The district's elderly and those with a disability are celebrating a new dedicated shopping hour at Coles and Woolworths that allows them to browse the aisles in peace.
Introduced earlier this week and running from 7 am to 8 am, the shopping hour has seen vulnerable locals swarm to supermarkets for precious supplies.
At Shepparton East Woolworths, elderly local Janet Giatrakos said the dedicated shopping hour was a dream come true.
“It's just so comforting to know we'll no longer be pushed and shoved around when we go shopping,” she said.
“For us pensioners, it's brilliant. And we'd like more; I hope the manager keeps this going.”
Shoppers outside Riverside Coles were positive about their experience, and most were particularly excited about the toilet paper.
Andy Harsburgh purchased one packet, and said it felt like he had won the lottery.
John McLean was also thrilled, joking that he was glad he did not have to resort to using a twig.
Sheree MacDonald and her dad John were relieved for a different reason.
Sheree is vision impaired, and said it had been difficult getting everything she needed during regular shopping hours.
“My other half is away, so it's great I have a good support network to get everything I need,” she said.
“It's been good, but we've still had to go to two supermarkets,” John said.
However, not all are happy with the changes.
Ms Giatrakos said she witnessed a woman "scream" at a Woolworths Shepparton East staff member on Tuesday who was guarding the entry.
The customer allegedly called the staff member a "terrorist" when she wasn't allowed in during the exclusive hour as she did not hold a relevant government-issued concession card.
“It was just shocking. I went home and thought, that man has a family, he was just doing his job, he shouldn't be treated like that,” she said.
“I came back today and gave him a big hug and a kiss — I know I shouldn't have, I don't normally kiss strange men, but I just felt so bad for him.”
While local pensioner Albert Moore said the new measures were "a good idea", he added there were still several creases to iron out.
“Yesterday was apparently a disaster, there was barely anything in the shops when people came in. But today has been much better,” he said.
“And while it's great, this shopping hour is putting a lot more elderly people into one place at one time. Whereas when we normally go shopping, there would be less people to dodge.”
Chaos still reigns at IGA outlets across the district, with Shepparton's Darren Linton reporting "it was like the last shop before Christmas".
“I was at IGA North Shepparton at 8 am and I figured they must have got a load of toilet paper in. But no, those shelves were still empty,” he said.
“There are limits everywhere including one loaf of bread only. And I had to wait in a line of 20 trolleys to get to the register.”