The struggle for groceries continues amid COVID-19 pandemic as delivery services become more relied on

BEDFORD, Mass. — The Winnett family of Bedford have relied heavily on grocery delivery services since welcoming their baby, Emerson, in early March. Ordering has become a daily challenge because of the demand from services like Instacart, Mercato, and Peapod and changes to their services.

“It’s been frustrating, I have a newborn baby at home and so we are already kind of tired and doing the best we can,” said Mariana Winnett.

Her only way to get goods delivered is to cycle through four apps, repeatedly day and night, with hopes of booking one of them.

“It would be helpful if they hired more people,” Winnett said.

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Instacart tells Boston 25 News it has hired over 150,000 additional full-service shoppers and has taken dozens of other steps to handle the added demand. The company added that customer order volume us up 300% year-to-year and customers’ basket size has increased 25% month-over-month.

Should an emergency arise, the Winnett’s can get to a store, but to keep their family safe and avoid exposure to anyone with coronavirus, they have avoided them.

For those like 37-year-old Scott Hartmann, who is blind, visiting a store is not an option. He’s a Bostonian who says he had to leave his North End apartment and move in with his parents in Sandwich.

“My mom has to go get groceries and she has a heart condition so I'm risking the life of my mom, who is a senior citizen, for my own health, which really isn't necessary,” Hartmann said.

Hartmann says people with disabilities rely on grocery deliveries. He cannot go to a grocery store and socially distance himself from others, and he relies on someone to help select each item.

“The independence and dignity of living as a disabled person is gone,” Hartmann explained.

He has complained to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination [MCAD] as well as Governor Charlie Baker’s office. Boston 25 News contacted both offices.

MCAD responded with the following statement:

While the MCAD has received some Complaints based on discrimination related to COVID-19, at this time the agency does not have any data related to grocery delivery services for seniors or for people who identify as a person with a disability. In order to establish an age discrimination case in a place of public accommodation, a person would need to show they are 1) a member of the protected class (40 years old or older) and 2) they were denied services or access based on their protected class (their age, in this instance) and others outside of their protected class were treated differently.

Boston 25 News also called or emailed representatives for Big Y World Class Markets, Shaw’s, Stop & Shop, and Instacart.

On Wednesday, April 15, Stop & Shop’s Peapod delivery service said they were unable to assign time slots for orders and that deliveries are extremely limited. They also announced that they have suspended pickup ordering.

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A spokesperson for Big Y said the company is focused on customer needs and because of that made no one available to answer questions about its grocery services.

“Right now, our top priority is focusing on serving the needs of our customers and employees,” said Marcie Rivera, a public relations representative for Wegmans.

Stop & Shop declined comment and Shaw’s referred inquiries to Instacart. When we attempted to place an order through Instacart at Shaw’s, there were no times available for deliveries or pickups.

Boston 25 News emailed Gov. Charlie Baker’s office, which did not immediately respond. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said they would look into the issue.

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