|
 We wondered about the later, are the food stores
in our community keeping up? There have been hard runs on food over
the last couple of weeks as people anticipated shortages in coming
days, and in their own special way, created the shortages they
feared.
We decided to give a call to the three main food chains in Lincoln -
Aldi, IGA and Walmart to ask them how they were doing.
Our first call went out to the Lincoln IGA where Office Manager
Katie Newman spoke.
Newman said that IGA is working hard to keep the shelves stocked and
are putting product out on the shelves as soon as it comes it. The
issue for the IGA is that there are shortages at the warehouse that
serve the local grocer. Those warehouses don’t have the product in
the quantities that IGA normally needs to keep the shelves stocked.
The store is limiting certain, high demand items. Newman said among
the items included on the ‘limited purchase’ list is milk and water.
They are having difficulty getting toilet paper and paper towels,
and are limiting purchases of those items when they have them in
stock. She said the same was true for cleaning products such as
Clorox disinfecting wipes. When in stock, shoppers are limited to
how many they may buy.
Newman said that because of the high demand for products, the
decreased availability of product and the need to keep staff on the
floor, they are unable to offer curbside pick-up of grocery orders.
They have also had to temporarily suspend their delivery services to
senior citizens for the same reason.
Newman and the staff at IGA recognize that this is a trying time for
everyone. She said that her message to the community is that “we
love our customers, love our community, and we are doing all that we
can to help our customers and community.” The Lincoln IGA is open 7
a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Calling the local Wal-Mart, the person we spoke with said management
could not speak with reporters. She did give a phone number for the
Walmart media room. We called that number and got a message to go to
the Walmart website and access the special media portal. We went
there, followed the instruction and received a message that the page
we were looking for was not available.
Without information from the company, we recall a recent visit to
Walmart where we noted first that the Lincoln Wal-Mart is in the
middle of a reset in its grocery department. This started with a
full reset of the store from lawn and garden to clothing and more,
well before coronavirus came into the picture.
The reset appeared to be winding down and coming to an end in the
grocery department. For the last couple of visits, we noted a lot of
empty shelves, but couldn’t actually determine if it was due to a
run on food, or lack of stocking while the store is being remodeled.
We did note that there were some limits on items, such as toilet
paper. In that aisle on that particular day there was fewer than a
dozen four-packs of one particular brand and a note on the shelf
saying customers should only take one package.
Also on that day the dairy department was sparse and some basic
items such as flour and sugar were not available. Also on that day,
the produce department was very sparse and the frozen pizza aisle
was sold out. There were empty boxes on the shelves indicating that
perhaps the lack of product was due to buying. But, because we
weren’t able to speak to anyone, we can’t say for sure how much of
this was a run on food due to coronavirus and how much was due to
the reset. Late last year/early this year
the local store did establish the online ordering for grocery
products with outdoor pick-up. Every time we go into the store, we
see the in-store shoppers, who are Wal-Mart associates filling totes
with grocery items that will in the end be bagged up and set aside
for the customer pick-up on the east end of the building. [to top of second
column] |
The Lincoln Walmart also has installed a lot more
self-check aisles. These are not widely used by shoppers. However,
we did give it a try and it wasn’t all that bad, and we had no
worries about social distancing. Our word of caution there would be
to take your own wipes and wipe down the key pad and touch screen
before you start and after you finish.
We did find a note on the Wal-Mart website about COVID-19 that said
sneeze guards are being installed at the pharmacies, and signage is
being placed to encourage social distancing around the store.
On the Walmart-Lincoln Facebook page it did note that the store is
not open 24-hours at this time. The store is listed as being open
from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The reason for the overnight closure is to
permit associates time to restock the shelves.
Trying to reach out to Aldi in Lincoln we called the phone number
listed on the google search for Lincoln. When we called, we got a
pre-recorded message that said that no individual store numbers are
given out and if there is anything anyone needs to know, go to their
website.
On the website we found a special news section for COVID-19. This
press information was provided on March 25, 2020.
There, it noted that Aldi is taking steps to provide a secure and
safe store for their associates and customers. The stores are in the
process of adding protective shields at the checkouts. They are
posting reminders about social distancing around their store, to
help people remember not to gather too close together while
shopping.
The site also notes that the store is offering special shopping
hours for vulnerable customers. Each week on Tuesday and Thursday,
the store is opening at 8:30 a.m. and the first hour of the day is
designated to those who are at higher risk if they contract
coronavirus. This would include those who are over 65 and those who
have health issues such as heart or lung conditions, or diabetes.
A recent trip to Aldi revealed that our local store is doing a
pretty good job of staying stocked. There was plenty of cereal
products as well as canned goods. There were limits on canned goods
and other high demand items. The meat racks were sparse but there
was some. Bread was very low, but some of the products we had been
unable to find at Wal-Mart were at Aldi such as sugar and flour.
In all, there is food out there to be bought. You may have to be a
little less picky about brands and you may be restricted on how much
you can buy. Toilet paper and paper towels still appear to be in
high demand, but there is also a lot of evidence that people
overbought on those items early in this mess. Manufacturers of
products such as Angel Soft are currently running advertisements
saying they are working as hard and fast as possible to replenish
stocks, so this is a world-wide issue, not just Logan County. There
are also jokes on social media about the quantities that are being
bought. With these products being limited quantity purchase in most
local stores, perhaps this issue will correct itself in the near
future.
With President Trump stating on Sunday that he will extend federal
restrictions through the end of April, we can only guess that our
Governor will also extend some of his actions. If so, then we may
have a while longer to endure the social distancing and the stay at
home rule.
Please, be patient, be kind, and when you do go to the grocery and
are able to get what you need, be thankful.
[Nila Smith] |
