Levittown-Area Grocery Employees Share Experiences During COVID-19

Working in a grocery store can be trying in the best of times. Three Levittown-area grocery store workers said this week that has become even more so the past few weeks.

The three workers, all of whom were speaking without the authorization of management and agreed to talk if their identity was protect, wanted to share their experiences with the public amid the time of uncertainty and panic buying.

“[The job] has changed. Entirely,” a woman who works at a Levittown-area store said. “This has been like one really very long workweek.”

The decade-long grocery store worker, who has a husband and young children at home, said she has taken “every” precaution but shares concern about catching COVID-19 and spreading it to her kids or husband, the family’s breadwinner.

At a separate grocery store in Bristol Township, a worker explained that she has been taking precautions to stay healthy, but she worries about younger co-workers who don’t seem to share as much of her concern.

“A lot of customers have been wearing gloves and masks,” she said, noting customers who cough have given her some anxiety.

The worker said her store has been going through meats, paper products, canned foods, and frozen foods quickly. She asked customers to be patient if the store is out.

“People get frustrated when we’re out, but it’s not our fault,” she said. “Be nice, please.”

One important tip she had for shoppers it to “be flexible” when going to the store.

“Don’t come with a dinner list. We’re going to be out of things, so you have to be flexible,” she said.

The third grocery store worker, whose market is smaller than many other stores in the region, said he has heard some arguing between customers at times, but said overall that customers were being calm.

His advice was simple: “I don’t want to be sick … don’t come sick. Think of your grandmother shopping and you wouldn’t want her to catch coronavirus from the store.”

Two of the three workers said some co-workers concerned about their health were not coming in and their companies are looking to bring on additional staff to keep up with demand.

At one of the stores, grocery delivery business was through the roof, the 10-year grocery store worker said.

Giant Food Stores, Acme, Walmart, and other grocery retailers have begun installing Plexiglas shields to stop respiratory droplets from spreading between customers and cashiers.

One employee said their store was providing sanitizing wipes to clean carts down and encouraging social distancing over the loud speaker.

Another one of the grocery store workers said the shields were nice, but “we still have to take money and help them use the card machines.”

All three workers said they felt their management were doing what they could in the situation.

“People are saying ‘thanks’ and that’s nice. I just hope no one is spreading coronavirus,” the Bristol Township store employee said. “It’s a job, and I need money.”

On Thursday, it became public that an employee at the Redner’s Market in Middletown testing positive for COVID-19. The store ended up closing for cleaning and planned to reopen on Friday.

Despite some empty shelves, grocery stores have continued to restock.

Gov. Tom Wolf has said the food supply remains strong and officials have urged people stop panic buying.

On Thursday afternoon, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued recommendations to grocery stores for customer protection, employee protection, facility sanitization, guidance for managing COVID-19 positive employees, and recommendations for both managers and employees to maintain physical and mental health.

“In our current COVID-19 pandemic, retail food workers are among the heroes,” said Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “We need their workforce to remain healthy – physically and mentally – and encourage managers and employees to heed this guidance. For their own sake and for all who rely on their life-sustaining service.”

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