A local business has stepped up to the plate to offer free food for school-aged children amidst mounting concerns surrounding COVID-19. The goodwill efforts have given hope that the Håfa Adai spirit continues.
For many families on island, the impacts of the coronavirus can be felt. Some have been laid off, some have had their work hours reduced, forcing families to tighten their spending.
But we can’t forget that island children are also feeling the impacts as many rely on the school meals they receive for nutrition during the day.
Earlier today, PNC was onsite to speak with parents who took the opportunity to get a free meal for their children. Vic Dorian is one of those parents.
“Pretty much, it’s helping but right now. But it’s also on the 50/50 side. I have been laid off from work. So I have no work for now until this coronavirus has completely vanished for the green light to go back to work,” Dorian said.
He added: “I feel today that it’s a wonderful thing that they are giving back to the public to give light that there is still hope that we can all still come together. I feel glad, it made my heart pumping. I want to express it out but I don’t know how to express it.”
Children received a hot dog, apple, bottled water, and chips in a to-go bag courtesy of Fizz and Company, a local restaurant at the Agana Shopping Center. Mariana Crisostomo and Dominique Cruz helped to organize the event after seeing a restaurant in the states do the same.
“Our target really is for students who rely on school lunches so that’s why we opened it up to the first 300 people. We wanted to reach out, these are our children, these are our local babies and we wanted to at least just provide at least one lunch something to look forward to,” she said.
Fizz and Co. says the event was made possible through donations from friends and family. And they took extra precaution to ensure that social distancing measures were in place so that they could safely hand out the free food.
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