We're All in this Together


As your local Grocer our business has always prioritized delivering the best experience for our customers. As we all are uncertain of exactly how the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation will evolve in our communities, we do want to assure you that it's our intention to continue operating our stores in a manner that you expect. At the same time, we are following guidance from federal, state, and local agencies, including the CDC and other health organizations. As things continue to change, please check back here for updates.



ALL CUSTOMERS AND VENDORS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR FACE COVERINGS:


Starting June 24th Harvest Market will require all Customers and Vendors to wear face covering when entering the store. In California the County Mandate went into effect on April 17th & in Oregon and Washington the Governors of both State now require everyone entering the business to wear a face covering effective June 24th. Please be kind and respectful to others, wearing a mask shows we're all in this together. 'Spread Kindness not the Virus'

ALL EMPLOYEES ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR FACE COVERINGS:


Starting April 18th Harvest Market will require all Employees to wear face coverings. Harvest Market encourages all customers and vendors to wear face coverings when entering the store locations, we are requiring that all individuals entering the Novato, CA location must wear face coverings as mandated by Marin County Board of Health. Wearing a mask shows we're all in this together. 'Spread Kindness not the Virus'


ONE CART = ONE CUSTOMER PER HOUSEHOLD:


Harvest Market encourages a 1 cart = 1 customer per household approach to help with social and physical distancing. Customers are asked to send only one person per household to the store to help maintain the allowable limit of people in the building. Additionally, it is recommended that individuals who typically enlist the help of others to complete their shopping should only send that person. We understand this is not a one size fits all approach and sometimes exceptions need to be made. But we're looking to everyone to do their part to keep everyone as safe as possible, and we appreciate your patience as we all navigate this unprecedented environment together.


ONE CART = ONE CUSTOMER PER HOUSEHOLD:


Harvest Market encourages a 1 cart = 1 customer per household approach to help with social and physical distancing. Customers are asked to send only one person per household to the store to help maintain the allowable limit of people in the building. Additionally, it is recommended that individuals who typically enlist the help of others to complete their shopping should only send that person. We understand this is not a one size fits all approach and sometimes exceptions need to be made. But we're looking to everyone to do their part to keep everyone as safe as possible, and we appreciate your patience as we all navigate this unprecedented environment together.


TEMPORARY HOLIDAY HOURS:


Harvest will also offer temporary holiday operating hours on Easter, April 12. Stores will be closing early for the evening.


PROTECTIVE BANDANAS & EYEWEAR FOR ASSOCIATES:


Customers may begin seeing some of our store Associates wearing bandanas and/or protective eyewear. While these provided tools are optional protective measures, Harvest is strongly recommending that individual's use these items to help protect themselves as they are working in our stores. The CDC has recommended the use of bandanas when masks are not available (currently N95 respiratory masks have been prioritized for hospitals and first responders). Associates also have the option to bring wear their own mask as well.


CUSTOMERS ASKED TO LIMIT ONE SHOPPER PER HOUSEHOLD:


To help with social distancing, we are encouraging Customers to only send one shopper per household to the store. Unless necessary, Customers should consider leaving additional family members at home. We suggest planning ahead by having members of your household contribute to the grocery list so one individual can make the trip. We will continue to work toward having the food and supplies stocked on our shelves for everyone on the list.


REMINDER TO SOCIAL DISTANCE:


Signs have been placed as visual cues throughout stores to serve as reminders to social distance. The recommendation from the CDC is to keep six feet of distance between yourself and others.


EXTRA BONUS FOR EXTRA EFFORT:


Harvest is announcing a bonus program to compensate Store Associates, who work directly with customers, who have been working tirelessly, and with great dedication, during the quickly evolving COVID-19 environment. As new protocols are created, Associates have ramped up efforts not just around cleaning and sanitizing our stores; but also keeping our shelves stocked to the best of our ability. This effort isn't going unnoticed. Harvest wants to recognize and thank our Associates for their extraordinary commitment. Even during these uncertain times, they continue to remain focused on serving our customers.


Store Associates bonus program, which includes:


  • $2 premium per hour for regular hoursThe bonus program will be calculated based on hours worked starting March 15 and will stay in effect for the next 4 weeks and reviewed until this extraordinary workload is reduced.


VULNERABLE SHOPPERS HOUR:


We are modifying our special shopping hour to include all who are considered high-risk for coronavirus (COVID-19), due to age (60+), weakened immune system, disability or pregnancy. We welcome you to join us for a “Vulnerable Shoppers Hour" from 7 am - 8 am on Tuesdays & Fridays. All other shoppers, please help us protect our most vulnerable by allowing them to shop during this time. General public hours of operation are 8 am - 9 pm daily with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday, until further notice.


