Adjusted Store Hours for Safer Shopping

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One thing has become increasingly evident as we continue to adjust our lifestyles: we were unprepared as a country to handle a pandemic. Because of this, no solution to necessities, like a different grocery shopping experience, is perfect. Services like Instacart, Kroger’s grocery pickup, and Amazon are promising, but the increased demand has rendered many impossible to use. As a Mediumize user commented, “I can usually find [an Instacart slot] right at midnight but it disappears by the time I checkout, it happened twice.” The same issue has arisen with other similar services, as the same user stated, the last time he had tried Kroger’s pickup service, he “got all the way to the end and it said nothing was in stock and there were no available pickup or delivery services [within 30 miles of himself].”

Many of these services were difficult to navigate to begin with, especially for the elderly population, and now are nearly impossible to use. Through these experiences, many high-risk individuals have turned to Mediumize for help, and we are happy to fill the void. However, many high-risk individuals still want an in-person shopping experience, which is becoming possible through “adjusted store hours.” Many stores with adjusted hours are only available to the elderly, however, the immunocompromised can often enter if they call beforehand. Admittedly, even if a shopper is granted access to a store before it is regularly scheduled to open, it is not as safe as never entering the store to begin with. Regardless, here is a list of national grocery stores with adjusted hours:

• Albertsons — 7:00am-9:00am Monday through Friday

• Aldi — 8:30–9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Costco — 8 a.m. to 9 a.m on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

• Dollar General — One hour before regular hours everyday

• The Fresh Market — 8:00am-9:00am Monday through Friday

• Kroger (and subsidiaries) — Special hours and days dependent on the company

• Market Basket — Starting at 6:00am-Opening Time on Wednesdays

• Meijer — 7:00am-8:00am on Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Safeway — 7:00am-9:00am on Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Target — One hour early on Wednesdays

• Trader Joes — Special hours and days dependent on location

• Wallgreens — 8:00am-9:00am on Tuesdays

• Walmart — One hour before regular hours on Tuesdays

• Whole Foods — One hour before regular hours everyday

There are also many local and regional supermarkets offering adjusted shopping hours. We encourage you to research stores with adjusted hours, but if there are none near you, they do not offer you entry, or you deem it not safe enough, Mediumize volunteers will continue to help!

Nino Salvaggio, a local grocery store chain