Why does the entire fire truck go to the grocery store and why do they park so close?

Since we are on shift for 48 hours, every day a different member is assigned to cook lunch and dinner for the entire station. So when that individual goes shopping for the day’s meal, his entire crew will go with him. This is simply because during this time we are always available for emergency calls and will drop everything we are doing to respond. By the entire crew going to the grocery store that piece of equipment will not have to go out of service. Also by parking closer to the store, we are able to have a quicker response to the emergency.