Items

• 
  2020-04-14

  Reflections of a Grocery Worker

  This photograph is a selfie photo from my time working at my local grocery store in Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA. I don't have many photos from this period that reflect the pandemic and my memories of it, but this photo represents the early days as the USA first began to adopt masking after the CDC realized that non-symptomatic spread was happening. Experiencing the pandemic through the lens of a grocery store was very interesting. It was a unique perspective for understanding different people's anxieties and doubts around the pandemic. It was also a strenuous place to be during the pandemic, having to constantly adapt to supply chain issues, worker shortages, and the mental strain of working in a likely unsafe environment. About a month into the pandemic I was asked to move from my home department of prepared foods, and help the grocery-stocking staff catch up with the unpredictable shipments coming in. Shortly after that, I was moved over to the front of the store to help keep count of the people in the store and encourage customers to use masks/hand sanitizer. I remember being met with a wide variety of gratitude, skepticism, resistance, and more--even including a lecture on covid as a conspiracy! At times, this role brought me anxiety as I saw news stories of door-people and security guards being killed or harmed for asking visiting customers to wear a mask. In a weird way, when I left my job to attend grad school at UMass Boston, I felt a bit of suvivor's guilt. Whenever I come home to Rhode Island, I hear that the folks at my old store continue to struggle even over a year deeper into the pandemic.
• 
  09/18/2020

  Lydia X Oral History, 2020/09/18

  The goal of this story was to capture a relatively normal COVID experience. This is not to say that this experience was not impactful. COVID has impacted all of us in small and big ways, and it's comforting to know we are far from alone in our experiences.
• 
  2020-05-14

  Local Diner Feeds Grocery Store Staff

  This Facebook post details how the Viriginia Diner donated lunch to the retail workers at Wakefield, Virginia's Great Valu Market. This post illustrates some of the ways in which the community of Wakefield came together to help one another in the pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-23

  House of Hope Food Pantry Donations

  This Facebook post by House of Hope Food Pantry in Wakefield, Virginia showcases some of the donations made to the food pantry following the outbreak of Covid-19
• 
  2020-03-31

  Pino's Pizza Offers to Feed Community

  This is a post made by Pinos Pizza, a pizzaeria in Wakefield, Virginia. Following the shortage in groceries across the country due to Covid-19, Pino's offered to feed anyone locally who was unable to secure groceries. Prior to the pandemic, there wasn't a single restaurant in Wakefield that even offered delivery. Regularly, these local restaurants aren't exactly full of business given how small the Wakefield community is. In some ways, the pandemic has forced Wakefield to somewhat modernize.