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For the safety and well-being of the community, grocery stores nationwide have taken extra steps in ensuring their customers health through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food-A-Rama in Manteo has taken several measures to help better accommodate their customers during this time. Manager Dylan Swain said that after the virus began to encroach on eastern North Carolina, Food-A-Rama wanted to do their part in helping keep their customers – particularly those who are elderly and at-risk – healthy.

To help keep the public out of high-risk zones, Food-A-Rama is offering curbside pickup and delivery of groceries on Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Customers can spend a minimum of $50 to pick up their groceries curbside or spend a minimum of $100 and have their groceries delivered to their homes. There are no extra costs or fees associated with these services.

“We are encouraging customers to e-mail or Facebook message us with their grocery list so it is easier for our staff to print out and go shop,” Swain said. He added that Food-A-Rama is asking for customers to include substitutions on their grocery lists, just in case items are out of stock.

“Everybody’s been very happy and very understanding with everything,” Swain said. He noted that usually when people call in the morning with an order, the store can most likely have it ready by the afternoon.

As for the store itself, Food-A-Rama is operating on normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Swain said he has been notifying customers when the best time to come in and shop it to mitigate spread. “I tell customers that morning times are best times to come in,” he said.

Weekday mornings tend to attract less people in the store at a time, and therefore serve has a great time for older customers and high-risk individuals to come in and shop. “It helps eliminate contact,” Swain said.

To also help reduce contact, Food-A-Rama has installed plexiglass shield guards on all their registers to lessen face-to-face contact with employees. Swain noted that they are spraying down shopping carts every time they come with Lysol or Microban sanitizer.

“Luckily, we have hand sanitizer made by the Outer Banks Distilling company at every register, [for people to use] free of charge,” Swain said. There are signs at the registers and on the front doors encouraging social distancing by staying six feet apart as well.

For the time being, Food-A-Rama is limiting highly sought-after items, such as toilet paper and paper towels so that more customers can have access to these items.

For more information and updates, visit https://www.loc8nearme.com/north-carolina/manteo/food-a-rama-inc/2393972/.

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