Grocery shopping has become increasingly more stressful with the COVID-19 crisis as of late. In an effort to calm and to support the health and safety of seniors and immunocompromised individuals, many Canadian grocery stores are now offering earlier hours dedicated to them.
1/2 Starting this week, Shoppers Drug Mart is dedicating the first opening hour of shopping at our stores to our customers who need assistance or consideration, including seniors and people living with disabilities.
— Shoppers Drug Mart (@ShopprsDrugMart) March 17, 2020
Grocers of all sizes--from bigger stores like Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart locations, J-Lynn's Your Independent Grocer in Saskatoon (pictured above) and West Vancouver's Loblaw City Market, to smaller chains such as Pusateri's Fine Foods (Eaton Centre location excluded) in Toronto--have recently announced similar offerings.
Most recently, Sobeys announced this morning that they would also be introducing "senior hours" at many of their locations as of this Friday.
Taking inspiration from #Bloved at Sobeys Belmont, we are scaling our "Senior Shopping Hour". Starting this Friday, many of our stores will be devoting the first hour of operations to those most vulnerable and require extra attention, particularly seniors. pic.twitter.com/ckQyIexTS8
— Sobeys (@sobeys) March 17, 2020
These newly instated hours vary by company, but are typically scheduled between 6 a.m. - 7 a.m. or 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. In general, Canadians are encouraged to contact their local grocery store to inquire if this growing initiative is active at their specific store location.
