As more and more people in the Fort Bend County community continue to test positive for the coronavirus, one countywide organization continues to serve some of the highest-risk members of the community: seniors.
Leah Ghobrial, the deputy executive director of Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, said in the weeks since the pandemic began, the organization has closed its senior centers and began delivering meals on a weekly basis instead of a daily one.
“As the situation got worse, our communities felt that the exposure rates were going to be too great to our seniors,” Ghobrial said. “So we're just doing once-a-week delivery of seven meals so they get a meal for every day, still.”
Ghobrial said in the last several weeks, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels has added more than 100 clients to its food delivery program and is continuing to add more.
“We're still taking on new clients,” Ghobrial said. “So if someone needs a meal delivery, we're still taking on new people.”
Ghobrial said in addition to more new clients, the organization has also seen a significant increase in people asking to volunteer during the coronavirus pandemic, something she attributes in part to people being largely at home.
Volunteers and staff who deliver food are taking extra precautions to minimize contact, Ghobrial said.
In addition to using hand sanitizer between deliveries, she said, during this time, volunteers are asked to call seniors ahead of time, place food in new plastic grocery bags and leave it on the door handle. Then, volunteers knock and step back.
“[It] is so strange to us because we're used to knocking on the door, greeting the senior—if they need help carrying it inside, that kind of thing—but we've adjusted that,” Ghobrial said. “They can still talk to them from maybe 12 feet away, but they don't have that close contact.”
In an April 7 press release, Fort Bend Senior Meals on Wheels announced the postponement of its 15th annual Cinco de Mayo fundraiser.
Despite this, Ghobrial said the organization is still on sound footing financially thanks to contributions from The George Foundation and The Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation. Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels is also anticipating some additional dollars from the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, Act, which includes some funding for organizations serving senior populations.
While the Cinco de Mayo Fundraiser has been rescheduled for September, Ghobrial said she is worried about the long-term effects of the coronavirus on individual donors as well as on small businesses who help support Fort Bend Seniors’ mission.
“One of one of my concerns—and I think it’s true for a lot of nonprofits out there—is what impact this will have on the business community and [on] individuals, too,” Ghobrial said. “With a lot of people being out of work, will they be able to attend these events anymore? Will they be able to donate?”
