How many times this week, when you were eating that home-cooked meal that you or your family made, from the last bit of groceries that were left in the store, did you stop and think about those who don’t have the money to buy a single item of food for the week?
In reflecting on the impact that the coronavirus has had across the world, it’s crazy to think that just a few weeks ago, so many people were living their lives, unaware of the events that would soon unfold. With the new measures that are being taken to ensure the safety of as many people as possible, it’s been undoubtedly hard for people to adjust emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Nevertheless, while many of us have been so consumed with how we’ll get food in our mouths, get tissue with so many people stocking up all at once, and stay healthy during such a scary time, many of us have probably neglected to consider the impact that this pandemic is having on those living in poverty with little to no income.
For many low-income families, children are dependent on the free lunch services provided by schools to receive their meals for the day. While many of us who are able to afford food have joked on social media about inadvertently gaining more weight from being home and eating much more, some children are hoping they can last off of one meal a day because that’s all their families may be able to afford.
For people on the lower end of the poverty spectrum, the ability to receive food and meal services that are usually provided at churches or food banks under more normal circumstances will be that much harder to access given new regulations regarding social distancing and quarantining.
While ordinarily, volunteers may spend time serving meals to the homeless, with fear for catching the virus, many may be less inclined to put their lives on the line, subsequently resulting in the homeless community having fewer options to turn to for food.
In relation to making sure the children of lower income families are getting fed, school districts have opened sites to provide emergency meals to students. Some school systems are also providing meal delivery services to certain food delivery stops.
For the homeless community, who’s helping them get their meal of the day?