POV: Seniors Take Early Coronavirus Shopping Hours In Stride

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — This was the first day of a new coronavirus program at the supermarket near my house: special early shopping hours for customers over age 60. So at 6 a.m., I headed over with my reusable bags and my list.

The parking lot was already filling up in the dark and the fog. The first person I ran into as I wiped down the shopping cart handle with the hand wipes offered inside the front door was a woman I know from church.

"I was so excited to hear about this," she said. "I haven't been out of the house for a week."

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Stop & Shop shortened its hours after the first wave of panic shopping began. It is now open officially from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. to allow staffers to restock, and clean, and rest. But it will let in senior citizens only starting at 6 a.m. The point, store officials said, is so that those who are most at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 can shop without a crowd.

"Although Stop and Shop will not be requesting ID for entry, they request that we all respect the purpose of the early opening — and do the right thing for our older neighbors," a statement from the company said.

There were 30 to 40 people in the enormous store while I was there, all steering our carts wide of each other. At the deli counter, one man remarked, "I never thought of myself as a senior citizen until this."

Signs hung from the meat shelves limiting two packages of this and that per customer. There was no ground beef, no Italian sausage, very little chicken. A staffer who was restocking from a small pile of boxes said it had been a tough 10 days. "I don't understand people," she said.

The meat section was minor compared to the paper goods aisle, where people stopped and stared. No toilet paper, no paper towels. "Limit 2 per customer" signs hung forlorn every 4 feet all the way down the empty shelves. "Not all of them can be hoarders," said a woman in a puzzled tone.

Around the corner, in front of the milk, two neighbors gave each other grief. "It's nice when your peers challenge you on your age," the woman said.

"It used to be that we had to prove how old we were to get booze," a man told a staffer restocking bottles of tea.

I bagged my groceries, a combination of items with a long storage life — rice and squash and cabbage — and things to eat soon — melon chunks and milk. "Stay safe," the cashier said as she handed me my receipt.

Coronavirus in the Hudson Valley and beyond:

• DeCicco's Sets Aside Special Shopping Times For Seniors
• NY Coronavirus Outbreak To Peak In 45 Days: Cuomo
  
• Live U.S. Updates: California Ordered To Stay At Home
• Coronavirus Pains America's Workers: Jobless Claims Surge By 70K