Grocery sales drop, consumers reconsider how to shop after government shutdown
Grocery worker at Shop Fresh Food Market in Fordham says sales dropped during government shutdown.
Fordham grocery workers and shoppers told News 12 on Friday they are reconsidering how they shop.
The change in shopping patterns comes after the government was shut down for 43 days. The end of the shutdown was announced late Wednesday night.
"Definitely sales were down, so we were affected," said Ashley Molina, head assistant at Shop Fresh Food Market.
Molina has worked at the Fordham grocery store for four years.
She said the shutdown impacted the amount of customers they saw on the daily and even inventory.
"We kind of did lower our stock. Basically, everything stayed the same, just hoping that everything would regulate," said Molina.
The government shutdown also impacted customers. According to city data, 40% of Bronx residents rely on SNAP. The shutdown cut the federal aid, leaving families to stop going to grocery stores and find other means to survive.
"I had to budget...I went to a lot of food banks, a lot of pantry places," said a customer named Paula.
She said her SNAP benefits were restored and this time she was being more cautious of how she shopped.
"Before I would just get. I would come shop, get a good amount of stuff, but now I just shop by the day," she said.
Molina told News 12 despite sales going down over the last few weeks, "we did see a lot of improvements these two days."
