Quarantine Life: Day 36, Whole Foods Outing
Grant and I went out to the grocery store today for the first time since our shelter-in-place mandate more than a month ago. We’ve mostly been surviving with the help of grocery delivery services, like Amazon Fresh and Instacart. But, we’ve been running low on supplies lately and when our Amazon Fresh delivery was canceled yesterday, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We took our masks and a small bottle of hand sanitizer down to our local Whole Foods, in search of more rations.
It definitely wasn’t business as usual. Whole Foods has implemented some noticeable changes, in light of social distancing and safety/supply considerations:
Crowd control. Whole Foods had an employee stand outside the front door to helped regulate how many people enter the store at a given time. The line wasn’t too bad. We waited less than 10 minutes to get inside.
Cleanliness. The Whole Foods cart attendant meticulously wiped down each cart before making it available to customers.
Purchase limits. As we waited outside for our turn to go in, we saw a handwritten sign detailing which items were sold out and which items were subject to purchase limits. I thought this advisory was very conscientious so that people know what to expect. That way people don’t wait in line to get inside when the items they want or need are unavailable.
Stock availability. On a similar note, we’ve heard from friends and family that grocery stores around the Bay Area continue to sell out of certain items. Luckily, our store was well stocked when we visited. We didn’t see any empty shelves or display cases, except for the self-serve salad bars that are temporarily closed.
Social distance reminders. I know some grocery stores have implemented one-way aisles so that people move around the store in one direction. That wasn’t the case at our local Whole Foods, but there were signs on the floor throughout the store to remind people to stay a safe distance from others. There were also signs and intercom announcements asking people to shop in groups of no larger than two.
Overall, staff members did an amazing job keeping everything calm and organized. We’re definitely grateful to all the people who work in these essential jobs, like food and grocery service. Thank you!
This daily blog post series is our way of sharing our experience with you, our readers. We’ll talk about our daily routines, adjustments to working from home, recipes based on limited ingredients and any other topic that comes to mind. It’s our way of connecting with the “outside” world, while also giving us the opportunity to look within and reflect on what we’re experiencing and how we’re feeling. Thanks for your interest in sharing this journey with us. Stay tuned and be well.
