How can I most safely deliver groceries to my grandmother?

March 20, 2020 6:14 AM

I am planning on delivering groceries to my grandmother, who does not want to leave the house in this pandemic (for good reason - she is 84 and has lung problems). How can I do this as safely as possible? More info inside.

The options for getting to her apartment building are: transit, rideshare, bike ride. I will likely ride the bike unless someone tells me it is safe to do otherwise.

She will leave her car keys in the hallway, I will take the keys, do the shopping, drop the stuff off at her door (and the doors of some of her friends who are similarly staying indoors). I am keeping the car for the foreseeable future.

In terms of at the grocery store - what are my best practices? I have shopped for myself this week but haven't taken extreme precautions beyond wearing gloves and washing the gloves when I returned home.

Looking for any advice to make this process as safe as possible for my grandmother.

Thank you all,
Emily

posted by hepta to Human Relations (6 answers total)

Wipe the steering wheel etc. down when you’re done; don’t forget the keys too.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:19 AM on March 20, 2020

NEJM just published a letter that the virus was detectable on cardboard for 24 hours and plastic for 3 days. Based on that, we wiped down every package with chlorox wipes when we got home, and washed all fresh veggies right away. We used re-usable bags, which we washed on hot immediately after.
posted by mcgsa at 6:40 AM on March 20, 2020

I'm in one of the high risk groups. Here's what my family have done at the grocery store:

-bring wipes and your own bags
-wipe down the cart, especially the handle
-use a self-scanner, if available. wipe that down as well
-before you get back in the car, wipe down your hands

At some point they might start wiping down items with hard surfaces (cans, boxes, etc.) but we're not there yet. Honestly, I don't think it would be crazy to wipe stuff down for your grandmother.

(on preview, with the information from mcgsa, looks like we'll start wiping down cans and boxes now, too.)
posted by cooker girl at 7:02 AM on March 20, 2020

Separate groceries into things that need the fridge, and things that don't. The things that don't need the fridge can sit inside the door for 3 days. Stuff that needs the fridge gets wiped.
posted by theora55 at 8:27 AM on March 20, 2020

For items that have two layers of packaging (cereal, crackers, some frozen food, etc) I'm taking off the outer box.
posted by pinochiette at 8:47 AM on March 20, 2020

Wiping down packaging reliably is hard, so after the wipe down I'm putting them into clean bags, tying them, and then leaving unopened in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Also, leaving non-perishables to sit in the trunk of the car for 4 days may be easier/safer than moving them while possibly contaminated. I'm generally keeping some pantry staples in carintine going forward so I can offer them to whoever safely.
posted by joeyh at 7:09 PM on March 20, 2020