Look what coronavirus panic buyers did and didn’t buy

Like many grocery shoppers this weekend flocking to supermarkets to stock up on supplies for the coronavirus outbreak, Inquirer staff photographer Tom Gralish encountered entire sections of stores emptied of hand sanitizers, pasta, rice, canned goods, and toilet paper. But, he noticed, not everything was flying off the shelves.

So he photographed the items that nobody seemed desperate to grab — products that even panic buyers didn’t want.

His unscientific survey took place on Saturday evening at the Acme in Haddon Commons on Cuthbert Boulevard in Haddon Township, the ShopRite in Garden State Pavilion on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, and the Wegmans in Towne Place at Garden State Park, also on Route 70 in Cherry Hill.

Celery was wiped out ...

Green and yellow zucchini not so much.

Empty salad shelves ...

but few were clamoring for water cress and escarole.

No more meat here ...

except for the chicken gizzards and hearts.

Surface cleaning supplies were obviously in high demand ...

but there was still plenty of cleaning potions for granite and stone.

Got milk? Not here ...

except for specialty kinds.

Some frozen vegetables were clearly popular ...

but certainly not frozen artichoke hearts or the basics for a soup broth — diced celery, carrots and onions.

Of course there was a run on bread ...

but what did shoppers have against Phillies Clubhouse rolls?

As for protein choices, shoppers apparently went wild over frozen, fully cooked chicken ...

while frozen stuffed pasta waited for more takers. Counting carbs even during a pandemic?

Canned soup shelves are empty ...

while braised beef and black barley soup (with mushrooms and chickpeas) waits for a buyer.