Bemus Point resident Joan Miller is pictured Thursday morning putting groceries in her car after shopping at Tops Markets in Jamestown. Miller said she’s glad stores are allowing seniors to shop by themselves and feels better knowing she has staple items at home. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Stocked shelves and empty aisles greeted many seniors Thursday morning as stores throughout the state opened its doors and allowed local residents the chance to pick up groceries.

Stores, including Tops Markets and Walmart, are allowing seniors the chance to shop for about an hour before opening to the rest of the public. Many staples such as toilet paper, milk and eggs have flown off shelves as confirmed cases of the coronavirus continue to climb in New York state.

Bemus Point resident Joan Miller was one of dozens of area residents to take advantage of the early morning shopping opportunity at the Washington Street Tops Markets in Jamestown.

In addition to picking up bread, crackers, spaghetti sauce and cereal, Miller made sure to pick up food for her two cats.

She said she’s glad stores are allowing seniors the chance to shop before the rest of the public.

“If my children knew I was out of the house I’d be in trouble,” Miller said with a laugh. “I’m not supposed to go out, but there’s things I need and I feel better knowing that they’re in the house in case there’s a national quarantine.”

Miller said she picked up enough groceries to “hopefully last a month,” noting that she’s unsure what to make of the coronavirus — which has shut down schools, forced restaurants and bars to provide take-out meals only and has limited the number of workers inside non-essential businesses.

“I really think it’s blown out of proportion but who knows,” Miller said. “I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Ron Kelly, a Panama resident, said he was dismayed by people buying items in large quantities. “I really don’t know why these people are hoarding all these groceries,” Kelly said.

Jamestown resident Nancy Stapleton, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the way seniors are being treated in stores by fellow shoppers. She said she’s glad stores are opening early for seniors a couple of times each week depending on the location.

“What’s disgusting to me is the way people are treating each other,” Stapleton said. “You have older people in line and you have 25, 30 young people rush past you. You cannot run, and it’s a consideration of other people. It’s really disheartening.”

Stapleton noted that at 68 years old, there are “people older than me” trying to shop with a rush on certain staple items. “I’m so disgusted with the younger people,” she said.

Other shoppers on Thursday were picking up groceries for relatives. Martha Pashley of Bemus Point said she was shopping for her 87 year old mother.

“I want her to stay in, so I’m here for her,” Pashley said, later noting of the pandemic, “It’s a very scary situation and I would hope that we would start getting some more money for tests and also research. We need some vaccines, and we’re behind in underdeveloped countries. The United States should be on top of that, so I can only hope and pray that everything gets better and people stay healthy and conscious of what’s really going on.”

Local stores are also altering hours of operation as a result of the virus to clean and stock shelves. The Lakewood Walmart announced it would close at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, then would start operating from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. until further notice.

Every Tuesday during the reduced hours, Walmart said it will open at 6 a.m. for all seniors 60 years of age and older.

“We are also placing limits on high demand items,” Walmart said. “Signs will be posted near these items. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes and appreciate your patience during this time. We will continue to post any changes in store and on social media as needed.”

Earlier this week, Walmart said it was looking to hire temporary workers who may have been impacted by the virus. “Your Lakewood Walmart understands that these are difficult times for some and concerning times for all,” the local Walmart said. “As we have heard there are several business laying off workers in wake of these challenges.

“We are looking to hire some of these folks as temps to help them through these difficult times and offer them a consistent paycheck until they are able to return to their jobs. We are working to expedite the hiring process and in some cases can have the associate start the same day. If you need a temporary assignment to help you through this time please know that you have options. Apply at careers.walmart.com.”

Elsewhere, Wegmans announced it was changing its hours of operation at all of its stores to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.