Under the March 23, 2020, Public Health Order,
“services providing care to indigent or needy populations”
are designated “essential services” and exempted from closure. Kitchen Angels is one such essential service. We are required to “
adhere to social distancing protocol and maintain at least six-foot social distance from other individuals, avoid person-to-person contact, and direct employees to wash their hands frequently.”
To do this, we’ve streamlined our crews to the greatest extent possible to maintain appropriate social distancing. We’re also limiting the number of people who come in contact with our clients' meals.
We will be combining the activities of our afternoon delivery-related shifts into a single function. This means that some positions will be eliminated for the time being. Please do not take offense. I trust that those of you who are asked to stay home will understand that this is only a temporary request. We will likely call on you later as we offer relief to our active volunteers. Crews will be staffed by those volunteers who have best adapted to our new safety protocols and who are most responsive to requests from staff. Everything is changing. Please be patient as well as mindful.
Kitchen Angels employs a bare-bones staff and their safety, and the safety of their families, is just as important to us as is the safety of our clients and our volunteers. It is critical that we protect each other. This means keeping as much distance between people as possible. As you report for your shift, look at the carpet tiles in the lobby and hallway. Two of these tiles represent six feet. In the kitchen, most of our work tables are six feet long. Our crews are pared down, so that each volunteer has a table. Keep this in mind as you interact with your fellow volunteers and staff. Our kitchen has always been a place of great camaraderie and we’ve all enjoyed some healthy competition between the different crews. Now, however, we really need to focus on the task at hand. Our clients are depending upon us.
We are operating with the minimum number of volunteers we can. If you cannot show up on time, we need to know as soon as possible so that we can find a substitute.
I’m seeing a quote from Franklin Roosevelt show up more and more the past few days:
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
Thank you for taking care of yourself and our neighbors during this crisis. We are counting on you to keep our community safe, whether you are at home, or actively engaged at Kitchen Angels.
