Life as we know it has changed since the recent coronavirus outbreak, and senior citizens are more at risk than the general population. Health officials have asked everyone including the vulnerable population to stay home, and limit social interactions.
In response to this, several grocery stores are offering senior-only shopping hours to accommodate vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Thursday, March 19, four local grocery stores and two national chains have opened their doors to seniors (60 and over) only, allowing them to shop among a smaller group of people and without the increased possibility of COVID-19 infection.
“We understand the unique concerns of our senior citizens and the need to protect them while also giving them the opportunity to do their shopping safely,” said County Executive Elrich. “We appreciate the leadership of these stores and look forward to adding more stores throughout the County.”
Below is a list of stores in Montgomery County that are offering such opportunities:
Dawson’s Market
- Dawson’s Market offers senior-only shopping on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m.
Giant Food
- Giant Food’s senior hour includes others who have compromised immune systems and are also vulnerable to the coronavirus. Giant offers exclusive shopping from 6-7 a.m. every day.
Safeway
- Safeway also includes those with compromised immune systems. It offers 7-9 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday for such residents and seniors. However, hours are not the same across all stores and Safeway encourages people to check their local store hours.
Target
- For seniors and those with underlying health concerns, Target offers their first hour of operation every Wednesday.
Whole Foods
- Whole Foods offers seniors exclusive shopping for one hour before stores open to all ages.
Trader Joe’s and Harris Teeter are not offering special hours for seniors at this time.
Some restaurants are also offering bagged food such as El Sapo Cuban Social Club in Silver Spring is feeding senior citizens in need. They are donating meals to residents who live in The Bonifant apartments located in downtown Silver Spring. Constructed by Montgomery Housing Partnership, The Bonifant apartments offer affordable housing. It is home to 170 seniors, many with disabilities. Residents who are the most vulnerable have been prioritized to receive the donated food.
“It is really heartwarming to see our community respond to this crisis in so many innovative ways,” said Montgomery County Silver Spring Regional Service Center Director Reemberto Rodríguez. The Bonifant resident Jan Brown says the others were thrilled to receive meals from El Sapo. “That is where we go to celebrate” in normal times, she noted.
In addition, Teens Helping Seniors is an organization started by local teens Dhruv Pai and Matthew Casertano from Montgomery Blair High School, to help deliver groceries and pharmacy to older Moco citizens and other vulnerable people in the county. In five days, they have amassed several volunteers from different public and private schools who provide contactless delivery to the doorstep. The volunteers include students from Montgomery Blair High School, Winston Churchill High School, St. Anselm’s High School in DC and Northwest High School. Grocery and pharmacy orders are placed via email. The volunteers must pledge that they have practiced social distancing and other safety measures in their own lives before signing on. They wear gloves while shopping, wipe down bags they are delivering and use curbside delivery when possible. Bags of goods are left at doors, and cash can be exchanged the same way, or directly to a store or through a digital transaction.
So far, they’ve made about more than 30 deliveries in five days. However, they say due to high demand, there’s a need for more teens to join. It doesn’t stop there, they say young adults are welcome to join the movement as well.
Pai says they will continue to volunteer their time with Teens Helping Seniors throughout the next couple of weeks, or longer depending on how long schools are closed. “It’s gone from extremely casual to extremely operational very quickly,” Casertano said. “This is one of those times when people are willing to look out for one another and have each other’s back.
Anyone who wishes to volunteer or place orders with Teens Helping Seniors is asked to email teenshelpingseniors@gmail.com.
Article by Dhruv Pai of Montgomery Blair High School