Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

As elderly are left alone, a race to deliver food they need

Image
AP New York
Last Updated : Apr 09 2020 | 8:08 PM IST

Carla Brown still makes two visits a week to see her 77-year-old parents, remaining near the doorway while they stand a safe distance away.

They can't be close but at least they can be together, and she knows many of the city's elderly aren't getting any company at all.

The coronavirus pandemic has kept loved ones apart, younger family members fearful of bringing the disease to older relatives who may be so much more susceptible.

Brown realises how much more important her meals-on-wheels programme has become in the last month.

Her Charles A Walburg Multiservice Organisation was delivering about 700 meals per day to seniors in the Harlem and Washington Heights sections of New York until about two weeks ago. That total is now above 900.

"Any time you can give, any time you're blessed to give, it's a wonderful opportunity," Brown said. "And to know that we're considered essential workforce is extremely honourable, because that means that we are absolutely needed, where we're providing comfort, we're providing food, we're providing safety. It's really important and I'm glad to do it."
"No one has said, 'Oh my God, I'm going to get sick,'" Brown said. "It's like, 'How are we going to get this done? We need to feed our seniors.'"

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

More From This Section

First Published: Apr 09 2020 | 8:08 PM IST

Next Story