The spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has rattled Rhode Island. It was just last week that Gov. Gina Raimondo shut down dine-in services at all restaurants, bars and cafes until March 30 and restricted gatherings to 25 people. Meanwhile, shelves at grocery stores have been picked clean as people stock up on food and essentials.
All that means things have been busy for WhatsGood, the farmer's market platform and delivery service based in Providence.
"I slept less this week than when I had a newborn," Erin Tortora, WhatsGood's co-founder and director of resources, told Rhode Island Inno on Thursday.
Over the last week, WhatsGood has seen a "sixfold" increase in orders on its platform, Tortora said: double the amount of orders, and triple the standard order size. Tortora has had to hire five new drivers—instantly doubling that team's headcount—just to keep up with the influx. WhatsGood has expanded its delivery radius in Greater Boston, where it just started offering services in July, and added another day of the week that customers can choose to receive deliveries, up from just two before.
The growth is a glimmer of hope in an economy on the precipice of recession. As Tortora pointed out, the increase in order volume means that farmers, who now have more difficulty selling through farmer's markets and grocery stores, can still get their products in the hands of consumers.
New farmers are joining WhatsGood, too. Tortora estimates three or four vendors a day have requested to join the platform recently.
"It's really just been in the last week that things have taken a very, very sharp up curve," Tortora said. "This has been a lifesaver for a few of our businesses. We're helping farmers really just continue operations and not worry about having all this extra food that's got nowhere to go."
To minimize the risk of contamination and comply with guidelines set forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WhatsGood has also implemented rigorous hygiene protocols. Workers at the WhatsGood distribution center start the day by sanitizing door handles and wiping down all services while wearing a pair of gloves. They then discard the gloves, wash their hands and put on a new pair of gloves before checking orders prepared for delivery. WhatsGood's vehicles are also thoroughly sanitized, and cloths are placed down underneath the food orders.
The startup also has a "no-contact delivery" option so drivers don't come face-to-face with customers.
"Our software lets [customers] know that we're arriving, and when they get that text, in most cases, they'll either open the door just after we leave or right as we're arriving," Tortora said. "Our drivers will physically put the order down on the porch or on a surface, and the customer will pick it up from there."
WhatsGood is not the only food delivery startup that is set up for success in an economic environment shaped by coronavirus. East Providence-based Feast & Fettle, which offers a chef-prepared meal delivery service, has also seen a boost, startup advisor Daniel Rossignol told Rhode Island inno recently.
"It is truly an honor to show up for our local food community," Tortora said. "We were positioned in the right place at the right time. We have the tools and resources necessary. We have the platform that's been functioning; we have the infrastructure that we've been building out for the last two years with the delivery program. We were primed and ready to go."
