Grocery retail research hopes to influence pandemic protocols

Assistant professor Eric Nost teaches in the department of geography, environment and geomatics, and is working with Emily Duncan to research whether the safety measures in place for grocery workers have been necessary or effective. CREDIT: ERIC NOST

ELENI KOPSAFTIS

It has been a month since Ontario declared its province-wide lockdown to be over, and as the province opens itself back up under the colour-coded zone guidelines, it’s been hard to keep track of just what is open and what isn’t.

However, throughout each lockdown and zone change, grocery stores have remained open for the entire pandemic.

Alongside workers in other essential services like health care, grocery staff have made up a substantial portion of those still interacting with the public since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, grocery workers have not been added to the priority list for vaccination. Assistant professor Eric Nost teaches in the department of geography, environment and geomatics, and is working with PhD candidate Emily Duncan to research whether the safety measures in place for grocery workers have

been necessary or effective.

“I was inspired to pursue this research because my mom has been a grocery retail worker for many years,” Duncan told The Ontarion. “As the pandemic started, these workers were put in vulnerable positions working with the public during such a hazardous time.”

Their research is funded by the University of Guelph COVID-19 Research Development and Catalyst Fund, and they hope to develop evidence-based recommendations for public policy and health measures for current and potential future outbreaks.

To accomplish this, Nost and Duncan interviewed 29 grocery store employees from several major grocery store brands in Guelph including Food Basics, Zehrs, No Frills, Walmart, Metro, and FreshCo.

Due to pandemic safety regulations, respondents were recruited through social media and all interviews were conducted virtually.

“Employees recounted how the supply chain was disrupted at

the very beginning of the pandemic with people panic buying, and they were able to describe what stores were out of and the process of dealing with these shortages,” Duncan said in regards to the research results.

“Additionally, workers recounted that while some people were very grateful to them for their service during the pandemic, there was also an increased level of tension within the stores. Workers had to take on new responsibilities to enforce pandemic protocols among customers and to increase sanitation levels in the store.”

U of G bachelor of science student Isabella Mangiapane recounts her own experiences as an employee at Longo’s Fruit Brothers Supermarket in Burlington, Ont., telling The Ontarion that the changes made to store operations in light of the pandemic have been nothing but beneficial and efficient.

“Even before the local legislation mandated the six foot social distancing rule and the wearing of masks in food retailers, the company I worked for made it a requirement for all team members and customers to follow these rules to be allowed to shop in the store,” said Mangiapane.

“Currently, these measures are still in place, along with hand sanitizing stations, the 50 to 100 person limit in the store at one time, and team member COVID screenings before the beginning of shifts.”

Mangiapane has been in the food retail industry since 2015, working during high school and over many summers.

“Working for a food retailer is part of being an essential worker in our communities, and im-

plementing these changes ensures we all stay safe and healthy, especially since we come into contact with various customers during our shifts,” Mangiapane said. “All transitions to new procedures were smooth, were implemented very quickly, and were met with a positive response from team members and customers.”

So far, Duncan and Nost’s research has determined similar sentiments from Guelph grocery workers.

According to Duncan, workers felt that capacity limitations, mask by-laws, the installation of plexiglass and directional arrows were important measures that made them feel safer. Generally, workers want these safety measures to be kept in place.

Online grocery ordering has also become crucial to the industry with services like Instacart becoming popular among Guelph shoppers.

Duncan and professor Nost’s research shows that many employees gained an additional $2 per hour between March 2020 and June 2020 during the “height of the pandemic.”

This raise has since been discontinued by all major grocery stores despite workers feeling “as though there is still an heightened level of hazards associated with their jobs during the pandemic,” said Duncan.

She states that even with the temporary increase in pay, many of these workers do not make a living wage in Guelph.

“I hope this research will help food retail corporations and policy-makers in Canada realize the importance of grocery stores in society and that essential workers deserve a living wage,” said Duncan. “Also that grocery store workers should be prioritized in terms of vaccination processes in Canada.”