St. Louis, MO (KMOX) - The ranks of the poor are growing because of COVID-19.
"As people who were that sort of bottom tier of the middle class, we think that this could negatively impact them and that they could become a whole new population of people living in poverty," says Lt. Colonel Dan Jennings, Commander of the Salvation Army's Midland Division.
Jennings says the demand for food has been overwhelming.
He says many part-time and seasonal workers are now facing their second pay period without income.
"Through the 12 different pantries that we have around the metropolitan area, they might see 25 maybe 30 families a day on a normal basis," Jennings says. "This week, one of our pantries, just yesterday, saw 170 families come through for food."
Jennings points out, because of concerns about public safety, they can't accept donations of food items. Why? He explains it's asking people to get out and shop when they should be at home, plus there's the risk of food items being contaminated if someone has the virus. He says monetary donations are needed to keep food supplies coming in.
Beyond food pantries, the Salvation Army has shifted to providing pre-packaged meals for pick-up at sites that used to provide hot meals. Shelters are open, but they have to take extra precautions to keep areas disinfected and practice extreme social distancing.
He says so far staff on the front lines have stayed healthy, despite being pushed to the limit.