Program News

April 23, 1913 to November 8, 2020

Store to Door recently lost a cherished member of our community. Long-time volunteer Eleanore Rubinstein passed away November 8^th at the age of 107, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Matriarch to her large, close-knit family, Eleanore was an inspirational example of involvement.

Along with her Dachshund, Sophie, Eleanore was a regular fixture in the Store to Door office each Tuesday afternoon. Sophie, a Store to Door character in her own right, sat patiently in her own chair next to Eleanore if there was room, or curled in her lap if there was not. Since becoming a Store to Door volunteer in 2013, Eleanore gave more than 235 hours in service to Store to Door clients. She was a beloved fixture in the lives of the clients she took orders from, many of whom were younger than her. Eleanore was consistently recognized for her excellent volunteer work, receiving a Light a Fire Extraordinary Volunteer award, as well as being selected as Store to Door’s 2016 Volunteer Order Taker of the Year.

Eleanore volunteering with Sophie, her dog — Eleanore and Sophie in the Store to Door office, 2015

Eleanore and Sophie in the Store to Door office, 2015

In addition to her volunteer work with Store to Door, Eleanore regularly gave her time to the Red Cross, PTA, Girl Scouts, and the National Council for Jewish Women. In an interview with Store to Door in 2016, Eleanore spoke about giving others the benefit of the doubt: “Find the good in people. Everyone has good in them. It’s also important to make friends and keep them.”

Eleanore often acknowledged how lucky she felt for her life growing up in Portland (Irvington Elementary, Grant High School), her wonderful family, her ever-expanding circle of friends. Those of us who had the chance to get to know Eleanore through her involvement with the Store to Door community feel like the luckiest of all.

To read more about Eleanore’s life and legacy, her obituary is provided on The Oregonian’s site here.

Updated 2.24.21
COVID vaccines are becoming available, and in Oregon, nearly 560,000 people are either fully immunized or have received at least one vaccine dose. To assist the community’s access to accurate vaccination information, Store to Door, in partnership with the Madeleine Parish & School, can help our clients navigate the vaccination process. We can help Store to Door clients book an appointment and/or answer questions. For more information, contact Cassie Sorensen, our Program Director at cassie@storetodooroforegon.org, or follow this link to our Community Outreach Flyer.

While the COVID pandemic appears to be moving into a new phase that allows limited reopening of public spaces, Store to Door remains vigilant in protecting the health and well-being of staff members, volunteers, and the community members receiving our services. While we have not updated this page in a while, we continue to practice and require volunteers to practice proper mask use, social distancing and enhanced sanitation in our office, stores, and grocery deliveries.

Click to read our previous updates

Updated 12.7.20
On December 7th, Store to Door held an all-staff training on our COVID-19 policies and procedures, covering all topics required in compliance with Oregon Occupational Safety and Health and Administrative Rules AO 3-2020. Slides for this training are available here.

Updated 11.18.20
As we work to update our policies to minimize the potential exposure of our clients, volunteers and staff, we continue to monitor and reinforce the policies that we have outlined previously. This update is in response to the revised rules issued by the state that will be in place from November 16, 2020 – May 4, 2021. (available online here). The Store to Door Senior Management Team has reviewed the rules to ensure we are compliant with all rules and new requirements, including developing a staff training session. In both Fred Meyer shopping locations, we also operate under the policies of the stores (available online here).

In this update we want to underscore that we continue to promote and enforce Physical distancing. All employees and volunteers must maintain a distance of 6 feet or more to carry out their job and volunteer duties. We continue to evaluate our Office space and our workflow practices in the Fred Meyer stores to ensure social distancing and, where possible, minimize the time that employees and volunteers are working in close proximity.

We also want to underscore our longstanding practice of requiring the proper use of a mask as a face-covering. We require all individuals (including employees and volunteers) to wear a mask in our office, in our stores and when making client deliveries. Mask requirements include moving around the office for even simple tasks like using the restroom or using the printer. Staff, volunteers and drivers must wear a mask at all times in the stores or making deliveries. In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control guidance, the mask requirement includes children of volunteers who are two years of age or older.

