May 2020 |
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Grocery Shopping Under Quarantine4/30/2020 by Rachel Sanchez Due to stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders, most people refuse to leave their house. Some places that always get business, however, are grocery stores. Since the start of the pandemic, people have feared that they would not be able to get their necessary groceries in a safe way. With newer updates, the grocery problem has evolved, but precautions to ensure everyone’s safety and health are necessary from both sides: the store and the customer. There are many precautions that can prevent the spread of coronavirus in and out of grocery stores. Look for stores nearby that have limits on how many people can go in the building at a time. Walmart is one of these, although their associate said she was “not sure how many [people]” and that they “only know at the front door.” Kroger has not yet set this precaution into place, although their aisles are one-way only. The safest grocery store option seems to be Whole Foods 365, if shoppers are willing to spend the extra money. They are only letting in 35 customers at a time to their stores, minimizing the chances of interaction. No matter which specific store customers head to, there are basic things to remember during and after shopping. The CDC advised that everyone wear masks or cloth face coverings when going out in public. Shoppers should go to stores alone, as opposed to bringing their families, advises Vanderbilt, to minimize the risk of someone getting exposed to the virus. Other easy precautions are to sanitize the handles of carts or baskets, avoid touching your face or using your phone until after you have washed your hands, and avoid using cash. Shoppers do not need to wear gloves, which are ineffective since they touch the same products hands would. Shoppers also do not need to sanitize all their groceries, as someone with coronavirus would have needed to cough onto the groceries for them to be contaminated. If people wash their hands after unpacking groceries, before cooking, and before eating, it is unlikely that the virus will spread through physical groceries. Using grocery delivery apps are the best way to keep from contaminating yourself and others. Although they can be a bit more expensive, the apps eliminate almost all risk of contracting COVID-19 while shopping. The easiest and cheapest option for this is an app called Instacart. Instacart allows shoppers to choose from nine nearby stores including groceries, wholesales, health foods stores, pet stores, and even pharmacies. It is usually only $4 for delivery, not including tip. The app Shipt is another good option and better for people who plan to online grocery shop after the pandemic or predict the pandemic to continue. Instead of paying for delivery per trip, Shipt allows customers to pay for an annual or monthly membership for about $8 per month but they have less store options than Instacart. A final option for people who prefer to stay inside is to order delivery straight from the Kroger app. It is $10 per delivery, but offers the security of knowing Kroger employees are picking out the food, and the stock is more frequently updated on the app. All three options are safer than shopping in person.
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