At home grocery delivery option

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Staying at home has become the new norm for Indiana and Michigan over the past week as state officials have rendered stay at home order to try and help flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19.

As many people are being forced to stay home from their jobs and some are just afraid to go out in the wake of the pandemic, one online shopping site is seeing more foot traffic and customers than ever before!

This service is not only an option for those at home, but it is helping to support Michiana's local shoppers through payment and tips.

"There's a lot of good tips, customers, and it's just amazing with Instacart" says local shopper Lucas Hessey.

"55-years-old, it's a nice gig for those older folks, you know I did my 30 years in corporate America and got tired of it." says another local shopper, Douglas Boyd "This has been a nice side gig that pays my bills."

Instacart is an online grocery delivery service that is designed to save you a trip to the store.

You need to simply:

-Go online.

-Pick the store you are hoping to purchase from (Meijer, Kroger, Aldi's, Gordon Food Service, Costco, Sam's Club, etc.)

-Decide on what groceries you need and add them to your virtual cart.

-Finally checkout and pay online.

Next, the order is shipped out to local shoppers who are then able to choose to take your order depending on their distance to you and the stores.

Then, in as little as an hour, you could have your groceries delivered straight to your door.

While this can be extremely beneficial to those with immune deficiencies and the elderly, but those shoppers are still putting their health at risk.

However, both Instacart shoppers mention that they are happy to provide the service and are going above and beyond to help make sure that things are as sanitary as possible for both themselves and their customers.

Hessey has a mask and gloves in his car and Boyd has lysol spray and wipes to wipe down the carts, freezer door handles, and other items they come into contact with.

These measures are all useful especially due to the increase in customers over the past 2 weeks due to the coronavirus.

"I got 23 notifications about different matches coming through within 30 minutes of waking up this morning!" says Hessey.

If you do choose to go the personal shopper route, know there are several options available including carryout from the store themselves like Martins and other online options such as Shipt and DineIn Delivery Service.

No matter who you choose, this is another way to help support your local community.

Both Hessey and Boyd ask that customers remember that the shoppers are human and not miracle workers.

If stores are out of stock in certain high demand products, such as toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, and certain food items, they will stay in contact with you and do their best to find the closest substitutes and make sure you have all the food and goods you need.