Here’s How Trader Joe’s Is Keeping Their Grocery Stores Safe Amidst Coronavirus Fears

Isadora Baum
Isadora Baum
Isadora Baum is a freelance writer, content marketer, and author of 5-Minute Energy. She can't resist a good sample, a margarita, a new HIIT class, or an easy laugh. She writes for various magazines, such as Men's Health, Women's Health, Well+Good, LIVESTRONG, POPSUGAR, SELF,…read more
updated Mar 6, 2020
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As people in the United States take precautionary measures against the coronavirus, companies are also taking steps to keep everyone safe. This, of course, includes your favorite grocery stores. Trader Joe’s announced this week, according to Business Insider, that it’s changing how their employees will hand out samples to the public.

“Serve samples with a fork or spoon, so customers do not need to use their hands to eat the sample,” an internal memo at Trader Joe’s said. 

For starters, staff will be providing sample cups to customers who would like to try coffee, as opposed to leaving out a stack of self-serve cups for people to grab freely and serve themselves. 

And there are a few other safety measures that employees will follow to keep all equipment and food germ-free. Employees are instructed to use disposable wipes to wipe down surfaces throughout the day, and they will also clean all surfaces in the store that people could be touching on a regular basis. So, no matter the hour you’re shopping, you should be in a clean area that is free of possible contamination (as best as possible, of course). 

While employees are working at the cash registers, they will also use hand sanitizer to clean their hands throughout their shifts, too. So, they will have cleaner hands when you both are exchanging cash or for when they are putting your groceries in bags. 

What’s more, if any employee thinks they are feeling under the weather, they’ll be told to stay home until they have zero symptoms for at least 24 hours. And to make sure people actually do stay home when feeling sick, managers are allowed to reimburse employees for time off, so they’ll get extra sick and paid leave during this time.