Bunnings have changed their trading hours as I found out after driving all the way there this morning for pool chemicals.
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An article regarding egg supply.
I cannot understand why Coles egg shelves are stripped bare.
Eggs have a short shelf life and Coles stocks were always shorter dated than the eggs I buy at our local Supa IGA.
I can only assume that the panic buyers do not have a clue regarding shelf life or they are simply buying them just in case that are actually going to do something with them.
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If anything was learned in WW2 rationing it was exactly what foods were needed for people to maintain health and nutrition. At the height of the war adults in the UK received:
āBacon and ham 4 oz(100g)
Meat to the value of 1s. 2d (Sausages were not rationed but difficult to obtain; offal was originally unrationed but some times formed part of the meat ration)
Butter 2 oz (50g)
Cheese 2 oz (50g) sometimes it rose to 4 oz (100 g) and even up to 8 oz(225g)
Margarine 4 oz (100g)
Cooking fat 4 oz (100g) often dropping to 2 oz(5o g)
Milk 3 pints (1800 ml) sometimes dropping to 2 pints (I200 ml
Household (skimmed, dried) milk was available. I think this was I packet each 4 weeks
Sugar 8 oz(225g)
Preserves 1 Ib(450 g) every 2 months
Tea 2 oz(50g)
Eggs 1 shell egg a week if available but at times dropping to 1 every two weeks
Dried eggs-1packet each 4 weeks
Sweets 12 oz (350 g) each 4 weeksā
Source āWeāll Eat Againā Marguerite Patten OBE
On top of that was fresh vegetables and sticking with unrefined or whole grain food.
Those boxes show just how ill-conceived the contents are in the choice of foods let alone nutritional value. By not having a set list of contents Woolies is able to offload whatever they like.
Dry goods are fine if they are actually usable.
I am disgusted with the set up and as a former Navy Supply Officer who was trained in overseeing logistics, catering and finance, I fail to comprehend how Woolies could not have developed several variety of boxes that included products that can be used in several combinations for balanced meals. Let alone including fresh protein and vegetables.
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Iāve been buying non-perishables in bulk and having it delivered for years. 1) to get specials 2) I am in a wheelchair and doing it this way helps me in many ways 3) so I donāt run out. Iām not a panic buyer, and my pantry is doing well due to how Iāve shopped for many years
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You are quite right it is nowhere near a balanced diet. Delivery will be 2 to 5 days through Oz Post, longer in remote areas, so no refrigeration.
What kind of fresh protein will be safely delivered in that time? Eggs if they are packed well, hard cheese, tofu, nuts, legumes. Would the target group enjoy that? I am pretty sure dried egg would not be a big success. Meat and seafood are out of the question.
What about fresh veges? Potatoes, pumpkins, cabbage and other durables might be OK at this time of year. Greens, salad, solanums not so much.
It looks to me that they have made the decision to exclude perishables altogether. If they started delivering rotten food the outcry would be heard in the arctic.
What fresh protein and veggies would you put in the box that would be in good shape after 5 days (or more) in transit that the target group would use? If you are supposing refrigerated door to door deliver I suspect that isnāt happening for the price and in some areas not at all.
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There are quite adequate tinned meats, legumes and vegetables that would work well to be included in original box. There are cook books written especially for those who have to survive on food bank food in the UK. Those recipes make not only balanced meals but delicious meals.
Separate boxes of fresh veg/fruit and perishables could be arranged for those that live in delivery areas AND delivered at a reduced fee, instead of $15 a pop. Perhaps even a subscription for the lockdown period.
We need to think āoutside the boxā.
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Triage is usually used do describe the response when medical emergency services are overwhelmed, and difficult decissions need to be made.
Itās also being used to explain why many are not currently able to access home delivery from Woolies or wondering about long lead times for orders.
The triage of Woolworths already very large online ordering and fulfilment network to keep it running is an epic feat, not least because the system was never really designed with having to serve the whole of Australia all at the same time.
A little brazen perhaps, but for now is it a one horse race?
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What this whole thing has taught me is that I need a pantry. The storage space in this house when I moved in, was close to zero. Theres a skinny cupboard I have been using as a linen press (well, its in the hall, more or less) but it doesnt serve well. I also tried using it as a pantry cupboard but that hasnt worked for me, either. Right this minute I am sitting at a table near the kitchen, and the space could likely be better used for a 2 door pantry, so I think I might order one, post haste. I hate putting these things together, but needs must.
And hereās an interesting link. Youād think at 70 I would know all this but I havent ever thought about it much. Now, I do.
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Whilst I was preparing a veggie garden behind our back fence yesterday afternoon, I saw a nearby neighbour getting his veggie patch behind his back fence ready for the season so I wandered down and asked him what he was going to plant.
