Hy-Vee permanently closing 3 Iowa stores

After listening to concerns from community leaders and residents about the impact of its three store closures in Iowa, Hy-Vee is offering some solutions to ease the transition for these communities. 

The food retailer will permanently close its First Avenue Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids, its Logan Avenue store in Waterloo and the Rockingham Road store in Davenport on June 23. 

According to local reports, Hy-Vee said it has not met sales goals at those locations over the past several years.

[Read more: Hy-Vee to acquire Strack & Van Til Food Market chain]

The grocer has introduced several ways to help customers who live near those three stores:

1. Free transportation: Hy-Vee will provide a free shuttle from each affected store location to a Hy-Vee store where pharmacy prescriptions will be transferred. This will allow customers to get groceries and receive their medications at the Crossroads Hy-Vee in Waterloo, Oakland Road Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids and West Locust Hy-Vee in Davenport. Free shuttles will run three days a week from June 24 through Sept. 1. (After that, Hy-Vee will re-evaluate their use by the community.) Pickup/drop off will occur in the parking lot of each affected store. The shuttle will run round-trip as follows:
   Mondays:         10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
   Wednesdays:   5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
   Saturdays:       10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
2. Free grocery delivery: Hy-Vee will provide free Aisles Online grocery delivery to residents within a 1-mile radius of each store that is closing for up to one year when they sign up for the service. Customers can register for the service through Sept. 1 by calling Hy-Vee Customer Care at (800) 772-4098. A computer, smartphone, tablet or iPad, as well as a credit card, is needed to sign up for this service. An account will be set up similar to how other delivery services operate. A minimum order of $24.95 will be required when placing a grocery order for free delivery. 
3. Continuation of free pharmacy delivery: Hy-Vee will continue to provide free pharmacy delivery to Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Davenport residents. Hy-Vee has done this for the past several years for all residents in these cities and will continue to do so. Customers are encouraged to visit with store pharmacy teams if they have additional questions about this service.
4. No lease restrictions: Hy-Vee is actively working with landlords to try to fill the spaces at each location so that the property doesn't stay vacant once the stores close. According to Hy-Vee, it's not placing a “use restriction” on any of these locations.   
5. Increased food bank assistance: Hy-Vee is partnering with HACAP in Cedar Rapids, River Bend Food Bank in Davenport and Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo to fund, supply and staff several food distribution events in July and August to help local families in need while school is out for the summer. In Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Hy-Vee will support a mobile food pantry in the parking lots of the First Avenue Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee on Rockingham Road twice a month. Notification for the events will be provided to neighborhoods surrounding each location in late June. In Waterloo, additional protein, like meat and peanut butter, will be donated by Hy-Vee to the food bank to assist families in need, since a mobile unit isn't available at this location.

Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 570 business units across eight Midwestern states, with sales of more than $13 billion annually.

This story originally appeared on Progressive Grocer.