Plant City Observer
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VOLUME 6, NO. 90
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THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
COMMISH ROUNDUP:
CORONAVIRUS LEADS TO QUICK, BUT MEANINGFUL MEETING The attendance may have been small at this week’s city commission meeting, but commissioners were able to make some impactful decisions from the dais.
With the COVID-19 coronavirus urging people to stay home and self-isolate, the City of Plant City had to get creative Monday night to hold its regularly scheduled commission meeting. When 7:30 p.m. rolled around, commissioners were at the dais facing an audience of approximately three people, all far more than six feet
away from one another. To keep attendance down, City Manager Bill McDaniel asked any city staff that did not need to be at the meeting to consider staying home. It wasn’t a mandate, but everyone complied.
SEE PAGE 7
UNITED FOOD BANK WEATHERING NEW STORM “Hurricane procedures” are in place at the United Food Bank of Plant City as it tries to meet the growing needs of a community sidelined by the COVID-19 coronavirus.
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JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The most popular running joke about the COVID-19 coronavirus is that you’d have better luck finding the Holy Grail than finding toilet paper in a store right now. Mary Heysek, executive director of the United Food Bank of Plant City, knows it’s true because she’s not only seen the empty shelves in local stores, she’s also heard it from the people running them. “Publix and Winn-Dixie told me… within 20 minutes, the paper goods and cleaning goods are off the shelves,” Heysek said. “Within 30 minutes, 90 percent of the meat products are out of their containers.” The lack of toilet paper isn’t a huge problem for the food bank. The lack of meat, however, is one of several big obstacles life has thrown in the UFB’s way since the pandemic created a trend of panic shopping not unlike something you’d see during hurricane season. In fact, that’s exactly how Heysek said the UFB is handling the COVID-19 situation.
Justin Kline
The United Food Bank of Plant City is having a very difficult time meeting the needs of the community now that COVID-19 coronavirus panic has gripped many grocery shoppers, causing stores to sell out of essential products shortly after opening for the day.