San Luis Obispo High School’s response to COVID – 19 is similar to what has been witnessed across the globe.

In addition to online classes and social distancing, unfortunately many shoppers have also emptied shelves and hoarded items to prepare for “sheltering at home.”

There are differences however, in how individual households are preparing for this pandemic.

Expressions set out to interview some of these students and ask what they are hoarding and why.

Expressions: What are you and your family hoarding and why?

Junior Fiorela Echano: Water, not because of Corona or anything; we’re just thirsty. 

Junior Gianna Lucchesi: Bread, not only is bread good, but it’s also versatile. Bread is good for any meal, and once you lose enough self-respect, you can make any meal out of bread (not to call out Panera or anything). It also freezes well so it’s pretty easy to hoard. Furthermore, with the shelter-in-place order, many people are unable to go out there and “get this bread.” Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about this for awhile. 

Junior Zachary Zang: Strawberry milk, I wanted strawberry milk and was worried someone would take all of it before me. So I went to Ralph’s and bought every pack of Horizons strawberry milk that was there. Unfortunately I didn’t buy anything but strawberry milk as it filled my ration slots.

Expressions: What do you wish you had hoarded and why?

Echano: More water,  I’ve been a devoted follower of Costco water before it even blew up, but now that the world is flipping out, everyone’s suddenly a fan.

Lucchesi: My friends. I don’t have anybody to noogie at home.

Zang: More strawberry milk, Strawberry milk is a coveted nectar that common folk seem to forget about. It is something I’d choose to drink if I was on death row; it’s my reserve and go-to item. If there was a zombie apocalypse I’d be depressed because all the cows would be zombies, and I wouldn’t be able to drink it again. In that case I would buy strawberry Instant Carnation Breakfast.

Expressions: Is there anything that you hoarded that you wish you didn’t hoard?

Echano: Inflated retail prices. I can’t believe I’m stuck paying twelve dollars for Grocery Outlet eggs.

Lucchesi: I really stocked up on those Annie’s fruit gummies. They’re delicious and addictive and have 11g of sugar per packet. I can eat one packet in less that 15 seconds. 

Zang:  Regular milk, because I didn’t buy strawberry powder. I  don’t have anything but strawberry milk but in retrospect I guess that’s not really a problem. 

Expressions: Knowing what you know now, how would you better prepare for the next pandemic?

Echano: Prepare for the apocalypse early, because everyone procrastinated on this one. 

Lucchesi: Make sure we always have plenty of dog food (or food for whatever pet one might have at the moment). You can follow my dog on instagram @koda.the.chocolate.lab.

Zang: Buy regular milk along with more varieties of strawberry milk or flavored drinks. Maybe I’ll pursue other forms of strawberry milk but probably not. I feel like I’m the only person who knows about exotic-flavored milks and it’s a really lonely experience.  If you’re going to try some exotic milk I recommend Rosa Farms, which comes in glass bottles. The best milk flavors are probably root beer, banana, orange cream (excluding chocolate and strawberry). If you’re lactose intolerant and still want to enjoy the world of flavored milks, I recommend Trader Joe’s brand of almond and cashew milk as they provide a different and more earthy and healthy blend. Flavors like blueberry lavender are neat and so is matcha almond but I think the best is the classic cocoa cashew. I hope this new information is a wake-up call to the experiences you’re missing.