I reckon that was part of it - Americans shop for a week or two at a time, usually. Perhaps that place was encouraging similar behavior by requiring trolleys. Hell, my mother had enough food in her house to last her a month, before even going shopping.
Eh, it depends a lot on specifics. Folks without much storage space (small apartment stuff) tend to shop more. Folks with a fair amount tend to shop less, since they, y'know, have places to put things. Where I'm at (and the baseline I try to meet for my household regardless), we usually have enough squirrelled away we could go without grocery shopping for probably a month, maybe two if we stretched things. It wouldn't be exactly enjoyable (fresh or comfort food is most of our regular monthly/bi-monthly shopping, with replenishing staples less common), but we wouldn't starve.
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My situation: I built up a 'Brexit' cache, over a number of months of one or two extra tins or dried packets (driven mostly by multibuy deals that I liked the look of) per shop, well outside of any panic-buy season. But I'm not eating that (much) when it isn't absolutely "sirens in the streets" lockdown. Plus I might still need it later when the delayed fall off the Brexit cliff happens, now with added COVID complication. I also still have some Y2K stuff, of longer-lasting supplies I'm still happy to leave untouched.
i didn't need bread. I already got a couple of loafs the previous week, that lasts long enough - there's no shortages, just restricted ranges, and a couple of weeks prior I even 'helped out' by buying a reduced-to-clear loaf proving that the initial shelf-clearing panic had totally ended (ditto, many many easter eggs were piled up On Sale, yesterday, one of the places the two face-masked women were obliviously blocking my progress). But I 'needed' some other shorter-term foodstuffs like cheese (which always would last longer than I would let it, actually, but it tends to be eaten). Annoyingly, the pre-cut blocks of cheese I tend to go for (good quality but good price) that are labelled and arranged in strengths 1 to 5 were
totally absent in the 4 and 5 ranges, so I necessarily forwent the
really nice stuff (not counting the separate artisan-level products, at a price range I reserve for special purchases) and 'slummed it' with strength 3 Red Leicester (perfectly servicable, letting me be creative with herbs/etc in dishes and sandwiches it gets used in). Next time I'll see if there's a nice Somerset Brie, though, or similar. Doesn't last as long (by duration of eatability, but far more so by the rate at which I eat it anyway) but I haven't had that for a while.
Anyway, add in some other things (veggie stuff, etc) what might have been a shop for 'essentials' under a tenner, to prevent my overloading on rice and pasta and chilli con carne and whatavyer, became a £23+change shop. But that included a couple of magazines from the news-stand (probably entirely replicating various online resources, covering the subjects, but I find it's nice to encourage these publishers) which were my biggest unnecessary 'splurge' and yet didn't add so much to the bag-load.
I totally ignored the alcohol aisles (I already have some nice whiskies at home, but bought years ago and, at my rate of consumption, they'll still last years more) but I had picked up a couple of bottles of fruit-tinted zero sugar cola (to satisfy my somewhat less sophisticated section of my pallette - I love the taste of aspartame in the morning!), each by far the heaviest single item by weight (2 litres, so ~2 kg, twice) and were probably what made the plastic bag handle dig awkwardly into my hand, and might have been regretted most. Next time (next week, situation allowing) I might tote my rucksack to the shop, but I'm conscious of the image I'd portray even if I'm actually not targetting 'in demand' stuff.
If necessary, I could just barricade the door, make my excuses to the world and hunker down. And as long as the utilities kept running (I've contingency water, perhaps being a bit more stuffed with electricity and gas if they fail than if the taps dry up), but it is totally precipitous to not shop. Until it isn't, and I can only hope to recognise if/when that changes ahead of the curve. If I don't, I shall just have to hope some future scavanger with great need will benefit from pawing through the rubble that once was my own little patch of civilisation and strike lucky at just the right time.
((Note to self: Get some First Aid Kits. A 100% one, if possible, but several 10%ers anyway, to dot around the place. Maybe some body armour, a radiation suit and/or a chainsaw too. And, of course, a lot of hidden easter-eggs. I wonder which bit of wall I can easiest make slide down?))