The New Normal: When checkout lines become the front lines

In the first episode of our new series, grocery store employee Erin Simmons adapts to the risks of being an essential worker.

Erin Simmons is a front-end manager at Central Market in Mill Creek, Snohomish County. Daily life at the store has changed since the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition to having new safety measures such as plexiglass at checkout stands and employees sanitizing carts, Simmons says the store's atmosphere feels tenser than before. 

Local supermarkets aren't typically thought of as dangerous places. However, during a pandemic, stores become front lines. Front-end manager Erin Simmons works at Central Market in Mill Creek, Snohomish County. She says grocery workers have always been essential, but now everyone else knows it, too. Customers continue to shop and people need to eat, casting everyday essential workers like Simmons into cornerstones of society who keep stores running safely.

 


Support for The New Normal is provided by Comcast. All news stories on Crosscut are controlled by our editorial team. Visit our about us page to learn more about Crosscut's editorial independence policy. 


 

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