Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the Bronx took preventative steps early in the pandemic

The Hunts Point Cooperative Market in The Bronx is the largest of its kind, moving nearly 4.5 billion pounds of food through the distribution center annually. Throughout the pandemic, none of its 1800+ employees were laid off or furloughed because they took preventative steps early on, The City reports. The massive 150-plus merchant complex contains an enormous produce market, a fish market, and meat market with nearly half of the customers being independent restaurants and cafes. Managers stocked sanitizer and soap, distributed masks and gloves to working employees, staggered schedules, and enhanced cleaning of each workspace. The market’s safety measures paid off and its members noticed—on June 17, city and industry leaders for truckers, market employees, and other food supply workers held an appreciation event near the produce market’s gates.