BUFFALO (WBEN) - Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul visited Buffalo on Thursday morning, visiting with Meals on Wheels WNY CEO Tara Ellis.
"I'm sending out a call for more volunteers, more cash contributions and more food donations as more people, particularly our vulnerable seniors, are being isolated in our homes out of necessity to save their lives," said Hochul. "They have to have a source of food, and it's far safer for them to have a meal delivered to them."
Ellis says the demand for food has skyrocketed over the past few weeks, as the organization is receiving roughly 70 new clients per day. Along with the items Hochul mentioned as needs for the organization, Ellis added that there is a desperate need for sanitation donations such as hand sanitizer and wipes.
"We actually have implemented many new procedures to ensure both hygiene, sanitation, as well as social distancing, both for our volunteers when they're coming to pick up the food, as well as when they're going out to deliver it," said Ellis. "Normally when our volunteers walk in, it's hugs, it's warmth, it's all about that physical connection - right now, that is unfortunately a piece that we cannot do safely for our clients, our caregivers and all of our volunteers."
Some of these improved safety measures include calling ahead to each home and then delivering the food to a place inside the house where they make it convenient for the clients to access but far enough away where they're maintaining a "safe physical distance." All workers have been equipped with little bottles of hand sanitizer that are being utilized between each client. Ellis said that some clients are even requesting that the meals be left outside in a bag so that any possible contact is entirely avoided.
"We have onboarded, just since this started, almost 1,000 additional home delivered meal clients just in our community," said Ellis. "Because they can't go to a congregate location and still need the food, 70% of those individuals told us it is literally the only thing they eat all day."
As schools continue their extended break to help combat the spread of COVID-19, many kids are losing their most reliable source of food despite the districts' efforts to deliver as much food as possible to students.
"We also have children who are hungry in this community; they're not getting the free breakfasts and free lunches at the schools," Ellis continued. "Where school districts have set up the grab-and-go programs, we're meeting them there with backpacks."
