Wholesalers Struggle to Meet Consumer Demand
April 24: Can the Park Slope Food Coop Survive?
April 30: Coronavirus News: Local farms begin home deliveries from Union Square Greenmarket amid coronavirus
May 1: NYC Food and Coronavirus: How Produce Street Vendors Serve Food Swamps
May 12: The New Rules of NYC Greenmarkets During Coronavirus Crisis
May 14: NYC Groceries and Coronavirus: Restaurants Now Sell Produce and Other Goods
July 8: Baldor Specialty Foods in Hunts Point launches home delivery of popular restaurant dishes
November 15: Local farms are delivering fresh produce to New Yorkers’ doorsteps
January 29: Grocery delivery soars amid pandemic, new strains
Essential workers, many of them working in the food system, specifically in food distribution, had no choice but to venture out every day for work.
March 22: Grocery Stores Are Packed With People—And Workers Are Scared & Stressed
March 30: Strikes at Instacart and Amazon Over Coronavirus Health Concerns
April 6: Grocery, Post Office Workers In NJ Find Themselves On Front Lines Of Pandemic
April 7: Meet the Front-Line Workers of NYC’s Food Supply Chain
April 8: Instacart Shoppers In Brooklyn Say Company Gave Them Baby Wipes, No Masks
April 16: Delivery man keeps quarantined New Yorkers fed amid COVID-19
April 22: NYC Council Proposes Bonuses For Hospital, Grocery Store Workers
April 23: Coronavirus in NY: Many Would Go Hungry Without These Drivers
April 29: NYC Food and Coronavirus: Photos at Hunts Point, New York’s Most Important Food Hub
April 30: A Day In The Life Of A Grocery Delivery Worker In New York City Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic
May 1: Essential Workers Plan May Day Strikes; Others Demand End To COVID-19 Lockdowns
May 4: How COVID-19 Affected NYC’s Food-Supply Chain
May 6: Instacart Was Overwhelmed by Coronavirus Overnight
May 18: Grocery Stores Move To Cancel Hazard Pay For Workers
May 18: ‘I Feel Like a Hero’: A Day in the Life of a Grocery Delivery Man
May 21: Race and Coronavirus: The pandemic’s toll on essential workers
May 22: Grocery Store Safety: Which Chains Are Doing It Best?
May 26: The human cost of Instacart’s grocery delivery
June 2: The Pandemic Isn’t Easing Up, but Frontline Food Workers Are Already Losing Bonus Pay
June 10: To protect frontline workers during and after COVID-19, we must define who they are
July 6: Gig Workers Face Shifting Roles, Competition in Pandemic
July 9: ‘What happens if I get sick again?’: Essential workers seek expanded protections
July 21: Stop & Shop Workers Fight to Get Hazard Pay Reinstated
August 3: The Uncertainties Facing New York City’s Young Essential Workers
August 19: COVID-19 Conditions Could Lead to Grocery Employees Unionizing
November 6: Workers at One of Nation’s Biggest Food Distributors Threaten Strike Over Virus Safety
November 25: Union Announces COVID-19 Hazard Pay Deal for ShopRite Workers in Tri-State
November 29: As COVID-19 Surges, Some Trader Joe’s Workers Say They’re In A “State Of Terror”
December 16: More than two dozen Whole Foods workers in Brooklyn have gotten COVID
January 11: Governor Cuomo Announces Additional New Yorkers Can Begin Scheduling with Providers COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments ; NYC Grocery Store, Shelter Workers Can Get Coronavirus Vaccine ; NYC Grocery Workers Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine Beginning Today Grocery store workers, shelter residents and workers now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine: Mayor
January 15: Trader Joe’s, Instacart, others will pay workers to get Covid vaccine
January 17: Hunts Point Produce Workers Go on Strike ; 1,400 Workers in the Bronx Are on Strike for a Livable Wage ; What You Need to Know About the Hunts Point Market Strike ; NYT changes headline about Hunts Point Strike
February 9: Grocery Store Worker Knows Too Well the Pain of COVID-19
February 14: Food Workers Can Now Get the COVID Vaccine. Here’s How
As the number of coronavirus cases decreased and stabilized over the summer, the anxieties and fears which spurred initial hoarding subsided for many, but the effects of the pandemic on grocery workers and food shopping trends are lasting.
May 11: Gone From Grocery Shelves, Now There’s a Mad Dash to Find Them
July 9: Will grocery shopping ever be the same again after coronavirus?
July 14: Flour and Toilet Paper Are Back at N.Y. Supermarkets, but There’s a Catch
July 31: How Coronavirus Is Changing the Grocery Store for Good
August 3: Amid COVID, New York wants to make SNAP benefits permanently available for groceries online ; SNAP benefits in NY may be permanently available for groceries online
September 8: 7 Ways the Pandemic Has Changed How We Shop for Food
September 17: I’m a daily grocery shopper. Covid-19 couldn’t change that—but it did change me.
November 4: 12 Things to Know About How COVID-19 Is Affecting the Grocery Industry