Supermarket items that New Yorkers don’t want to stock up on in crisis

New Yorkers in the throes of coronavirus-induced panic-buying having been besieging grocery stores and sweeping food items off the shelves by the armful, but even amid a global pandemic they could not be enticed to pick up lasagna noodles, canned pinto beans, or chocolate-flavored hummus.

Photos of decimated supermarket shelves have become regular Instagram fodder in recent weeks, as COVID-19 drove worried consumers to national chain stores and local markets, eager to stock up on supplies to would last them through the crisis – or a weekend of intense snacking. 

But the items left behind on otherwise depleted shelves tell a story all of their own. 

Two packets of Jack Rabbit brand baby lima beans were left behind by the marauding horde of panic shoppers in New York

Playing favorites: While Progresso brand New England clam chowder had been snapped up, few people seemed to want the company’s canned French onion soup 

Not-so-awesome sauce: Canned goods have been flying off the shelves like hotcakes, but it appears butternut squash pasta sauce has not been in high demand 

As photos shared on social media, and compiled for a story posted on Secret NYC this week show, Americans are no fans of lasagna noodles, of chickpea pasta, for that matter. 

As any college student living on a tight budget would attest, ramen noddles make a quick and filling meal, but shoppers were not excited about the prospect of tucking into a bowl of cheddar cheese-flavored ramen, as one photo shows. 

New Yorkers flocking to Trader Joe’s in Queens have been equally unimpressed with lettuce, packets of which were left sitting on refrigerator shelves once crammed with all manner of greens. 

One of the hot-ticket items among New Yorkers eager to stock their pantries with long-lasting dry goods has been pasta, but it appears lasagna noodles were not at the top of their list

Cheddar-cheese flavored instant ramen noodles failed to impress, and there were also no takers for chickpea pasta  

What a spread: Containers of chocolate and buffalo style hummus at Trader Joe’s in Queens are left sitting on a shelf in a neat stack, unwanted 

A small cluster of organic vegetable juices are seen left behind at a Trader Joe’s store

Green with envy: Two boxes of lettuce sit by themselves in a fridge once packed with all manners of greens and salad mixes 

Canned goods have been in high demand in recent weeks because of their long shelf life, but shoppers were clearly unimpressed with pinto beans, as one image shows. The caption reads: ‘New York has spoken: we’d rather starve than eat pinto beans.’ 

Baby lima beans also were not in high demand among New Yorkers with discerning taste.  

Antsy shoppers also rejected novelty spreads, including chocolate and buffalo-style hummus left in a neat stack inside an empty fridge. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, supermarkets and local grocery stores have been reporting long lines and increasing demand for food staples and household items like toilet paper and cleaning products.

Produce shelves start to empty as people panic buy groceries in New York because of the pandemic, seen on Friday March 13

Rows of empty shelves are seen inside a Whole Foods Market location last week

A single can of preserved tomatoes sits on a shelf at a Trader Joe’s store amid the coronavirus panic-buying 

A recent trip to a Trader Joe’s in Manhattan revealed refrigerator shelves stripped off virtually all chicken and meat products, save for marinated carne asada and pricey steak tips. Frozen foods, from ready meals to fruits and vegetables, have been snapped up too.

As of Thursday morning, there were 9,414 confirmed cases of the deadly virus, and 152 deaths nationwide.