How can people continue working during a “lock down”?

Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
How interesting.
A few weeks back, before we holed-up here at home, the grocery store wouldn't let us buy more than two gallons at a time. We braved the stores again, yesterday and they had a sign on the milk refrigerator asking people not to take more than they needed.

It seems there's a breakdown in distribution that makes one end seem like there's a shortage while the other end seems like there's no demand.
Is trucking considered a non-essential job?

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
How interesting.
A few weeks back, before we holed-up here at home, the grocery store wouldn't let us buy more than two gallons at a time. We braved the stores again, yesterday and they had a sign on the milk refrigerator asking people not to take more than they needed.

It seems there's a breakdown in distribution that makes one end seem like there's a shortage while the other end seems like there's no demand.
Is trucking considered a non-essential job?

-Will (Dragonfly)
Supply chains are not immediately responsive to demand. @jssailem knows more about this than I do, however, I suspect that it is cheaper to dump milk at the farm, than to send a truck to transport it to bottling facility and then not sell it. The further down the supply chain the milk gets, the more expensive it is to dump.
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
I grew up farming so have a bit of a soft spot for that end of the supply chain. I think I have a basic understanding of the process and wasn’t being very realistic about “new” gov pathways for milk to mouth but it just seems “wrong” to waste food.

I went foraging in the grocery store today and signs are still up about limited milk supply. The “engine” is not running smoothly but we all know why.

Similar school lunch programs in Canada, it must be extremely challenging to keep the wheels turning on that essential engine in these times!

To add a little bit of humour, my wife always strived to pack the BEST lunch for our kids and now our grandson. We have now experienced two rounds of the same experience. Lunches coming home untouched. When the conversation reveals the “reason” - the kids wanted to be like a lot of the other kids and eat the stuff the school supplied, leading to the delicate conversation about why they should eat the lunch we send with them.
 
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Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
To add a little bit of humour, my wife always strived to pack the BEST lunch for our kids and now our grandson. We have now experienced two rounds of the same experience. Lunches coming home untouched. When the conversation reveals the “reason” - the kids wanted to be like a lot of the other kids and eat the stuff the school supplied, leading to the delicate conversation about why they should eat the lunch we send with them.
As always, the devil is in the details. In my district Syracuse NY, we had students skipping lunch because they didn't want to be identified as a "free lunch kid." Because we had somewhere around 90+% of the students eligible for free or reduced lunch, we started giving everyone a free lunch, it reduced the stigma, kids were getting fed, and it turned out to be no more expensive than trying to manage the free vs reduced vs full pay kids.

In districts with smaller number of kids eligible for a free lunch, it was really stigmatizing to stand in line and get a free lunch while others had to pay. It made them feel poor and unworthy.
 
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Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
I can speak to your general construction question having spent much of my working life in the field. Intentions right now are good - but in general, I don't think you CAN work general construction trades, in this pandemic, without increasing the danger of transmission above that which can be accomplished by closing down construction projects. Even the small ones are tough. The only way to enforce safe measures are to limit a project to one person (that is what my daughters company is doing in Manhattan - she works from home in project management).

There is a construction project operating next door to me(a new library). The contractor is following Maine's CDC guidelines, or so they think. But it is rare that one person doesn't need another person help, when you do almost anything in construction. Maybe you can stay away from people but you'll be picking up supplies, working in the trail of others, etc.

This morning I watched the crew that is putting up the wall wrap to prepare for masons that will lay bricks. Maybe you stay away from each other,...most of the day. If you've ever set staging you know what it takes. 6 guys all WITHIN a 6 foot space.

Anyone infected? Anyone they mixed with in the last 14 days, infected? How about the 12,000 people those people mixed with in the last 14 days? Anybody touch the staging, ayiyi,...Do you see a mask? At least the girl gets it.

View attachment 176980
Hasn't this crew and others like it avoided (or not) the traditional influenza all winter? When I was young(er) I never gave flu a 2nd thought. For the last 20 years or so I have taken the flu vaccine but I understand why young, hard working people just work through it. Only about 50% of the US population actually took the flu vaccine. Go figure...
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
As always, the devil is in the details. In my district Syracuse NY, we had students skipping lunch because they didn't want to be identified as a "free lunch kid." Because we had somewhere around 90+% of the students eligible for free or reduced lunch, we started giving everyone a free lunch, it reduced the stigma, kids were getting fed, and it turned out to be no more expensive than trying to manage the free vs reduced vs full pay kids.

In districts with smaller number of kids eligible for a free lunch, it was really stigmatizing to stand in line and get a free lunch while others had to pay. It made them feel poor and unworthy.
Interesting as I didn’t think that was happening. I don’t really recall any school kid not having a lunch where I grew up. Likely because it was a small close knit community that had an underground system so that the kid’s family had what they needed at home.

It do recall the stigma of coming from a farming community when I went to high school though. “Farmers” were somehow less than “City”, unless of course when it came to sports ;)

I’ve been doing some reading on WWII as we are now in a new “war”.
Here’s one that food related

 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
There is much for the youth in our communities to learn from the experiences of families during the years of World War II.

