Today, Amazon announced that they are providing hourly employees with an additional $2 per hour through the end of April. The danger posed to customers is unclear. We have installed plexiglass barriers to protect customers and team members, and appointed dedicated team members to perform sanitization measures, including frequent cleaning & sanitizing of every shopping cart and credit card reader. Delivery & Pickup Options - 1133 reviews of Whole Foods Market "UPDATE: So I've been back to WF several times now since its opening day. In order to better serve our communities, we will be adjusting our store hours. How Whole Foods Market is Responding to COVID-19. “We are working to identify any team member who may have had prolonged contact with the diagnosed team member and will communicate with them individually,” according to the recorded message. Updated: Friday, April 24 OPEN DAILY 9am-7pm All food and product sampling and demos have been suspended. We are joining Amazon in this measure. We are setting aside this time to help these customers, who national health authorities have identified as among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, feel more comfortable shopping our stores and helping to ensure they are able to get the items they need in a less crowded environment. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. Indoor and outdoor café seating will be temporarily unavailable grocery worker infection, officials sit tight with minimal guidelines. We have increased sanitation and cleanliness protocols in meeting rooms, Team Member gathering spaces, and office workstations across all stores, offices, and facilities to promote a safe and healthy work environment. We are taking extended measures to ensure the safety and wellness of our team members and communities at this time. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Seated restaurant venues & taprooms will close for in-store dining and will offer takeout only Where allowed, these areas have reopened with a combination of enhanced cleaning and sanitation measures, social distancing protocols and, in some cases, conversion from self-serve to a Team Member-assisted service model. We have removed open access sample product testers from our beauty and body care departments. We care about our team members, customers and products, and we’re evaluating the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in real time. We are no longer allowing personal, reusable containers at our smoothie and coffee bars. As we prioritize the health and safety of our customers, Team Members and partners, we remain committed to ensuring that all customers have access to the items they need, taking action to support our Team Members and doing our part to help contain the spread of COVID-19. Our 95,000+ Team Members in our stores, distribution facilities and offices are the heartbeat of our company. Landfill closed by fire causing trash pickup delays for swath of O.C. (A neighbor hates mine), Where to eat in Orange County in 2020: A guide to the best places, How The Blind Pig got national publicity — it was a case of mistaken identity. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. We are temporarily suspending all food sampling and demos until further notice. We are no longer allowing personal, reusable containers at our smoothie and coffee bars. To our Whole Foods Market community and customers: We want to make sure you know what to expect when visiting our stores in the coming weeks, as well as how we’re responding to the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, both as a retailer and employer. Whole Foods worker infected with coronavirus in…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Whole Foods worker infected with coronavirus in Huntington Beach, Tallest American Christmas tree reaches San Clemente, Some temporary license plates have a different look — for now, Amazon Fresh grocery store opens at Irvine Market Place, Disney California Adventure to reopen Buena Vista Street for shopping and dining, Man found shot to death inside Newport Beach house, suspect arrested, Mail ballots from the dead, and other rarities. We have high standards for the products we sell and for the stores we sell them in, and we are committed to maintaining those standards during these challenging times. He is a lifelong surfer and has spent most of his life on the coast. In the U.K., part-time and full-time Team Members in our stores and facilities will receive an additional 2£ per hour through the month of April. During this time, stores will remain open for pickup (in stores that offer it), and we will continue to fulfill Prime delivery orders in an effort to meet unprecedented demand and ensure that people who need to remain at home can still get their groceries in a timely manner. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. We are no longer allowing personal, reusable containers at our smoothie and coffee bars. UPDATE: Despite O.C. To ensure the safety of our Team Members, customers and products we have a team of leaders from across Whole Foods Market evaluating the situation in real-time, consulting with outside health and food safety experts and monitoring updates in guidance from the CDC and local health departments. