Area stores can’t keep items on their shelves

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

As coronavirus spreads throughout the region, grocery stores are struggling to keep their shelves stocked.

Residents have been purchasing in bulk as recommendations to self-isolate continue. 

Josh Pollock of California said he couldn’t purchase enough items for a meal during a recent trip to Walmart in Rostraver Township.

“I was not able to find anything,” Pollock said. “No chicken, no beef, no spaghetti, but there were some packages of toilet paper.”

He waited more than 40 minutes before additional registers were opened as the line stretched to the produce section of the store.

“I only purchased the essentials, but I was disappointed I couldn’t get enough to prepare one full meal,” he said. “I’ll make the best of what I have.”

Still, he is frustrated to see other shoppers loading up.

“I saw people going through the aisles with carts filled with items,” he said. “It concerns me that we are neglectful to realize that there are others out in this world who need the supplies that others are selfishly hoarding.”

Josh Bridge, assistant manager of Duritza’s Market in North Belle Vernon, said the store has been busy from opening to closing for the past few weeks.

“It’s like we can’t keep up,” he said. “It has been very overwhelming.”

Despite placing larger orders and requesting early deliveries, the shelves are emptied almost as quickly as they are re-stocked. 

The most popular items are milk, bread and toilet paper, he added.

“We’re trying to keep up,” Bridge said. “But it has proven to be difficult.”

He asks customers to purchase only the necessities.

“Everyone needs these things,” he said. “So it is important to be mindful when shopping and buy only what you need.”

Lauren Moffitt, bakery manager at the Rostraver Township Shop ’n Save, said business has been “nuts.”

“We have been busier than our busiest holiday, Christmas Eve, even breaking all-time sales records since the store has been open,” she said. “Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday the store has been obliterated by customers.”

She said shoppers are stocking up on  meats, canned goods, household items, frozen foods and water. 

“We have gone through extra shipments of toilet paper and they barely make it to the shelves,” she said. “People are buying it off the dolly while it’s being wheeled out. Most of the product that is shipped in sells almost instantly or shortly after being put out.”

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and sanitizers are currently not being shipped to the store because they are being reserved for healthcare settings, Moffitt said. 

She said customers have been showing up long before posted store hours to be the first inside.

“I work from around 4 a.m. to about 2 p.m. and the store opens at 6 a.m.,” she said. “There were tons of customers waiting for us to open and when the doors got unlocked it sounded like ‘Supermarket Sweep,’  people running with buggies.”

The outbreak, she said, is equally stressful for workers.

“Everyone is working as fast as they can, sometimes missing breaks or getting them way later,” she said. 

It’s also stressful dealing with upset customers, she added.

“Right now the customer demand is way greater than the supply we are receiving from the warehouse, and this makes customers angry,” she said. “It’s also hard because someone like myself who has health issues and others like me worry because customers still come in if they are sick. I am scared of what could happen if I catch it.”

She said despite the stress, she is trying to operate her department as normally as possible.

“I have always taken pride in my department to begin with and train my employees to clean well, so that is nothing new,” she said. “We are doing it many multiple times per day. 

“I had an employee clear her throat and a customer got scared and accused the employee of being sick and coughing, but we are taking all precautions to keep ourselves and our customers safe.”

Her advice to shoppers is simple: Take what you need.

“Right now the shelves in the store are close to being empty because people are literally just buying anything they can,” she said. 

She offered advice for residents heading to area grocery stores:

• Make a list of things you don’t have and truly need instead of buying too much.

• Expect long lines and wait times.

• Think of others before you go out if you’re feeling ill. 

She is also urging people to be kind to those working.

“Occasionally thank a worker,” she said. “Right now 90% of the interactions with customers we are having are negative because an item is unavailable,” she said. “We are all trying everything we can to provide you with what is available.”