In our area, Instacart handles home deliveries from the following stores: Fred Meyer, Safeway, Costco, Target, New Seasons and Petco.  Instacart is an independent contractor that allows you to shop at these stores online, then sends a “personal shopper” to fulfill and deliver your order. This personal shopper goes to the store, picks up everything on your list, and then drives it to you in their own car. How to begin:

• Go to https://www.instacart.com/ The opening page may be for a particular store, like Fred Meyer. To the left of your screen, click on a drop-down menu “STORES” and select the store you want.
• You will need to sign-up with Instacart, the process is very straight forward.
• Select the store you want and begin shopping Understand that Instacart has nothing to do with how the prices are set. Typically, you might have to pay a little more for most items through Instacart than if you were shopping in real life. NOTE: Some folks have found shopping on the Fred Meyer website (rather than on Instacart’s) is more user friendly. Instacart will still be delivering your items, the order is just done on the FM website.
• Instacart shoppers are shopping at the same stores as the rest of the American public. Which means, right now, lots of products may not be available. The app and website usually does a good job to warn you if something is low or out of stock, but know that you might not receive everything you request in your order. (Your total price will be corrected to accurately reflect what you did receive.)
• Delivery costs are typically about $10.00
• You can opt to have items left at your door
• You can choose a delivery day and time window
• ABOUT TIPPING: Tips are strongly encouraged. $5 or 20 percent of the total bill is typical but with everything going on right now, you may want to consider even more, if you are in the position to do so. Most people don’t want to leave their houses right now and your Instacart shopper might be taking this job because the money is desperately needed. Please, do what you can to support them.

Pros:

Very convenient,

Thorough online selection, close to what you’d find in-store

Ability to order from stores beyond supermarkets

Access to Costco even without a membership

Friendly personal shoppers and an easy ordering experience; shoppers are communicative if there are any issues or substitutions

Cons:

Can’t be too choosy particularly right now when some supplies are low

Prices vary from actual in-store prices, which means you could pay a premium (but not always).

Experience:

Reports from residents who have used Instacart are favorable. Personal shoppers seem to communicate very well via text.

We are all living through an extraordinary experience and one that changes daily. It is the hope of the CCC Emergency Preparedness/Public Safety (EPPS) committee to disseminate vital information to the community through our network of EPPS Captains. Please use any method at your disposal to spread the word.

The role of EPPS committee during this crisis is two-fold: 1. Encourage our residents to use trusted sources of information to learn best practices during this pandemic and then to USE THOSE BEST PRACTICES! 2. Share community information that might ease the burdens of our neighbors, particularly if we are quarantined or if they do not have access to necessities like groceries and medicines, while staying mindful of social distancing and protecting our own health.

TRUSTED INFORMATION:

Oregon Health Authority (OHA): https://www.oregon.gov/oha/pages/index.aspx

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/

Local news rooms are doing an excellent job with updated Oregon information.

COMMUNITY INFORMATION: This information is current as of 03/20/2020, be aware that things are constantly changing. As an example, as of this date home delivery of groceries, etc. is scheduled about 4 days out from the time of order. This is likely to get longer, so plan ahead!

HOME DELIVERIES: Home deliveries are available through Instacart for the following stores:

Fred Meyer, Safeway, Costco, Target, New Seasons and Petco. Details about how this works will be Posted next.  In the meantime, you can go to Instacart.com.

STORE PICKUPS: A number of local stores offer pickup services where you place an order online, select a time and pickup at the store. You will get an estimate of your bill when you place your order, you give them a credit or debit card number but the final bill may change due to weighed items, coupons, availability, etc. so when you pick up you need to present the card you used online. Another person can pick up your order but they need to provide the payment you used when ordering and valid ID for any age-restricted item. Please be cautious about sharing your credit/debit cards!!

RIDE SHARING: Caring members of our community have offered to drive people to the doctor or pharmacy: This is something we cannot recommend. The CDC advises us to avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis. Private vehicles can be used to transport people to the doctor but only by a primary member of their household (someone who has already been in contact).

Sandy Batte & Jerry Baker, Co-chairs

Since the health and welfare of our neighbors is of utmost importance, please note that due to the COVID-19 virus and the current rules around gatherings in groups, we have closed Rec Hall C to all activity at this time. 

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed when this changes.

Thank you for your support and understanding here.

 

Please note that your CHOA Board is looking for additional folks to join the Board.  We have some members whose terms have run out and we need replacements!

If you are interested or have questions, please contact Steve Chinn at schinno@gmail.com or 503-682-0234.

Thanks.