Key Food Reserves Every Morning 7 to 8 am For Seniors-Only Shopping. Plus, A Tip For Protecting Older People
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PUBLISHED: Thursday, March 19, 2020
Call it the Adult Swim of the Coronavirus Era: Seniors are getting a dedicated block of time, 7 to 8 am every day, to shop in Key Food so as to limit exposures to others (especially those who may be asymptomatic or feeling only mild symptoms). “Seniors” are considered to be anyone 60 and older. Key Food also offers delivery, as well as online ordering and delivery through InstaCart.
Other grocery stores have set similar hours, including Adams Fairacre Farms, Dollar General, Stop and Shop, and ShopRite. One follower of Adams, Brittany Mackey, a holistic health practitioner, suggested on Adams’ social media that stores consider this a permanent trend after the pandemic is over: “How about we keep this going after all this is said and done!!”
Beacon Natural Market has taken the route of not limiting hours by customers’ age, and is going with the strategy of not wanting to foster the unintended consequences of clustering an age group or increasing the number of people in the store at once. Bettina Fries, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Medicine, had concerns about the dedicated hours, and told the Washington Post: “I hope the scattered shopping hours would lead to seniors being in a store with less people,” she said. “It’s less likely that you will have [a] senior with coronavirus in a store because they’re less likely to be asymptomatic.”
On the other hand, grocery stores do need time to re-stock. Said Beacon Natural to A Little Beacon Blog: “We’re also hoping to use some extra morning hours to have our staff restock without customers in the store, thereby reducing their exposure. But we certainly support any and all efforts stores are doing to help serve their communities. We’re all making this up as we go along. There is no precedent.”
A Tip For Protecting Older People
With recommendations from the CDC that older people and people with heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes are at higher risk for being in serious condition from coronavirus/COVID-19, there are a few extra things you can do to protect seniors - sometimes from themselves. According to the CDC today (3/19/2020), data coming in shows that older people 65+ are tending to get hospitalized the most. However, those in their 20s are also not risk-free. The best things to do are grocery delivery for everyone, have a super-reduced number of people in a store, and constantly wipe surfaces at the check-out line, front and exit door, and other commonly touched surfaces.
Talk To, But Back Away From, Seniors: An older person might not know about social distancing, and might not believe in or know about the pandemic. If you have an older neighbor who has early-stage dementia, for instance, and if that older neighbor sees you on the sidewalk, and rushes out of their house to come say Hi! to you and even hug you, back away. If this happens while you are with your children, who don’t know how to react in that situation, gently move your child back with you and tell the older person you are being careful because you might have a little cold (even if you don’t). This happened to me with one of our very jubilant and social neighbors, so it seemed like a good bit to pass along.
Give A Senior Space: If you’re shopping in the grocery store and a senior is near you, back away and take another direction.
A Senior In Denial: You may know a person who is 60+ and is in great shape. They may be in denial about their exposure, and they may be out and about. Wave to them from afar, and make sure to walk with the minimum 6 feet of social distance between you.
Don’t Visit Grandparents Right Now: Even if you have young and healthy grandparents, they are probably over 60 years old. It’s easy to forget that your own mom or dad are “older” and at risk. So just FaceTime or MarcoPolo them, or walk at a far social distance in the woods. Scenic areas are picking up with humans as we all try to social distance, so if it’s too crowded even in nature, look for a different nature spot. (This is why green space is important to preserve in cities as they plan development, and why Scenic Hudson does a lot of great work purchasing and maintaining open land!)
Seniors Need Socializing: So we need to connect with and talk to our senior friends. They may be at home all day watching any news channel that is producing good but scary reporting. Or propagating conspiracy theories. If you see a senior out and about, keep your distance, but let them talk to you, and answer them in a reassuring way.
Seniors Sometimes Don’t Ask For Help: Keep an eye on your older neighbor. If they deny your offer to help, just start trying to observe what they might need.
Use the Mutual Aid Beacon Group of Volunteers: This is a growing group of people from Beacon who have signed up to be volunteers to help get things for people who can’t do it themselves. No task or request is too small. Visit their website here.
