IRVING, Texas —In one of the biggest industry moves yet to help in the fight against COVID-19, 7-Eleven Inc. has donated 1 million masks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to aid the professionals who are battling the coronavirus pandemic.
Hospitals are facing critical shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks and gloves. The shortage has led to hospitals reusing masks and volunteers sewing masks at home to donate to local hospitals.
"7-Eleven is a brand that cares deeply about the people and communities in which we operate, particularly the first responders and the medical community who put their lives on the line for us every day," said 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto. "When we heard shortages of masks were becoming a serious issue in hospitals, we felt it was our responsibility to respond and help."
7-Eleven has provided all stores and franchisees with a supply of masks for them and their employees as they serve customers in their stores, and it has donated all of its remaining inventory to FEMA.
A leadership team at the company's store support center has been dedicated to staying up to date with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to make the best adjustments to business operations and policies as needed inside and outside of stores.
Stores will soon have sneeze guards at registers, and 7-Eleven has enhanced its standards and procedures for hygiene, hand-washing, sanitation and food handling, as well as increased the frequency of cleaning high-touch surfaces, it said.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on the Top 40 update to CSP's 2019 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by number of retail outlets. CSP will release the complete 2020 list in June.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 70,000 c-stores in 17 countries, including more than 9,300 in the United States.
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