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| Drivers With a Mission: To Feed the City’s Hungry | Drivers With a Mission: To Feed the City’s Hungry |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| New York City’s pantries for low-income residents and meal-delivery services for shut-ins are dependent, now more than ever, on drivers who keep the food moving. | New York City’s pantries for low-income residents and meal-delivery services for shut-ins are dependent, now more than ever, on drivers who keep the food moving. |
| By Nikita Stewart | By Nikita Stewart |
| Photographs by Gabriela Bhaskar | Photographs by Gabriela Bhaskar |
| “A lot of my clients don’t get to interact with people unless it’s me,” said Mr. Gumbs, 48, who drove a school bus for 10 years before becoming a driver for God’s Love We Deliver (how to donate), which caters mostly to older New Yorkers. “Sometimes, they have no one to talk to.” | “A lot of my clients don’t get to interact with people unless it’s me,” said Mr. Gumbs, 48, who drove a school bus for 10 years before becoming a driver for God’s Love We Deliver (how to donate), which caters mostly to older New Yorkers. “Sometimes, they have no one to talk to.” |
| His conversations with them are shorter now, but just the sight of him — a glimpse from behind a window curtain, a peek through a peephole, the brief yet friendly exchange as he drops off a bag — is enough. | His conversations with them are shorter now, but just the sight of him — a glimpse from behind a window curtain, a peek through a peephole, the brief yet friendly exchange as he drops off a bag — is enough. |
| Herbert DeCordova, 91, a former chef and drummer, looks forward to Mr. Gumbs’s twice-a-week deliveries, when “all of a sudden,” Mr. DeCordova said excitedly, “the doorbell rings.” | Herbert DeCordova, 91, a former chef and drummer, looks forward to Mr. Gumbs’s twice-a-week deliveries, when “all of a sudden,” Mr. DeCordova said excitedly, “the doorbell rings.” |
| Eric DeCordova, his son, said his wife works at a hospital; fearful of infecting his father, they have not seen him as often as they did before the pandemic. “This virus has torn us apart,” Eric DeCordova said. | Eric DeCordova, his son, said his wife works at a hospital; fearful of infecting his father, they have not seen him as often as they did before the pandemic. “This virus has torn us apart,” Eric DeCordova said. |
| Food — how to get it, how to deliver it, how to pay for it — has emerged as one of the biggest issues of the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed a food czar. This month, the mayor and the City Council announced the city would give a $25 million emergency grant to nonprofit food providers to buy more goods. | Food — how to get it, how to deliver it, how to pay for it — has emerged as one of the biggest issues of the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed a food czar. This month, the mayor and the City Council announced the city would give a $25 million emergency grant to nonprofit food providers to buy more goods. |
| Days later, Mr. de Blasio announced that the city would pour another $170 million into a broader food emergency effort, including hiring 11,000 taxi and ride-hailing drivers to deliver meals. | Days later, Mr. de Blasio announced that the city would pour another $170 million into a broader food emergency effort, including hiring 11,000 taxi and ride-hailing drivers to deliver meals. |
| At the same time, the needy are finding that many food pantries and soup kitchens they are used to visiting have closed, because their volunteers, many of whom are retirees, are staying home to avoid becoming ill. About 40 percent of 800 sites supplied by City Harvest (how to donate) and Food Bank for New York City (how to donate) have shut down, leading to longer lines at the locations still open. | At the same time, the needy are finding that many food pantries and soup kitchens they are used to visiting have closed, because their volunteers, many of whom are retirees, are staying home to avoid becoming ill. About 40 percent of 800 sites supplied by City Harvest (how to donate) and Food Bank for New York City (how to donate) have shut down, leading to longer lines at the locations still open. |
| That has made people like Mr. Gumbs who deliver the food to pantries and to people stuck at home more essential than ever. | That has made people like Mr. Gumbs who deliver the food to pantries and to people stuck at home more essential than ever. |
| _____ | _____ |
| Mr. Smalls picks up donated food from restaurants and supermarkets and delivers to pantries and soup kitchens, and he has gotten to know some of their owners and workers. | Mr. Smalls picks up donated food from restaurants and supermarkets and delivers to pantries and soup kitchens, and he has gotten to know some of their owners and workers. |
