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Food Banks and COVID: Generosity in a Time of Concern by David Guenther
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ince I started my job working for Many Rooms Church Community in October 2019, one of my regular tasks has been to help an elderly woman named Terry access the food bank. Terry is unable to walk long distances and often needs to be close to the bathroom. So, even though the food bank is only a few blocks away, I go for her. Every other Tuesday morning I walk over to her Manitoba Housing apartment building and take the elevator to her sixteenth-floor suite. The view of the urban landscape overlooking Central Park from her suite is amazing, but the journey from the lobby to her suite is full of obstacles. Sometimes there is blood or vomit on the floor. Often I will ride the elevator up with someone who is high on something (maybe just weed, but probably something stronger). Apparently, cockroaches have been
spotted climbing up the wall in the elevator. Anyway, you get the picture. But today, over and above my usual vigilance, I also have COVID-19 on the mind. An elevator with sick people, and it seems that many of the people in this building are often sick, is not a good place to be during a global respiratory pandemic.
Terry
Fortunately for me I am the only one in the elevator on the way up. Terry hands me her signed letter which allows me to pick up her food and I also grab a few of her reusable grocery bags. We both know this part of the routine and it only takes a few minutes. The way down is a bit more crowded. Only three of us are in the elevator and, thankfully, no one is coughing. It takes me only five minutes to walk quickly
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