Grocery Worker Has Never Seen Shelves Being Emptied Like This

Michelle Lee, a cashier at a Safeway in Alexandria, Va., has kept working through this pandemic. In fact, she's been working harder than ever.

"My back is hurting a little bit, but I'm doing all right," she told NPR in March. "It's been really, really busy. The lines are really long. Customers are buying $200, $300, $400 worth of groceries. And it's constant. It's nonstop."

Lee says in her 32 years with Safeway, she's never seen shelves being emptied like they have been during this pandemic.

She wished more customers would be patient when they encountered shortages. Most are understanding, she said, but not everyone.

"A couple of the customers were upset, because we haven't had toilet paper and paper towels in over a week and they can't understand why they keep coming back and we don't have it," she said.

Still, Lee has felt the strain of extra work. "I feel like, sometimes, I can't do enough," she said. "But I've realized that I can only take care of one customer at a time."

And not working isn't an option.

"People have to eat," she said. "And so we have to be there."

Lee is particularly proud of the fact that workers like her have been designated essential during the pandemic.

"This isn't something they're going to forget right away," she said. "All of the people — the police officers, the nurses, the doctors, the grocery workers — I think they will remember for a long time that we was there when they needed us all the most."

Read more stories in Faces Of The Coronavirus Recession. [Copyright 2020 NPR]