GREENFIELD — Chain grocery stores have changed their business hours and policies to keep up with the increased demand of the coronavirus pandemic.
Foster’s Supermarket, a smaller, locally owned company, has not changed its hours, but acknowledged it is straining to meet demand.
Both Big Y and Stop & Shop have reduced their hours to 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week. Both companies said on their websites the changes give employees extra time to restock shelves.
Additionally, people ages 60 and older will be allowed into Stop & Shop from 6 a.m. to 7:30 starting Thursday, according to a memo released by company President Gordon Reid on Monday.
“We’re making the decision to offer this every day of the week to allow for community members in this age category to shop in a less crowded environment, which better enables social distancing,” Reid wrote. “Store associates do reserve the right to ask customers to leave if they are not a member of this age group.”
Starting Wednesday, Green Fields Market will restrict shopping from 9 to 10 a.m. to those who are 60 and older. Shoppers must enter through the front door only but may exit out the back at that time.
The hours for other shoppers are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store will be closed Sundays until further notice.
McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls will retain its current hours.
Likewise, starting Thursday, Market Basket, which has a location in Athol, is starting senior shopping hours for customers ages 60 and older each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 7 a.m.
“Our associates really wanted to do this to serve many of our customers who are worried about their health,” said Joe Schmidt, Market Basket’s supervisor of operations. “We are proud of how hard the team is working to serve all of our customers and address their needs. This will mean longer hours for them but everyone is willing.”
Foster’s Supermarket co-owner Jason Deane said his store had a major increase in demand starting last Wednesday, with an even bigger rush Friday and Saturday.
By Tuesday morning, he said, traffic seemed to have slowed down — but, he added, it was still very busy for a Tuesday morning.
Toilet paper and hand sanitizer especially have been difficult to keep in stock, Deane said. And it doesn’t help that suppliers are apparently just as strained as retailers. A delivery that had been scheduled for Monday morning ended up arriving 25 hours late, Deane said.
“But of course we’re happy to have received it, just a day late,” Deane said. “We’re trying to keep up with higher demand, and it’s somewhat more difficult to get the supplies. We’re trying to make both ends meet.”
Foster’s, unlike the larger companies in town, has not implemented special customer policies to deal with the coronavirus panic.
But with schools closed, the store is trying to accommodate employees who have problems finding child care, Deane said.
Employee rules on handling food have been tightened, but the measures are not extraordinary, Deane said. He compared it to typical flu-prevention steps.
“We have changed,” he said, “but it’s a continuation of what we do.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.