Grocery stores and retailers in Kitsap County are joining those across the nation in setting aside special hours for senior citizens and those with special health needs to shop.

Safeway stores announced special shopping hours earlier this week in their Washington stores: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Safeway's Kitsap County locations are Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Port Orchard and Bainbridge Island.

“We are sensitive to the fact that everyone wants to make sure they have the items they need, and we also know that everyone wants their neighbors to stay safe and healthy, too,” Vivek Sankaran, president and CEO of Safeway, said in a press release.

Poulsbo's Central Market and Bainbridge Island's Town and Country will host a senior and at-risk customer shopping time from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Temporary hours for Central Market are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.; at Town and Country, they are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Other changes have been made at both locations to help ensure social distancing. Chairs and tables where people once gathered have been removed. Extra sanitization measures have been put in place and cleaning occurs more often. Unwrapped compostable to-go silverware has been swapped for individually wrapped plastic silverware for the time being. Personal coffee cups are also no longer being filled; single-use cups will be.

Walmart — which has locations in Bremerton, Port Orchard and Poulsbo — has adjusted its hours, and beginning Thursday, is open from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It has also announced that from March 24 to April 28, it will host a senior hour to accommodate customers over 60 one hour before the store opens.

Target in Silverdale has adjusted its hours and is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It allows a special shopping hour for vulnerable customers the first hour the store opens each Wednesday.