Covid Response
WE ARE DEDICATED TO KEEPING YOU INFORMED
HOW IS WHEATSVILLE RESPONDING TO COVID-19 AND THE INCREASE IN STORE TRAFFIC?
At Wheatsville the safety of our staff, shoppers and the Austin Community is our greatest concern. In response to current events we have we have increased efforts to providing a safe and sanitary shopping experience for you. Along with our standard dedication to industry best practices we have taken greater measures to help minimize any risks of the spread of COVID-19. As of 5/28/20 we have taken the following precautionary measures:
HOW WE ARE RESPONDING TO MANAGING INSTORE TRAFFIC
• In compliance with the mandate by the Mayor of the City of Austin we will be requiring all staff wear a face mask or covering while working. In addition all customers will be asked to wear a face covering or mask while on the premises.
• Wheatsville’s hours are currently 7:30 am - 9 pm at our Gualdalupe location and 7:30 to 10 pm at our S. Lamar location every day.
• Although we continue to get regular deliveries from our distribution warehouses we are currently limiting the number of certain staple grocery items that we are allowing customers to purchase. For a current list of items please visit https://wheatsville.coop/news-and-events/news/wheatsville-product-limits
• Strictly monitoring social distancing for our staff and customers. Store wide announcements are made every thirty minutes as a reminder to be respectful of personal space and keep a minimum of 6 feet from each other.
• Limiting the number of shoppers allowed in our stores and providing markers every 6 feet when lines are long.
• Staggering our registers at check out as to minimize congestion at the registers. We also have installed place markers for customers at our check out to help maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet apart.
• We have installed acrylic shields at our registers for the protection of our staff and customers.
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES WE ARE TAKING
• We will be suspending $5 dinner beginning Thursday, March 19 until a time that is prudent to resume it. We have replaced it with $5 Grab and Go, available every Thursday all day long.
• We have taken steps to minimize the distance between staff through scheduling and designated work stations to reduce the risk of contamination.
• We have made thermometers available to staff and are requiring them to take their temperature daily.
• Although we still have a tremendous dedication to protecting the health and well-being of our planet we believe that the immediate threat to public health is paramount and with that reasoning we are no longer allowing outside containers for food, beverages or bulk items.
• We are temporarily suspending all self-serve food service areas. We now have a food safety certified deli staff to serve all hot bar food. Select prepackaged items, beverages and bakery will be available throughout the store.
• Regular communications with our staff regarding the situation and providing them the most up-to-date safety guidance, as recommended by the CDC and other health officials.
• Routine check-ins with staff to ensure good hygiene practices and giving them ample opportunities to regularly wash their hands.
• Making sanitizer more available throughout our stores, including at registers both for you and for our employees. As of March 16 we have more than doubled our sanitizing stations at both stores with the addition of foaming sanitizer pumps in high use areas of the store.
• Increasing our regular cleaning and sanitizing schedules throughout our stores, with extra attention on high-touch areas like our restrooms, doors, bulk departments, delis, hand baskets and carts. Every night we sanitize our carts and hand baskets for the next day and every hour we have ALL staff sanitize the area that they are working in.
• At this time we are discontinuing all unsupervised and supervised food demos.
WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO
• Our employees are trained to follow a strict set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) when handling products. These include detailed instructions on hand washing, the use of hand sanitizers, product considerations, and information on preventing foodborne illness and the spread of infection.
• Many employees are Food Handler certified. All food service employees are properly trained on food safety issues, regulations, and techniques to maintain a food safe environment.
• The majority of Co-op employees work full-time, with industry-leading benefits. Wheatsville encourages employees to use their paid time off, stay home, and reduce the spread of illness.
Finally, we ask all of our members, shoppers, and employees to partner with us in this. No matter how many safety protocols we may have in place, we can’t control everyone that comes into our stores. WE ASK THAT IF YOU ARE FEELING ILL, PLEASE STAY HOME. We have a variety of services that can get you the product you need. These include Instacart and Favor. For more information on how you can help stop the spread of Coronavirus please visit https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/
If you would like to receive regular updates from Wheatsville please subscribe to our email list or follow us on social media.