With approximately 40% of grocery purchases in the region happening at Giant Eagle stores and Get Go locations, this chain plays a big role in the lives of Pittsburghers. A lot of us were raised on Giant Eagle groceries, and the five founding families who started the chain in 1931 still own and operate the company from our city. It’s a homegrown company with 460 locations in five states, and a gross revenue estimate of over $9billion.

Like nearly every organization in the region, large or small, Giant Eagle has been challenged by the COVID-19 crisis. An initial run on toilet paper and disinfectants was followed by a wave of hoarding of staple foods by worried consumers, and a hard look at what the company could do to protect employees and customers alike. This week, TABLE Magazine toured five Giant Eagle locations (one in the city of Pittsburgh and four in surrounding suburbs) to see how things are going in these unique times.

Our first, and most important observation is that the staff in all locations we toured deserves a resounding shout of thanks and praise. From entry to exit at each of the locations, an eagerness to help was in evidence. There was also warmth. Every time we asked a staff member how he or she was faring, a chin-up answer was immediately followed by a sincere “How are you and your family making it through?” A brief chat with a cashier in the express lane at a Cranberry location was just about the most reassuring exchange of our entire week.

On behalf of TABLE Magazine: Great job folks! You’re essential to the rest of us every single day, but in these exceptional times, we appreciate you even more. Thank you for doing what you do with such a positive flair.

The second observation concerns the chain’s awareness of sanitary conditions. At the entrance of two locations, a staff member greeted us and wiped off our cart handle. At the other three, staff were busy organizing carts but wipes were readily available, and we happily cleaned the cart ourselves. Salad bars, soup stands, and olive stations were closed in all locations. Butcher stations were shuttered, and only pre-packaged meats were on sale. Plexiglass barriers between customer and cashier were added to some locations.

Overall, the stores give every indication of leaning into the situation to greatly reduce contact between food and people, and people and people. There may be some room for improvement in the produce section, where packaging is of course not as strong a presence as in other parts of the store.

One of the reasons we did our survey was to address concerns expressed by some community members about stock levels. Let’s start this discussion of stock status with a blanket statement: THE SHELVES ARE FULL ENOUGH. A shopper might need to switch from Jif to Skippy, penne to shells, or Captain Crunch to Cheerios. He or she might also need to switch from the “family size” jar of something to a more petite package. As the old saying goes, let’s not sweat the small stuff. These are minor adjustments to our regular routines.

Yes, there are some shortages. One look at Instagram tells you that people are baking up a storm lately. How many loaves of bread have you seen? How many batches of homemade noodles? The scarcity of flour isn’t a surprise, with three of five locations completely out of stock. In the spirit of “can do” flexibility, we bought a box of Bisquick for our cathartic baking this week, and scones are on the horizon today. Whether the results are Instagrammable remains to be seen.

Ground beef was also hard to find, as were hot dogs, in most locations. Fans of a specific brand of ginger cayenne kombucha seem to have swarmed all locations. Once again: pragmatic flexibility in a crisis is a virtue, so we went home completely happy with chicken and a bottle of berry kombucha.

The hoarding of toilet paper and most cleaning supplies continues to be an issue. Shelves in these areas are bare.

We also looked at how folks are handling social distancing in public, because the grocery store experience is also about the customer. Bravo to Pittsburghers for remaining level-headed. As much as possible, people in the stores kept their distance, especially when waiting in line to check out. Quite a few were wearing masks, which seems to be a rising trend in spite of the less-than-clear public health guidance that they’re not helpful. Only one or two people were wearing gloves.

Watching customers throughout the day reminded us of the responsibility we all have in this situation. It is said that the best course of action is to assume that each of us has the virus and to take the precautions we would if that were true. Please read our tips for successful grocery shopping in the time of COVID-19 here.

We’d like to hear from you about your shopping experiences in these strange times. Follow TABLE Magazine on Facebook and Instagram, and send us messages, suggestions, and food photos. Let us know how you’re doing in the midst of the COVID-19 situation. We’re all in this together, and we’ll all get through it together.

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