LAKEWOOD, Colo., March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In the midst
of the coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented time in which
grocery stores are more essential to the wellbeing of their
communities than ever before, Natural Grocers is taking a number of
steps to thank its good4u Crew for providing essential support to
the communities in which it operates.
As a thank you and in recognition of their ongoing support of
these communities, in addition to the 2 weeks of paid leave for
Crew who need it and other benefits that have implemented, Natural
Grocers is offering the following benefit:
- Providing $1 per hour raise to
all hourly Crew starting the pay period of March 23.
- Paying a discretionary bonus to all Crew.
"We are living and working in extraordinary times and the news
regarding the coronavirus pandemic is confusing, worrying and
unfortunately driving uncertainty and fear. During these times, it
is even more important that we support each other and acknowledge
each other for being there for our communities and each other,"
explained Heather Isely, Natural
Grocers Executive Vice President. "As this crisis continues
to unfold, we are using our Five Founding Principles to guide us as
we navigate how to serve the public and our Crew and one of our
Five Founding Principles is our Commitment to our good4u Crew. We
greatly appreciate the hard and dedicated work that our teams have
put in over the last weeks."
Previously Natural Grocers announced company updates, which
include:
- All 157 Natural Grocers stores will be closing at 7:35 p.m., until further notice, so that good4u
Crews can restock and thoroughly clean their stores. All stores
will open at their normal posted times. These new closing hours
will remain in effect until further notice.
- Actively hiring temporary full-time stocking and cleaning
positions at all 157 stores, located in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho,
Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah,
Washington and Wyoming.
-
- To apply for the temporary stocking and cleaning positions,
visit www.naturalgrocers.com/temp-work or Text "GROW" to 97211 to
talk with a recruiter.
- Providing up to 2 weeks of paid leave to all good4u Crew (both
full-time and part-time) if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 or if
they are placed under mandatory quarantine by public health
authorities.
- Additional pay replacement may be provided for up to an
additional 12 weeks under Natural Grocers short-term disability
benefit, if a Crew member is unable to return to work after the
initial 2 weeks.
- Rescheduled grand opening dates: The Green Valley Ranch, CO,
previously scheduled for March 25
will now open on May 5 and
Cedar City, UT, previously
scheduled for April 11 will now open
on June 3.
- All in-store nutrition education classes and recipe demos have
been canceled through May 1.
- All product samplings have been eliminated.
- All on-tap Kombucha stations have been closed through
May 1.
- All testers have been removed and will replaced with new ones
once the pandemic has abated.
To locate the closest Natural Grocers store, visit the store
directory. For customers who may be feeling ill, home delivery is
available at most Natural Grocers locations through Instacart.
About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
Natural
Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC; NaturalGrocers.com)
is an expanding specialty retailer of organic and natural
groceries, body care products and dietary supplements. The company
offers a flexible, neighborhood-store format, affordable prices and
free, science-based nutrition education programs to help customers
make informed health and nutrition choices. Founded in Colorado in 1955, Natural Grocers has more
than 3,500 employees and operates 157 stores in 20 states.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/natural-grocers-thanks-its-good4u-sm-crew-with-additional-benefits-301026335.html
SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.