If you are a volunteer with a medical exemption from wearing a mask, we welcome you to support our work as a volunteer from your home as an order-taker or making calls in our volunteer Friendly Caller program. For the health and safety of Fred Meyer employees, customers, our staff members, and our other volunteers, we cannot allow volunteers in the stores or as a driver without a mask, even if the volunteer has a medical exemption.

We continue our ongoing practices of cleaning and sanitation. Hand sanitizers are available both in the office and the two stores. We encourage all staff and volunteers to use sanitizer frequently. In the office, we follow the cleaning protocol at least once a day. Cleaning is a nonnegotiable for those of us in the office. We have assigned a list of responsibilities, and we are on a daily sanitizing schedule wiping everything down and cleaning the bathroom. We have revised cleaning practices to ensure that we comply. In the stores, we follow sanitizing practices by frequently wiping down equipment.

We have established a COVID-19 infection and notification process for staff, volunteers and staff members. If a volunteer or staff member reveals that they have tested positive for COVID, they are required to quarantine until their healthcare provider gives medical clearance. Oregon rules require to tell employees, and volunteers of the positive test if staff members or volunteers “were within 6 feet of a confirmed COVID-19 individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more.” If a client reports testing positive, we also have process to notify the drivers of a potential exposure.

Our practices have allowed us to increase the number of seniors and those with disabilities served, without interruption since the COVID Pandemic began last March. With the increase in the number of COVID cases, our Senior Management Team is doing all we can to be transparent and protect the health and safety of our clients, volunteers, and staff. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (503)200-3333. Thank you for your understanding.

Updated 9/28/2020

As Multnomah County continues to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, Store to Door monitors, and adapts our practices to ensure the health and safety of our staff and volunteers as necessary. In our office, we continue to stagger our staff schedules to maintain safe social distancing and have invested in technology to allow staff members to work from home effectively. Masks are required in the office when staff members or volunteers are close to each other. We also continue to practice safe-distancing and follow enhanced cleaning practices.

In stores, the use of hand sanitizers and the wearing of masks continue to be required for staff and volunteers shopping and delivering to seniors. Store to Door provides sanitizer and masks to those who do not bring their own. Thanks to the ongoing and generous donations from the Renaissance Foundation, our delivery drivers have access to KN95 masks.

We continue to follow a no-contact delivery model and have added a volunteer-driven friendly caller program to reduce the social isolation of the clients we serve.

Thank you for helping us stay safe and providing us ongoing feedback that helps us improve our safety practices!

Updated 06/25/20
As you may know, Multnomah County entered Phase 1 on June 19, 2020, and, along with Washington and Clackamas counties, will remain in Phase 1 for at least three weeks. For Store to Door, this means little change to our current operations. Staff and volunteers continue to practice safe-distancing and follow enhanced cleaning practices. The use of hand sanitizers and the wearing of masks continues to be required for staff and volunteers shopping in stores and delivering to seniors. Store to Door also provides sanitizer and masks to those who do not bring their own. We continue to follow a no-contact delivery model and have added a volunteer-driven friendly caller program to reduce the social isolation of the clients we serve.

The Oregon Health Authority recently issued a mandatory requirement to wear masks, face shield, or face coverings in public spaces. This mandate includes grocery stores. Store to Door already complies with this mandate. We have required all staff and volunteers to use masks since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its recommendation on May 1, 2020. A similar store policy governs the employees of Fred Meyer (see here).

Updated 5/21/2020
Recently, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury stated that it was “unrealistic” to expect that Multnomah County will be reopening soon. For Store to Door, that means we will continue to implement our safety procedures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. As you know, that means that we follow the guidelines of Centers for Disease Control, including maintaining social distancing and working remotely. For all volunteers and staff, we provide gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. We also continue enhanced cleaning in the office and making no-contact deliveries. Thank you for helping us stay safe and for providing us ongoing feedback that helps us improve our safety practices!