He replied that he did not know yet as he hadnāt been able to get any seeds. He went to Bunnings recently and they were sold out of veggie seeds. He went there again yesterday morning and managed to buy 2 packets.
He said that there was a young woman blocking access to the seeds whilst grabbing everything including seeds which only grow in cold climates.
I asked him if she bought the tulip bulbs as well. (Yes, I have really seen them and other cold climate bulbs for sale at Bunnings and Big W in Cairns. Go figure).
It looks like a lot of the seeds are going to suffer the same fate as the seedlings.
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Necessity is the mother of invention?
Or just look it up on Google.
I had seen this done a couple of times on TV for veges.
āFoodā for thought, although you are will be limited by what vegetables you can obtain fresh and your local climate conditions. 
I occasionally collect seed to grow native plants. It is surprising just how easy it can be when you have a cheat sheet to follow.
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The neighbour also said that he has found that the Yates seeds he buys are fine when opened but any seed he saves for the next saeson are next to useless.
He did say that he had plenty of seeds from tomatoes he has had a bumper crop with previously.
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We let a couple of the plants in the vege patch run and flower, particularly the leafy ones (lettuce, rocket, coriander, Asian greens etc) and beans and save seed for next season. We find the germination rate better than packets and usually the variety which can be successfully grown locally is best to keep seed for for next season to increase the likelihood of another successful season.
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Most seeds you buy are hybrids which work well the generation they are bred for. If they are F1 hybrids, the seeds they produce will not give the same result as the parent plant. Also what the plants cross-pollinate with will affect the outcome of their seeds. It takes several generations before they stabilize. Beg some āold fashionedā seeds off an elderly or an organic gardener who has been saving seeds for many years for reliable outcomes. Also, seeds will only grow successfully if they are planted at the right time of year, especially in cold areas.
The neighbour is elderly and a gardening expert.
He wins prizes with his entries of plants and vegetables at the annual Cairns show.
No need for empathy. There is a plan āBā for next week.
The great missing Toilet Paper mystery is now passed itās third week. At Woolies Beerwah, Qld anyway.
An interesting response provided to a near 70year old.
The staffer at the service desk advised today that they are getting a daily delivery with each truck. It is not lasting long on the shelf. The store is doing home delivery, however you will not get TP, tissues, rice, pasta etc on any home delivery order.
One solution. To go shopping more often in a hope it is the right minute of the right hour of the day of the week. That follows two other trips to the other local stores all to the same end. No TP anywhere.
It does make a bit of a joke of the recommendation for older Australianās to stay home. Or ask a friend do the shopping or get home delivery it is all the same outcome.
Hope Woolies donāt run out of soap and water. 
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From what I have observed over the last week. it appears that the supermarkets are not putting out all the toilet rolls and other items before opening time.
I was at our local Coles the other day at lunchtime when there was an almost full pallet of toilet rolls near the meat department, but which were very quickly depleted.
Likewise. when I was at our local Supa IGA at lunch time the other day, I noticed that most of the customers in the store had a pack of toilet rolls in their possession, so I proceeded to the aisle and managed to get one of the few remaining packs.
They appear to be doing their best to try to give everyone a chance to actually buy some.
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For a population of 20,000+ we have one Woolies, an Aldi, and some smaller IGAās. 5-10,000 ordinary rolls per day, preferences uncertain. Four pallets a day or less. Yes it should be plentiful enough.
The mystery remains. I hit Woolies early on Saturday morning to a near empty car park, no stock. IGA today mid morning to find empty shelves and the wise one Woolies after lunch today to the same outcome.
Itās not a big issue. Just an observation shared, for those elsewhere who may also be wondering. It will be illuminating to note when all is back to normal. Also of note there are currently no regular specials to be had on purchases of TP or similar products. Who is the winner in all this?
I had the same concern regarding milk, but found out that it can be frozen, which Iām trying now. It is important to remove some of the milk from the container prior to freezing, as it will expand when frozen. Ive also heard that the low fat variety freezes better than the full cream milk
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Success on the TP challenge! 
25 days since it was last observed in store at Beerwah. On the 7th supermarket visit over the past 11 days a small shipment sufficient for several hundred customers was on the Woolies shelving. About 20% of normal shelving filled.
I wonder how much effort others have needed to go to?
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I went to the local home brew shop today which is one of the biggest in Australia.
They had completely sold out of packets of yeast, all stills were gone and they had presold 7 more,.and many other items were sold out.
The manager said that people had panicked when they thought that the pubs and liquor stores would be shut or run out of stock.
Whilst some of the buyers may be thinking of getting rich quick by making hand sanitizer, most are presumably planning to make beer or spirits.
It will be interesting to see if there is a glut of unused or hardly used stills and other items for sale after the pandemic when the buyers found it all too hard.
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