Hy-Vee Provides Unprecedented In-Store Virus Protection

3/19/2020

Hy-Vee Provides Unprecedented In-Store Virus Protection

Over the next few days, all Hy-Vee stores will have protective windows (pictured) installed to limit contact between cashiers and customers, and reusable bags have already been banned, since they may be contaminated

In moves certain to be copied by other grocers, Hy-Vee Inc. is making further changes to its operations, to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

As of Friday, March 20, customers will no longer be allowed to bring in reusable bags until further notice, as it’s difficult to ascertain their cleanliness, and, over the next few days, temporarily window panels will be installed at checkouts at all locations to provide an additional layer of protection for employees and shoppers alike at the point in the store where they’re in closest contact.

The panels are already in place in Hy-Vee’s Des Moines-area stores.

“The spread of this virus is asking us all to take extraordinary measures and change the way we live our lives,” explained Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of the West Des Moines, Iowa-based supermarket chain. “We are continuing to adapt at Hy-Vee so that we can serve our customers and keep everyone in our stores as safe and healthy as possible.”

Hy-Vee is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 265 stores across eight Midwestern states. The company is No. 12 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.