REMINDER TO SOCIAL DISTANCE:


Signs have been placed as visual cues throughout stores to serve as reminders to social distance. The recommendation from the CDC is to keep six feet of distance between yourself and others.


CHANGES AT OUR CHECKOUT:


Starting Monday, 3/23, Harvest shoppers will begin noticing a difference at checkout lanes as we begin to install plexiglass partitions at the registers. This is an effort to create a safer environment for customers and Associates during the coronavirus pandemic. The partitions are an added safety measure to go "above and beyond" the practice Harvest Associates are already operating under, which includes sanitizing commonly used areas more often, including cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, conveyor belts, and door handles. The installation will be complete by Tuesday, 3/28.


OUR STORES ARE OPEN:


As stay-at-home orders go into effect, Harvest locations will continue to remain open. We are an essential business and will maintain our current hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. depending on location.


NO RETURNS, REFUNDS OR RAINCHECKS:


In light of numerous unknowns surrounding the transmission of COVID-19, we cannot ensure the safety of items that have left our store. As a result, we are unable to accept any returns or issue refunds at this time. Additionally, due to supplier shortages on items, we cannot guarantee advertised specials will be in stock and will no longer be offering rain checks. We appreciate our customers' understanding as we work to maintain a safe and well-stocked environment for both our shoppers and Associates.


REUSABLE BAGS:


Beginning March 20th, we are asking customers to leave their reusable grocery bags at home. Our Associates will be packing customer purchases in single use paper or plastic bags. Unfortunately, any reusable grocery bags brought from home will not be used.


AVAILABILITY OF GROCERIES:


Please be advised that we are experiencing delayed deliveries from our distributors. We are doing our very best to keep our shelves stocked to meet the needs of all shoppers. Unfortunately, we are unable to guarantee that the orders will be delivered, unpacked and begin restocking by 7 a.m. throughput the week. Thank you for your ongoing patience.


TEMPORARY ASSOCIATES NEEDED:


Harvest Market has an immediate need for Retail Associates to work in a variety of departments and roles!


ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONS & SAFETY MEASURES:


For the safety of our customers and associates, we are implementing additional precautions to the steps we've always taken to provide you with a safe and clean shopping experience. Here are some of the increased measures to ensure the safest possible shopping and working environment:

  • Sanitizing commonly used areas more often, including cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, conveyor belts, and door handles.
  • Providing our customers with free disinfectant wipes at our store entrances to sanitize their shopping carts or baskets.
  • Offering hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, and convenient access to bathrooms for hand washing for both associates and customers.
  • Communicating with our associates to follow precautionary measures, such as avoiding touching their eyes, nose, and mouth; exercise appropriate controls when sneezing or coughing, and wash their hands frequently to avoid transmission of germs.
  • Above all, we have asked our associates not to report to work if they are experiencing flu like symptoms or a cough, fever, or shortness of breath.


SELF-SERVE ITEMS (Salad, Soup, Olive Bars & Sampling Stations):


The health and safety of our customers and associates is our priority. We have closed the self-serve areas in our stores. This includes the soup bar, salad bar, and olive bar. Hot items will be available from our full-service Kitchens, including most of your favorites are offered on a to go basis. Many items area available pre-packaged in our Cheese cases and Grab & Go cases.


KEEPING ESSENTIALS ON THE SHELVES:


We are diligently working with suppliers to ensure that the food, medicine and cleaning supplies are reaching our stores as quickly as possible. Additionally, to maximize the opportunity for customers to have access to certain items, we have taken the precautionary step to limit the number of cleaning, sanitary, and paper products per order.

To Our Valued Customers,


Over the past few weeks with so many of you visiting us to stock up on food supplies to keep your family healthy and safe we want to make you aware of extra safety precautions we are taking amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.


The health and safety of our customers and staff are our first priority.


Alongside our day to day cleaning practices we have increased cleaning of all areas you and our staff come into contact with on a regular basis. Cashiers have been instructed to wipe down all checkstand common areas on a regular basis with disinfectant. This includes all credit card processing terminals, pin pads & stylus.


We have suspended all passive samples and food bar stations until further notice. All staff has been instructed to stay home if they are not feeling well.


We are working hard to ensure we have the products you need to stay safe and healthy during this time and are doubling orders of high demand products. This also includes limiting items that are high demand so that everyone that needs these items can have access to them.


We appreciate your patience during this time and want to ensure you that we are doing all we can to provide you a clean and safe place to shop.


