PITTSBURGH — Some of the unsung heroes during the pandemic are the ones who made sure everyone had food and other essentials.
On this holiday weekend, we want to thank those essential workers who made sure we had what we needed.
From stocking shelves to chipped ham to checkout, grocery store employees have worked hard to keep us as normal as possible during a not-so-normal time.
With your contributions, we have surpassed $2 million in funds raised for @FeedingAmerica this past week! We have an immense appreciation for the work our regional food bank partners are doing & we want to thank you for your amazing generosity for helping make this happen. pic.twitter.com/eDrnOq2urL
— Giant Eagle, Inc. (@GiantEagle) May 16, 2020
“Initially as with most, there was panic buying that was going on. And whenever you can’t get your toilet paper you can’t get your sanitizer. It was just really showing empathy, and being transparent with people we’re getting trucks every day, said Giant Eagle’s Waterworks Market District store leader Jessica Shoben.
Shoben started at Giant Eagle 15 years ago. She said she’s proud of her 320 employees and how they worked through the pandemic.
“Days on end, weeks on end and months on end, just the way that everybody stuck together and just come in and work hard and harder every day,” said Shoben.
Giant Eagle is Pittsburgh’s own. It has 32,000 employees in stores here and in several other states. That includes adding staff to help with more curbside pickup.
You can customize your WPXI News App to receive alerts for stories like this one. CLICK HERE to find out how.
“We know that these have been scary times hard times,” said Giant Eagle spokesperson Jannah Jablonowski. “And honestly, they’ve been extremely busy times in our stores, so we could not really do what we do or keep our communities fed without the team members that show up to work without question.”
Among the essential workers swelled a new sense of pride, as they helped everyone keep essential goods on the table.
“Just connecting through being told about being an essential worker,” Shoben said. “I think was something that we all kind of realized together. And it does make you emotional because we weren’t thought of that way prior to this, but I know that everybody has a tremendous sense of pride having gone through this now and they really feel that what they do is important to the community.”
TRENDING NOW:
As a lot of people sought out essential workers to thank them, they wanted to thank the community for keeping them going.
“We had a guest that came in with bags of hand-sewn masks that they wanted to hand out to the team members,” Shoben said. “Guests come through the line that want to donate meals to the store so that the team members, eat something different other than what’s available in the store.”
Still, Shoben added, it was her team and its spirit that kept everything going.
“The team has been the cornerstone of everything that has made this possible. Times, they, they’re the glue that holds everything together. I’m thankful and blessed to be working with the people that I have on my team.”
© 2020 Cox Media Group