With the recent COVID-19 crisis, people all over the world have been stocking up on groceries while they self-isolate or self-quarantine. This has made it very difficult for groceries stores to have enough products and supplies to meet the needs of customers. Two Westside students, sophomore Matt Leonard and senior Camryn Wieseler, have experienced this chaos firsthand, as they are both employees at a local HyVee.  Leonard said that he has noticed various changes being made to the store during this crisis.

“A  lot more precautions are being taken,” Leonard said. “An example of this would be the constant sanitation of the screen between the cashier and customer, and a lot more use of sanitizing [in general] when there’s less people around.” 

Leonard said that he has also noticed a change in the quantity and types of different foods being shipped in.

“It’s definitely slowed down,” Leonard said.  “There’s a lot more canned foods being bought along with paper towels and toilet paper. There are rushes of people here and there when we first get shipments. ”

While production may have slowed, Wieseler said that the amount of people visiting the store has not.

“The biggest change has been that the stores have definitely been a lot more crowded,” Wieseler said.  “A lot of stores have also been struggling to get products on the shelves since it is going so fast and people are stock piling it.” 

Wieseler also stressed the importance of making sure the store is clean and safe for not only the employees but also the customers.

“Since the coronavirus, we have been taking a lot more precautions in making sure that the store is clean and safe for people to come shop,” Wieseler said.