While we are all doing our best to stay home to save lives, getting groceries is one activity for which most of us have to leave our homes. Use this handy grocery shopping decision flow chart.and the tips below to protect your health and the health of others when you are shopping:
- Limit your grocery shopping to once a week or less, or use delivery or curbside pickup. Check with your store to see what services they offer. Many businesses have increased delivery and pickup options.
- If you go into a grocery store or other essential business, wear a face covering and maintain a distance of six feet from other people as much as possible. Many stores have special shopping hours for people at higher risk. They also have signage and tape to show where to wait and maintain distance. Please respect all of these precautions.
- Have one person from your household go into the store if at all possible. Consider offering to pick up items and drop them off on the doorsteps of friends and neighbors who are in a high-risk category (60 or older, have an underlying health condition, or currently pregnant) to make sure they don’t have to go into the store.
- Space yourself out from others at the checkout line, and avoid paying with cash if you can to reduce close contact with workers at checkout. You can also look for opportunities to use digital payment, like Google Pay or Apple Pay, where available.
- Whether in the middle of a global pandemic or not, sanitizing reusable bags after each use is recommended. A disinfecting wipe or other FDA-approved solution will do the trick or you can launder them in hot water and dry on the hottest setting.
- There is no evidence that COVID-19 is spreading through take-out orders or groceries. Wash your hands thoroughly when you get home after grocery shopping, but there’s no need to disinfect groceries aside from the usual rinsing of items like fresh produce.
Thank you to everyone who is staying informed and taking steps to stay healthy as well as keeping their friends, family, and neighbors healthy. By staying home and away from others, we can all help reduce the spread of this illness and save lives. Support those around you, including our essential workers.
And thank you to all of the essential workers who are putting in long days and nights to make sure we have access to the necessities during this immensely challenging time. We know you are doing crucial work and we appreciate you. We couldn’t get through this without you.