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Only buy what you need right now.

We cannot reiterate that enough. Yes, things are scary right now, and there are many unknowns. And yes, Gov. Brian Kemp did sign to put a shelter in place order beginning Thursday night, but that does not mean you will need to clear the shelves.

Local grocery stores are considered essential businesses and will remain open and will continue to restock their shelves.

There will be no need to go out and buy all the frozen meat or 50 rolls of toilet paper.

Additionally, many WIC/SNAP benefits come to low-income families at the first of the month, and there will be a surge as these families seek to redeem them. Many of these families’ benefits were quickly depleted because children are staying home from school, and some families are going hungry right now.  

We hope that you respect their needs by not buying items with a WIC shelf tag unless you need them. They cannot simply substitute these items with others — they would go without.

The WIC items are easily identified with a label on the shelf.

We don’t all need to rush to the store and overcrowd the isles. This defeats the purpose of social distancing.

There are plenty of local grocery stores here in Troup County that offer pick up services or a delivery option for the items you need. So if you can, order online and stay home if possible.

Even in these uncertain times, we want to remind the community to stay calm.

We ask that everyone in Troup County do their part to stay informed with what is happening, not spread hysteria and not clear the shelves.

Grocery store workers are working tirelessly to make sure the shelves stay stocked with items people need, so we ask that you be patient with them.

We hope that this community stays safe, washes their hands, practice proper social distancing and doesn’t go out and buy all the toilet paper.