Supporting our Communities

At times like these, everyone is called on to come together and support one another. One of our highest giving priorities is providing food for people at risk of hunger. The best way to do this is by supporting local food banks that can provide food directly to people in need. Given the unknown duration and overall impact of this crisis, Wegmans has donated $4 million spread across all our partner food banks. We will continue to support our partners and adapt as needed.



Supporting our Employees

For more than 100 years, we have operated under the premise that we can only achieve our goals if we first meet the needs of our people. Never before has that been more important than right now. As a thank you to our employees who are working tirelessly to serve the needs of our customers, we are increasing their pay by $2 an hour during the months of March, April and May. We have long offered disability paid sick leave for all employees, part- and full-time, that is above and beyond all statutory requirements. Our COVID-19 disability paid sick leave goes a step further by offering employees a fully paid leave that starts on day one and eliminates the need for medical documentation from the healthcare provider. Our paid time off plans are more generous than traditional vacation plans and give our employees the flexibility to use the time how they choose, whether it’s for vacation, sickness, or caring for a family member. We’ve also made every effort to accommodate employees who are more vulnerable by offering them the opportunity to move into different roles. Our COVID-19 job-protected voluntary leave gives employees the opportunity to take time unpaid if they are uncomfortable being at work.

Employee Wellness Checks

As we strive to keep our stores a safe place during this uncertain time, we are now requiring employees to go through a wellness check before the start of each shift. During the screening, employees are asked to answer a few questions and get their temperature taken with an infrared thermometer. Anyone exhibiting symptoms, or with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, will be asked to go home (with pay) and contact their medical provider. Anyone who doesn’t have a doctor can take advantage of a telemedicine option for the care they need.

Customer Face Covering Mandates

Customers are required to wear a face covering while shopping in our stores in accordance with applicable local or state mandates. We are focused on complying with these mandates, while keeping the health and safety of our employees and customers a top priority. It is important to note that the mandates do not require a mask or face covering if it would inhibit or otherwise impair an individual’s health. In addition, we cannot question what that health or medical condition is or may be. Short of refusing entrance to our stores, we are doing everything we can to educate our customers and stress the importance of voluntary compliance to keep themselves and everyone around them safe.

We have several social distancing measures in place to minimize potential exposure. In addition, store management has been offering free masks to all customers they see not wearing one. For those who cannot wear a mask, we ask them to please maintain proper social distancing from others.

We are so appreciative that the overwhelming majority of customers who shop our stores are wearing masks. Thank you again for all of your support as we continue on this journey together.

Protocols for Employee Positive Test Cases

The personal health information of our employees is private. At all times, we strive to protect the identity of our employees and respect their privacy, while still keeping everyone safe as we provide a vital service to our communities.

If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, we thoroughly investigate each situation in partnership with the local health department, as follows:

A triage team of experts has an immediate, in-depth conversation with the employee to offer support, determine when symptoms started and with whom they had close contact. If needed, we’ll also review schedules, time punches, and in-store video footage.

We connect with any employees who are determined to be at risk for the transmission of the virus, take them out of work, and pay them through our COVID Disability Paid Sick Leave for the length of their quarantine.

We provide information to the local health department to confirm who should be quarantined and for how long.

If it is determined there is a risk to the general public, we will partner with the local health departments to alert our people and customers.



Health and Safety Enhancements in our Stores

To ensure a safe environment for all our employees and customers, we’re committed to going above and beyond what is required. We have enhanced our sanitation of high-contact touchpoints and increased the frequency of our everyday sanitation practices. Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the store and our cashiers are asked to sanitize their workspace and hands regularly. Plexiglas® shields are also installed at all our registers and will be installed in additional areas, as well. We encourage all customers and employees to be respectful of social distancing guidelines. To help, we’ve placed visual indicators at our registers and throughout the store. We are operating our stores at 15-20% of their maximum occupancy and have good practices in place to ensure we are staying within those limits. This is a company-wide initiative and something we’ve been enacting at the store level as needed.

Supply and Demand

Coronavirus is impacting the retail industry around the world. While the unexpected increase in demand has challenged the supply chain, we’re seeing it start to equal out, and are confident it will stabilize as long as we all prioritize our needs. We have placed purchase limits on categories that are in high demand, allowing us to meet the needs of as many customers as possible. Although we may not have every variety available, we are working hard to give our customers options in each category. We continue to receive shipments to our stores every day.

E-commerce

We’ve seen a tremendous increase in our e-commerce business and expect demand will continue to grow. All our stores offer online ordering via curbside pickup and delivery, and we encourage customers to continue taking advantage of these services. To keep up with the increased demand, we rolled out a new program with Instacart where Wegmans employees shop customers’ curbside orders using Instacart’s technology. Instacart shoppers continue to shop delivery orders. This program allows for more customer orders to be fulfilled on any given day.