Tips and advice for shopping Whatcom grocery stores during the coronavirus pandemic
The new coronavirus has changed the way Whatcom County residents shop, and with delivery services very busy, many residents wonder whether they should make trips into grocery stores, and how often.
Traffic in grocery stores has fluctuated since the social-distancing restrictions related to COVID-19 were put in place. Stores were quite busy early on as people stocked up to stay home, but since then traffic appears to be more unpredictable, according to social-media reports and some store managers.
“Customer count has reduced as community members take the stay-at-home order to heart,” said Adrienne Renz, general manager at the two Bellingham Community Food Co-op stores.
Special hours for seniors and those with underlying health conditions appear to be popular in some stores, particularly places like Costco. There can be lulls, even on weekends.
Are people concerned about going inside? It appears so, according to discussions on social media as well as email from readers to The Bellingham Herald. People worry about the number of customers in stores, how often things are wiped down and whether people are staying far enough apart.
Stores are developing new rules to address these issues. Many have created one-way aisles, limited the number of customers in stores, and made sure shopping carts are wiped down. Most recently, many stores are encouraging workers to wear gloves and masks.
Earlier this week the State Department of Labor & Industries released its own set of guidelines to protect grocery store workers, which were generally already in place at local stores.
Some of those rules have been at the behest of unions that represent the grocery store workers.
“Our union and workers have been trying to improve safety,” said Tom Geiger, spokesman for UFCW 21. He added that more precautions need to be in place, such as making sure employees are wearing masks and gloves. “If everyone works together, stays home when ill, covers their mouth and nose and avoids touching their faces, washes hands frequently, only goes out of the house when necessary — all that will help improve safety. It will not eliminate the spread but it will greatly reduce the spread.”
Union workers are particularly concerned about Easter weekend, traditionally a busy time in the grocery stores.
“To help reduce the spread of this killer virus, it is absolutely critical that all Easter weekend grocery shoppers wear a mask while shopping, practice social distancing throughout the store, safely discard gloves and masks in trash cans, limit the number of trips and shoppers to an absolute minimum, and respect special shopping times for seniors,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a news release.
While there are state guidelines, it’s been up to the businesses to figure out what they think will keep workers and customers safe. Kroger and its Fred Meyer stores recently joined others in setting new limits on how many customers are in the store at a time, using a formula of one person for each 120 square feet. At the two large stores in Bellingham, that still equates to hundreds of shoppers at a time. The Lakeway store is around 140,000 square feet, while the Bakerview store is around 165,000.
Jeff Temple, a director of corporate affairs for Fred Meyer, said in an email that they are calculating the customer capacity limits based on the food department footprint and not the entire store, which should lower the capacity at the Bellingham stores.
Smaller companies are monitoring and making decisions based on what’s happening in the store. At the two Community Food Co-op stores in Bellingham, Renz said, they watch crowd flow and limit the number of customers going in when needed.
“At this time I think the proactive measures we have taken to sanitize handbaskets and clean, clean and clean again have served our staff and shoppers well,” Renz said.
It’s also about breaking longstanding customer habits. Kevin Weatherill, CEO of The Markets LLC, which includes stores in Birch Bay, Lynden and Blaine, said in an email that the vast majority of customers have been excellent and helpful with regard to social distancing. But visiting with neighbors or employees is very tempting, so some need reminders.
“My advice to customers is, if they are reminded about keeping a proper social distancing — be kind! We have great people in retail working hard to provide top-notch service in a safe and comfortable manner for customers and team members alike — they deserve kindness in return,” Weatherill said.
What about grocery supplies?
The run on toilet paper and hand sanitizer was well-documented early on in the pandemic. While toilet paper appears to be back in many stores, hand sanitizer is still very much in short supply.
As for food, those supply chains seem to be getting better following the initial panic buying, Weatherill said. A term he is hearing more often from suppliers is “deprioritizing items.” For example, a flavor of potato chips that isn’t a top seller might disappear from the store shelves for a while.
Weatherill said that should not cause customers to be alarmed. He noted that manufacturers are currently focused on the best-selling items as a choice, and will probably return to producing the special varieties as raw material and packaging return to normal.
Tips on navigating the shopping trip
If you haven’t been inside a grocery store in a while but are ready to restock and give delivery companies a break, here are a few tips from the Washington State Department of Health:
▪ Limit the number of times you go to a grocery store to once a week or even less frequently.
▪ Shop with a list and like you mean business. The less time you are in there, the better!
▪ Shop by yourself, if possible, to help limit the number of people in the aisles. Even better, take a neighbor’s list with you and shop for them, if you can.
▪ Shop at less popular times when the stores will be less crowded.
▪ Consider wearing a cloth face covering to protect others in case you have COVID-19 but haven’t developed any symptoms.
▪ If you use the self-checkout stands, be sure to stand apart from other customers and from staff who may need to approach your station to help you.
▪ Wash your hands or use sanitizer after handling money. Money is not likely a primary mode of transmission of coronavirus, but it’s a good idea to disinfect after handling money.
▪ Don’t touch your face. Avoid using your phone, putting on lip balm, scratching your beard, or doing anything that would bring your hands into contact with your face.
▪ Use hand sanitizer when you get in the car.
▪ Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home.
▪ You can toss packaging and wipe down bottles when you get home, but do not put disinfectants such as bleach or cleaning products on your produce or directly onto your food, as this is harmful to your health.
This story was originally published April 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
