Store Shopping hours for at-risk individuals, Cafe changes, Coronavirus Update
Dear Customers/Friends –
Virus Update
This past week was about as crazy as we have seen, with stock market gyrations, declarations of emergency both on the state and federal levels, and a run on toilet paper, of all things. As we wrote 2 weeks ago, the Coronavirus known as Covid-19 is very contagious, but can be avoided by avoiding large crowds, using disinfectants and washing your hands with soap, and being wary of those folks who are exhibiting cold-like symptoms. The ramp up of US cases has begun a ramp up, which doubled in the last 2 days, and will continue to increase for the next several weeks.
The emergency orders, which have included many schools closing and moving to remote learning, should help us be able to keep our distance from other people. This social distancing may not mean that less of us will eventually get the virus, but it does mean that cases of Covid-19 will be spread out over a longer time period. Because 20% of those who get the virus have more serious symptoms, and many of those need hospitalization, stretching out the time period will allow our hospitals to have enough beds and ventilators to help those who need it. The longer time period might also allow for a cure or vaccine to be discovered, saving lives. Here’s an interesting article from the Washington Post about the effects of various methods of handling populations interactions: https://apple.news/AWTPfZ4rMQwmOos2PRsrVRw
Store Update - PLEASE READ
As we continue to make Good Harvest and the Harvest Cafe a safe place to shop, eat and work, we are taking a number of steps to ensure everyone’s health and also to help folks who may be at greater risk to catching the virus.
7-8am shopping Hours for Elderly and Immune Compromised – starting Wednesday, March 18th
- Starting this Wednesday, and while the risk of Covid-19 is present, we will open Monday thru Saturday from 7-8 am for ONLY elderly and those folks who are at greatest risk from catching this Coronavirus. Both the grocery store and cafe will be open, but only for this group of people. If you are not in this group of people, please don’t be upset if we ask you to return after 8 am for your dining and shopping needs. These folks need to know that they are as safe as they can be doing their shopping when the store is not too busy.
Salad bar and Hot bar closed until further notice
- We looked at many options to try to keep these open, as both of these are very popular, however we ultimately need to make sure that customers or employees aren’t touching serving utensils and surfaces which have been touched by multiple others. Starting Wednesday, soups will be available in to-go containers in the refrigerated section of the cafe area for you to take home and heat and serve, and available hot served by our café staff.
Harvest Café Online ordering and delivery
- We have signed up with GrubHub for ordering and delivering your favorite lunch/dinner menu options. Go to Grubhub.com, enter your address and search for Harvest Café, or click here for the link
St Patrick's day meal – Tuesday March 17
- While we had planned on having and all-Irish hot bar Tuesday, with that option gone, we will instead offer menu specials featuring our store-made corned beef and cabbage, plus many other Irish Specialties.
Online Store ordering and delivery
- While several weeks away, we have signed up with a company called Rosie’s to set up and online ordering system. Those ordering their groceries online will have the option to either pickup their order at the store or to use DoorDash for at-home delivery. We hope to have this up by the end of April. More details as we move along.
Out-of-stocks
- We have been notified by our major distributor that in light of the unprecedented demand for groceries and home essentials that they will be cutting back on grocery stores orders as demand has exceeded supplies. This could cause items to be temporarily out of stock as they refill their product pipeline. Thank you for our patience as we all maneuver our way during these trying times.
These are indeed unprecedented times. More and more businesses are being closed, large groups are being discouraged, and schools are being closed. The financial and emotional stress, along with the illness itself will be with us for several months. If there are good things to come from this, it may be both the forced interaction with family members and the chance to re-consider what is and isn’t important in our lives as we eventually move past this crisis.
See you in the aisles…
The Cast & Crew at Good Harvest Market and Harvest Cafe