CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — Many Americans are suffering through the coronavirus pandemic. Some people are working from home if they're lucky. Others are trying to figure out how to pay their bills. Still, some are doing whatever they can to make ends meet.
Ricky Johnson Jr. has a degree in accounting. He got a job as a station recruiter at Sacramento International Airport eight months before the pandemic hit. Now he's just trying to keep his head above water.
"A lot of times since you need the money you're like, 'Oh $3 to drive 20 minutes away and wait another 30 minutes for food?’ Because everyone is doing takeout now,” Johnson said about his experience as a delivery driver for Door Dash.
When ABC10 interviewed Johnson, he was in a Sacramento area Sam’s Club working while we interviewed him on Zoom.
"Right now, I'm shopping for Instacart which is basically grocery shopping for people that don't want to go outside and get the groceries themselves. A lot of flights got canceled. People got their hours cut, so this is another way to make money," he said.
That’s when Johnson said he turned to Door Dash and Instacart to earn money. He says it was simple: just download the app and fill out a quick form. After that, the company does a background check that takes a few days to get back. Once you’re clear, you have to watch their training videos. Finally, you're all set to earn the extra dough.
But Johnson is risking his life going into grocery stores and restaurants, interacting with the general public, and putting himself at risk just to make ends meet. Still, he’s optimistic.
“I think I'm still one of those millennials that knows what's going on but still going on about our day-to-day lives getting the job done," Johnson said.
Johnson is optimistic he can make ends meet like this in the meantime, but he's also working 12-hour days shopping and delivering for Instacart and Door Dash to make it happen.
"I don't have any kids and I don't have any other responsibilities and I also have a very small studio apartment, so my expenses aren't very high but for someone that has a family, a spouse, a mortgage, or other things they have to pay for, I don't think they'll be able to survive."
A month into the pandemic, Instacart is now providing their gig workers - like Johnson - with masks and hand sanitizer. They're now on the front lines to keep our country running and are also more at risk. Johnson is also waiting on his stimulus check to come through the mail, which could take weeks.
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Read more about coronavirus from ABC10
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