I feel it is upto us Grand Parents to share these ideas. They are not getting them in school. Our consumer society makes it seem that there is an unlimited supply of anything you desire.

I agree it would be nice if the milk could be directed to those in need/want. Our supply system has evolved to a just in time from the cow to the school student. The inventory costs now rest with the farmers. Ifyou change one of the links in the system, like send the kids home for 2-3 months, the problems go all the way back to the dairy farmer. The are told “We have too much milk in the pipeline, spill it!”

Look to the oil market today, in comparison to 5 months ago. Where did the gas price of $0.99 per gallon come from?

I fear financial ripples will be felt for some time into the future in the supply systems.
 
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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
There is much for the youth in our communities to learn from the experiences of families during the years of World War II.

I feel it is upto us Grand Parents to share these ideas. They are not getting them in school. Our consumer society makes it seem that there is an unlimited supply of anything you desire.

I agree it would be nice if the milk could be directed to those in need/want. Our supply system has evolved to a just in time from the cow to the school student. The inventory costs now rest with the farmers. Ifyou change one of the links in the system, like send the kids home for 2-3 months, the problems go all the way back to the dairy farmer. The are told “We have too much milk in the pipeline, spill it!”

Look to the oil market today, in comparison to 5 months ago. Where did the gas price of $0.99 per gallon come from?

I fear financial ripples will be felt for some time into the future in the supply systems.
Obviously this isn’t just about dairy. I understand that there are also big hurdles right now with temporary foreign workers who traditionally do a lot of the planting, maintenance and harvesting of our food supply. They need to be at work NOW and they can’t even get to where the work is for all the obvious reasons re “restrictions”. Of course the simple answer would be to have currently unemployed ‘local’ labour take over. Small problem of no skill, no time to train, probably little desire and no guarantee they would still be there at harvest time so that’s not likely to work out well so what does the farmer do???
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Interesting as I didn’t think that was happening. I don’t really recall any school kid not having a lunch where I grew up. Likely because it was a small close knit community that had an underground system so that the kid’s family had what they needed at home.

It do recall the stigma of coming from a farming community when I went to high school though. “Farmers” were somehow less than “City”, unless of course when it came to sports ;)

I’ve been doing some reading on WWII as we are now in a new “war”.
Here’s one that food related

Kids back when we were going up and today just want to fit in and be like everyone else. Free lunch programs fly in the face of that desire as during the most public part of the school day, lunch, kids were identified by the economic status of their parents. Some would rather go hungry than be called out as poor. From time to time there are articles in the paper about schools were students are denied lunch because their parents haven't paid the lunch bill, you don't punish kids for their parent's behavior or lack of resources.

The article on food was interesting. Similar things were happening in the US during the war. Once the decision was made for the US to enter the war, the country pulled together around a common cause. While in the days leading up to the war there was political division about entering it, once in we were all in. Rationing, women in the factory, victory gardens all supported the effort and importantly gave people a sense they were contributing to the effort and doing something for the cause. Today, making masks gives people a sense of doing something and contributing which counteracts feelings of isolation and helplessness. This is as important as the health benefits the masks might provide.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
It do recall the stigma of coming from a farming community when I went to high school though. “Farmers” were somehow less than “City”, unless of course when it came to sports ;)
Reminds me of the high school my kids went to. It was always mocked as the farm team. This is 40 miles outside Chicago, so a heavily populated area. The land for the school was purchased from a local Milk farm. Part of their farm still adjoins the school property. They totaly embrace the idea. They even walk cows around the track before the football games. The junior high is configured with an open area in the middle of the school. Every year they bring a couple of cows over and let them graze there just to freak all the kids out.

Whats this have to do with anything? I don't know, but what else are you going to write about when you are cooped up in the house all day.
 
Sep 25, 2018
258
Catalina Capri 22 Capri EXPO 14.2 1282 Stony Point
Insurance requirements at auto repair prohibits customers to be in the repair area. Too dangerous.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
I just went out for the first time in week. The traffic was heavy. Typical for a Friday afternoon. If Illinois is supposed to be on lockdown you wouldn't know it from the traffic.
 
Oct 26, 2010
1,883
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
I grew up working on a pig farm in Indiana (hence applying to the Naval Academy ala the speech in the movie Patton). I recall one year shooting piglets and burying them in a pit because the price of pigs at the stock market was so low that you'd lose money trying to raise the pig to a market weight. We gave a way a few quietly to some less privilaged families but most wouldn't know how to butcher a hog if their life depended on it. I also recall plowing under wheat because the price of wheat was so low you'd lose money harvesting it. I also remember going through the field with a wagon in high school picking up the ears of corn the picker missed to make money for gas because the price of corn was good. In my day, the small farmer was one of the last true "fee markets". No single small farmer could influence the price of his product by planting less or more.