As people are advised to practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, many grocery delivery services are seeing major business booms, but are struggling to meet the demand.
Grocery delivery service Instacart says it wants to hire up to 300,000 workers over the next few months in order to keep up with the surge of shopping orders.
As "full-service shoppers" the new employees will pick up items at stores and deliver them to customers. They will be treated as independent contractors like Uber and Lyft drivers.
Grocery pick up and delivery has become a norm for many Americans during the coronavirus pandemic as they try to avoid crowds. Instacart's founder said the past few weeks have been the company's busiest since it began as a shopping service in 2012.
Instacart said, "As more people look for immediate, flexible earnings opportunities during this time, we hope that Instacart can be an additional source of income for those looking to earn while also delivering for the communities in which they live."
All Instacart part-time employees will be able to accrue sick pay for illness or injuries. Full and part-time workers can receive up to 14 days of pay if they become ill or need to self-isolate because of the virus. Applications are being accepted at instacart.com.
Contains footage from CNN.
