28 | AUGUST 27 • 2020 

T

hough Michigan con-
tinues to grapple with 
COVID-19 cases this 
summer, essential workers in 
the Jewish community have 
been breathing a sigh of relief 
over the past few months.
Many grocery store workers 
find working conditions to 
be more tolerable since April, 
when the pandemic was at its 
worst.
Joe Montgomery, general 
manager of Johnny Pomodoro’
s 

in Farmington Hills, recalled 
some of the hardships the 
market suffered when the 
pandemic first hit Michigan in 
mid-March.
“Our whole business model 
had to change. Sales were 
down, and everyone was stay-
ing at home,
” Montgomery said.
To adjust to the “new nor-
mal,
” Montgomery said the 
store began to limit ordering of 
less popular grocery items and 
embrace social distancing poli-

cies as customers were required 
to stand at a 6-foot distance in 
grocery lines. As a result, he 
said the store is slowly getting 
back to operating at a normal 
capacity.
“Supplies constantly out of 
stock, like cleaning wipes, alco-
hol and hand sanitizer, are now 
back on our shelves,
” he added.
Montgomery said workers 
have a cleaning schedule to rou-
tinely sanitize surfaces to min-
imize the chances of spreading 
or contracting the virus. 
But not every store has taken 
the same precautions. Jordana 
Wolfson, who picks her grocery 
shopping times carefully, said 
she’
s gone to another market in 
the area that isn’
t making the 
same effort to keep workers and 
customers safe.
“The market in my area 
needs to take some of the same 
precautions that larger super-
markets like Kroger take. They 
need to put up plexiglass for the 
cashiers who deal with so many 
people on a regular basis. They 
also need to sanitize the shop-
ping carts. This will save lives,
” 

Wolfson said.
Even though coming to 
work daily has been a risk 
for Montgomery, he remains 
dedicated to his job despite 
concerns about contracting the 
virus.
“Our job in the grocery store 
is essential. We must meet the 
needs of the people in our com-
munity,
” he added.
In fact, his dedication 
and tireless efforts have not 
gone unnoticed by Johnny 
Pomodoro’
s customers. 
Recently, customers designed 
and posted a banner for 
Montgomery and the grocery 
store workers which read, 
“Thank You, Grocery Store 
Heroes.
”
Montgomery is also pleased 
that most of his customers 
have been complying with the 
governor’
s order requiring all 
Michiganders to wear face 
masks or cloth coverings over 
their nose and mouth.
“Wearing a mask is one of 
the ways that we can protect 
each other during this pandem-
ic,
” he added. 

toward November with the 
hope this will become a 
statewide initiative with our 
hospital leading the crusade.
“We thought patients 
might feel like their health 
was their priority, not cast-
ing a vote,” Schavrien said. 
“But after spending time 
with them, we saw just how 
important this was. Once we 
understood what a difference 
this made for our patients, 
we vowed to commit to 
doing this for every election 
moving forward.
 “As we know, voting is not 
only a right but a responsi-
bility,” she continued. “With 
the uncertainty of what the 
future holds, any and every 

opportunity to make this 
happen needs to be explored.
“Both Erin and I feel very 
strongly that every person 
should be granted the oppor-
tunity to exercise their right 
to vote should they choose 
to. As far as public health is 
concerned, with the possibil-
ity of mass hospitalizations 
come fall, the vote-by-mail 
option would certainly help 
to support this right.”
Whether it’
s nursing or 
social action, Schavrien cred-
its the inclusivity, forgiveness 
and acceptance in Judaism 
with keeping her centered in 
all she does.
“What resonates with me 
from my Jewish teachings 

is the humanistic quality 
I grew up with at Temple 
Israel,” she said. “This 
is something I strive to 
live by — understanding 
people as people first and 
patients second.
“There’
s so much that’
s 
been rewarding through-
out my career, I’
m almost 
immune to the feeling 
of reward,” Schavrien 
said. “Sometimes I take a 
step back to observe my 
actions, and I do feel a 
sense of accomplishment. 
I’
ve had a great run, and if 
I stopped working tomor-
row, I’
d know I’
ve made a 
difference.” 

continued from page 26

LISA SCHAVRIEN

Schavrien 
helps deliver a 
friend’
s baby 
boy, Brody

Grocery 
Workers 
Are 
Essential, 
Too

KENNETH POWERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jews in the D