Grocery stores adjust policies
Shopping hours exclusively for seniors and abiding by social-distancing recommendations are among the responses to the outbreak
Area grocery stores big and small have changed their hours and have implemented social distancing measures over fears of the spread of the coronavirus.
The locally owned Adams Fairacre Farms chain, with stores in the town of Ulster, Poughkeepsie, Wappingers Falls and the town of New Windsor, is opening an hour early at 7 a.m. exclusively for se
nior shoppers.
Mike Paesano, store manager at Adams’ town of Ulster store, said the senior hour and the morning hours have turned out to be the busiest at the store.
“It seems we’re busier 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.,” Paesano said. “Every day after that, the store is less than average after that. “
But he said the heavier traffic presents a problem, as social-distancing recommendations by health officials call for people to stay six feet apart. That can be difficult in the store’s tight aisles.
“It’s hard to be six feet away from anybody, people and associates,” Paesano said. “It seems people can keep their distance in the later hours of the day.”
Paesano said Adams might consider reducing the number of cashiers and limit the number of people who can come in the store at one time by having someone standing at the entrance during the busiest hours
He added customers, some donning masks, have been very nervous, but friendly.
As for keeping shelves stocked, Paesano said the store was lucky to work with suppliers to get plenty of products. He also said being such a small chain gives Adams more flexibility than larger chains.
The biggest challenge he faces is the anxiety of customers and employees, according to Paesano. Some employes have used vacation time or have even taken a hiatus from their job.
“They’ll have a job when they come back,” he said.
He said Adams has shifted employees to departments with the highest demand.
Emmanuel’s Marketplace in Stone Ridge has senior hours from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., then stays open to 8 p.m after that.
Jim Phillips, the market’s general manager, said they’ve enacted social distancing measures by the registers, with lines keeping customers six feet apart. He admitted, however, it’s a bit harder to enforce that in the aisles.
Tthe store has been shortstaffed, as some employees have stopped coming to work over fears of the virus, he said. The store depends heavily on teens, and many parents have kept their children from working, Phillips added.
Phillips said business has been like a snowstorm every day for the past two weeks straight, but things are calming down a little from the initial panic. But the store still can’t keep items like toilet paper, bleach, paper towels, wipes and antibacterial sprays in stock, he added.
“We have to bounce around to different suppliers we normally don’t have,” Phillips said, adding that the store has had better luck with local distributors which boosts the local economy.
Sunflower Natural Foods Market in Woodstock also sets the first hour each day for senior shoppers. Its current hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Josh Diamond, a manager at the store, said things have calmed down a lot since the last couple of weeks, and, unlike larger stores, the store has not had to limit purchases of items.
“Our community is good about not buying too much,” Diamond said.” The first week, when there was a huge panic, everyone bought a little extra. That was the first three, four days, he said. “Since then, everyone has respected their neighbors.”
Right now, he added, they don’t have curbside pickup or delivery, but they’re looking to how they could do it with limited staff.
Diamond said they have not reduced staff, but they’ve allowed employees who feel uncomfortable, like those who have elderly parents, to stay home and quarantine.
Mother Earth’s Storehouse, which specializes in natural foods has stores at Kings Mall in the town of Ulster, on Main Street in Saugerties and in Poughkeepsie, opens an hour early at 8 a.m. for seniors and those with compromised immune systems. Owner Chirs Schneider said they’re getting a decent flow of people taking advantage of the senior hours. He added that they enforce social distancing by marking six-foot intervals at the check out so people have a good idea of how far to stand apart. He also they’ve also been diligent with wiping down surfaces during the day.
Like Sunflower, they haven’t placed limits on items.
“Some people will take a few more than things than they really need to, but we haven’t really found it to be a major problem,” Schneider said.
Even when people appeared to be stocking up, he said, they offered to share when products ran out. Schneider added they’ve had issues with deliveries not coming on time, but they’re doing their best to keep shelves stocked.
Larger chain supermarkets have also added senior hours in the morning, adapted social distancing measures and placed limits on certain items to help keep them in stock.
Eric Blom, a spokesman for Hannaford Supermarkets, said the chain has had to suspend its to-go program, which allows customers to order their groceries online and then pick them up at the store, to allow staff to focus on stocking shelves to meet unprecedented instore demand. Hannaford has not determined when the program will return, he added.
“We don’t have a firm timetable,” Blom said.
The chain has stores at Kingston Plaza and in the town of Ulster, West Hurley and Red Hook.
Hannaford’s dedicated hours for seniors and people defined as high risk by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention run from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“We’re asking people to respect that, providing the opportunity for even more social distancing for people in high-risk groups,” Blom said.
All Hannaford stores are installing plexiglass shields at the registers between customers and the associates to help prevent transmission at the front of the store as part of the chain’s social-distancing plan, he said. They also play messages over the store PA system to remind customers to stay at least six feet apart, according to Blom.
ShopRite offers curbside pickup and home delivery of groceries through its ShopRite from Home program at stores in the town of Ulster and New Paltz. Customers at ShopRite’s Ellenville store can use pickup and delivery out of the chain’s Liberty store.
According to ShopRite’s website, there has unprecedented demand for online orders and the chain has implemented a “drop at your door” service for delivery orders. The website said shoppers will receive a call or text when their driver is on the way and the customer’s groceries will be left at their door unattended. Customers should provide their mobile number at the checkout when placing delivery orders.
ShopRite has placed limits on a number of products that can be purchased. A full list can be found at https://shoprite.com/coronavirus. The chain said product limits are subject to change at the store manager’s discretion. If someone orders more than the allocated quantity, their order will be modified.
ShopRite from Home customers can receive order updates and out of stock product alerts by texting SRFH to 20669. The chain said this will be the only means of communication at this time and substitutions are not available. Customers should check their local store’s Facebook page for up-to-date information on store hours, product availability and other issues.
Price Chopper, with stores in Saugerties and Catskill, has senior and immunocompromized hours from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. seven days a week and offers grocery pickup as well as delivery through Instacart.
The Schenectady-based chain warned customers on its website that Instacart is suffering major delays and online orders may take two to five days or longer to fulfill due to unprecedented demand. It added taht items may also be in limited stock in store.
Price Chopper has also placed limits on a number of items. Visit https://www.pricechopper.com/takingcare/ for a full list and more details on changes at its stores due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Tops Friendly Markets has senior hours from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and offers delivery through Instacart at its stores in New Paltz, Rhinebeck and Coxsackie.
Tops is also limiting purchases on select items. A full list can be found at https:// www.topsmarkets.com/ Newsroom/
For local stories about the coronavirus, go to bit.ly/DFCOVID19. For live local updates from around the region, go to bit.ly/DFcovid19live.