[haswell]

While I agree that the parent comment is making huge assumptions about delivery options people have access to (both for geographical and for cost reasons), there are options in the middle.

The majority of stores (grocery and otherwise) introduced curbside pickup options early in the pandemic, which at least provides more options for someone who doesn't have access to or can't afford delivery, while removing or minimizing the time they need to spend in-store.

Not a perfect solution, but the options are not "delivery or starve".

[sn0wf1re]

Can you provide a reference to a discount grocer (since you are replying to a comment about affordability) that offers curb-side or delivery without fee? I am not aware of any.

[haswell]

The moving of the goalposts aside (which were originally "order in or starve"), Target and Walmart are two major examples, since you specifically mentioned “discount”, and all of the major grocery stores in my metro area (Chicago, so YMMV) have a curbside pickup option.

Some of them charge a service fee for pickups under $35, but from what I recall, the bigger chains do not. And with prices these days, you'd be hard pressed to do a grocery run that costs less than $35 unless you need a single item, but if you only need a single item, this is no longer a conversation about starving.

As for free delivery, I believe some of them offer free delivery for orders over a certain size, but I was focused specifically on non-delivery options.

Bottom line: there are many more options than “go in the store or starve”.