2020 has challenged all Canadians in many ways, but none so much as the front-line workers, who have been just awarded the Nation Builder of the Year Award.
Food retailers and their frontline workers have done an incredible job continuously adapting as protocols shift and change in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging Canada.
After 10 months of “new normal,” Grocery stores and their supply chains have pivoted their services and built systems to help keep customers safe and serviced. Food suppliers from farm to table have been the centre of local communities for thousands of years, and the familiarity and trust they’ve always had has only increased. With 2020 nearly over, here’s a snapshot of everything the grocery industry has been through this year:
January
- 2020 began with single-use plastic at an all-time low
- Grocery delivery apps predicted to rise by 7% in the next few years
February
- Rumours of novel coronavirus begin to circulate in Canada
- Health Ministers suggests it might be time to stock up on essentials and medicine
- Amazon opens its first cashierless grocery store
March
- essential items like toilet paper, eggs, milk sold out
- hand sanitizer demand booms
- delivery service app downloads surge
- 80 billion dollar food service industry is virtually decimated
- CJR Wholesale one of the only grocery suppliers that does not run out of essential products
April
- Essential product supply gets reinforcement and shortages are replenished
- masks, plexiglass, new cleaning protocols, and limited capacity for foot traffic in grocery stores are standardized
- Physical distancing and enhanced safety procedures increase operation costs by 5%
- Hero pay officially implemented
- Some stores providing early hours to front line workers and seniors only
May
- Canada adapts to the new normal and all major grocery stores and their suppliers give up reluctance to plan for grocery delivery and adapted procedures
- Baking ingredient sales are at an all time high
- Terms like “contactless delivery” are normalized
- Prime Minister announces plan to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act and increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s (CDC) borrowing limit by $200 million
June, July & August
- Black-owned grocery businesses see rise in orders, investment
- Several major grocery titans remove Hero Pay
- COVID-19 cases hit supply chain in several sectors
- Data from grocery ecommerce shows massive development
- Livestock industry hit hard as many employees contracted the virus
- People take out “Covid Fatigue” on grocery staff
September
- Data suggest 700,000 Canadians have experience food insecurity since March
- Schools open and huge spikes in COVID-19 cases result
- Indigenous seafood suppliers experience acts of vandalism
- Grocery sales dip as restaurants reopen
- Tensions between suppliers and grocery stores grow due to increased fees
October & November
- Nova Scotia farmers receive 1.2 million to offset COVID costs
- Indigenous seafood suppliers begin negotiations with government to protect treaties
- Covid cases increase after thanksgiving gatherings
- Conversations around COVID-19 vaccine provide hope for Canadian businesses in every industry
- Some Hero Pay reinstated
December
- Second lockdown in Toronto & the GTA
- Restaurants are far better prepared than in March 2020 and have adapted their service offerings to meet grey zone criteria in Ontario
- Restaurants are required to close for the second time in 2020
What’s next for 2021? Leave your comments below.