Food City seeks to hire 2,500 workers to meet surge

Food City CEO Steve Smith has a message for those being hurt by the closing or cutbacks at local restaurants, gyms, hotels, bars, stores and other businesses because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“For folks who have lost a job or may need extra hours of work, please come to our stores for a job or apply online,” Smith said Tuesday. “We’ve got positions for you in our stores and warehouses to help us take care of our customers.”

Food City, which operates in four states and is the biggest grocery chain in the Chattanooga area with more than 20 local supermarkets, is seeking to hire another 2,500 workers to help staff a surge in grocery business as consumers buy more food and other products at grocery stores rather than at restaurants, schools and work sites.

With consumers shifting to buying and making more of their own meals at home, Smith said the family-owned grocery chain is boosting its staff even as it trims some of its store hours and designates its opening hour for senior shoppers.

Food City is limiting some of its store hours “to give our associates additional time to clean, sanitize and restock” and will designate its opening hour each day

for senior shoppers. The Abington, Virginia-based supermarket chain will open its supermarkets from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. Most of its stores were previously open until 11 p.m.

Food City also announced that every day from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. will be designated as a time for seniors 65 and older or others with health ailments to shop at Food City. The designated opening hour for seniors is similar to what Dollar General also began this week at its stores.

On Monday, all of Food City’s pharmacies will open at 7 a.m. to accommodate seniors, who may also benefit from the company’s curbside and delivery services.

Publix also announced Tuesday it was temporarily adjusting the daily store hours at all of its supermarkets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “to give our store teams time to conduct additional preventive sanitation and restock product on shelves.” Publix is also limiting its in-store pharmacy hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Smith said sales at some Food City and other grocery stores doubled last week as schools closed and Americans were cautioned against going to banquets and bars with groups of other people.

“I do think this is the new normal, at least for now,” he said.

Grocers are scrambling to meet the increased demand, especially for hand sanitizers, toilet paper and other cleaning products.

Smith acknowledged “there are some problems in our supply chain” in meeting the unprecedented demand for supermarket goods. But new trucking rules, additional warehouse staff and new processes are addressing the distribution of such goods. During a conference call with the news media in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky, Smith reassured consumers there will be plenty of food, dry goods and other products through the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.

“We live in the United States of America, the land of abundance,” he said. “The vast majority of the goods we sell are made in the United States and are available here.”

To improve the flow of how such goods get on grocery shelves given the bigger demand and greater number of shoppers going to grocery stores today, Food City shifted 25 worker into its Abington, Virginia, headquarters this week and is looking for more staff up and down its distribution chain. On Tuesday, 187 trucks made deliveries of more than 220,000 cases of supplies at the company’s 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse.

Smith did encourage patrons not to hoard popular items and follow more normal shopping patterns.

“If we do, we’ll get the supply chain caught up much quicker,” he said.

Contact Dave Flessner at dfless ner@timesfreepress.com or at 423757-6340.