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! However, the COVID-19 virus can remain active and transmittable for hours or days on surfaces, according to the National Institutes of Health. In terms of direct contact between employees and shoppers, workers in some departments have more exposure than others, according to another employee, who asked to remain unnamed because of fear of retribution. We will continue to provide updates on any additional changes and offerings will vary by store. We care about our team members, customers and products, and we’re evaluating the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in real-time. L.P. Learn more. In addition to modifications to our prepared foods, self-serve and restaurant venues, we have implemented enhanced daily cleanliness and sanitation protocols across all stores and facilities, on top of our standard stringent protocols. Starting today, all part and full-time hourly Team Members at Whole Foods Market stores and facilities in the U.S. and Canada will receive an additional $2 per hour on top of their current hourly rate through the month of April. We have asked Team Members to cancel non-essential business travel (both domestic and international). Meredith Nierman / WGBH News Orange County’s Health Care Agency referred an inquiry from the Southern California News Group about such protocols to the California Department of Public Health. In order to serve more customers, we are limiting the purchase quantities of high-demand items. His work has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Headliner Awards, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Florida Press Club and the American Planning Association Florida Chapter. grocery worker infection, officials sit tight with minimal guidelines, according to the National Institutes of Health, Coronavirus doesn’t jeopardize tap water, but it might be carried in raw sewage, Expected coronavirus surge prompts hospitals, state to scramble, Medical workers fear for their safety — and everyone else’s — in coronavirus outbreak, Orange County reports first coronavirus death as total cases hit 152, Sneeze guards go up at grocery checkouts as UFCW petitions for coronavirus policy. Health departments in Riverside and San Bernardino counties did not respond Wednesday to requests for their protocols if grocery employees become infected with COVID-19. He’s also held reporting positions in Miami, Jacksonville, Detroit and his hometown of San Diego, with an emphasis on land use and urban planning. More on our COVID-19 response: How we are serving our customers How we are caring for our team members A drooling and pungent homeless man made double-dipping look like child’s play at a Midtown Whole Foods, grabbing from the hot food bar with his bare hands to stuff his bearded face. Whole Foods Market Adjusts Store Hours to Better Serve our Communities. We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is a critical one. Copyright 2020 Whole Foods Market IP. Amazon has committed an additional $1.6M to support the fund. We have increased the location and number of hand sanitizer stations available for use by shoppers and Team Members, including for shopping carts and checkout. Tension builds as high schools wait for state to decide if sports can return as scheduled, Chain Reaction, Anaheim’s all-ages concert venue, announces plans to close as supporters rally to save it, HOA Homefront: Who decides on the HOA colors? All stores will continue to offer an expanded selection of pre-packaged items and full-service chef case offerings. “We’ve closed our hot food and salad bars, but there are departments where food is being directly handed to customers, like the meat and fish counter,” the employee said. It refers to the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance to remain quarantined for at least seven days once symptoms appear and at least 72 hours after a fever has passed. An employee at the Whole Foods market in Huntington Beach has tested positive for the new coronavirus and is being quarantined. However, the state offers no instruction on what to do if a grocery employee becomes infected. We have increased funds available through our Team Member Emergency Fund, which is available to all Team Members faced with an unforeseeable emergency or critical situation. How we are serving our customersHow we are caring for our team members, How we are adjusting the operations in our stores. Whole Foods workers organized a May Day strike in protest of working conditions, and crowdsourced data compiled by employees alleges that four Whole Foods workers have died from Covid-19. He noted that store managers have not disclosed which department the infected employee worked in. The Whole Foods annual trends list is a return to normalcy, with some nods to the pandemic effects. Starting today, we’re implementing a number of temporary modifications to our prepared foods, restaurant and self-serve venues, including: Temporary closure of hot bars, salad bars, soup bars and self-serve pizza Assistant store manager Danny Garro said the store continues the more rigorous daily cleaning and sanitizing practices implemented after the coronavirus outbreak while an emailed statement from Whole Foods said the infected employee prompted “an additional cleaning and disinfection has been performed.”. This time there was hardly anyone in there. The salad and hot food bar at Whole Foods Market in Cambridge, Mass., sits empty on May 6, 2020. The health and wellness of our dedicated Team Members remains a top priority, and we’ve taken the following steps to support them during this time of uncertainty: All Team Members diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two weeks of pay. Fellow Whole Foods employees received news of the infection from a robocall Tuesday night, March 24. Recently, Whole Foods Market was named the top retailer for COVID-19 health and safety … Whole Foods Market ranked top retailer for health and safety measures. We have increased the location and number of hand sanitizer stations available for use by shoppers and team members, including for shopping carts and checkout. (example: if a store’s new hours are 9am-8pm, customers who are 60+ can shop starting at 8am.). Trader’s Joe’s has temporarily closed four of its stores — two in New York, one in New Jersey and one in Maryland — for cleaning and restocking after workers there tested positive, according to the supermarket chain’s website.