Temporary Actions For Grocery Stores, Supermarkets And Farmer’s Markets

By Office of Mayor Alan Webber

In order to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 in places where people shop the Mayor announced certain safety requirements and suggestions for businesses.  Customers are also asked to follow additional safety recommendations while they shop for food and essential household goods, including wearing a mask (a cotton mask or a scarf), observing 6 feet social distancing and limiting trips to the store to once a week.

Below is a summary of the latest requirements and recommendations; for more details and a copy of the order please visit santafenm.gov.

Stores shall:

·        Be allowed to provide single-use plastic bags without charge or penalty

·        No longer allow re-usable bags brought in by customers

·        Disinfect handles of all shopping carts and baskets in between uses or provide customers access to disinfecting options

·        Provide disinfecting wipes, as available, at cash registers and other high-touch points in the store

·        Provide, as available, alcohol-based sanitizers in the store for customer use

·        Sanitize frequent touch-points in the store throughout the day

·        Discontinue all self-service salad bars, self-service food stations, including bulk food stations, and product tasting or sampling stands

·        Follow the Center for Disease Control’s cleaning guidelines

·        Implement procedures to ensure that both customers and employees remain at least six (6) feet apart, including “social distancing lines” that begin six (6) feet from checkout counters; and monitor social distancing and assist customers in practicing social distancing in the store

·        “Meter” the number of customers in the store at any one time, limiting the number to no more than thirty percent (30%) of the facility’s listed fire capacity

·        Mark off six (6) foot distances between waiting spaces where lines form, both inside and outside the store

·        Provide exclusive hours for self-identified high-risk populations and limit entrances during those special shopping hours to twenty-five percent (25%) of maximum occupancy levels

·        Permit employees to wear masks and gloves if employees wish to do so

The City is also advising customers to take the following actions:

·        Limit the persons from a household who visit supermarkets and grocery stores to as few as possible (the recommendation is a single person, if possible)

·        Limit the number of trips to grocery stores and supermarkets to as few as possible, and no more than one per week, considering the size of households

·        Not hoard items, by purchasing only what is needed for a period of up to two weeks at a time, or as further limited by the State’s Orders

·        If the grocery store or supermarket has not already done so, wipe down shopping carts upon arrival and departure, using disinfecting wipes, as available

·        Wash hands before leaving home and after returning from shopping

·        Observe proper social distancing of at least six (6) feet of space between shoppers while shopping inside the grocery stores and supermarkets

·        Wear masks and gloves, if feasible, while in grocery stores and supermarkets

·        Cooperate with grocery stores’ and supermarkets’ social distancing and cleanliness standards to promote social distancing and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus

“I want to thank the employees of the City’s grocery stores and supermarkets for their service during the COVID-19 Emergency and recognize them for their important role keeping open the lines of essential supplies to our residents.” Said Mayor Webber.

For the purposes of this Order, “grocery stores and supermarkets” means retail businesses that primarily sell food products to the public and includes farmers’ markets.