Since many people give in to the tendency to hoard grocery supplies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a mother of 16 children had to be on the defensive and justified the volume of her supermarket purchase in Australia.
Queensland resident Jeni Bonell had to place a sign on her cart explaining her predicament, after people acted “rude” whenever she went grocery shopping, The Sun reported yesterday, April 22.
The Bonell family showed the sign they put up on the shopping cart via its Instagram page last Monday, April 20.
“Not hoarding, Just feeding 16 kids!” the sign stated. “BE KIND or GO AWAY PLEASE”
The mother, whose children are aged between 29 and 4 years old, disclosed her usual grocery list. Bonell buys 24 rolls of toilet paper and 36 liters of milk in her weekly shopping.
The report stated that the mom had previously been mistaken as a COVID-19 panic buyer for purchasing “too much” toilet paper.
“This pandemic has brought out the best and worst of people,” she was quoted as saying. “And unfortunately because we have to always buy large amounts of food due to our family size, people can still be rude in the grocery store.”
The mom also recalled getting “judgy” looks, while some people even mumble under their breath whenever she passed by. Bonell explained that she placed the sign as a joke in the hopes that people will leave her in peace while she shops.
Luckily, the sign had been effective, as she further said, “I think mean people will always be mean so you can’t stop them, but I think the sign at least made a few people laugh.”
The mom also refused to succumb to panic buying during the health crisis. Bonell narrated how her family struggled to buy food after some shoppers cleared the supply at the supermarket last month.
She also added that for most families, buying more than what they needed was out of the question due to the lack of extra budget. JB
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