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Coronavirus News: Westchester 'Sleepy Shoppers' grocery shop for elderly at-risk neighbors

Friday, May 1, 2020

NY 'Sleepy Shoppers' grocery shop for elderly at-risk neighbors

Stacey Sager has more on a group of teens in Westchester County who are giving back during the coronavirus pandemic.

SLEEPY HOLLOW, Westchester County (WABC) -- A group of teens in Westchester County are giving back during the coronavirus pandemic, grocery shopping for and delivering to elderly residents to reduce their risk of catching COVID-19.

Isabella Chambers is 17 years old, one of at least six students from Sleepy Hollow High School now providing the vital service.

Michelle Franco is currently in Florida and was struggling to make sure her grandparents in Tarrytown got the food they needed since they are at high risk. She tried other grocery services online but had little success.

"You have to make your cart, log in at 2 a.m., and it'll be for seven days later," she said. "And I was like, that's not gonna work."

Enter the "Sleepy Shoppers." Maya Weitzen is the founder and says she came up with the idea because she was worried about her own grandparents in their apartment in Queens..

"Because across the hall, people have COVID," she said. "Down the hall, people have COVID. They can't really leave the confinement of their apartment."

So she and her friends took to Facebook and put themselves out there, with protection, alone in the grocery aisles armed with list and teenage determination. Just ask their client, Franco's 83-year-old grandmother Louise.

"This young lady actually went to three different stores to get what we needed, and we're so grateful for that," she said.

For the teens, it's something productive to fight boredom.

"There are only so many reruns, so many TV shows, so many movies to watch," Sleepy Shopper Will Kelly said. "So this gives, I guess, a new purpose."

And they say they love the reaction from their clients.

"Waved to her in the window, and saw she had a Sleepy Hollow jacket on, and that made my day," Louise said.

It's local shopping made easier by a group of refreshingly kind teens.