Betty Stafford would be unable to do her grocery shopping once a
week without the one-of-a-kind shuttle program operated by Nob Hill
Foods.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Betty Stafford would be unable to do her grocery shopping once a week without the one-of-a-kind shuttle program operated by Nob Hill Foods. The shuttle picks her up at her apartment complex and drops her off in front of the store, saving Stafford, 79, the effort of loading her groceries onto a public bus and the walk to and from the bus stop in the summer’s heat.
The shuttle program had its seventh anniversary in July.
Operating twice a day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the service carries shoppers between several senior apartment complexes and the First Street store.
“This is a wonderful convenience,” said Louise Conover, who lives at Wheeler Manor on Sixth Street. She uses the shuttle when her daughter-in-law is unable to drive her to the store.
Conover’s friend and shopping partner, Helen Shafer, praised the program while surveying the store’s butter selection.
“Well I’m 93 years old, so I think it’s pretty good,” Shafer said. She uses the shuttle as often as twice a week. “I’ve been using it almost the whole time it’s run.”
Neither woman owns a car. Without the shuttle, they would have to take the bus to the store, which means they wouldn’t have the assistance of Nob Hill’s shuttle driver Tina Meyer. Meyer has driven the shuttle, read grocery lists, helped seniors shop and loaded groceries into the van since the program began.
“Tina is just a very loving, caring person,” Stafford, a resident of Wheeler Manor, said. “She phones sometimes just to see how we are.”
Meyer estimates that more than 100 seniors living in complexes including Wheeler Manor, Plum Tree West and Sunset Gardens use the service. The shuttle does not stop at individual homes.
“They tell me how their children appreciate this because they don’t have time,” Meyer said. “They feel more independent.”
Former head of the Nob Hill chain Michael Bonfante came up with the program as a way to serve the community he was living in, Meyer said.
“He saw that there was a need … and he just wanted to give back,” she said.
Meyer, who has been with Nob Hill for 20 years, was working as a demonstrator at the time and offered to drive the shuttle.
“It’s a great way for them to get out,” she said.
When Raley’s bought Nob Hill in 1998, the new owners chose to continue the program free of charge to Gilroy’s senior citizens, said Nob Hill Foods Spokesperson Nicole Townsend.
The shuttle riders would not have it any other way.
“(The Nob Hill staff) all know what I want when I come here,” said Melvin Rayner, a resident of Montebello Apartments.
Stafford, who has ridden the shuttle throughout its seven years of operation, praised the store’s cleanliness and staff members.
“The people at Nob Hill are very courteous to us and very helpful,” she said.
