Wilmington-based program provides elderly citizens with meals during COVID-19 quarantine
Wilmington-based program provides elderly citizens with meals during COVID-19 quarantine
Many seniors are stuck inside, unable to get to the grocery store due to stay-at-home orders in the tri-state area, but a local program seeks to make sure they get meals. FOX 29 Photojournalist Bill Rohrer has the story.
WILMINGTON, Del. - The impact that the coronavirus has affected many people, especially the elderly. Many seniors are stuck inside, unable to get to the grocery store due to stay-at-home orders in the tri-state area. Now, there’s one local program looking for volunteers to help seniors get the meals that they need from thesafety of their homes.
The City Fare Meals program is one of those programs that seeks to help seniors. The Wilmington-based program has been delivering meals to those in need since 1986 and almost 4,000 meals per week leave the doors of St. Anthony’s Community Center.
Each meal is packed carefully inside a cooler, ready for volunteers to deliver to the senior citizens of New Castle County.
FOX 29 photojournalist Bill Rohrer spoke with Erica Brown, the project director for City Fare, about her contribution to help some of the older residents in the area.
“We are making sure that we are getting meals out to those people in a time when they shouldn’t be out at the grocery store and even if they went, things that they need might not even be there," Brown explained.
One of City Fare’s helpers, Chris Church came out to help in the program desperate for volunteers.
“I am just sitting home like a lot of people so I wanted to do my part and help the elderly,” Church said
Brown mentions that they could use some help to replace some of the volunteers that are unable to contribute due to COVID-19.
“We could use about 10 to 12 people every day out there to deliver meals to replace the people on our regular roster that can’t get out right now,” Brown explained, “ Regular volunteers are now doubling and sometimes tripling up their routes by elping out whenever they are free.”
Brown is not surprised by how many people have currently showed up to help, but they’d appreciate the extra help as more cases affect the area.
Everything is provided for the volunteers, all you need is to be healthy and have a car to deliver the meals.
“We give you a route sheet, names, directions from home to home. We give you the meals, we give you gloves to protect yourself and the client.”
For more information about the City Fares Meals program, you can find it here.