Smith's Food & Drug is helping out the group most vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak, and offering special shopping hours for senior citizens.

Starting Wednesday, March 18, Smith’s will dedicate the first hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:00 am to 8:00 am, solely to the shopping needs of senior citizens until further notice.

Each store will have staff on hand to help those that need special accommodations, Smith's said. For all other customers, temporary store hours will continue to be 8:00 am to 10:00 pm until further notice.

Smith’s is also evaluating extending pharmacy hours to open earlier for seniors.

“Smith’s wants to provide these at-risk customers with the ability to purchase the items they need to avoid busier and more crowded shopping times,” said Aubriana Martindale, Smith’s corporate affairs manager. “We request that customers respect these hours for the health of our community during this time of uncertainty. We appreciate all of our customers for their kind consideration, whose concern contributed to our decision to provide allocated hours for seniors.”

Smith’s said it is also waiving the pick-up fee at the point of transaction, for online orders received curbside for customers whose verified age is 60 years and older through April 18, 2020.