Everyone’s got to eat. When the pandemic hit the United States in March, it came as no surprise to the owners of Foodtown supermarkets that their business would be deemed essential, but they also knew that they would have to adapt to “a new normal” in order to maintain a safe operating environment for both their staff, and their customers.

 

They did their research, acted on their plan and little did they know, it would subsequently become nationally recognized, and is now an online model for similar businesses.

 

Noah Katz is the co-president of PSK Supermarkets which owns 13 Foodtown stores across New York City. The Katz family opened its first Foodtown in 1956. “We were lucky enough to be on a call with a supermarket company that operates in China,” Katz said, referring to the early days of the pandemic in March. “So, they told us everything they did, so we just did it.”

 

Katz said he purchased $30,000 worth of vitamins for his employees. “It worked,” he said. “They built up their immune systems, and we had very, very low instances of COVID in our company.”

 

But they didn’t stop there. “We put in all these precautions,” he said. “We were the first company in New York City to give out masks to our employees, we were the first company to give out masks to our customers, and we were the first company to put up plexiglass.”