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COVID-19 Grocery Delivery
In the span of two months, from the beginning of April to the end of May, 7 youth volunteers delivered groceries and supplies regularly to over 30 individuals and families on the Northshore who were either elderly, immunocompromised, or worked in the health care field. Not only was the delivery absolutely free (as it should’ve been), but we also followed all the CDC and WHO guidelines that were set at the time in order to keep the people around us as safe as possible. We are also proud to say that absolutely no one, from both our volunteers and the people we served, contracted the virus in the months we made deliveries. As of June 2020, we have suspended the program, both due to the recommendation of those we served and due to the flattening of the curve. If there is a “second wave”, as many models have predicted, we will highly consider bringing it back.
The Background
Things were looking up for SuSTEMable as we entered the warm weather of the Spring. Our Food Waste project was going to be our primary focus, the blog was being authored by new writers from a couple of different states, and we were ready to push through to the summer!
Then COVID-19 hit.
Unfortunately, most of the plans we had were put on the back burners, and rightfully so. FoodCycle was put on hold when restaurants lost a lot of their business. Our blog authors parted ways with the site as they dealt with the new schooling situation and other problems that had arisen. And, in general, it became difficult for us and the rest of the world to focus on the environment when society was drastically changing. There were much more pressing issues at the time that had to be dealt with first. After finally coming to terms with what was happening both around the world and on the Northshore, we began to look for any way to help, whether environmentally focused, or not.
Around early April, there was still so much uncertainty as to what could and what couldn’t be done. One of the most pressing issues that came to mind was preventing people that were especially susceptible to the virus from going out of their houses unnecessarily.
Then COVID-19 hit.
Unfortunately, most of the plans we had were put on the back burners, and rightfully so. FoodCycle was put on hold when restaurants lost a lot of their business. Our blog authors parted ways with the site as they dealt with the new schooling situation and other problems that had arisen. And, in general, it became difficult for us and the rest of the world to focus on the environment when society was drastically changing. There were much more pressing issues at the time that had to be dealt with first. After finally coming to terms with what was happening both around the world and on the Northshore, we began to look for any way to help, whether environmentally focused, or not.
Around early April, there was still so much uncertainty as to what could and what couldn’t be done. One of the most pressing issues that came to mind was preventing people that were especially susceptible to the virus from going out of their houses unnecessarily.
The Plan (and Delivery)
Our idea was quite simple: the youth were the lowest demographic to have drastic complications with the disease. Why not have the youth (who are willing) shop and buy groceries for those who are at a higher risk? Introducing themselves to the world of Facebook, Ansh Motiani and Andrew Vittiglio spread the word of their service in multiple community groups. At the same time, they had redesigned the NEYO website and created a delivery request form for potential "users" to supply their address, phone number, and grocery list.
In the span of two months, from the beginning of April to the end of May, 7 youth volunteers delivered groceries and supplies regularly to over 20 individuals and families on the Northshore who were elderly, immunocompromised, or worked in the health care field.
In the span of two months, from the beginning of April to the end of May, 7 youth volunteers delivered groceries and supplies regularly to over 20 individuals and families on the Northshore who were elderly, immunocompromised, or worked in the health care field.
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