BUFFALO, N.Y. — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our approach to so many things this year, including the way agencies who help the less fortunate were able to do so on this Thanksgiving Day.
The state's ban on indoor gatherings of more than 10 people meant there would be no traditional sit-down dinner at the Buffalo City Mission.
Instead, volunteers gathered at remote sites where 5,200 meals were placed into cars, then driven off to the needy.
On Buffalo’s East Side, The Response to Love Center also retooled its methods in order to carry on its 36-year tradition of feeding the poor on Thanksgiving, by setting up a grab and go operation instead.
It was staffed by volunteers who wore masks and kept their physical distance from one another in compliance with current health protocols.
Meanwhile, at a downtown park, Rev. Eric Johns, pastor of the Buffalo Dream Center, and his team of volunteers were due to hand out donated pizza and cheesecake to the homeless on Thanksgiving afternoon.
Those who work to serve the needy during the holiday season could just canceled their annual efforts.
It certainly wouldn’t have been the first tradition to be scuttled due to the pandemic.
But there was no way they were about to.
They say that due to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pandemic related shutdown orders, which have closed numerous businesses and put millions of New Yorkers out of work, poverty is reaching epidemic proportions.
“The need is greater than ever,” said Sister Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz, who operates the Response to Love Center.
“We have received more people from our regular food pantry and dining site. These are people who have been unemployed and who have families that are now coming in.