| Now he recognizes them by their voices, muffled under face masks, and by their eyes. They are all wary of standing too close but still welcome Mr. Smalls, knowing people depend on their food to survive. | Now he recognizes them by their voices, muffled under face masks, and by their eyes. They are all wary of standing too close but still welcome Mr. Smalls, knowing people depend on their food to survive. |
| Mr. Smalls does not linger. He does not carry on small talk. “‘Hi’ and ‘bye,’” he said. “I’m more scared because I have asthma. I’m nervous because I take care of my father. He’s elderly, too. He goes to dialysis. I have to take care of him.” | Mr. Smalls does not linger. He does not carry on small talk. “‘Hi’ and ‘bye,’” he said. “I’m more scared because I have asthma. I’m nervous because I take care of my father. He’s elderly, too. He goes to dialysis. I have to take care of him.” |
| _____ | _____ |
| One day this month his entire route was only New York City Housing Authority buildings. Food Bank and City Harvest are trying to serve residents in communities where the virus has created a food desert. | One day this month his entire route was only New York City Housing Authority buildings. Food Bank and City Harvest are trying to serve residents in communities where the virus has created a food desert. |
| His first stop was the Bronx River Houses, a public housing development where some residents on top floors can see a narrow band of the waterway it is named after. | His first stop was the Bronx River Houses, a public housing development where some residents on top floors can see a narrow band of the waterway it is named after. |
| Norma Saunders, the resident association president, had been desperately calling elected officials in a search for food, especially for senior tenants who cannot go to the grocery store. “Around here, we don’t even have a supermarket,” said Ms. Saunders, 52. “It’s a bus ride away.” | Norma Saunders, the resident association president, had been desperately calling elected officials in a search for food, especially for senior tenants who cannot go to the grocery store. “Around here, we don’t even have a supermarket,” said Ms. Saunders, 52. “It’s a bus ride away.” |
| She was happy to see Mr. Muhammad pull up with the tractor-trailer. “Thank you for doing this,” she said as he unloaded the truck, her mouth covered by a mask a resident had made for her. | She was happy to see Mr. Muhammad pull up with the tractor-trailer. “Thank you for doing this,” she said as he unloaded the truck, her mouth covered by a mask a resident had made for her. |
| Two days earlier, Mr. Muhammad’s first stop, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, had been a lot different. No one was there. He called someone, who explained that the pantry and soup kitchen were closed. “I’m not sure what happened,” he said. | Two days earlier, Mr. Muhammad’s first stop, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, had been a lot different. No one was there. He called someone, who explained that the pantry and soup kitchen were closed. “I’m not sure what happened,” he said. |
| Updated June 2, 2020 | |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | |
| Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. | |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| More than 40 million people — the equivalent of 1 in 4 U.S. workers — have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic took hold. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said. | |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | |
| Hours later, he learned what had happened: Donald Bookal, the longtime executive director of the church’s senior program, had died of complications from the coronavirus. To protect volunteers and the people served, the church decided to close the pantry. | Hours later, he learned what had happened: Donald Bookal, the longtime executive director of the church’s senior program, had died of complications from the coronavirus. To protect volunteers and the people served, the church decided to close the pantry. |
| Mr. Bookal was 83. | Mr. Bookal was 83. |
| “My dad was a part of that church for the better part of 50 years,” said Stephanie Bookal, his daughter. “He was like the backbone to the church. Nobody made any moves without consulting with him.” | “My dad was a part of that church for the better part of 50 years,” said Stephanie Bookal, his daughter. “He was like the backbone to the church. Nobody made any moves without consulting with him.” |
| He was in constant contact with the public; there was no sheltering in place for him. “He was all about service,” his daughter said. | He was in constant contact with the public; there was no sheltering in place for him. “He was all about service,” his daughter said. |
| Susan C. Beachy contributed research. | Susan C. Beachy contributed research. |