Photo/Illutration A line forms on March 2 to buy vegetables and fruits that were supposed to be used for school lunches in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. (Yoshihiro Ogino)

ICHINOMIYA, Aichi Prefecture--A long line formed here on the morning of March 2 for items much more appetizing than face masks or toilet paper.

Residents carrying shopping bags were able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at bargain prices in front of the Ichinomiya city government office after schools in the area closed down as a measure to prevent new coronavirus infections.

A general incorporated association that provides school lunches to elementary and junior high schools in Ichinomiya held the special outdoor market to get rid of its surplus stock.

Among the items sold were 500 Chinese cabbages, 2,000 daikon radishes, 6,000 carrots, 280 bundles of Japanese leeks and 2,000 apples.

The Chinese cabbages, each priced at 100 yen ($0.92), sold out in 15 minutes.

Two apples cost 100 yen, about half of the retail price.

Face masks remain in heavy demand in Japan amid fears of shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak. But in Ichinomiya on March 2, the hot items were all edible.

“A quick sale market is a fantastic idea,” Atsuko Iwata, a 66-year-old homemaker in the city, said while shopping. “These are too good to be thrown away.”

The association canceled its orders to suppliers for school lunch ingredients on Feb. 28, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announced a formal request for schools nationwide to shut down for about a month starting on March 2.

The association has also decided to donate some of its stocked fresh vegetables and fruits to groups that support poor and needy people.

“We are glad that many people purchased them and can make effective use of them,” said Mikio Ishihara, who heads the association.

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