The empty shelves and shortages have been common here in the Seattle area for weeks now. I've been trying to encourage people not yet on lockdown to make sure they have everything they need for as long as they can afford, trying for a month. Some people need to go out weekly, others have more supplies at home.
It's not so easy for those of us used to a fresh food/low carb lifestyle, it was really easy to have pantry goods for months/weeks at a time when I could eat high carb without sending my blood sugar into the 400 range. It is simply not an option for me to eat grains and such, no pasta or flour or corn meal or potatoes or just about anything else I can store on a shelf...
But think of everything -- dish sink/dish washer soap, bleach, I have a specialty contact lens solution, pet food, my coffee consumption is way up!
Last time I went to my local markets they were all out of flour but still had yeast. My friend in Arizona who has been baking with her bread machine for years has asked that I mail her some next time I go out.
Our Washington State Attorney General is not amused at the price gouging in addition to false cures.
https://www.atg.wa.gov/report-covid-...-price-gouging