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Grocery Store Employees and thier stories during the early days of the pandemic photograhed for AARP Magazine

Christian- Chaaste Family Market “Adapting emotionally to customers has been tough, this is a family run market so we are more personal and relationship based and often on a first-name basis with the people that come in. It’s hard right now because customers are coming in and the usual warm greetings just aren’t there. You know people are worried. My mom always raised us to care about the customers. It’s not about how much money we are making, of course we need to survive too, but I care about how they feel. Yesterday, i had a customer who came in and they had just gotten laid off. The last time I saw them we were talking about upcoming vacations, what movie they wanted to go see next and now it’s “I’m stuck at home and I lost my job.” It’s just a tough thing to hear.” Nicole- The Kitchen for Exploring Foods“Before this, I was the sales manager. My job has since changed as we had to let go of most of our staff and now I’m working in the market and café selling food and helping customers. Now, It’s just us few managers here trying to run this business with a skeleton crew. It’s just crazy how fast everything happened.” Joseph- Jayde's Market “Based on how things are now the safety of our customers and employees is the main goal. We currently limit the number of customers to no more than 7 at a time to give everyone enough space to safely shop and work. We offer gloves and have hired additional janitors to keep things safe for our community. It’s been raining and cold out recently and it’s been tough having people wait outside in line but I feel everyone has been understanding and appreciative that we have been able to stay open and give them a safe and clean place to shop.” Sergio- OP Market“You need be so much more careful now. Customers need to know you are taking extra precautions but really the process is more or less the same but there is more care in how you go about it. Gloves, masks, wiping everything down, just showing the people coming in that you are taking the extra steps to keep them safe.” Juana- Bob's Market “There’s been a lot of customers who are here shopping for our elderly community who don’t feel safe leaving the house right now. I’ve noticed a good sense of community during this time both with helping the elderly and even things like letting someone else have the last of the toilet paper or paper towels, as well as adapting to the new social distancing ways of shopping at our store.” Ruben- Silverlake Farmer's Market “I really didn’t expect to see this many people coming together, doing their homework as far as practicing social distancing and following the rules. It’s been a big change to our daily way of life and I feel like people understand we are all in this together and are doing their part so we all can get through this pandemic as quickly as possible.” Kari- Urban Radish “All the store employees, like most grocery stores, are hourly wage and right now the attitude is very mission driven, not about the money or the fact they still have a job. They are all rising to the challenge to be here for the community by doing things like offering free home delivery for our elderly and immune-compromised customers, wearing gloves, masks and getting their temperature checked twice a day. We have a strong family of employees here and they are coming in here every day to fulfill a civic role in this community.”

© Mathew Scott 2021 —  Los Angeles, California / Email / 415. 613. 1264