The majority of Americans have changed the way they get their groceries since the pandemic arrived, a new survey indicates.
Commissioned by food delivery service HelloFresh, the survey found that seven out of 10 people think traditional grocery stores will become a thing of the past.
Shopping patterns shifted dramatically during lockdowns that encouraged people to stay at home. According to Fox News, 64% of those surveyed by OnePoll said they had their groceries delivered and 55% said they tried meal kit delivery services. A full 68% said because of the pandemic, they reevaluated how they shop for food and cited shortages on grocery shelves as another reason online shopping proved appealing.
About 42% said they were concerned about the cleanliness of grocery stores and the products they sell. Respondents also said they were fearful of germ exposure and limited their visits to every three weeks while cutting 10 minutes of shopping time when they did visit grocery stores.
The BBC reports there has been a surge in online food delivery since the pandemic began. Apps like UberEats, Instacart and Amazon Prime deliver groceries right to your door, making shopping safe and convenient. An innovative new concept in grocery shopping is the custom-built mobile truck, which can be sanitized from stem to stern and allow shoppers to peruse the “shelves” in an open-air mobile supermarket.
According to the BBC, several of these mobile food trucks are available in Canada and the U.S. A special app notifies residents when the truck is in their area, and it will operate like a bus route. This way, customers still get the satisfaction of selecting their own goods while staying safe.
Dr. Richard Kennedy, co-director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic, says that the open-air setup of these traveling food trucks is “much less risky than an enclosed space,” although he still encourages wearing masks.
Lynn C. Allison ✉
Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.
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