LARGO, Fla. — Overjoyed by a good deed! Seniors at a Pinellas apartment complex took to their balconies to thank volunteers with Feeding Tampa Bay for getting them groceries, while so many of them are being told to stay home.
“I’m grateful!!! I love you!” screamed Brenda Huffman, from her porch.
Friday, volunteers packed up groceries for the month and dropped them off inside Pinellas Heights Senior Apartments, avoiding contact with residents to keep up with social distancing.
→ CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: CASES, LOCATIONS & LIVE UPDATES
“Even if you don’t get to shake their hand and give them hugs, we still get to say hello,” said Matt Spence, the Chief Program Officer for Feeding Tampa Bay.
It’s a year-round gesture that is done a little differently now because of coronavirus.
“A lot of us can’t get out and everybody is scared of this virus that’s going around so a lot of us are grateful,” said Patricia Ferris, who came outside to get some fresh air.
Huffman explained why the food signifies so much more.
“It means to us that they care, that we are not forgotten,” she said. “That we matter, that we are of value.”
Matt Spence says the need is huge in all 10 counties they serve.
“We have about 600,000 folks in the Tampa Bay area who are regularly food insecure,” he said.
→ COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS
And because the coronavirus has put a strain on grocery stores and shut down local restaurants, Spence says they will take the 2,000 meals they normally serve at Trinity Cafe daily and hand them out to-go.
“All you have to do is pop it in the oven and warm it up and you have a chef prepared meal,” Spence said.
If you are a senior center and would like meal delivery please, click here.
If you’d like to volunteer or donate to Feeding Tampa Bay, click here.
