What Is The Diet? A Doctor Breaks

Although nearly three-fourths of the U.S. is under some sort of lockdown order, grocery employees are among the essential workers who are leaving their homes each day to stock shelves with products, staff cash registers at stores or pick up orders at warehouses and deliver them to shoppers’ doorsteps. They have joined police officers, paramedics, nurses and doctors on the front lines of the pandemic. Unlike other first responders, though, they lack many key benefits. They are often low-wage workers, with little or no protective gear, and, in some cases, no health insurance or paid time off. And their employers have less experience handling health-care crises. Marc Perrone, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union, acknowledges grocery chains like Ahold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop have raised wages and retailers like Walmart have offered special bonuses. But, he said he doesn’t think these measures go far enough as grocers have seen a huge surge in sales, while hourly workers, by going to work each day, potentially exposing themselves to a virus that can be deadly. “If you’re looking at a bonus like Walmart offered at $300, is that worth somebody’s life?” he said. Nearly every week, grocers large and small have announced new protocols intended to keep customers and employees safe as the number of coronavirus cases climbs. They’ve adopted a growing list of strategies: Reduced store hours to allow for more cleaning, special hours for seniors and vulnerable customers, extra hand sanitizer and handwashing, plexiglass screens between customers and cashiers and floor decals to remind customers to stay six feet apart.