Updated 10:52 a.m., March 24
The Friendswood Rotary Club meal program will continue under Galveston County's stay-at-home order.
Friendswood Rotary Club President Robin Hall said she had been in touch with the Friendswood city manager and confirmed that the meal program will be considered an essential service. Meal pick up at Renwick Park and meal delivery will both continue as planned.
"We will be allowed to go to the restaurants to pick up the meals and hand them out," Hall said. "There are about 20 meals going to the homes of elderly people who have chosen not to leave their homes, and those deliveries were made by city employees who usually run the senior program."
The stay-at-home order will begin at midnight on March 24 and last until midnight April 3.
Posted 5:21 p.m., March 23
The Friendswood Rotary Club, Friendswood Youth Baseball and the city of Friendswood have partnered with each other to support Friendswood residents in need of meals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Friendswood residents can apply for the meal program through the Friendswood Rotary Club website. There are two options: meal delivery to the home or meal pickup at Renwick Park. The meal program began on March 23 and supplied 45 meals on its first day.
Dave Smith, chairman of the Friendswood Rotary Club Charitable Foundation, said the foundation's first project had been helping with relief after flooding from Hurricane Harvey, so they knew they had the systems in place to be able to help the community in this difficult time.
“One of our members, who is also involved in Youth Baseball, was talking about Friendswood ISD’s meal program for students, and at the same time we were talking about what we can do to assist elderly folk having a hard time getting meals and food,” Smith said. “This program is the result of all those conversations."
To support businesses being affected by the coronavirus, meals will be bought from eight local restaurants and two catering companies, all either located in Friendswood or owned by Friendswood residents.
Once a Friendswood resident has applied for the meal program, the meals will be delivered or available for pickup on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-5 p.m.
“The city of Friendswood has kindly offered us the use of its community bus, which is usually used for senior activities, to deliver these meals,” Smith said.
Smith said Friendswood Youth Baseball has been involved since the beginning and has taken the lead on logistical and volunteer aspects of meal pick-up in Renwick Park.
“They have it set up so people don’t have to get out of their cars, minimal human interaction and all of the safety suggestions in mind,” Smith said.
As for the limits of the program, Smith said they have the manpower and capacity to supply between 100 and 120 meals. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if they meet that by the end of the week.
“Right now we can sustain the program for about a month with the funds we have,” Smith said. “People are welcome to donate if they’d like. We’re hoping to continue for six to eight weeks and then reassess what people’s needs are.”