Updated 5/1/2020
Store to Door continues to take the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and clients seriously. We continue to adapt our prevention strategies to support the most recent recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and the Oregon Health Authority. The Centers for Disease Control has issued guidance that recommends the use of cloth face coverings or masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19 (see here). We understand that this recommendation is essential, “especially in areas of significant community-based transmission (CDC statement).” Store to Door is seeking to make face masks available to all staff members and volunteers, shopping or delivering.

We encourage volunteers to bring a face mask to their volunteer service and will attempt to maintain an adequate supply of masks on shopping days for use by volunteers. We will prioritize drivers for the distribution of masks. All other safety precautions, including social distance, the availability of hand sanitizer, and gloves, will continue.

Governor Kate Brown’s executive order 20-12 continues to underscore the importance of our grocery delivery services for homebound seniors and those with disabilities. Our program is still operational and needs community volunteers to help us meet the increased need for services by seniors most at risk for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Volunteers serving our program are delivering essential services to seniors, and are allowed under executive order 20-12. Please consider sharing your time (volunteer here) or resources (donate here).

Store to Door’s Response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Store to Door is a nonprofit agency that is a volunteer-based grocery shopping and delivery service in Portland, Oregon serving over 700 clients annually. We support independent living for seniors and adults with disabilities. Many of our clients are homebound or have limited access to the community. Because we are delivering groceries to a vulnerable population we are taking our role in preventing the potential spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously. In fact, because our program reduces the need for seniors to shop for groceries in stores, we actually prevent vulnerable seniors from potentially being exposed to the Coronavirus. Store to Door staff meets on a regular basis to ensure that we are taking recommended steps to protect the health of our staff, volunteers and clients. Our actions so far include:

1. In our office, we have implemented a mandatory stay at home when staff or volunteers are sick. We have also implemented an enhanced cleaning policy that includes daily, wiping down of doorknobs, counters, and keyboards as well as enhancing the cleaning of common areas and bathrooms. Signs about how to prevent coronavirus have been posted at our offices and information handouts are available to all staff and volunteers.

2. For the past two weeks, we have included an informational pamphlet about the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) developed by the Oregon Health Authority (see here) in all client grocery deliveries. We will continue to include these informational fliers in order deliveries to ensure that we reach all clients.

3. We are encouraging our order takers to work remotely from home for those volunteers seeking to reduce their potential exposure in the community.

4. When we take orders from clients, we inform them of our “no contact” or “limited contact” deliveries.

A no contact delivery is where the driver knocks on the door and leaves the groceries at the door (in paper bags). The delivery driver steps back 6 feet or more when the client comes to the door. The delivery driver waits while the client brings groceries into his/her home and the conversation with the client is at a distance of 6 feet or more.

A limited contact delivery is when both the client and the driver are comfortable with the driver bringing groceries into the client’s home leaving the groceries either at the door or on a counter in the kitchen according to the client preference. The delivery driver maintains a distance from the client and steps back outside of the home after setting down the groceries. The conversation with the client is at a distance of 6 feet or more.

5. For volunteer shoppers, we are working with Fred Meyer to monitor their company actions (see here) related to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). We require volunteers who are ill to stay home. We also encourage healthy volunteers to continue to support vulnerable seniors by shopping on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

We currently provide hand sanitizers and are also implementing social distancing strategies for staff and volunteer shoppers. If you can support us as a volunteer shopper contact Kelsey Hecker, at 503-200-3333 extension 108 or kelsey@storetodooroforegon.org

6. Store to Door staff is working closely with county government and community partners to coordinate additional prevention measures. We will update this bulletin as needed.

7. Finally, we are coordinating our actions with the Fred Meyer Stores where we shop to make sure that we are promoting the optimal health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and the vulnerable clients we serve. Please see the corporate policy of Fred Meyer for more information about the actions the stores are taking to prevent the spread of the virus (see here).

HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW

Volunteer to shop for groceries: https://storetodooroforegon.volunteerhub.com
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Volunteer to make no-contact deliveries to homebound seniors: email Kelsey@Storetodooroforegon.org
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Donate to support our work: https://storetodooroforegon.org/donate/

For more information about Store to Door’s response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), please contact Mark Fulop, MA, MPH, Executive Director (503) 200-3333 extension 101 or mark@storetodooroforegon.org