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Increase in Limited Resources and Hoarding Due to the Coronavirus

By SARAH MCCORMACK

Covid-19 has spread a worldwide panic, causing people to hoard resources and has left grocery stores shelves empty. Hoarding has been stressful for everyone, big families in particular. Larger families who require more necessities from stores are suffering because cleaning supplies and toilet paper are wiped from the shelves. Many people are taking all they can get without thinking of others in these nerve racking times. 

 

Having limited resources is especially concerning for people who are more at risk for catching Covid-19. Hoarding is unnecessary and people need to realize it is doing more harm than good.

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According to WHNT news, after the only grocery store in Courtland, Alabama closed, it left a town of 600 people without a local grocery store, and a resident said, “‘People need help. We need a grocery store here in Courtland, Alabama.’”

 

The citizens in Courtland are concerned that they are not going to have enough resources because of the grocery store closing down.  In an interview from WHNT news, a Courtland resident stated, “‘The closest grocery store to us would have to be in Moulton, that’s 12 miles away,’ explained Brenda Hampton, Courtland resident and community activist. ‘If we go to Decatur that’s 19 miles away. And if we go to Colbert County, Muscle Shoals, that’s 21 miles away. So it’s really devastating for this area here.’”

 

With the closest grocery store being twelve miles away, the citizens in this small town would have to go out of their way just to get necessities. There are elderly people who will have a difficult time getting to and from the grocery store with it being so far away. Coronavirus is making everyday life much harder; now, so are hoarders.

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School secretary, Rosaleen McCormack, stated, “There's no more paper towels or toilet paper left, you walk into the grocery store and you see empty selves.”

 

People are panic buying because they are scared that they will not have enough supplies for themselves and their families. Times are stressful right now, and the public is hoarding as a way to bring their stress levels down. But, all panic shopping and hoarding has done is led to food shortages.

 

Tenth grade student, Autumn Verna, stated, “I’m really stressing out because all the stores are running out of my favorite snacks and I’m worried my family isn’t going to have the things they need.”
 

According to high school office worker, Nora Finn, “I’m not hoarding, I’m just going to the grocery store and gathering the essentials. People are being overly nervous and greedy. They are storming the stores and buying all they can get their hands on whether they need it or not.”

 

Some states, however, have been urging their citizens to start hoarding. The article, “Hoarding in the USA? Corona Sparks Consumer Concerns,” from Business News, by Brad Brooks and Andrew Hay stated, “Hawaii told families to prepare as they did for hurricanes, with a 14-day supply of food, water and other necessities.”

 

Telling a population to act as if they should prepare for a natural disaster is not effective towards diminishing the hoarding problem. It is making people more nervous causing them to want to buy an unnecessary amount of supplies even more.

 

After word of the coronavirus being in Italy spread, the population started hoarding almost immediately. The article, “Italy’s lockdown hasn’t had much impact on the rapid spread of coronavirus — yet,” from Market Watch, by Allison Fottrell stated, “Pasta started flying off the shelves of supermarkets in Milan. If such panic buying was any indication, people were taking it seriously.”

 

As soon as panic starts to arise, people get anxious and try to do what they can to protect themselves and their families. But, panic buying is not the right thing to do. It is unnecessary and causes even more stress.

 

During these tough times, it can be really hard to stay calm. That is why hoarding started to happen; people are scared they are not going to have what they need in order to live comfortably. 

 

There is a significant increase in limited resources all due to the coronavirus. People want to have everything that they need and that their family needs, even if that means taking everything that they can get their hands on.

 

But, the world needs to remember hoarding is not necessary and to try and stay as calm as possible because we are all in this together.

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Works Cited

Brooks, Brad. “Hoarding in the USA? Coronavirus Sparks Consumer Concerns.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 28 Feb. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-usa-hoarding/hoarding-in-the-usa-coronavirus-sparks-consumer-concerns-idUSKCN20M37V.

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Fottrell, Alison. “'Pasta Started Flying off the Shelves of Supermarkets in Milan.' Italy's Lockdown Hasn't Had Much Impact on the Rapid Spread of Coronavirus - Yet.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 15 Mar. 2020, www.marketwatch.com/story/pasta-started-flying-off-supermarket-shelves-in-milan-as-italy-imposes-nationwide-coronavirus-lockdown-italians-struggle-to-adjust-to-the-new-normal-2020-03-09.

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Parker, Dallas. “Rural Citizens Concerned about Limited Resources during COVID-19 Pandemic.” WHNT.com, 20 Mar. 2020, whnt.com/news/coronavirus/rural-citizens-concerned-about-limited-resources-during-covid-19-pandemic/

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