Virginia's Health Foods — Local services in Mobile

I visited Virginia Health Food Store today to purchase ingredients for elderberry syrup for my daughter, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week and is still symptomatic. Out of caution, both my daughter and I wore medical-grade masks. When we arrived, I immediately informed the associate assisting me that my daughter was positive and still contagious, so she could decide whether to wear a mask or keep her distance. She was respectful, went to the back to get a mask, and came back to help me find the items I needed.

I was nearly finished shopping—about 7 to 10 minutes into my visit—when a manager named Celeste approached and told me I needed to leave the store due to concerns from other customers. I explained that I was only there to quickly get a few essential ingredients to care for my sick child, but she insisted I leave immediately. No curbside option was offered, no suggestion of an alternative—just a flat denial of service.

I had to call my mother and ask her to drive from Saraland to the store to finish the shopping. I waited outside for about 15 minutes, and even then, no one offered any form of assistance or accommodation. What made this situation worse is that the store was fairly busy with 10–15 other people inside—none of whom were wearing masks. There’s no guarantee that anyone else wasn’t asymptomatic or contagious, but because I was honest, proactive, and masked, I was singled out and dismissed.

When my mother came in to finish the purchase, she was rushed, and we later discovered that not all the ingredients I needed were included. This forced me to return not once, but two more times just to get everything. Despite the inconvenience and repeated trips, no one offered any form of compensation, apology, or even a discount for my time and trouble. The only person who showed genuine understanding and kindness was Alex, who assisted me during my third visit. After I told him this was my third trip back, he kindly gave me some extra elderberries at no charge, which I truly appreciated.

This experience left me feeling disrespected, dismissed, and discriminated against. I took every precaution I could. I was honest, masked, and simply trying to care for my sick child. Yet instead of being met with understanding or support, I was treated like an inconvenience.

Virginia Health Food Store is one of the few places in Mobile that offers raw, unprocessed herbs, so it’s deeply disappointing to be treated this way. I hope the store takes this as an opportunity to improve how they handle sensitive situations like this—with empathy, consistency, and basic...

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My 2 year old was not ready to leave the fun of pushing his size shopping cart around the store and he made it known by screaming, throwing himself around and running away from me. One of the ladies came out of the store to my rescue. She held my 10 month old while I wrangled the toddler and got my other 2 daughters buckled in. She attempted to soothe my toddler with a ball and then buckled the 10 month old in the car seat for me. After everyone was safely in their seats she hugged me and offered words of encouragement before going back...