Thank you,


Jeff O'Neal, Company President


Staff Members & Store Directors


We are modifying our special shopping hour to include all who are considered high-risk for coronavirus (COVID-19), due to age (60+), weakened immune system, disability or pregnancy. We welcome you to join us for a "Vulnerable Shoppers Hour" from 7 am - 8 am on Tuesdays & Fridays. All other shoppers, please help us protect our most vulnerable by allowing them to shop during this time. General public hours of operation are 7 am - 9 pm daily with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday, until further notice.


Due to high demand, all stores will be open and operating from 7 am - 9 pm daily, with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday until further notice. We appreciate your patience as we adjust our hours, so we can restock items and continue to clean our stores thoroughly to provide you a safe and enjoyable shopping experience. Sign up for emails to get the latest updates from our Markets.


Unfortunately, we don't have online ordering or delivery in place, and we are unable to implement it at this time. If you are age 60+, we welcome you to join us for a "Vulnerable Shopping Hour" from 7 am - 8 am every Tuesday & Friday. Current hours of operation for the general public are 7 am - 9 pm daily with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday. If you are otherwise at high-risk or are immobile we encourage that you have a friend or relative shop for you. Please limit individuals in the store to one family member at a time whenever possible.

We are doing everything possible to refill our supply chain, so we are asking our customers to limit their purchases to only what is needed. To discourage over-purchasing of products, we are temporarily suspending our refund policy. If you have purchased more items than you need or want, please consider donating them to community organizations or neighbors who may be struggling to find what they need. We want to gently remind everyone that we are all in this situation together as a community.


Unfortunately, we don't have online ordering or delivery in place, and we are unable to implement it at this time. If you are age 60+, we welcome you to join us for our Vulnerable Shopper Hour from 7 am - 8 am every Tuesday & Friday. Current hours of operation for the general public are 7am - 9 pm daily with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday. If you are otherwise at high-risk or are immobile we encourage that you have a friend or relative shop for you.
If you are considered high-risk for coronavirus (COVID-19), due to age (60+), weakened immune system, disability or pregnancy, we welcome you to join us for a “Vulnerable Shoppers Hour" from 7 am - 8 am on Tuesdays & Fridays. All other shoppers, please help us protect our most vulnerable by allowing them to shop during this time. General public hours of operation are 7 am – 9 pm daily with exception of 8 am on Tuesday & Friday, until further notice.
The health, safety, and well-being of our staff is our top priority, and we are especially sensitive to the needs of our employees during this time of emergency. Harvest Market provides paid-time-off benefits, and we are working with our teammates on a case-by-case basis to help ensure they have the support they need if they do miss work due to sickness.
We have open positions at several of our Markets, and we're always seeking new talent. Please visit our Employment page to learn about current job openings and to apply.
The industry is experiencing an unprecedented demand on cleaning, sanitizing, cold and flu, and health and wellness products. Like many retailers, we are currently unable to source many of these items. There is also a global shortage of hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol. Some naturopathic and supplement-based wellness products are also in increased demand – our buyers are working diligently to source more. If you are unable to find what you are looking for please ask one of our staff members to recommend a substitution. We are asking customers to limit their purchase of high-demand products. We've placed signs throughout our Markets to indicate items that are in short supply.
All departments are currently open and operating, but we've had to make some adjustments:
Self-Serve Areas: We have closed the self-serve areas in our stores. This includes the soup bar, salad bar, and olive bar. Hot items will be available from our full-service Kitchens, including most of your favorites are offered on a to go basis. Many items area available pre-packaged in our Cheese cases and Grab & Go cases.
We have a Response Management Team in place, made up of corporate leadership and others, to oversee and manage the current situation, as it pertains to our Markets. The team is meeting regularly to expedite solutions to ensure the highest level of safety for our customers, employees and vendors. Here are some of the many steps we're taking to protect our customers, employees and vendors:
  • In addition to our already rigorous cleaning practices, we've added more hand sanitizer stations throughout our Markets, as well as making single use gloves available & shopping cart wipes.
  • We have removed all passive sample stations from our stores.
  • At our Oregon location as directed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), Harvest Market will not be accepting bottle and can returns until further notice.
  • The temporary action does not effect the open hours or use of the Bottle Drop 'green bag' station.
  • To discourage over-purchasing of products and for safety reasons, we are temporarily suspending our refund policy.
  • We are staying in touch with the CDC, State and Local Health Authorities and industry resources to ensure we have the latest information to help us make the best decisions.
  • Staff members have also been communicated with to help make sure that all of our preventative measures are being carried out.