Convenience stores meet the essential needs of their communities. Whether it’s selling fuel to first responders and health-care workers or providing convenient and quick access to staple food items and other needed supplies, convenience stores play a vital role in American life. For this reason, NACS is working to ensure convenience stores are considered essential and critical businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of the crisis, NACS reached out to the White House, members of Congress and the federal agencies to share facts about the essential nature of convenience stores and ask that they be allowed to remain open through whatever action was taken at the federal level. In response to these efforts, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) released guidance recognizing convenience stores and our entire supply chain as part of their critical infrastructure workforce.

While this was not a federal directive, many states and cities have heeded the CISA guidance when issuing stay-at-home orders. In addition, NACS shared our key messages with our state association partners, which have worked diligently with their governors to ensure convenience stores were designated essential on the state level.

Throughout this crisis, NACS will continue to work to keep convenience stores open. NACS has created a template access letter for employers to carry as they travel to and from work. You can find this and other resources and updates at www.convenience.org/coronavirus.