Five hundred meals are going out to Richmond families in need every week during the COVID-19 crisis, coordinated and prepared by the Richmond Food Security Society (RFSS).
With a Local Love Food Hub grant from the United Way, RFSS worked with Richmond agencies and the school district to identify families struggling to make ends meet.
The meals are being prepared at the Terra Nova Red Barn and the East Richmond Community Hall, both city facilities, and delivered to families across the city.
RFSS started preparing the meals in the beginning of May as faith-based organizations were no longer able to provide community meals because of COVID-19-related restrictions, Lai explained.
“As a society, we’ve picked up the need,” he added.
The meals are being delivered by other agencies, but RFSS will continue to make the meals as long as funding is in place, he said.
While some of the food comes from suppliers and wholesalers, some is sourced from the Richmond Food Bank and from three elementary school gardens.
RFSS has four staff members preparing the meals, but Richmond restaurant Bon Mi Tres Bon has also stepped up to donate meals as well, Lai explained.
The way the program has come together to deliver 500 meals per week is a testament of how a community comes together to meet a demand, Lai explained.
“It’s a show of community spirit,” he said, adding “It shows our resilience and the robustness of the organizations involved.”
