Editor’s note: Mike Johnstone, general manager and vice president for Goodwin and Son’s Market in Crestline, asked that The Alpine Mountaineer consider doing a story about how the staff at the market has been working overtime to keep the community safe and fed. Rather than having one of our writers do the story, we asked Mike to tell you in his own words about what’s been going on behind the scenes and during store hours to help our community.

Our staff has been working nonstop to source and stock the shelves with products. Our first goal is to keep the community and our staff safe and second, get our customers the products they need.

This week we received the largest loads we have gotten since March 13. The staff is working tirelessly to put products on the shelves. Canned goods, pastas, breads, milk, tortillas, eggs, cheese, butter and most dairy items are coming in consistently now.

Our meat and produce department staff have been getting consistent loads during the past few weeks so we have been stocked up in those departments.

Our Service Deli is still making hot foods and salads daily and all foods are served to go. If you’re looking for a quick lunch or dinner idea, we can help.

The biggest issue we are having is with paper products. We have been getting multiple loads a week but, as soon as the product gets on the shelf, it is gone within a couple hours. The best time to get paper products is in the morning. We are pushing daily to find additional suppliers for products and have even started getting some hospitality suppliers to get us toilet paper. Hopefully we will be able to continue to grow our loads in this area.

We are still reserving the first hour of operation for seniors and anyone with a compromised immune system but the general public is welcome to come shop beginning at 8 a.m. We ask that all customers now come into the store wearing a face covering and respect the social distancing requirements of six feet from any staff or other customers.

Our weekly advertisement will be beginning again on April 22 as we have keyed in on some items we are getting consistently again so please keep an eye out for flyer. It will be available for pick up in the store only for the time being.

The Goodwin family is so grateful for the support of the community and cannot thank our staff enough for all of their extra work and effort during this time. Our staff is our greatest asset and we are so proud to see these heroes come to work on a daily basis.

We know this virus is wearing on the community and please know that our family and staff are here to give you a smile and some encouragement anytime you need it.

We are a very resilient community and we will all come out of this stronger than we were before.