In his daily COVID-19 press conference on Thursday, March 19, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine assured the public that the grocery supply chain is intact and anything missing from shelves is gone because of high demand and stores not having time to restock. It's not because America's toilet paper supply has been completely depleted.
I want to assure everyone that the grocery supply chain is going well. The food is not going to run out at the grocery store.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 19, 2020
To address those restock issues and increase their cleaning ability, many big chain grocery stores are adjusting and limiting their hours.
Kroger has updated its Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky store hours to 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
On Walmart's website, they note, "Starting Thursday, March 19, Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets will be open 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. until further notice. This will help ensure associates can clean and stock products. Stores operating under more reduced hours will keep current hours of operation."
Whole Foods Market has also adjusted its hours: the Kenwood, Mason and Hyde Park stores are all open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The grocer is also offering special shopping times for customers 60 and older.
As per their website, "Starting on Wednesday, March 18, all Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. and Canada will service customers who are 60 and older one hour before opening to the general public, under the new adjusted hours posted on the store’s web page." That means at local Whole Foods stores, those 60 and up can shop from 7-8 a.m.
Target is doing something similar.
On their site, they say, "Beginning March 18, all stores will close at 9 p.m. local time to allow even more time for teams to clean and restock store shelves. Also beginning March 18, Target will reserve the first hour of shopping each Wednesday at stores nationwide for vulnerable guests — including elderly and those with underlying health concerns. We are encouraging other guests to plan their shopping trips around this timeframe."
