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While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rattle global markets and create uncertainty in the economy, there is one business that is booming: food and grocery stores.
Social media has been awash with pictures of long lines, packed parking lots and empty shelves as people scramble to stock up on everything from ground beef to toilet paper.
“Business has been exceptionally busy,” said Josh Penner, the owner of Meridian Farm Market, which started in Port Coquitlam and has since expanded to seven locations across Metro Vancouver. “People are buying and their average order size is much higher than usual.”
In the last few weeks, Meridian Markets has hired 18 extra employees to deal with the more than 100% increase in sales.
Penner said he’s lucky because many students were already available for spring break while people in industries that have shut down due to the virus have also expanded the job pool.
“We have a lot of people that are interested,” he said. “It has been a challenge to get people in and trained, and do that in haste.”
Penner said he has heard the concerns from his customers about how long the business can keep its shelves stocked. While he acknowledges that things can change rapidly, so far he has no reason to believe there have been any major disruptions in the food supply chain.
Still, some items have been more difficult to keep in stock than others.
“The supply that is most constricted is the pork market,” he said, “but I think that will catch up.”
Some other meat cuts have also been hard to come by, particularly those used for ground beef.
He added that eggs, pasta, pasta sauces, root vegetables — anything with a long shelf life — have also been popular with customers.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed people’s shopping behaviour, Penner said. The industry had recently reached a tipping point, with more people buying food prepared outside of the home. That has changed dramatically in the last few weeks.
“All of a sudden, the pendulum has swung hard toward grocery buying again,” he said. “I could see this going on for another month where there is this high volume.”
Grocery stores have had to alter their protocols, particularly around cleaning, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Penner said there are dedicated cleaners on every shift and Meridian Markets has instituted a special hour at the beginning of the day to open stores for seniors and those with compromised immune systems, a practice that has also been taken up by the bigger grocery chains.
Wednesday, Save-On-Foods said it would be opening its stores between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. for the more vulnerable populations. The company called the current demand for groceries “unprecedented” and said it was limiting its general hours of operation to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. so staff have more time to sanitize and restock.
The stores have also temporarily suspended bottle returns and the use of reusable bags.
“As always, Save-On-Foods will continue to work hard to safeguard the health of our team members, our customers and our communities,” said Darrell Jones, the company president, in a press release. “We have never seen times as turbulent and as uncertain as these and we are so proud of the great work our teams are doing.”
Pharmacies, including London Drugs have also had to adjust their protocols.
The company announced Thursday that along with dedicated shopping hours for seniors, it would be setting up resources to help people on a one-to-one basis.
It referred family members and caregivers to [email protected] if they know someone who is isolated or may require essential items and medications.
“We are all finding ways to adjust to our new realities and what is critical is that we all do our part to help each other stay as healthy as possible,” said Clint Mahlman, president and CEO of London Drugs, in a press release. “This is obviously new for us and there will be learning as we do our best to help the most vulnerable.”
Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.
