Community Meal suspended, Neighbor to Neighbor continues lunches
Reflector-Chronicle staff Apr 13, 2020
Reflector-Chronicle staff
The Monday evening Community Meal at the Trinity Lutheran Church, sponsored by five Abilene churches, has been discontinued for the time being.
Due to the coronavirus, Dickinson County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Brian Holmes has recommended the Community Meal discontinue its carryout meal service until it is safe to start up again.
“I don’t want to prevent anyone from receiving a free meal,” Holmes said.
However, the people preparing and delivering those meals are a high risk population for the COVID-19 virus, he said.
“I am trying to be proactive,” he said. “I asked them to take a break.”
During this time out, the community meal churches will continue to prepare meals and give them Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene.
Holmes said the request did not include the Abilene school district’s distribution of free lunches to students.
“I see that as a greater need,” he said.
Holmes also advised Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene to discontinue serving carryout noon meals.
However, the Neighbor to Neighbor board agreed to continue to distribute free lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 803 N. Cedar.
“In this community, we are all concerned about providing the essentials of food, mental and emotional stability for our friends and neighbors in a safe and healthy way,” said Tom Schwartz, president of Neighbor to Neighbor. “We are following CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and listened to suggestions Dr. Holmes had that could make the service we are providing for households as safe as possible.
“At the end of the phone conversation, I told Dr. Holmes that if in the future he has further concerns about Neighbor To Neighbor Abilene continuing this service, he should contact us with those concerns and we would follow his order.”