First, let’s give ourselves a little pat on the back — we’ve survived the first phase of confusion, worry, and being cooped up at home 24/7 in an attempt to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and COVID-19. Who could have thought social distancing is tough — not only because we no longer get to go to our favourite bars and restaurants, and meet our favourite people, but also because we now have to carefully weigh the pros and cons every time there is a need to step out of the house.
And we’re sure you’re worrying for all the people who have no choice but to step out and do work that requires doing so they can keep their homes running.
Let’s take a moment to thank all the delivery people and service professionals who are ensuring our lives can still keep running without disruption. We can stay home only because they’re making sure all our essentials come to us, right to our doorstep. Really, we need to be more thankful for their services.
It goes without saying that now is the time to exercise caution and a bit of restraint in everything that we do. One of the simplest ways to do is, not order individual items, but to order in large chunks, and collectively.
Even better, order from local grocers closest to you.
Why?
1. Interest Of Safety
For starters, local grocers can ensure that an entire area or route can be covered in a single delivery trip, unlike in the case of large chains that focus largely on getting products dispatched and delivered in the shortest period of time.
While that’s a great benefit in the regular course of life, at a time when we’re trying to keep community movement and physical contact to a minimum, it’s worth sacrificing a bit of convenience in the interest of safety.
2. It's The Same Guy Every Time
Social distancing works as a preventive measure against Coronavirus only when the entire community has as little contact with anyone exposed to or infected with the virus. So it’s better to have the same person making deliveries to you and your neighbours, rather than having multiple people do it, increasing the risk of transmission manifold.
3. They Understand Your Personal Needs
There’s something to be said about building relationships and trust. A grocer you have a relationship with is likely to understand the importance of your needs than someone you don’t know and who doesn’t know you. Your local grocer will know why you need sugarless crackers more than someone else because your family has diabetics, not the family three doors down.
4. You Know Them In Person
In times like these, when panic is making us look at every person as a potential carrier of the virus, it’s reassuring to know the people coming into our homes, ensuring the delivery of our basic necessities instead of accepting the guesswork and being in the dark as a necessary evil we have to put up with, because what’s the option, we need what we need, so we just have to make our peace with the fact that we have no way of knowing.
5. Can Be Traced Back
And finally, most importantly, if the worst was to happen and we were to get infected, it’s a lot easier to take immediate action for containment when it’s possible to account for all the people who you might have come into contact with!
Go on, now’s the time to build and strengthen your relationship with your friendly neighbourhood grocer!